The Iron Age 1919-09-25: Vol 104 Iss 13

YW uy ijyumD WY, Vi fue ty Uy - ae yy 4 i, yyy Yl ile Ley, a hr p 2p, , “yp VA , ; >, . y ' fv gr, j Yh vt, 0 dg all> Gish —_ al ie “ New York, September 25, STABLISHED 1855 & ZZ VOL. 104: No. 13 An Achievement in Foundry Busch-Sulzer Structure Notable from Viewpoint of Equipment, Transpor- tation Facilities, Lighting, Ventila- tion and Sanitation BY GILBERT L. LACHER Diesel Engine Co. built a plant at Second and Utah streets, St. Louis, which was described in detail in THE IRON AGE of Jan. 7, 1915. Although a pattern shop was constructed at that time and a foundry was included in the plans for future exten- sions, it was not until this year that the latter structure was erected. In appearance the foundry conforms with the architecture of the older build- ings, being constructed of red face brick trimmed with stone and having large window areas. The north side of the structure, shown in one of the accompanying illustrations, is a solid wall of glass in metal sash, except for brick trimming and a concrete wind wall rising about five feet above the foundation. Additional light from above is pro- vided by continuous sash above the crane girders of the main aisle and in the central monitor, as shown in the cross section. Artificial light is pro- vided by high power electric lamps hung from the ceiling. The foundry is as well ventilated as lighted. The double tier of windows in the monitor and bordering the roofs of the side aisles is equipped With sash operators, as are many windows in the walls. In addition, there are three ventilators in the roof of the monitor. ‘he foundry was designed, erected and equipped by the Austin Co. and ranks high from the stand- point of ventilation, lighting, economical arrange- ment, material-handling facilities and equipment. G Diesel Es years ago the Busch-Sulzer Bros. 827 FP “Bee P as Jf Py a Hae The Railroad Siding Is on a Level with the Charging Floor, Facilitating the Unloading of Pig Iron and Coke b Means of Portable Gravity Conveyors Leading " the Car to the Concrete Storage Platforms trap doors i al le the track lead to storage sins which open o1 } foundr, floor Into these sand, clay, firebrick and core oven coke are dropped from the cars, the central hatches being used if the ar has a hopper bottom and the side hatches if it is ordinary gondola \ pneumatk hoist at each cupola is used to il up the outer end of the charging car in dumping into cupola SUene MaMa oeteonns iy) eUnHETenas eveRE HoMREEEE ren eH Le Many of the features of the layout were furnished by the owners. It is not a large structure, being approximately 135 ft. by 190 ft. in dimensions. Every effort has been made, however, to make the most economical use of space and to lay out the different departments in such a fashion as to make for a maximum efficiency in operation. Few foun- ee eed a elle mare ed en el te AS Bagh —-_ + t e28 eae > : $ ; a x : e « se) % g y THE IRON rT tth Ha AL ri ame be p 0 @ H lao H jad) F 8 a0 H {ad H |90 EG me olan ¢ 15/98) 4 8 ‘e's! 9} ’ ” 3 a he --2/10- ~~~ 2/4 0"- ¥ 80) uo Sh. ae — a “ Jo/LET AND ¢ ©. (Oy. LOCKER Ste = C cupola Ss — P16 IRON STORAGE ue COME ey CHARGING POOM STORAGE Sy C) | » , : a leceenegiapitinnhdtaperemmene Ss 5 C Platform = - eee eee — Come SS = _— a ———__ | STORAGE mand et ecessaltealebelobemalandangh lomldaalatamaial n mr) JAL rq CA ry “=r t : HL cL iL ' Me 1 CoA A LajJrL_ J Lf _— Ln ul —_— ~t = __s : = _ SS ae ——— = = ‘Matches = dT FOUNDRY PLAN ON CHARGING FLOOR LEVEL 2 Section D Draw wienhew ; I r 2 Track + Core Qven i! FOUNDRY PLAN ON MOLDING FLOOR LEVEL AGE MovtL DING FLOOR September Pr rie E ed MOULDING SAND Oo STORAGE eptember 25, 1919 linemen ae al Liat s aes ad T+ "2 y Tr : F 4 Department in the Against the Wall Smale Mold Backgro At the Lef Dry Stationary Molds The « with motor-dri ind are equipped ipon the work Maximum Height from nitor of 52 Ft felow Is the Main M ling Floor with a Floor t the Circle of the Cupola The <« cular stairv charging room above dries have been so well designed from the stand point of the handling of materials. A siding from the Manufacturers’ Railway orders the south side of the foundry on a level with the charging floor of the cupolas. By means f portable gravity conveyors pig iron, scrap, lime- stone and coke can be transferred from cars to con- rete storage platforms on either side of the charg- ng room. On the other hand, fire brick, clay, core en coke and sand can be dropped through trap doors in the track, or adjacent to the track—depend- ng upon whether the car to be emptied is of hopper ttom or gondola type—into concrete bins which pen on the foundry floor level. The main aisle of the building is provided with 25-ton Pawling & Harnischfeger electric crane ; 4 ; : | } 3 | a é 7 4 Oa saat hds Lal &30 with a 5-ton auxiliary and a 15-ton crane of the same make. The north aisle is equipped with a 5-ton P. & H. crane. At the east end of the struc- ture, running through both aisles, is a standard railroad track equipped with two 10-ton Whiting trucks, upon which finished castings are loaded. These trucks are fitted with U-bolts which permit of their being moved by the overhead cranes. From the molding aisles the track leads through the cleaning room to an open delivery pit. In the cleaning room is a 2-ton overhead crane which facil- itates the transfer of castings to tumblers. When work is ready to ship it is weighed in a 80-ton Fairbanks track scale and then moved by truck over the plant track to the delivery pit, which is of reinforced concrete construction and is located in the storage yard of the plant. From here the castings are removed to a covered material yard adjacent to the company’s machine shop by a 25-ton Pawling & Harnischfeger electric crane with a 5-ton auxiliary. Any defective castings are removed by the crane from the delivery pit to an adjacent open- air well, also of concrete construction, with the exception that it has a clay floor. Here defective work will be broken by a skull-cracker dropped by the crane. To protect the concrete walls from dam- The Storage Bins for Core and Molding Sand, Core Oven Coke and Firebrick Are Located Underneath the Railroad Siding Materia is easily accessible from the foundry