The Iron Age 1927-01-13: Vol 119 Iss 2

ea spray JAN 1 « 1927 Tue Ron ACE JANUARY 13, 1927 JAN 15 W2U RYERSON BUYS CLEVELAND WAREHOUSE FROM BOURNE-FULLER We are pleased to announce the purchase of the Cleveland warehouse of the Bourne-Fuller Company. This plant began operations as a Ryerson warehouse unit on January 3, 1927. By the addition of excellent facilities at this point we are now able to offer Ryerson Steel- Service to entire area between the Atlantic sea- board and the Rocky mountains through a chain of steel-service plants at the following points: Chicago Milwaukee St. Louis Cincinnati Cleveland Detroit Buffalo Boston New York See Page 7 JOSEPH T. RYERSON & SON we. Established 1842 | THE IRON AGE January 13, 1927 Factor of Safety. ORE GAS NEEDED. But how much? And when? These perplexing ques- tions confront the purchaser of a By-Product Coke Plant as specialized uses for Gas mul- tiply. Oe ee ee ee ee ee The Koppers Becker type combination oven makes a precise determination unnecessary. It may be confidently called upon to deliver as much as 60% additional gas merely by substituting blast furnace gas or producer gas for oven gas as oven fuel. eee This remarkable elasticity of surplus gas pro- duction, only possible in the Koppers Becker type combination oven, constitutes a 60% fac- tor of safety in the determination of future gas requirements. ee Oe ee ee eee OF ee ee ce ee ee THE KOPPERS COMPANY PITTSBURGH, PENNA. New York, January 13, 1927 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL. 119, No. 2 Sheets Are Bundled for Shipment Handling of Steel in Specially Designed Carrier Saves Labor and Prevents Damage During Transportation NEW ‘method of shipping and handling sheet A steel recently adopted at the plant of the Hudson Motor Car Co., Detroit, has resulted in a great saving of labor, the elimination of damage to the sheets during transportation and a reduction of costs in man- ufacturing operations, due to the fact that the sheets reach the plant in good condition. The sheets are packed on edge and bound together in a specially designed carrier, preferably in a unit of approximately 10 tons. Four of these units, or bundles, are placed in a freight car at the sheet mill. In packing, the sheets are set on a series of wood cross- ing members so that the friction of the lower edges of the sheets will hold the supporting pallet and pack to- gether as a unit. The pack is bound by means of a pair of adjustable binders, which function as a yoke. The binders are adjustable to any size of pack, and by means of a screw pressure arrangement the sheets in the pack are firmly clamped together as a rigid unit. Sheets Are Packed On Edge The bundle is not secured in any way to the floor of the car, but, with the supporting pallet, is allowed Sormnen neunenoe nes c/ HUT ENOROTTREONDFTD VER ORVERDENTERETERL one renntnenseeetANEes GACUREDORY EY OHH StURMROONRE LA HeREU NA HERORENEFENS HenteD For Shipment, Sheets Are Bound Together on Edge in a Spe- cially Designed Car- rier, Preferably in a Bundle of 10 Tons. This photograph, taken after the ar- rival of a car at destination, shows the good condition in which the sheets were received (aw: 1:10) 0 UDRENEDEODORORNRAEREOEDNONONERNEMEAURONEN on HH OND HTT UUOTDEDBOND UOT OEYNUEVEHEUEEHTREGTEND NERO OvORYEROREDEDEBTEY EHD UEDHeKANEN TDN INL) CTERETIOCCVEREVEGROROUREDERUDER y 0 00400) vversroverereounnecettT to slip back and forth between longitudinal guides to compensate for shocks during transit. This arrange- ment, it is pointed out, prevents damage to the floor of the car. An important advantage claimed for the system is that blemishes formed on sheets in transit when loaded flatwise, caused by cinders and other par- ticles of foreign matter becoming lodged between the sheets, are avoided when the sheets are packed tightly together on edge. A stock lifter and a 10-ton electric industrial truck with a lift platform are provided for unloading the bundles of sheets from the cars at destination. The stock lifter consists of an arch-shaped frame with four legs designed te straddle the bundle and a motor- operated hoist that is mounted in the top of the frame. Power for the hoist is supplied by plugging into the battery that drives the industrial truck. The stock lifter has a pair of swinging dogs or brackets on each side. These, when swung inwardly, form supports for the lifting device when it is without a load so that the platform truck can carry it in and out of the car. The lifter also has spring-braced casters capable of sup- porting the device without a load. When a bundle is 100.00) MEANERAEANOMARELONAALLNCCLENAAA DONO AaCAASOOEADEBOREE OREN OENEEL OKO UenESTOOEEL ery TOCVOUUEDONNSOOOURODENDUDTAHERENRDETSatuanDODODERANORDGAC OLE NOEETONFNONNEDE L#DOEN) Soe) ¢MPODESRSAAARSIINOG 100501050500 HOD SOEROOE ROURENOLBORENDONIND 130 THE hoisted, however, the springs are compressed so that the weight is carried by the legs, which distribute the load over a considerable area of the car floor. Stock Lifter Hoists Bundle to Platform Truck The cycle of operations in unloading a car is as follows: The platform truck carries the lifting device into the car and sets it in front of a bundle of sheets. The lifter, moving on its casters, is pushed by hand or truck astride the bundle. Four cable hooks from the lifter are attached to the binders holding the bundle, and the bundle is elevated sufficiently to allow the truck platform to be run beneath. The platform is then elevated by electrical power, picking up the load, whereupon the truck carries the bundle out of the car into the stock room. After the last bundle is re- eRe SOE yo, Stes sos EES Soe A Portable Electrically Operated Stock Lifter, Shown at the Right, Is Used to Hoist a Bundle So That a Platform Truck Can Be Run Beneath It. Power for the hoist is sup- plied by cable from the truck battery moved, the truck is run back into the car and carries out the stock lifter. The handling equipment is de- signed for use in loading cars at sheet mills as well as for unloading at consuming plants. The truck used is a standard type that is in general use in the Hudson plant for carrying practically every class of material. It has two pairs of wide rubber- tired tread wheels beneath the