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Gator, what you are looking at in the foundry picture is a sand mold. You must have something to hold the sand, and that is what you are looking at. The two halves (top and bottom) are called a cope and a drag. The mold pattern is rammed with sand while they are inside these two boxes. Note the large round pins at the ends of the top and bottom half. They would slip a chain hook on the pins on the top half (cope) and lift it off. Then they would remove the pattern and set it aside. They would set the cope back down on the drag. These two pieces have guide pins which would align them when brought back together. I'll scout around and see if there is a you tube of this action. It's very simple when you see it done.

This a fairly good video simulating the sand casting method.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BI4v0Gqc7k&feature=related

I'm getting educated here! Very interesting! Thanks for that explanation and lesson Randy, there can't be a more qualified individual to explain it than one that comes from the "Steel Mill Capital" of the world. The animation shows that it really is a very simple process but still requires an understanding of the principle I never knew exactly how the process worked but knew that most everything made out of cast iron was by sand cast method. You can easily understand how voids can be created in something like an engine block when you realize how critical it is for the sand to reach the cooling chambers etc. At the same time, it's almost impossible to realize what a monumental task it is to take a brand new design from paper to reality but when you see all of the pieces come together and how many steps it takes to accomplish it, you realize how easy it would be to make a mistake somewhere in between. You can also see how the process would constantly evolve as they discoverd faster and more efficient ways of making things but not necessarily getting a better product in the end. And those dies have to be made before the first piece is cast so that's another process in itself!

By the way, I think the assembly line video is from Chevrolet, I believe I recognized those old "Stovebolt" grills and mills