floor, upon which the bins open The Motor-Driven Sand-Mixing Machine Shown Below Is Situated Between the Storage Bins and the Main Molding Floor The sand is deposited in the receptacle shown in the foreground, from which it is carried to the buckets, and thence to the revolving cylinde: The mixed sand is drawn from the cylinder by opening a door on the bottom age by flying pieces, the pit has been lined with wooden ties to a height of about 6 ft. Returning to the interior of the foundry, other transportation facilities are to be noted. About midway between the ends of the building is a short narrow-gage track equipped with a 5-ton Whiting truck connecting the main and north aisles. In addition, two standard-gage tracks at the west end of the structure connect the main aisle with the two-car core oven. Two additional standard-gage tracks in central aisle lead into a two-car mold oven on the south side of the building. The distance between the latter set of tracks is the same as the gage of the tracks themselves, thus making it pos- sible to place a car loaded with an unusually large mold on the two inside rails. Both drying ovens are equipped with cables by which cars can be THE IRON AGE September 25, 1919 moved in and out by the overhead cranes. The o tracks are provided with eight 10-ton trucks, t of which are of the rack type. The only additional transportation feature a short narrow-gage track equipped with a lad car and located in front of: the cupolas. The foundry contains two Whiting cupo located on the south side of the main aisle ab: midway between the east and west ends. 0 cupola has a capacity of from 11 to 12 tons an hi and the other 6 to 7 tons an hour. In front them, extending up to a point just below the ta hole is a brick baffle wall which was installed t protect the workmen from injury in case the bottom of a cupola should accidentally fall. The floor bs neath the cupola is of concrete. Consequently th deposits of slag and ashes can be easily removed. Adjacent to the cupolas is the blower room, i) which are located a 24-cu. ft. and a 18-cu. ft. Con nersville motor-driven blower connected to an air shaft from the roof. Just west of the cupolas is a circular stairway) leading to the charging room. The latter has a reinforced concrete floor and enjoys ample light from continuous sash facing the open stock yard of the plant. A small opening, with a sliding door, connects the charging room with the foundry, thereby permitting communication with the main bay without descending via the stairs, to the floor level. The equipment of the room includes a six- beam, 1500-lb. Fairbanks scale and two Whiting pneumatic hoists operated by air piped from the older portion of the Busch plant. The latter hook into U-bolts at the end of the charging cars con- taining the iron, coke or limestone and tip them so that their charges are emptied into the cupola doors. The cars, eight in number, have a capacity of two tons. Two of the trucks, which have sides except at the charging end, are used for coke and limestone. The material storage platforms on either side of the charging room and connected with it by large doors, are also of reinforced concrete con- struction and have a maximum capacity of 600 |b. per sq. ft. As the area of the platforms is approxi- mately 4000 sq. ft., they are capable of holding 1200 net tons. Returning to the floor of the foundry, it will be noted that the furnace doors of the mold oven face the concrete storage bins located under the railroad siding serving the plant. Thus the supplies of coke used in heating the oven are close at hand. Fuel for the core ovens, on the other hand, must be September 25, 1919 ported from the bins to the other side of the ing. he main aisle of the foundry is approximately 164 ft., with a maximum height from floor to eiling of the monitor of 52 ft. Except for the cting rails from the mold and core ovens, rest in concrete, the floor is clay. This aisle i for large molding, whereas the north aisle, 164 ft., is used for making smaller molds and The floor of the latter is also clay, except at the west end in the core department, where it is of conerete. On the north wall of this aisle are molders’ benches upon which small work can be done. Four similar benches are situated along the wall in the core department, adjacent to which are four core sand bins and a portable Howe scale. An unusual feature of the two-car core oven is that the tracks extending from the main aisle into ore department are at right angles with the ks entering the oven. The crane is used at point to lift cars and transfer them from one rack to another. Both the mold oven and the core en were buiit after designs of the Whiting Foun- Equipment Co., Harvey, Ill. In addition to ese track-type ovens there are two Whiting iwer-type core ovens, containing five drawers which are heated by the same furnace which es the larger core oven. (he foundry aisles are equipped with five ladles ng from 1 to 10 tons capacity, as well as with imber of hand ladles. In addition, several ee Le The Locker and Toilet Room Is Noteworthy from THE IRON AGE 831 Looking Into the Delivery Pit Which Projects Into the Storage Yard The crane picks up the finished castings. The concrete well just beyond the delivery pit is the breaking pit, which will be used for breaking up defective castings In the Circle Is a View of the Cleaning Room In the ieft background is a car on the plant track at the entrance to the open delivery pit HO Lee prneno ne a reeow rene special devices have been provided to promote effi- ciency in operation. For instance, there are three portable Hanna mold driers, used to dry stationary molds. These burn coke and are equipped with motor-driven fans which force the heated air on to the work to be treated. The core department is provided with two motor-driven Hanna sand shakers and a small motor-driven Hammer core machine, the latter manufactured by the Brown Specialty Machinery Co., Chicago. On the south side of the foundry, adjacent to the sand storage bins, is a motor-driven sand-mixing machine made by the Standard Sand &- Machine Co., Cleveland. The sand is transferred from the bins to the receiving hopper of the machine from which it is forced by a revolving