lift platform and a pair of driving wheels under the battery housing. These wheels are steered simultaneously so that the truck can be turned on a radius sufficiently short to permit its operation within a freight car. The wheels beneath the lift platform are mounted on a rocking underframe so that the load is always distributed to the two sets of wheels. It is stated that with the load distribution the truck will carry 10 tons of sheets without breaking or damaging the car floor, and that the bearing: sur- face of the truck wheels on the floor is four times greater than that of wheels generally used on four- IRON AGE January 138, 1927 wheel iron trucks, so that the wear on the car floor and loading dock is largely eliminated. Test Shipments Show Results Under Old and New Methods Test shipments of steel were made recently to the Hudson plant to demonstrate the new method of ship- ping and handling and also to show how steel arrives under normal shipping conditions. The shipments con- sisted of several cars of sheets from the Ashland, Ky., plant of the American Rolling Mill Co. Part of them were loaded in accordance with the American Rail- way Association loading regulations and the remainder according to the Hudson method of loading. An im- pact register was placed in one of the cars loaded the new way, and this showed that the car, in transit, re- A Lift Platform Truck, at the Left, ls Shown Carry- ing a 10-Ton Bundle of Sheets Out of a Freight Car LLLeeteeennnenseaneeneneneanecenersennent® ceived three distinct blows or shocks at a rate of im- pact of between 22 and 25 miles an hour. Adjoining cars loaded the old way received the same impacts. On arrival at the Hudson plant the sheets were in- spected Dec. 14 by about 35 representatives from sheet mills and railroads, who also witnessed the unloading. Inspection showed that all the bundles of sheets shipped the new way arrived in perfect condition, and that the car suffered no damage. On the other hand, the sheets shipped according to the A. R. A. regula- tions, as well as the car in which they were loaded, were damaged, it is asserted. The bracing used under the old method of loading was broken down and some of the sheets were scattered around the floor. The unloading of a freight car containing 40 tons of sheets bundled in four units required an average of 5 min. per unit, with a total of three men, two of whom were the truck operators. As compared with this, it is stated, it takes efficient workmen approxi- January 13, 4927 mennease nese) pac vnene pane oEpOTna NOCH TOE ODANENNHUNELONEED LONE TUNENONORUDEEDDS HHO OUOEDONEROUNORAONANDONETONOOSCHNLONERLUNEDHOUNCUONCDOentionsasoanriveceniennD COMPARATIVE COSTS PER TON OF SHIPPING AND UNLOAD- ING SHEETS Saving Old New by New Method Method Method Damage to sheets chargeable against the steel mill..... $1.035 $0.261 Damage to sheets in transit, chargeable against the rail- ko n't niece wt otae én 2.688 0.066 2.622 Labor at the steel mill, in- cluding handling from the oiling machine to the cars and loading the cars...... 0.19 0.08 0.11 Labor at the automobile plant, unloading and plac- ing under crane.......... 0.38 0.03 0.35 *Cost of bracing used in loading cars (including re- turn freight on bracing for $0.774 the new method)......... 0.325 0.31 0.015 Maintenance and depreciation of plant equipment — at Sg PP TR 0.05 0.04 0.01 Maintenance and depreciation of plant equipment—at the automobile plant ......... 0.04 0.03 0.01 Freight car damage......... 0.416 none 0.416 TO: aiid con 0 as ua hk $5.124 $0.817 $4.307 *Bracing used in connection with the old method was used only once and then scrapped, whereas bracing used by the new method is returnable. Fig- uring the depreciation on this bracing, plus the re- turn freight, shows that the cost of this item per ton o staes is $0.015 less by the new method than by the ol . nnuaehONRee Li AANDINOUDOADLAOADORONE DOMAALASANDOUNEDDADELDOOEEDURAELOOL ONS NSEOENEDI SUL UECN BONER OHRAnEG mately 4 hr., or 12 times as long, to unload 40 tons of sheets when they are laid flat in a car in the usual way. The figures in the table represent the compara- HEAT TREATING RAILS Boston Steel Treaters Hear Discussions on High- Speed Steel and French Rail Treatment James P. Gill, metallurgist Vanadium Alloy Steel Co., Latrobe, Pa., was the guest of the Boston chapter of the American Society for Steel Treating on Friday evening, Jan. 7, at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, Cambridge, Mass. His treatment of the subject “High-Speed Steel” was divided into three parts: First, composition; sec- ond, structure as affected by manufacture; and third, structure as affected by heat treatment. After treat- ing each subject the meeting was thrown open to dis- cussion. One point brought out by Mr. Gill was that a surprising number of things can happen to the in- terior structure of any one kind of steel in its heat treating, in its manufacture, or both. His subject con- cerned only 18 per cent tungsten steel. Exhibits in- cluded approximately 120 specimens of fractures with accompanying micrographs and, as Mr. Gill intimated, these did not by any means conclude his experiments and investigations. His address was prefaced by a moving picture, showing the manufacture of high-speed and other tool steels at the Vanadium Alloy Steel Co.’s mills. Heat Treating Steel Rails Previous to the introduction of Mr. Gill, Dr. George B. Waterhouse, professor of metallurgy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviewed some of the world’s latst metallurgical literature, giving abstracts. The heat treatment of rails, as discussed in an article by a French metallurgist, was abstracted at some length. Realizing that some day steel mills will have to heat treat rails extensively, the Frenchman, working along certain lines, evolved a working theory whereby the rails are taken from a mill and run through a machine resembling in construction a press. Under the head of the machine is a movable quench- ing tank 40 ft. long. The rail, held firmly in the ma- chine, is quenched by the raising of the tank, the speed of the tank lift being regulated as desired. In the first treatment of 150 tons, the Brinell hardness was raised from 207 to 219 on the wearing