Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1869-07-16

hEABIE FURNACE IN BLAST. by special
Invitation Of the courteous and geutlemanly
superintendent, David Worden Esq, we, 10
company with his honor Jadge King and
Messrs. Wm. Hartley and John G Hartley,
had the pleasure on the 9th inst, Of witness.
ing the first casting made at the new furnace
at Riddlesbarg ia this county, and Of exam.
ining the whole establishment. The building
aud machinery have all been erected under
the personal direction and superintendent Of
Mr., Worden an experienced, iron manufac
turer, and are most complete Of their kind.
Though comparatively unacquainted wi th the
manufacture Of iron and inexperienced IN
the use of the technical terms of the craft we
obtained some { the statistics Of the establish
ment and give them il as ineligible form
as we can, for the benefit of such as may feel
an interest in the industrial progress Of our
county.
The whole cost Of erecting the furnace ami
putting it in working order, has been about
S2O0,0OO,oo. The furnace grounds comprise
II acres exclusive Of coal aud ore lands
The buildings are of the most substantial
character and the machinery embraces every
economical and labor saving device known
il the manufacture Of iron. The stack is 60
feet IN hight, 45 feet of which is heavy stone
masonarY and ID feet of boiler plate iron,
aud has ! 4 feet bosh The tunnel head is
feet in diameter. The stock of coke, ore
aud hux is all raised to the top of the stack
by water lift A 250 horse power horizon
tai blowing engine, with boilers each IS
feet in length and Sc inches in diameter with
a So iuch steam cylinder. drives all the ma
cbinery Of the establishment. The furnace
is a hot blast, and has blowing cylinder rs
inches in diameter capable Of blowing 5000
cubic feet of air per minute. The company
owns four miles Of the Tussey's Mountain
seam of fossil and hematite ores. The en-
tire works will employ from so to 100 hands
when in full operation and will turn out about
$50 tons Of first class iron per week. The
furnace viii use about so or go tons Of coal,
20 tons Of ore and 20 tons Of Limestone every
a hours Until actually in operation this
enterprise was regarded as an experiment
both as to the quality Of iron that could be
made and the cost Of manufacture. 1t has
been in operation but little more than week,
but long enough to demonstrate the fact that
it is a grand success as to not only quality
aud quantity Of the iron but also as to its
cost. The success of this enterprise is mat
ter Of the very first Importance to the people
of this county as it demonstrates the value of
our almost inexhaustable beds of iron ore
that uuderlie almost every part OF the county,
and the erection of this one furnace will
doubtless be speedily followed by number
of others, not only along the line Of the
Huntingdon aud Broadtop Railroad aud the
Tusseys Mountain but also in the neighbor-
hood Of the valuable ore beds in the vicinity
of Bedford To this end not only the build
ing of the Bedford aud Bridgeport railroad
but the continuation Of the Huntingdon and
Broadlop to Bedford is Of the b;ghes, mpor
tauce. The iron and coal of Bedford county
need only development and the erection Of
furnaces to make her one Of the richest aud
most prosperous counties in the state. But
these things can only be obtained by the
building Of the roads mentioned. WIN not
our people wake up to the importance Of the
work before them aad speedily secure the
building Of these roads They are the only
means Of developing the resources of our
county and every citizen is vitaIy interested
in their construction. We expect to lay be-
fore our readers from time to time further
information not only in regard to the work.
ing Of the new furnace but also the erection
of others and the building Of the perfected
railroad through Morrison's Cove by the
Cambria Iron Company.
HopEwELL FURNAcE. Daring ous flying
trip to Riddlesburg we learned that the
HopeweIl furnace belonging to Lowry Eichei-
berger & Co, is in most successful operation
aud doing better than for a long time past
It is now turning out about 35 tons Of the
very best quality of iron per week. It's but
Justice to say that Col John F. Lowry and
others connected With this furnace have been
most active and perseyering in calling the at
teutou of Capitalists to the advantages afford
ed not only at RiddIesburg andHopewell bat
also in other parts Of the county for the sue
cessful and profitable manufacture Of iron.
If Bedford county had more men Of the same
kind she would not be quite so far behind the
age as she is.
We will publish communication next
week from John Fulton Esq, ofSaxton, con.
cernjng the iron and coal interests Of the
Broadtop region.