screw to cups on a chain hoist, which deposit their charges in a re- volving cylinder and then return to repeat the opera- tion. After the machine has been stopped the mixed sand can be removed by opening a door in the cylinder. the Viewpoint of Light, Ventilation and Sanitation ee OTS AAR eictiblen sasoens oti Ape > nag Rg oats 1 gar rke. 5 CR tenet PRS. ey wraserame alg a : : ke wa: 832 THE IRON AGE September 25, 119 In the cleaning room are located two tumblers and a grinder with suction exhaust pipes attached, which carry al] dust to a dust arrester outside the building. Here also are a motor-driven wire straightener and a motor-driven magnetic separator for the removal of metal from used molding sand. Briefly, the latter machine consists of a perforated magnetized cylinder which sifts the sand during rotation, at the same time retaining all iron con- tained therein. At the conclusion of an operation the cylinder is demagnetized and sand and iron can be removed from the machine separately. Among other features of the foundry may be mentioned a tool room located in the southwest corner, several fire hose attachments situated at convenient points with hose and nozzle ready for use, a sliding fire door at the west end of the build- ing as a protection in case a conflagration should “cur in the pattern shop adjacent, a similar door separating the delivery pit from the structure, com- pressed-air pipes with provision for hose attach- ment on all of the columns inclosing the main aisle, four water tanks with drinking bubblers and hose attachments, situated at convenient points, and toilet facilities adjacent to the sand mixer. East of the foundry is a small carpenter shop. Adjoining the west end of the foundry is a smaller INDUSTRIAL CONFERENCE Co-operation With Unions Proposed in the New Jersey Plan At the Fourth Industrial Relations Conference of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, the after- noon of Sept. 18, in the Robert Treat Hotel, Newark, N. J., a plan introduced in person by Governor William N. Runyon was unanimously adopted, providing a joint industrial council for New Jersey. The conference was attended by more than 300 employers and employees, representing various plants throughout the State, be- sides Governor Runyon and Arthur A. Quinn, president of the New Jersey State Federation of Labor. While the Governor’s proposal for a joint industrial council was expected, Arthur A. Quinn’s resolution that the suggestion be submitted to a committee, to which the State Federation of Labor would appoint two members, manufacturers’ organizations appoint two and _ the Chamber of Commerce, representing the public, appoint three, including the chairman, was a surprise. Article 1 of the tentative plan provides for the creation of a joint industrial council to promote indus- trial co-operation and stabilize industry. Article 2 provides for 15 members—five representing the busi- ness interests, five the workers, and five the public. The method to be pursued in appointing these repre- sentatives is here given. Article 3 states the functions of the body, which is to convene monthly, or more often, if necessary, and discuss industrial events, issue recom- mendations to its constituents, gather information, make investigations and arbitrate industrial contro- versies. Article 4 deals with the organization of the joint council, dividing it into three separate groups to meet between sessions, independently. It also provides for the appointment by the council of permanent joint executive and arbitration committees and such others as may be deemed necessary. Article 5, devoted to expenses, apportions them equally among the three parties in such manner as the council may direct. \rticle 6 provides that the plan may be amended only upon a three-fourths vote of the council and shall remain in effect until, upon 30 days’ notice, one of the three parties shall withdraw. The adoption of this plan is the culmination of an investigation by the State of New Jersey Bureau of Research, conducted by Paul Studensky, supervisor of the Investigative Staff on Industrial Relations. In an exhaustive report dealing with shop committees, their structure connecting it with the pattern shop. connecting link contains a storage chamber an foundry foreman’s office on the first floor, locker room and lunch hall on the second Through a window in a door connecting the with the main bay, one gets a view of a larg: of the foundry. The locker room has a concrete floor a) equipped with 50 lockers, a battery of 24 basins with hot and cold running water, two and four showers. The room is about 25 x 6 is well lighted, and contains ample space fo terial additions to the present equipment. Ad ing the locker room is a lunch room of app: mately the same size where the men are permitt: to eat their lunches whether they bring the: purchase them from the company. This room a has ample window space as well as artificial light fixtures. The foundry poured its first castings, flasks its own use, on Sept. 10, when the photograp! shown were taken. An unusual feature of the structure just completed is that it is a “turn-key” job, having been designed, erected and complete}, equipped by the Austin Co. In other words, the foundry was turned over to the Busch-Sulzer con pany ready for operation. objects, functions and relations to unions, and industria! councils with their relations to shop committees and unions, the State Investigative Staff draws the conclu- sions that— 1. Shop committees operated as a substitute for union ism tend to increase industrial unrest. 2. Shop committees which are planned to be neutral o1 the union question are beneficial especially in the industries where labor is little or not at all organized, but they ar unstable in that they eventually become either anti or pro- union. 