surface of the rails. On 4000 tons of street car rails the Brinell hardness THE IRON AGE 131 tive costs per ton of shipping and unloading sheets by the old and new methods. New Method Means Saving in Manufacturing Costs A large saving in manufacturing costs, it is said, is effected by handling sheets according to the Hudson method. The fact that the sheets arrive in perfect condition eliminates the necessity of buffing and polish- ing to remove defects and permits the stampings made from the sheets to go to the painting or enameling de partments without preliminary finishing. Other ad- vantages claimed for the new method are the follow- ing: With the usual method shipping, highly finished sheets are oiled to prevent their surfaces from becom- ing scratched in handling and in transit. Under the new method, however, the sheets are held rigid, elim- inating the necessity of using mineral oil and its con- sequent burning off. For rust prevention purposes a preparation is used that is soluble in water and may be removed at small expense. The usual method of unloading two or three sheets at a time necessitates much hard manual labor. In fact, it is considered one of the worst jobs in an automobile plant and results in a high labor turnover. The new method of shipping and handling sheets was devised by R. T. Romine of the Hudson Motor Car Co. The 10-ton platform trucks used in taking the bundles from the cars were built by the Elwell-Parker Electric Co., Cleveland. of the wearing surface was raised to 320, while that of the body of the rails was 216. Doctor Waterhouse referred to the Bethlehem Steel Co.’s rail quenching (Sandberg) process, which he de- scribed as an air spray treatment. Robert E. Belknap, New England manager of the Bethlehem Steel Co., stated that some 5000 tons of rails so treated had re- cently been shipped west, and that the Boston Elevated Railway Co. and the Lehigh Valley Railroad were users of these rails. War Cut Into Pig Iron Requirements Speaking before the Middlesbrough (England) Chamber of Commerce recently, Sir William Larke, director of the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, reviewed the position of the iron and steel industry. He declared it to be suffering not from too great productive capacity, as is often supposed, but from a world-wide under-consumption. Had the pre-war rate of increase been maintained, he said, the world in 1925 should have consumed 137,- 000,000 tons of pig iron. Actually, only 76,000,000 ‘ons was called for. The world’s productive capacity, including the enormous expansion in the United States, he placed at 107,000,000 tons, and considered this as a generous estimate. But for the war, on his theory, the world’s present productive capacity would have been inadequate last year to provide what would have been world consumption. Machine Tools and Steel Subjects of Articles in Financial Journal E. Payson Blanchard of the Bullard Machine Too) Co., Bridgeport, Conn., contributes to the December number of the Financial Digest, New York, an article on “Building Master Tools for Modern Industry,” in which the importance to industry of machine tool de- sign and manufacturing is set forth for those not gen- erally acquainted with metal-working processes. In the same issue is an interview with Eugene G. Grace, president Bethlehem Steel Corporation, written by Augustin McNally. In this interview Mr. Grace dis- cusses the effects which hand-to-mouth buying has had on industry. Waterways Handle More Steel Self-Loading Boats and New Docks Are Features of Expanding Great Lakes Traffic—Seaboard Plants Also Make Heavier Water Shipments ( y toan Lakes vessels, in 1926, handled a large tonnage of rolled steel, pig iron and scrap. While, in the aggregate, these shipments were small in comparison with the heavy volume of ore traffic, they showed a conspicuous gain over previous years, totaling 400,000 to 450,000 tons according to the best available estimates. With the provision of docks and boats adapted to handling iron and steel, more rapid expansion of this class of traffic seems assured. Paralleling the increase in iron and steel shipments on the Great Lakes there has been a heavier movement of the same products on Eastern rivers and canals flowing into the sea, together with a growing coastwise traffic. The development of iron and steel transportation on the Ohio, Mississippi and Warrior rivers was dis- cussed in detail in an illustrated article published in THE IRON AGE of Jan. 6, page 14. The same factors that have stimulated river transportation are provid- ing the impetus for greater use of the Great Lakes for shipments of iron and steel. There is no doubt that the elimination of Pittsburgh Plus focused the attention of Ohio, western Pennsylvania, West Vir- ginia and western New York mills on the water routes as a possible-means of meeting the competition of Chicago district mills in the Northwest. These Central Western mills, with their long freight hauls, cannot sell much steel in the Northwest on the basis of the high all-rail rates. Moreover, all of the independent mills cannot construct new plants in Chicago territory to compete for the Northwestern trade. Those promoting the transportation of steel on the Great Lakes point out that the dock handling charges must be low and that they can be made low by ade- quate port facilities for handling steel. They call at- tention to the very low cost of transporting ore, coal and grain, which is due in part to the excellent handling facilities at both ends of the Lakes. In 1926 two docks in Cleveland and one in Detroit were rebuilt and equipped with locomotive cranes and lifting magnets for handling steel. The Cleveland Terminal & Dock Co., and the Cleveland Stevedore Co. are the two Cleve- land companies that provided docks, and at Detroit a dock and a warehouse were constructed by the Detroit Railway & Harbors Terminals Co. The dock of the Cleveland Terminal & Dock Co. was not ready for use until late in the season, and only one cargo of steel was handled. This was shipped by a Cleveland steel company to two Detroit consumers in the automotive field. The steel was hauled on cars from the steel plant to the dock and unloaded on cars at the new dock of the Detroit