Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1858-06-09
DIR 9alIp Spg,
MEDNEspAY. JuNE .. ISIS.


MANY psrts Of New England, with no streams
flowing to the sea Of any magnitude to furnish the
motive power for the wheels OF trade and manu-
iastures. with no beds Of iron and coal in its i'm
mediatd vicinity, from which its sons Of Vulcan
could furnish, at triAing cost, the raw material
with which to supply its manufactures and work
shops, more than forty miles from the sea IN all
directions, and under the consequent necessity o.
importing from afar The primary elements "hicn
enter into the construction Of the numoeriess ar
icles of utility convenience, and beauty, that
form its staple productions, it has within the past
ten years successfully competed in the markets
not only of this country, but Of the world n
most, il not all, the branches Of mechanical en-
terprise in which her people have engaged with
those Of more favored localities.
The Cuban planter. as we'll as the Yankee and
Western farmer, tlls his fields with the plows and
cultiyators Of Worcester make. In the manufac-
ture of that ponderous but delicate machinery
which converts the beggars' rags, within few
moments, into the satin surfaced sheet upon
which the hand of beauty may inscri6e its billet
dotr Of affection, or -the coarser article upon
which the demons" Of the printing office, with
their little "inky bits OF pewter" send out the
lessons Of wisdom OF the news Of the day to the
remotest parts Of the earth, Worcester supremacy
is everywhere acknowledged. The electric wires
that span the country and knit together Its re-
hottest parts in the bonds Of contguity were for
the most part drawn and fashioned here. 1t is
Worcester looms that compete with those OF Jac-
guard. 1t is Worcester moving machines that
intelligent farmers prize above all others, when
the tall grass waves in the breezes Of midsummer
It is Worcester car-whees that intelligent boards
of directors always order, when the ways are
made for the iron horse to travel.
Suffering, as other cities and towns have suf-
fered from the recent revulsion in trade and bus
iness it is most gratifying to witness how speed
lily, when the storm haspast, her industrious pop
ulation set about repairing the damage, and re-
trieving. by new outlays Of energy and SKILL the
havoc that has bren made, and the losses that
have been experienced. Though the tide Of
prosperity as yet, flows sluggishly, we can see,
all around US, that men are already prepared to
catch the earliest turn Of the current to paddle,
il nothing more, the stranded enterprises of for
mer years Of prosperity and success, into the old
channels, in which they may soonest catch the
first favoring breezes Of the good time coming
In the crisis which has just passed, when thou
sands have seen the labors Of years swept away
from them in an hoar--when the men of Worces-
ter, in common with those Of other cities, have
been appalled, by the calamites that surrounded
them, when capital shrunk from the channels Of
trade and left dry all the sources OF industrial re-
venue,it has been most gratifying to mark the per-
severing energy and heroic confidence Of one Of
oar citizens, in the iurtherance of enterprise
which himself planned, and which himself, after
but little more than years labor, but with an
immense outlay Of the earnings of former years.
has now brought to successful contamination.
We alude to the extensive rolling mill and
tire and axle factory of Nathan Washburn, Esq,
in the vicinity Of the depot of the Western Rail-
road.
1t lis, we believe, the only concern of the kind
in the whole country where all the various oper.
atoms Of manufacturing railroad rails, axles, and
tires, are carried on in one establishment. Here
the old iron rails, which have done their work
and been condemned, are brought from all parts
of New England, and re-manufactured into new,
at an immense saving Of expense, and to the
great pecuniary advantage Of the railroad inter-
est. Here, in the midst of fires, raging like
those of vesuvius or Etna, the disciples of old
Tubal Cain tend the glowing metal, and roll out
the fiery bars, huge enough to symbolic the bolts
at ancient Joye, until they fashioned into the
exact shape and weight required. Here the tires
for the wheels Of locomotives are welded and
rolled, with such exaetness and precision as to
require no after manipulations upon the lathe,
and are ready at once for service.
The perfection Of the machinery by which this
latter result is secured is the fruit Of Mr.. Wash.
burns own inventive genius, and workers in iron
can readily conceive Of the complete adaptation
Of the machinery to the work, when informed
that these tires, set Of which weighs some
one and a half tons, are rolled to any desirable
size, SO as not to vary the ftieth part Of an inch
from each other
The lot Of land occupied by Mr.. Washburn's
works embraces about two and half acres, and
is in immediate connection with all the rail-
roads which centre here, making it very conven-
lent for the receipt and transfer of the heavy
ireights.
The man building is 26O feet long and lis
wide, with engine room, sheds, and other conven-
lent buildings, in close proximity, all built Of
brick, in the most thorough and substantial man
ner, and slated. Mr.. W. has In contemplation
the immediate erection Of another building Of
brick, in connection with the establishment, l25
feet by so. The foundry for casting the cele.
brated car-wheels, known as " Washburns pa.
tent" and which have already given the enter
prising and sklful inventor both fame and for
tune, is in another locality, but will most prob
ably at no distant day, be removed to the vicinity
Of the works we are endeavorng to describe.
The model Of this wheel, based as it is upon
the clearest and best.defned principles Of science
and metallurgy, is the one now almost universally
adopted throughout the country. 1t has stood
the severest tests, under all circumstances and is
acknowledged BY railroad men everywhere to be
the wheel, which, for economy, safety, and dura-
bility, surpasses all others. Other wheels may
look as we'll in form and finish, but none with
stands the changes Of climate the severest irosts
and the heaviest usage, without breakage, as this
does.
Our readers may form some idea Of the extent
Of Mr.. Washburn's business operations, from the
fact that Of railroad iron he rolls not less than
thirty tons Of rails per day. As we have before
said, the material for these is derived from the
condemned rails Of the New England roads, the
various companies paying for their re.manufac
ture only about half the price Of new rails. A
present low prices The loss Of the iron, IN
3 re.working, averages from seven to ten Der cent