3. Shop committees combined with unionism present ar effective instrument for the protection of the interests of a! parties participating in industrial production as well as the public In concluding its report, the Investigative Staff enumerates the following points as of importance fo: consideration by employers, employees, union and non- union, and union organizations: Institution of shop committees in plants on'y after study of conditions and without any purpose of breaking up the union move- ment; installation of expert employment and service departments by employers; determination to use the facilities of shop committee systems and not to hampe! their operation or try to wreck them simply because they may not involve recognition of the union; recog- nition of unions by the employers whenever proofs are submitted to them that a large proportion of thei employees are unionized; determination of the labo unions to conduct peacefully their membership cam paign and prove their following to the employers b) submitting lists and figures of their membership, rathe: than by forcing recognition by means of strikes; de termination of both employers and labor unions recognize and co-ordinate both shop committees, based on representation of union and non-union workers, and purely union organizations; establishment of demo- cratic industrial councils of a particular industry or of a certain area, involving representation from employers and workers, through their respective organizations or by means of an election from the shops, as well as representation from the public, which is the consume! and arbiter between them; and active participation public opinion in the deliberations of the industria councils and shop committees with effective co-opera- tion of the public representatives and officials in carry- ing into effect their recommendations. Secretary H. R. Heydon, of the New Jersey Stat Chamber of Commerce, says that the representatives provided for in the resolution will be appointed as s00! as possible. or Foundry Week in Philadelphia Annual Meeting of American Foundrymen’s Associa- tion and the Foundry and Machine Tool Exhibition 4 under the auspices chiefly of the American Foundrymen’s Association, is scheduled this r for the week beginning Sept. 29 at Philadel- Besides the technical sessions, the attrac- include the customary exhibition of foun- Hinder th week, an annual institution held machinery, supplies and equipment and machine tools. As was the case last ir in Milwaukee, forenoon technical ses- ns will be held, leaving the afternoons free the exhibition. Besides iron foundry, steel sundry and malleable foundry problems, special ‘tention will be given to the questions of indus- trial relations and to the matter of handling ma- The sessions of the American Foundry- Association will be held at the Bellevue- terials. Yan nen s Stratford Hotel and the meetings on non-ferrous topics conducted by the Institute of Metals Divi sion of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers will be held at the Ritz- Carlton Hotel. The exhibition will be housed in the Philadelphia Commercial Museum. The exhibition bids fair to make another record in the series of remarkable conventions which have marked progress in the foundry and allied industries. The list of exhibitors is long and the space taken is larger than ever before. In the following is recounted the developments which have made Philadelphia an important cen- ter, and following the historical reviews will be found a list of the exhibitors and the main fea- tures of the exhibits. Old Philadelphia, a City of Achievement Historically Rich, Penn’s City Is Industrially Active—Notable Port Facilities—Pioneer in Iron—Important Pig Iron Distributing Center BY CHARLES LUNDBERG HILADELPHIA—founded in 1682 by William Penn —is so rich in historical associations that when its name is mentioned there immediately arises in many minds a mental picture of its venerated Independence Hall, its Liberty Bell and other buildings and objects which carry one back to the swaddling days of the Nation. It has been first in so many things that per- haps it is to be expected that the historical side of the ity should dominate with many, often to the exclusion of the fact that the city, the third largest in the Union n population, ranks among the foremost in domestic and foreign commerce and manufacture. With one-sixtieth of the population of the country, produces one-twenty-fifth of all the goods manufac- ired in the United States. Its chamber of commerce has taken for its slogan, “The World’s Greatest Work- shop.” The industrial bureau of the chamber has but ttle patience with those who lay all the emphasis n the city’s relics of the past. Admitting the price- s value of these, its business is to emphasize what the city is accomplishing to-day—the great industries vithin and contiguous to her borders—her creation of nnumerable products, including iron and steel, cast- vs of all sorts, metal products, locomotives, ships and ichinery. In the manufacture of textiles Philadelphia inds first. Philadelphia has close to 10,000 industrial plants, ng employment to over 400,000 workers. Within orders are 133 foundries, including 74 which melt iss or other non-ferrous metals, either exclusively is an adjunct to other manufacturing processes. As ty it comes third among those operating foundries. the city and its suburbs are produced more castings in any other center in the country. There are steel-casting plants in the vicinity which are notable their size and capacity. One alone, before the war, le annually 2200 tons of acid and 6500 tons of basic n-hearth steel castings, in addition to 9000 tons of n and 30 tons of bronze castings. In the city and irby over $40,000,000 worth of hardware is produced 833 annually, this being about 40 per cent of the country’s production. As a fresh water port open to the ships of the world, and the second port in importance in the United States, Philadelphia is 101.68 miles from the sea, and 61 miles from Delaware Bay, via the Delaware River. It has a 30-ft. channe] the full distance and a 35-ft. channel is about two-thirds completed. The city has a water front of 34 miles, 20 along the Delaware and 14 along the Schuylkill Rivers. The port is served by the Pennsylvania, Philadel- phia & Reading, Baltimore & Ohio and Philadelphia Belt Line Railroads, the last-named being a local line which connects all the trunk lines with the piers and which to a large extent eliminates lightering. Modern Piers and Shipping Facilities The city owns eight large modern piers for overseas shipment (these being in addition to private