terminal company. *Great Lakes vessels are being equipped with unloading equipment because of the lack of adequate dock equipment at many points. A boat of this type, the Steel Chemist, is shown in the illustration at the top of the page. This ship, which is the latest to be completed by the United States Steel Products Co., is 250 ft. long and has a capacity of 2000 tons. Some effort is being made to interest the railroads in dock facilities, but they do not seem to be very keen about water shipments, which would cut off some of their long hauls. One of the arguments being made to the railroads in favor of rail-and-Lake transporta- tion is that if they would haul steel from the Youngs- town district to ports for shipment up the Lakes, they would not have to move so many empty cars to Lake Erie for ore. The railroads, it is said, are feeling the effects of the change in the coal mining situation of the past two or three years, which has resulted in a heavy movement of non-union West Virginia coal to the Lakes for shipment to the Northwest and a corresponding loss in coal traffic from Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio mines. Comparative Costs of All-Rail and Rail-and-Lake Shipments Lake freight rates are not entirely uniform, being subject to negotiation between shippers and boat com- panies, but for the haul from Cleveland to Detroit 90c. per net ton is a representative charge. On that basis the total transportation charges from Cleveland steel plant via lake to consumer’s plant at Detroit are $2.74 per net ton, as against an all-rail rate of $4.40. The difference of $1.60 per net ton in favor of the water route compares with a saving of $1.26 on shipments by rail and water from the Valley district. The water shipment charges, including delivery to consumer’s plant at Detroit, are made up as follows: From Cleveland Per Net Ton Switching charge from stee] plant to dock...... $0.60 Pee eG ccCuchcackee sev iesseseene st 0.60 Vessel transportation charge............+..++-. 0.90 Handling from vessel to car at Detroit......... 0.40 Switching charge to consumer's plant.......... 0.24 Total charges by water TOUtE. ... 2... cccesnesene $2.74 All-rail rate, Cleveland to Detroit.......... bhai 4.40 From Youngstown Per Net Ton Valley mill to Cleveland dock................. $1.90 ee Bo 6 Gia a's nk 60 6 Sie he bs 0 S48 ee 0.60 WE SERMIITUREIOR, 0.0 c kad a ccccedcsverseccesiens 0.90 Handling from ship to car at Detroit.......... 0.40 Switching to consumer’s plant...............-- 0.24 Total charges by rail-and-water route.......... $4.04 All-rati rate, Valley to Detrott............2205- 5.30 The water transportation rate given above is based on a minimum cargo of 2000 tons, with two days for loading, two days for unloading and 24 hr. for sailing between two ports. The most difficult problem that must be solved be- fore the Lakes are generally used for the transporta- tion of steel is getting together enough orders for 8 cargo. Even the largest automobile plants in Detroit 132 January 13, 1927 seldom want to take 2000 tons of steel at a time. Pos- sibly if they are given a share of the saving in freight they will be more inclined to take in round lot ship- ments, but the motor car builders, like other steel con- sumers, have largely abandoned the practice of carry- ing large stocks of material. The primary incentive for water shipments, of course, has been to overcome a disadvantage in railroad freight rates so that material may be sold on a competitive basis with that offered by producers with shorter rail hauls. In some instances, notably at Detroit, water transportation has meant lower delivered prices at buyers’ plants than on steel shipped by rail. This is not surprising because it is evident that some inducements must be offered to per- suade buyers to take material in boat quantities and at slower deliveries than are available by rail. One Cleveland steel company has apparently over- come the difficulty of obtaining sufficient tonnage for cargoes by shipping to Detroit in barges carrying 600 to 1200 tons each. While it can accumulate a barge- load of business within a few days, the capacity of its plant and the size of individual orders make it imprac- tical to ship larger lots at one time. The steel is loaded on the barges by the company’s ore-handling bridge crane. It is planned to provide other handling equip- ment before next spring that will be better adapted to loading steel on boats. It is probable that a locomo- tive crane with a lifting magnet will be installed. At Detroit the barges moor at the dock of the Detroit Railway & Harbor Terminals Co., where the steel is unloaded directly to flat cars and is then delivered to the customer at the Detroit switching charge. The Cleveland mill made some water shipments of steel to Detroit in the previous year or two but not nearly so much as during the past Lake shipping season. It expects to make still heavier shipments by barge in 1927. Its water shipments in round lots have been entirely to Detroit, since that port is the big consum- ing center for its products and it has not had quanti- ties of any size to ship to other points on the Lake. Shipments of Pig Iron and Semi-Finished Steel Another Cleveland producer, in the past season, shipped two cargoes of pig iron to Chicago and sev- eral cargoes of semi-finished steel to Chicago and Buf- falo. Several New York State barge canal barges that brought sulphur to this Cleveland plant were loaded with semi-finished steel, which went to a New England consumer. There was also a considerable movement of semi- finished steel to Detroit during the last season of navi- gation. This was shipped not only from Cleveland but also from South Chicago and Buffalo. In November a THE IRON AGE 133 Cleveland steel company received a cargo of 3300 tons of pig iron from Buffalo. This is believed to have been the first water shipment of pig iron to Cleveland from that producing center. A large tonnage of pig iron was shipped by water in 1926 from Buffalo to Detroit. One boat that carried a cargo of pig iron to Detroit took 400 tons of Detroit pig iron back to Buffalo, evi- dently of an analysis that was not available at Buffalo at the time. Considerable pig iron, as well as some