facilities) and more are under construction. There are nearly 300 improved wharf and bulkhead structures, 159 of which are projecting piers. The character of the municipal piers is shown by the views herewith. One of the new piers was recently leased by the Cunard Steamship Co., which has established a line plying directly between Philadelphia and Bristol, England. Another new line is that of the International Freighting Corporation, which will maintain a service between Philadelphia and South American ports. A municipal pier on the Dela- ware, at the foot of McKean Street, has two decks, is 250 ft. wide, 900 ft. long, and has four railroad tracks upon its decks. It is the first of a series of nine which the city will construct. From the city’s enter- prise along the lines indicated it follows that it and its commercial institutions are keenly alert to the possi- bilities of a great expansion of its already noteworthy foreign trade, the foundation for which was laid many years ago. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 1919, a total of 6504 vessels, with a net tonnage of 10,980,182, entered pst 834 THE IRON AGE September 25, 1919 and cleared at Philadelphia, and the import and export Philadelphia & Reading Railway Co. has two elect values were $622,643,314. Figures announced by the cally operated ore unloaders, and at Girard Point ‘ Board of Commissioners of Navigation show that ex- Pennsylvania Railroad has two unloaders, each capa), ports through the port of Philadelphia in the month of of discharging 200 tons of ore per hour. The piers an, June, 1919, had a total valuation of $66,923.919. During auxiliary apparatus are all modern. June of 1918 exports were valued at $26,786,882, or Of the great number of ships built on the De $40,137,037 less. Despite an insufficient number of ships ware—called the Clyde of America, although duri: assigned to the port to meet the requirements of ship- the war more ships were built there than on the Clyde ve pers and the necessities of consumers, the total of it is umnecessary to say much. The spectacular ma vessels arriving and clearing in July, 1919, was 241, ner in which immense shipyards sprang into being f with a tonnage of 888,574. This was 32 more vessels the building of ships to meet the inroads of the G: and 10,321 more tons than the totals of July, 1918. man submarines is known the world over. Not fa , ee ee Oe from Philadelphia is the great Hog Island yard, bu ' by the American International Corporation, in conne In 1916 manganese ore to the value of $2,297,077 tion with which a recent proposal may mean much t: was imported through the port of Philadelphia, and in’ the further industrial development of the section. It 1917 to the value of $1,780,715. In 1916 pig iron is proposed that the yard be sold to its builders by th: valued at $2,023,386 came in, and in 1917 there arrived Government for conversion into a great transatlanti iron valued at $1,935,752. At Port Richmond the’ terminal. The yard covers 860 acres. A Pioneer Section in Iron Manufacture The early history of Philadelphia and eastern Penn- ern Pennsylvania. Philadelphians revere the names sylvania and that of the iron industry on this continent of William Penn and Benjamin Franklin, and both are so closely related that volumes could be wrtten on had to do with the iron business in its infancy, espe the subject. When James M. Swank wrote his “History cially Penn. Indeed, iron was not made in Pennsylvania of the Manufacture of Iron in All Ages,” he devoted until after the arrival of Penn in 1682. He was quick several chapters to the development of the art in east- to perceive the value of the ore deposits and to urg: ger ‘ —_— sardnere wv — as ri —_—— — p a & a“ a =: e a5 8 Doylestown eColumbus Z ag + > ZT a SCAMDEN 2 sa Wog-4u0d apPIsOsS | \ \ \ \ Esgington . 9\ A \ cuesteR S\ ns Z\pEL yy > \WILMINGTON 49 jroven . NfZ o. 40 \ x / J / S32 ‘ . ~~ / Z1I\ > / 4 @ Wilhamso ss ~ ; , f= i. at ‘3 ss ~ * Cedar Lake — ~o me : ee 33— aa — = owes [90 Ct fk immes °s 30% — eR a 4 “MILES FROM PHILA ELOniA illustrating Piiladelphia as the Center of a Great Industrial Region In the city and its suburbs, these including Chester are produced more castings than in any other center in the country HX: ve to the [mportance of Foreign Trade, Philadelphia, One PAN September 25, 1919 THE IRON AGE 835 7 Soe . ee of the Earliest Factors in American Maritime Activity, Has Built Several Modern Piers. These are served by a belt line railroad with spurs extending out on the piers enabling the transfer of freight from cars to ship their utilization, for he had been interested in iron making in England, and later he became the owner ‘f the Andover iron mine in New Jersey. The first iron mine in Pennsylvania, of which there s authentic record, was in 1692, the quantity being but 10 lb. In 1716 an iron works was successfully estab- shed in Berks County, about three miles above Potts- town, by Thomas Rutter, a smith, and, like Penn, an English Quaker. It was a bloomary forge. In 1717 ’r 1718 another enterprise, known as Coventry forge, vas established in the northern part of Chester County y Samuel Nutt, likewise an English Quaker. About ‘20 the third iron enterprise, the Colebrookdale fur- ice, in Berks County, about eight miles north of Potts- wn, was established. Furnaces Made 2 Tons in 24 Hr. In succeeding years development was rapid, until 1728 or 1729 it was written that the industry was a firm basis, there being at that time four blast furnaces in the colony. It was considered quite re- irkable that 274 tons of pig iron had been exported to England in this period.’ At that time two tons in { hr. was the production of a Pennsylvania furnace. jamin Franklin’s stoves, invented in 1742, used ites cast from iron made at the then Warwick fur- on French Creek, in Chester County, which was gun in 1737, and which was operated until 1867, en it was abandoned. Swank wrties: “The manufacture of iron was not fairly commenced Pennsylvania until 1716, but after this time it grew ‘pidly, and in the sixty years which intervened before ne commencement of hostilities with the mother coun- y probably sixty blast furnaces and forges and sev- eral slitting mills and steel works were built, a rate of progress which was not attained by any other colony in the same period.” Some of the enterprises, such as the Cornwall and Warwick furnaces, were on a scale that would have done credit to a later day. These furnaces were each 32 ft. high, 21% ft. square at the base, and 11 ft. square at the top. Warwick, it is recorded, was at first 9 ft. wide at the base, but was later reduced to 7% ft. They produced both pig iron and castings, the latter stoves, pots, kettles, andirons, etc. In hot weather operations were suspended. Water power was used, and the blast was first supplied by large leather bel- lows, although later wooden cylinders or “tubs” came into use. Some of these bellows were over 20 ft. long. Negro slaves were not infrequently used as labor. After the Revolution the industry received a fresh impetus. The first operation in the Lehigh Valley, a bloomary, was begun about 1805. The Change from Charcoal to Anthracite Until 1839 no commercial pig iron was made with anthracite, all of the iron produced coming from char- coal furnaces. Just prior to the year mentioned some men interested in the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. went to Wales, where they found considerable progress had been made by David Thomas in smelting with anthracite. Mr. Thomas was induced to come to Amer- ica, bringing his family with him, and at Catasauqua, Pa., was built a small stone stack which in 1839 was blown in, under the ownership of the Lehigh Crane Iron Co. This subsequently became the Crane Iron Works. The early makers of anthracite iron added one furnace after another until, prior to 1870, they were RRA 5 RABI RO SAO ME REAR 5 caress tL ied es September 25, 1919 mee. 836 Pilling & Crane, Philadelphia, widely known in the iron trade, was with the Crane company eighteen years, severing his connection with it in 1890 to engage in business for himself. Prior to that time Leonard Peckett, then a chemist, entered the employ of the Crane Iron Works. To-day Mr. Peckett is president of the Empire Steel & Iron Co., which controls the Crane Iron Works. Robesonia Iron Made in 1793 Several of the blast-furnace companies operating to- day trace their career back well over a hundred years to the days of charcoal fuel, as in the case of the Robesonia Iron Co., Ltd. In a history of the company recently compiled it is stated: “The first pig iron was made at Robesonia by George Ege, in October, 1793. The town of Robesonia did not then exist; nor was it named until many years later. The furnace at that time was known as Reading Furnace. It was, of course, of small dimensions, and used as a fuel charcoal obtained from the timber cut from Mr. Ege’s land. Then, as now, and during the entire intervening period, ore from the famous Corn- wall deposit, twenty-five miles distant, was used.” The E. & G. Brooke Iron Co. was founded in 1740 when William Bird erected at a point, now Birdsboro, about 9 miles below Reading, on the Schuylkill River, forges for the manufacture of hammered bar iron. Mark Bird, a son, built Hopewell furnace, about five miles from Birdsboro, about 1760. Before the Revo- lutionary War he had built a rolling mill, slitting mill and nail factory. In 1837 the business name became E. & G. Brooke, although the family interest extended some -distance back. In 1846 Hampton furnace was built, others following in 1852, 1871 and 1873, some of which were subsequently dismantled. To-day, within a radius of about 100 miles of Phila- delphia, are 64 blast furnaces, including those belong- ing to steel works and those making ferromanganese and spiegeleisen, and the city is a most important dis- tributing center. The furnaces, none of which is further away than Harrisburg, follow: Blast Furnaces Within 100 Miles of Philadelphia No of Name Location Stacks Alan Wood Iron & Steel Co Swedeland 3 Bethlehem Steel Co ‘ ‘ Steelton - 6 Sparrows Point . 4 Lebanon Donaghmore Cornwall 7 Bethlehem 7 E. & G. Brooke Tron Co ....-B'rdsboro l Carbon Pureaoce Co. ..6sceccses Perryville 1 Central Iron & Steel Co........Harrisburg : Delaware River Steel Co .....Chester 1 Eastern Steel Co. (Warwick fur- naces) ee .... Pottstown riod 2 Empire Steel & Iron Co... ..Catasauqua 2 Macungie 1 Oxford (N. J.) l Tovton . l E. J Lavino Furnace Co Lebanon 1 Marietta 1 Sheridan 1 Leesport Furnace Co .. Leesport 1 E. E. Marshall (Lochill). .... Harrisburg oon sacl 1 Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co..Coatesville . ee ‘ 3 ae OE ree Hazard, Palmerton (N. J.) bene d 2 Northern Ore Co. . : | REG FATE. nkccienes 1 Reading Iron Co.: Keystone Furnace ‘ .... Reading 1 Crumwold Furnace as ) .ce ein eo ee ee 1 Robesonia Iron Co....... J cnn sews ee’ 1 Seaboard Steel & Manganese Co.Temple eee ee ee 2 Singer Mfg. Co ihe 9, Rs ae 1 Thomas Iron Co....... ee ae re 2 CS Pe ee 1 Hokendauqua ........ 2 We MArten: Btee? CO oe ina sce ccw OO 4B, BeDiaivss 3 x THE IRON AGE y ey operating six, with a total capacity of 1100 tons per Within the same radius are the following by-p: week. Of the type of furnace then used probably none’ coke plants: \ is left. The boilers were located near the top of the Camden Coke Co., Camden, N. J. _ hi furnaces to better utilize the gas. Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Md. In 1876 was built a set of Whitwell firebrick stoves, ees aeead oo” oromeorengg: ad these being the first of their type. At that time there Bethishess Steel Co. Gtealten. Ba. existed a string of furnaces in the Lehigh valley ex- Rainey-Wood Coke Co., Swedeland, Pa. : tending from Easton to Mauch Chunk and iron was sent Philadelphion F torn edge acd ag conmn-ang Sg SI > to Pittsburgh and Chicago, the furnaces using anthra- ; i cite and the local hematite ores. Between 1870 and Long Management by Iron-Making Families 1880 the practice was inaugurated of mixing coke with — snail Medi s =" india the coal. Samuel Thomas, a son of David, succeeded One of the earlier firms m the iron eaherqgatg his father, and in 1854 he and his friends established dentally & secems addition to the merchant ee?) 4 the Thomas Iron Co. at Easton, Pa. W. S. Pilling, of field, is the Alan Wood Iron & Steel Co., Conshohoc! and Swedeland, Pa. It was founded in 1826 as Jan Wood & Son, and was later succeeded by the