steel, was shipped east from Buffalo by water, partly down the New York State barge canal and partly down the St. Lawrence River. Nineteen-twenty-six was the first year that a pro- ducer used the Lakes for the transportation of round lots of pig iron and steel from one of its plants to an- other for the completion of manufacturing processes. To this end from 35,000 to 40,000 tons of pig iron was shipped from South Chicago to Duluth and a similar tonnage of billets was moved from Duluth to Cleveland and Conneaut, Ohio, for rail delivery to a tube plant at Ellwood City, Pa. During the past season there were about 20 cargoes of Canadian shipments of steel—approximately 40,000 tons—to Port Williams and Port Arthur, Ont. Of these cargoes about 16 were shipments of rails from the Al- goma Steel Corporation plant at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and the remainder consisted of nails, wire, pig iron and pipe from Nova Scotia, with possible inclusions of im- ported material. Steel Corporation Line Handles 130,000 Tons The United States Steel Corporation, in 1923, put into commission two boats built especially for carry- ing steel to Canadian ports. These, as well as two ves- sels completed in 1926, are operated by the corpora- tion’s subsidiary, the United States Steel Products Co. Of the two new boats, the Steel Electrician was placed in operation last spring and the Steel Chemist went into commission in September. In addition to using these vessels, the corporation has chartered some out- side tonnage. Among cargoes handled in other boats were its shipments of semi-finished steel and pig iron. The vessels of the United States Steel Products Co. line are 250 ft. long, or Welland Canal size, and have a capacity of about 2000 tons. Steel handled by these boats is shipped from Chicago and Lorain, and the line’s Canadian receiving ports are Midland, Ojibway, Welland and Hamilton, Ont., and Montreal, Que. The cargoes include virtually all forms of finished steel, although structural material and plates predominate. A fair tonnage of skelp is also handled. Shipments by the United States Steel Products Co. line in 1926 to- The Pictur- esque Vessel Is an Ocean- Going Bark Loading with Cast Iron Pipe at Burlington, N. J., for Ship- ment to New England IRON AGE The Increasing Use of the Ohio, Mississippi and Warrior Rivers for the Transportation of Steel Was Cov- ered in Detail in THE IRON AGE of Jan. 6. The river tow of barges shown in the illustration is loaded with January 13, 1927 bars and plates (shown in the foreground), structural shapes and pipe taled about 130,000 tons, a gain of 20 per cent over the tonnage handled in 1925. The prospects for still further gains in Lake steel shipments hold out an opportunity for some of the older ore vessels. In view of present Lake rates on ore and coal and the ability of the large boats to handle about all the traffic, the smaller vessels—those from 300 to 450 ft. long and of 5000 to 6000 tons capacity—are having difficulty in operating. There are at least 100 ships of this type, and without great expense, they can be fitted for handling steel in long lengths by enlarg- ing the hatches. A Lake vessel that was reequipped for handling steel is the 4500-ton steamship Lagonda, which was de- scribed in an article entitled “Large Shipment of Steel by Lakes,” published in THE IRON AGE of Sept. 9, 1926. This boat, which is operated by the Interlake Steam- ship Co., a subsidiary of Pickands, Mather & Co., Cleve- land, carried steel all last season from a Buffalo steel plant. It made 11 trips and carried approximately 50,- 000 tons of steel, made up mainly of plates, shapes and bars, although some rails were included. However, the rails shipped from Buffalo to the Northwest were car- ried largely on other boats. Most of the Lagonda car- goes went through to Duluth, although parts of some cargoes were unloaded at Detroit and at Sault Ste. Marie. On its return trips the boat brought a total of close to 40,000 tons of scrap from Duluth and Detroit to Buffalo. Much of the scrap shipped from Duluth was assembled in the ore mining districts of Minnesota and northern Michigan. Several of the independent steamship lines have handled considerable iron and steel on the Great Lakes during the past year, some of their shipments includ- ing steel bars and pig iron from Buffalo to Detroit and steel bars from Buffalo to Cleveland. One of the Cleveland vessel men, Frank J. Peterson, handled a good deal of steel by water on the Lakes in 1926. He fitted up one boat, the Frank J. Peterson, particularly for that service. This vessel is of the self-loading type, being equipped with rigs that handle steel to and from two parallel railroad tracks at the side of the dock. The boat is of Welland Canal size, being one of the vessels built on the Lakes for the Government dur- ing the war; it is of 3300 tons capacity, and the rigs usually handle the steel in 3-ton bundles. An advan- tage in equipping a boat with its own handling equip- ment is that it can load and unload at any dock regard- less of whether the dock has cranes or other handling facilities. The Peterson is handling structural sections up to 60 ft. in length, but will be arranged to take sec- tions 70 ft. long. It takes two days to load this vessel with steel and one and one-half to two days to un- load it. What can be done in routing a steel-handling boat on the Great Lakes is shown by a typical schedule of the Peterson. Starting at Chicago, it loads with bars for Detroit, runs light from Detroit to Lorain, where it takes on a cargo of skelp for Welland, goes from Wel- land to Buffalo for a cargo of steel or pig iron for Cleveland, and loads at Cleveland with semi-finished steel or other material for Chicago, making the round trip in 16 days and carrying in that time four cargoes, two in each direction. While this schedule still lacks regularity, it has been carried out several times. An idea of the amount of steel shipped by water to Detroit can be gained from the dock records of the Detroit Railway & Harbor Terminals Co., which is said to have handled most of the incoming steel and out- going scrap in that city in 1926. During the past Lake season this company handled 38,971 net tons of steel, 8412 net tons of iron pipe and 45,797 gross tons of scrap. The pipe, as well as the steel, was incoming material, while the scrap was shipped out, probably all going to Buffalo. Lake Shipments to and from Chicago Paralleling the terminal developments at Detroit and Cleveland, the South Chicago Coal & Dock Co. has erected and is equipping a modern dock at Ninety-fifth Street, Chicago. The dock now has bridge cranes and last summer handled 15,000 tons of pig iron, 135,000 tons of ore and approximately 50,000 tons of billets and slabs. No provision has yet been made for han- dling scrap, but it is planned to install suitable equip- ment for that material by next summer. The cargoes of pig iron that were received at this dock came from Cleveland and were consigned to & Chicago broker. The billets and slabs were also shipped from Cleveland and were delivered to two Chicago mills. Outward movements by Lake from Chicago in- cluded a considerable quantity of alloy steel bars for delivery at Detroit. Another Chicago company’s Lake shipments were limited to rails for delivery at Supe- rior, Wis., and Duluth. A third producer shipped about 40,000 tons of pig iron to Duluth by water, while its steel shipments went mainly to Canadian ports. Although there are no established Lake freight rates on pig iron and steel, they range from $1 to $1.25 per gross ton. Switching charges in the Chicago switching district are from 50c. to $1 per net ton. The wereiewwna +t? Sv Oe January 13, 1927 regular switching rates of 50c. for a one-road haul and 56c. for a two-line haul strictly apply only between local producers and consumers, but the roads do not always insist on the full local freight rate of $1 that they are authorized to charge on shipments to and from docks. The dock handling charge at Chicago is 50c. per net ton. Pig iron shipped to Chicago from Cleveland was loaded into vessels at the furnaces so that there was no switching or loading charge at that point. Assum- ing that the water rate to Chicago ranged from $1 to $1.25 per gross ton, plus 2c. per gross ton for insur- ance, and that the dock unloading charge was 50c. per net ton, the total charge from Cleveland furnace to cars at Chicago was $1.41 to $1.64 per net ton. If the full local rail rate of $1 be added for delivery in the Chi- cago switching district, the total charge from furnace to consumer becomes $2.41 to $2.64 per net ton, as com- pared with an all-rail rate of $4.41. Similar savings were made on shipments of other commodities. The Government's Comprehensive Waterway Program The growing use of the Lakes and rivers has given a new impetus to waterway improvements. Intermit- tent, disconnected work on our rivers has given place to a consistent, comprehensive program based on a con- ception of our inland waterways as a transportation system rather than as a collection of unrelated units. In line with this change in attitude the administration at Washington has committed itself to a definite plan that provides for the completion of all adopted water- way projects in the Mississippi Valley within the next five years. The outstanding development in the Mississippi system has been the canalization of the Ohio River. Between Pittsburgh and Evansville, Ind., 42 locks and dams have been completed, and work on the remaining eight to Cairo, Ill., is expected to be completed within two years. This will permit all year ’round naviga- tion from Pittsburgh to the lower Mississippi Valley. The improvement of the link to connect Lake Michi- THE IRON AGE 135 gan with the Mississippi system is also making prog- ress. A bill recently passed by the United States Sen- ate authorizes the construction of a 9-ft: channel 200 ft. wide from the mouth of the Illinois River to Utica, Ill. Between the latter point and Lockport, IIl., a dis- tance of 61 miles, the construction of five locks has been undertaken to insure a 9-ft. stage of water. One of these locks has been completed, another is under construction, and bids have been advertised for a third. Between Lockport and Chicago, 36 miles, the Sanitary District canal, fully completed, has an average depth of 21 to 24 in. If the controversy regarding the amount of water diverted into the sanitary canal re- sults unfavorably to Chicago, more locks and dams will have to be built between Lockport and Utica and the total cost of opening the waterway to navigation will be increased three-fold. On behalf of Chicago it is con- tended that the diversion from Lake Michigan has low- ered the level of the lake only 5 in. and that the major part of the reduction in water level has been due to a decline in rainfall. Suggesting that this diversion is an engineering rather than a legal question, Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce, made the following remarks in a recent address: “Our engineers inform me that remedial works can be placed at various outlets of the Lakes, the total effect of which will be to restore the whole of the losses in levels created through the artificial diversions at Chicago and into Canada. I am informed that these works need cost less than $5,000,000.” Another Great Lakes-Mississippi system link that has been receiving more attention of late is the pro- posed Lake Erie-Ohio River canal. At a hearing held on this project on Oct. 15, 1926, before the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, War Department, representatives of most of the leading steel producers in the Pittsburgh and Youngstown districts appeared on behalf of the canal. The development of water transportation has been most rapid of late in the inland sections of the country where the combination of high freight rates and in- creasingly sharp competition has restricted the markets of producers. On the Eastern seaboard, the leading ports continue to handle most of our steel exports, and Eastern Plants Located Near Tide Water Are Making More Extensive Use of the Sea Both for Inbound and Outbound Shipments. Located between the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks and the Delaware River, the Bur- lington, N. J., works of the United States Cast Iron Pipe & Foundry Co. is excellently situated both for rail and’ water transportation. The tonnage of pig iron received yearly