J. W & Bros. Co. and Alan Wood & Co., the former bei: purchased a few years ago by the Alan Wood Iro: Steel Co. In 1911 a merger was effected with Richard Heckscher & Sons Co., the name Alan Wo Iron & Steel Co. being retained. It is notable tha despite the lapse of time and the growth of the con pany it is still owned and managed by descendants o the founders, both in the case of the Wood and Hee} scher companies. The company owns three blast fu naces, making basic and foundry pig iron. It ha capacities of 450,000 tons of pig iron per year, 500,000 tons of ingot steel, 125,000 tons of plates, 275,000 tons of billets, blooms and slabs, and 90,000 tons of sheets A recent development is the recent completion of 110 by-product coke ovens at Swedeland, owned by a sub sidiary, the Rainey-Wood Coke Co., which is coking 2000 tons of coal per day with a corresponding output of coke, furnace and foundry and by-products. Lukens Steel Co. Founded in 1790 From a year-book of the Lukens Steel Co., notable as a pioneer, for its family ownership over a period of four generations, and because it operates the largest plate mill in the world—the mill having a width of 204 in.—the following is taken: “The actual and original establishment of our works dates back to the year 1790, when Isaac Pennock, the great-grandfather of the present management, built a mill and began the manufacture of iron at a place called Rokeby, situated on Buck Run, Chester County, Pa., about four miles south of Coatesville. . . . The mill he first built was called the ‘Federal Slitting Mill,’ charcoal slabs being heated in an open charcoal fire, rolled out into plates, and then slit up into rods for general blacksmith use. In 1810 he bought a sawmill property on the Brandywine at Coatesville, which he converted into an iron mill. The mill at that time was called the ‘Brandywine,’ which has since developed into the large plant at present in operation. “In 1816 Dr. Charles Lukens, a son-in-law of Isaac Pennock, and maternal grandfather of the present management, came into possession of the property and carried on the business of making iron until his death in 1825. It was between these dates that the first boiler plates produced in this country were made in this mill by Dr. Lukens.” It is interesting to note that after the death of Dr. Lukens at an early age, he was succeeded by his widow, who was an extraordinary business woman. “After Mrs. Lukens’ death the business was conducted by her sons-in-law, Abram Gibbons and Dr. Charles Huston. Mr. Gibbons retired in 1855, . . . leav- ing the business in the hands of Dr. Huston, who, with his partner, Charles Penrose, carried on the business until Mr. Penrose’s death in 1881, they having been joined by Dr. Huston’s sons, A. F. and C. L. Huston. Dr. Huston was the head of the concern until his death in 1897.” Philadelphia and Locomotive Building Since 1834 Baldwin locomotives have been built at Broad and Buttonwood streets, the present site of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. “Old Ironsides,” which weighed but five tons, the first locomotive built for road service in Philadelphia, was constructed in Lodge Alley, between Seventh and Eighth streets, by M. W. Baldwin, a manufacturer of stationary engines, and completed tember 25, 1919 THE IRON AGE 90 ww ~] imulation of Slag Extending Back 125 Years It is from the furnaces of the Robesonia Iron Co., Ltd., a company 170° ees its origin back to 1798. Some of the stacks which contributed to this ‘pile’ have been long since dis- mantled, 332. It was patterned after the English locomo- »f the day, and was the subject of much favorable ent, but still did not bring the success Mr. Bald- ooked for. In 1834 came an order from the eston & Hamburg Railroad Co. for a second and from the experience with the first was ed a type of engine which was followed for many the early days there were in Philadelphia at least builders, aside from the Baldwin works. One by the others dropped out for one reason or another for fifty years the Baldwin Locomotive Works has the field to itself in Philadelphia. It has grown the city. The Baldwin company states: < from 1832 to 1860 to build the first thousand loco the second thousand was completed in 1869 the ousand in 1872; the fourth thousand in 187f he uusand in 1880; the sixth thousand in 1882; the sev- housand in 18838; the eighth thousand i 1886; the susand in ISSS the tenth thousand ! LSS9 the TO THE RIGHT IS TION WHILE TO ONE OF HOWARD FOUNI [he Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association, one of earliest organizations of its kind, is an incorpo- d body which was formed in 1891 for the advance- nt and protection of the industry. Thomas Devlin, Thomas Devlin Mfg. Co., one of the organizers, has its president 17 years, and was a vice-president m 1891 to 1894. The first president was Francis Schumann, of the my Iron & Metal Co., who died in June, 1911. He followed by P. D. Wanner, Mellert Foundry & hine Co., and later the Reading Iron Co., and mas I. Rankin, Abram Cox Stove Co., both de- ised. The vice-presidents included A. C. Pessano, rge V. Cresson Co.; James S. Stirling, Harlan & ngsworth Co.; A. E. Outerbridge, Jr., William ers & Co., and Dr. E. E. Brown, E. E. Brown & Co. osiah Thompson, J. Thompson & Co., has been surer since orgar ization. The object of the association is “the advancement ie foundry trade by collecting information leading the cost of castings and the selling of the same Sketch of Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association THOMAS DEVLIN. PR DELPHIA FOUNDRYMEN’S ASSOCLIA- TARY SINCE THE ASSOCIATION WAS VED. twentieth thousand 1902; the thirtieth thousand in 1907, and the fortieth thousand in 1913 In. 1918 the fiftiet! thousand was npleted The first electric locomotive was built by the Bald- win Locomotive Works in 1895, although this power had been applied to street cars as early as 1888. The first locomotive exported by M. W. Baldwin went to Cuba in 1838, since which time they have gone to practically every country in the world. In 1915 the works exported 475 locomotives, and since then the large number which have been made for export, especially to Europe, where the engines did their part in winning the war, is common knowledge. The company has an immense new plant at Eddystone, but still operates its large Philadelphia plant. The two plants employ 21,500 men, and have a combined production of 3500 locomotives per year. As reported by the Secretary of Internal Affairs, the value of the railroad locomotives produced in Philadelphia County in 1917 was $80,774,700. 