at this plant approximates 100,000 tons, which, of course, is about equivalent to the quantity of pipe shipped 136 THE IRON AGE to that tonnage in recent years has been added a large proportion of the steel shipped to the Pacific Coast. The steel plant at Sparrows Point, Md., has been show- ing unusually rapid growth, and this is undoubtedly accounted for in large measure by the low ocean rates for the transportation both of raw materials and fin- ished products. Water transportation of pig iron in the East has been a larger factor during the past year because of the low delivered prices quoted on foreign iron. Heavy shipments of pig iron have been made via the New York State barge canal from Buffalo to New York MORE IRON ORE LAST YEAR Output in 1926 Exceeds 1925 by 5 Per Cent— Imports and Exports Higher The iron ore mined in the United States in 1926, exclusive of ore that contained 5 per cent or more of manganese in the natural state, is estimated by the United States Bureau of Mines at 67,693,000 gross tons, an increase of 9 per cent as compared with that mined in 1925. The ore shipped from the mines in 1926 is estimated at 69,141,000 gross tons, valued at $175,307,000, an increase of 8 per cent in quantity and of 9 per cent in total value as compared with the fig- ures for 1925. The average value of the ore per gross ton at the mines in 1926 is estimated at $2.54; in 1925 it was $2.52. The stocks of iron ore at the mines, mainly in Michigan and Minnesota, apparently de- creased from 10,795,630 tons in 1925 to 9,496,000 tons in 1926, or 12 per cent. These estimates are based on preliminary figures furnished by producers who in 1925 mined about 99 per cent of the total iron ore. Lake Superior District About 85 per cent of the iron ore shipped in 1926 came from the Lake Superior district, in which ap- proximately 57,314,000 tons was mined and 58,759,000 tons was shipped, increases of 10 and 8 per cent, re- spectively, as compared with the quantities mined and shipped in 1925. The ore shipped in 1926 was valued at $151,484,000, an increase of 9 per cent. These totals include the ore from mines in southern Wisconsin and ore shipped by rail as well as by water from all mines, but exclude manganiferous ores that contained 5 per cent or more of manganese in the natural state. The ore is chiefly hematite. The stocks of iron ore in this district apparently decreased from 9,468,624 tons in 1925 to 8,104,000 tons in 1926, or 14 per cent. The stocks at the end of 1926 were about 2,260,000 tons less than the average for the preceding five years. Other States The mines in Minnesota furnished 69 per cent of the to.al iron ore shipped from the Lake Superior dis- trict in 1926 and 59 per cent of the total of the United States. The mines in Michigan furnished 28 per cent of the Lake shipments and 24 per cent of the grand total. The Southeastern States, which constitute the sec- ond largest iron-ore producing area, including the Bir- mingham and Chattanooga districts, mined approxi- mately 7,253,000 tons of iron ore in 1926, a decrease of 3 per cent as compared with 1925. The shipments of iron ore from these States to blast furnaces in 1926 amounted to 7,249,000 tons, valued at $15,720,000, a decrease of 0.3 per cent in quantity, but an increase of 4 per cent in value as compared with the quantity and value of the shipments in the previous year. The ore consists mainly of hematite; brown ore and magne- tite come next in order. The Northeastern States, which include the Adirondack district, New York, and the Cornwall district, Pennsylvania, in 1926 mined 1,954,000 tons of iron ore and shipped 1,959,000 tons, valued at $6,398,000, increases of 50 per cent in the quantity mined, 31 per cent in the quantity shipped, and 33 per cent in value of shipments as compared with 1925. The Western States that ordinarily produce January 13, 1927 Eastern New York State furnaces also have shipped considerable harbor points and Connecticut ports. iron down the Hudson River. A New England furnace has barged iron both to New York harbor and to the Philadelphia district. These shipments, incidentally, gave a return haul to barges that had carried coal to Boston. Foreign competition in cast iron pipe also has been severe on the Eastern seaboard, and this probably ac- counts for an increasing use of the water by domestic pipe plants both for shipping out finished products and shipping in raw materials. iron ore, named in order of their importance, are Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, and California. It is estimated that the Western States mined in 1926 approximately 1,172,000 tons of iron ore, and shipped 1,174,000 tons, valued at $1,705,000, increases of 24 per cent in the quantities mined and shipped, and 7 per cent in value of shipments as com- pared with 1925. The ore comprises hematite, magnet- ite and brown ore. The increase in output in this group of States in 1926 reflects the more active opera- tions at mines in the Hartville district, Wyoming, in the Fierro district, New Mexico, and near Orient, Colorado. Imports and Exports The imports of iron ore reported for the 11 months ended Nov. 30, 1926, amounted to 2,350,406 tons, valued at $5,401,499. The imports for the year 1925 were 2,190,697 tons, valued at $6,895,229. The reported exports of iron ore for the 11 months ended Nov. 30, 1926, amounted to 868,405 tons, valued at $3,379,331, as compared with exports for the entire year 1925 of 630,521 tons, valued at $2,411,093. The following table shows the quantity and value of the iron ore mined and shipped in the United States by the principal producing States. The figures for 1925 are final, but those for 1926 are subject to revision. Ore Mined (Gross Tons) District 1925 1926 Lake Superior: NR. Sok de e'e x ..- 14,490,529 15,357,000 Minnesota .......... 36,856,244 40,662,000 NES ee 817,149 1,295,000 52,163,922 57,314,000 Southeastern States: Tee ee re 7,093,250 6,858,000 CO Se rae 78,835 71,000 EE oii Oe Clb aie 40,043 120,000 North Carolina ...... 22,011 15,000 ID 6G wees <> 164,717 139,000 ia isis ss. 4.00.0 96,272 50,000 7,495,128 7,253,000 Northeastern States: New Jersey ..... 202,942 208,000 sated Re asker aah o 141,534 , 645,000 So ee ere boat 2,410 Pennsylvania ....... 