4 PORTRAIT OF ESIDENT PHILA THE LEFT IS EVANS, SECRE at fair profits.” At the same time, much has been done to advance the technical side of the industry. Irregularities in selling prices and costs and labor difficulties demonstrated the need for the organization, although at no time has it attempted to fix wages or selling prices. It was realized, however, that sales were not infrequently made below cost, differences of 2c. to 3c. being common, due to lack of uniformity in esti- mating costs. The value of the association has been fully demonstrated, benefits accruing not only to the foundrymen, but to their customers. Thomas Devlin Active Many Years Mr. Devlin, president of the association, was born in Ireland in 1838. He began his business career in the employ of what is now known as the Philadelphia Hardware & Malleable Iron Works, at that time known as Thomas R. Wood & Co. In 1855 the works were purchased by E. Hall Ogden, who in 1866 admitted three of his employees, Mr. Devlin among them, to partner- ship. In 1871 the business became the Carr, Crawley & Me ERTL ) ) ‘iat RMN cerns ase et , » : } “4 ” 1 Devlin Co. In 1880 Mr. Devlin withdrew and with Louis J. McGrath founded at Third and Lehigh streets the firm of Thomas Devlin & Co., which in 1902 became the Thomas Devlin Mfg. Co. Mr. Devlin is to-day in good health, and is active in the management of his business. Howard Evans, who has been ciation since its beginning, vice-president of the W. Paxson Co., formerly J. W. Paxson & Co. This company was founded in 1852 to deal in foundry sup- plies. J. W. Paxson and J. K. Bougher, the founders, with horse and wagon distributed molding sand secretary of the asso- is a Chairman Committee Frank Krug, Entertainment Cc. R. Spa Publicity Paxson Co ert J Auton Her Bougher, Cha 10obile Committee THE IRON Chairmen of Local Convention Committees Ex-Officio of All Committees—Thomas Devlin and Howard Evans Clearing House Committee Howard M Bougher, J. W. Paxson Co Information Committee—George F. Pettinos Reception and Hotel Committee—Hon. W. C. Sproul, Governor, State of Pennsylvania, honorary chairman; Charles M Schwal vice-chairman; H. W. Brown, Tabor Mfg. Co., acting chairman Visitation of Plants—George C. Davies, Pilling & Crane Publicity Committee—C. R. Spare, American Man- ganese Bronze Co Finance Committee gS I” Pond, David Lupton Sons Co Entertainment Committee Frank Krug, White & Bro Golf Committe. Otto W Schaum, Fletcher Works. Daily Bulletin Committee A. O. Backert, The Foun- dry Loan of Automobiles Herbert J. Bougher, J. W. 95 “av, AGE Sertember 919 brought by boat from Tullytown, Pa., and the of Lumberton, N. J. The present officers those mentioned, are: of the association, asid Vice-president, George C. Davies, Pilling & | executive committee, Walter Wood, R. D. Wood ; Thomas M. Eynon, the Eynon-Evans Mfg. Co.; L Haldeman, Pulaski Iron Co.; Walter T. Macd Fletcher Works, Inc., and W. T. Dunning, Cheste; Castings Co., Chester, Pa.; official chemist, Geor Davis, Philadelphia. W. Schaum, Chairman Golf Committee Chairman Otto ymmittee re ( evrevuevonentensenuennesceavenscanusneeni eves ene Senenenensnnnnoncneneneeniners Bougher, Chairma House Committee Howard M. Clearing ‘ F George Visitation Davies, Chairman Plants Committee George of Pettinos, Information es Pond, Chairman Committee Clarke P. Finance Chairman Committee Chester as a Steel Foundry Center Early Days of Acid Open-Hearth Castings— The First Locomotive, Ship and Gun Castings —Growth of the Industry and Present Status inset BY E. F. CONE ryvvHE first steel castings ever made for the American t Army and Navy were produced in Chester, Pa. Here also the first locomotive castings were made T success finally ach.eved in this phase of steel dry practice made possible greater and more power- ocomotives and the rapid expansion of the Navy. Though Chester is not a part of Philadelphia, a con- sideration of Philadelphia proper as a foundry center iid not be complete without including the great steel foundry planis of that d.strict. Conditions which made Chester practically the home the acid open-hearth steel casting industry of the United States.make interesting reading. Prior to 1885 ry little if any such casting was done commercially the United States. The old Midvale Steel Works, now the Nicetown Plant of the Midvale Steel & Ord- nance Corporation, made in those days frogs and sw.tches and a few other castings of acid open-hearth steel, but the output was limited. Not unt.] Robert Wetherill founded the Standard Steel Casting Co. at Chester, in 1884-1885 were such castings made com- mercially in any quantity. It han been frequently asked whether the founding of a steel foundry industry in Chester was due to the fact that the Baldw.n Locomotive Works were located in Philadelphia and because the large shipyards such as Wm. Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Co., in Philadelphia, or the famous Roach shipyard in Ches- ter itself. This was by no means the case. Then loco- motives were built without steel castings, and almost none were used in building ships. The real reason for the evolution of such an industry in Chester was_the fact that what was known as Mc- Haffie steel was made there on a fairly large scale. McHaffie steel was really large castings, such as rolls, gears, pinions, etc., of a certain grade of malleable iron. For a number of years the Chester Steel Cast- ings Co., still in existence to-day, and the old Eureka Steel Castings Co., both produced this material, which of cdurse required molders and all that goes with such a foundry industry. It is interesting to note that this particular kind of steel casting was made from a special brand of white iron from England, which was shipped direct to Chester up the Delaware River. Here it was melted in cupolas and poured into molds for castings requiring great wearing properties. But