955,955 { 1,101,000 1,302,841 1,954,000 Western States ........ 946,106 1,172,000 Grand total . 61,907,997 67,693,000 Manufacture of Packing, Insulating, Covering and Gaskets Census Bureau figures for 1925 have been issued, covering steam and other packing, pipe and boiler cov- ering and gaskets. The value of such materials pro- duced in 171 establishments is given as $36,990,234. This represents an increase of 45.6 per cent over the $25,407,570 of such products made by 142 establish- ments in 1923. Wages to the extent of $8,069,155 were paid to an average of 6084 wage earners in 1925, against $6,431,- 746 paid to 5064 wage earners in 1923. The increase in payrolls was 25.5 per cent, against 20.1 per cent in wage earners. This indicates that the average pay envelope was about 4 per cent better filled in 1925 than in 1923. Steel-Mill Electrification in 1926 Large Units Prominent—Individual Drive on Separate Stands of Continuous Mills—Improvements in Adjustable- Speed Drives rk the General Electric Co. and the Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. report considerable additions to main-roll electric drives during the year just ended. Both report advances along other lines, including the extension of individual drives to individual units in mills consisting of a large number of stands. Improve- ments of various descriptions in control and in effi- ciency are among the achievements of the year. In the following paragraphs the particular features of each company’s work during the year, in so far as steel mill units are concerned, are set forth. Steel Mill Main-Roll Drives Unprecedented activity during 1925 in the applica- tion of electric motors to steel mill main-roll drives continued unabated during 1926. Over 140,000 hp. of General Electric motors were provided for the indus- try, bringing the total installed capacity of such motors to more than 960,000 hp. Several reversing mill equipments were placed in operation. One, a 3000-hp. 80 to 150-r.p.m. motor, which replaced an engine drive on a 24-in bar mill at the Indiana Harbor plant of the Inland Steel Co., was of especial interest because of the remarkably short time taken for its installation. In 122 hr. from the time the mill was shut down the engine and its foundations had been removed, new foundations for the motor built; and the motor installed and connected to the mill, ready for operation. This achievement is said to lower the previous record for a change-over from steam to electric drive by about 13% days. Three Types of Motors There will be installed at the Sparrows Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel Co. a 21-in. continuous sheet- bar and skelp mill which will have three different types of driving motors. The first eight stands will be driven by synchronous motors, No. 1 being of 4000 hp., 83 r.p.m., and No. 2 of 6500 hp., 187 r.p.m. The next three stands will be driven by an adjustable speed in- duction motor with Scherbius speed regulating equip- ment, the motor being rated 6700 and 5000 and 3320 hp., at 500 or 375 or 250 r.p.m. This is the largest Scherbius controlled induction motor in this country. The finishing stand is driven by a 2600-hp., 320 to 275-r.p.m. direct-current motor. Another equipment at this same plant is the drive for a 46-in. reversing slabbing mill; the motor being a double-unit machine rated 7000 hp., 50 to 100 r.p.m. Individual Drives for Each Stand Installations of continuous mills in which practi- cally every stand is driven by an individual motor are becoming more numerous. At the South Chicago plant of the Illinois Steel Co. a 13-stand mill will be driven by 13 adjustable-speed d.-c. motors totaling 10,500 hp. At the Gary works of the same company a 13-stand mill will be driven by nine d.-c. motors totaling 6500 hp., and a 15-stand mill will have 11 motors totaling 5350 hp. Another example of this trend toward individual drive is at the plant of the Weirton Steel Co., where a new mill to be installed will be driven by three a.-c. and five d.-c. motors having a total continuous capac- ity of 16,000 hp. Power for the five d.-c. motors will be obtained from two synchronous motor generators, each consisting of one 4200-kva. 6600-volt synchronous 137 motor and two 1500 kw. 600-volt d.-c. generators. The five d.-c. motors are started simultaneously by Ward Leonard control, utilizing the voltage of the four d.-c. generators. Four-High Plate Mill Drive The Lukens Steel Co., Coatesville, Pa., installed an 84-in. tandem plate mill in 1926, in which both rough- ing and finishing stands are driven by d.-c. reversing motors. Each mili is four-high with backing-up rolls carried in roller bearings. The roughing mill motor is rated 1200 hp., 25 to 50 r.p.m., 330 volts. The fin- ishing mill motor is a duplicate machine, but rated 2500 hp., 53 to 80 r.p.m., 600 volts. The flywheel motor generator consists of a 3000-hp. 600-r.p.m. induction motor, a 25-ton flywheel, and three duplicate 1050-kw. 330-volt generators, one for the roughing mill motor and two in series for the finishing mill motor. Existing capacity of turbine generators in steel- mill power stations was increased by over 100,000 kw. in 1926. Among the larger units were two 20,000-kw. machines for the Fairfield works of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. and a 20,000-kw. unit for the Sparrows Point plant of the Bethlehem Steel Co. These are the largest turbine generators yet installed for steel-mill power stations. The first isolated-phase switching equipment in an industrial plant was installed in the new generating station of the Franklin works of the Bethlehem Steel Co. at Johnstown, Pa. The initial installation was fol- lowed by others at the plants of the Illinois Steel Co., Gary, Ind., and Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Woodlawn, Pa. Great Concentration of Power As rolling mills require huge power, one of the largest structural plants has been rebuilt with motor drives of record-breaking size. The first mill was equipped a year ago with one Westinghouse 7000-hp. reversing motor, one 5000-hp. reversing motor and one 6000-hp. induction motor. These machines having run a year successfully, another mill is being equipped with one 8000-hp. reversing motor, two 70