Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-10-27
The Lincoln Iron Works.

These works, located near the railroad
crossing, on West street in this village,
consist of a foundry and machine aud
blacksmith shops, of which Thomas Ross
& Co. are the proprietors. Having heard
something of the excellent quality of the
work turned out at these works, we re-
solved to visit them and see for ourselves
the nature Of the business there being
transacted, and upon doing so found that
not d word too much had been said in
praise of the work there done. The bust
ness of the firm as general thing is the
manufacture of marble and other mill aud
quarry machinery, light and heavy cast
ings, shaftipg, gearings, pulleys, hosting
machinery. derricks and turbine water
wheels, while specislties are made of the
manufacture of steam engines and the
modelling and making of finer machinery
In the latter class we noticed in process
of construction, machine the invention
of Mr.. Ross, senior member of the firm,
for working marble. This machine has
an automatic feed motion, with diamond
and steel pointed cutters, which can be
thrown into any position, so as to work
TO the desired pattern, and it has already
been demonstrated to be a success, capa-
bic of accomplishing the ends for which
its inventor intended it. 1t is simple in
| construction, not liable to get out of order
and cannot fail of working a revolution in
| the present laborious method of working
marble Ny the mallet and chisel.
In the machine shop, nearly completed,
was "A horizontal stationary engine of 30
horsepower, built for the new mill Of A.
| T. Davis, OF this town. 1t is a fne-look-
lug piece Of mechanism, and q fair sam
pie of what can be done in this branch at
these works. Here, also, a score or more
of men were engaged with lathes, plan
ers, etc, in finishing milling machinery,
shafting ard other work, among which
we noticed, as already done, several gang
frames for a marble mill in New York,
aud some heavy plates, not yet fully COM
| PLCNCbs ~ NC uSSA IA lIOI ~tlhuItiIR tue III
terror of the cells and prisoners halls of
the new Addison County Jail at Middle
bury These plates are to be fastened to
the walls and roof of the cells by bars
and hooks, the former running across the
plates into the latter, the ends of which
are solidly imbedded in the brick walls,
so that there is no possibility of their being
unfastened from the interior, and when
the new Jail is completed, judging from
the plans shown us by Mr. Ross for seour-
ing the prisoners, we do not think the
Sheriff's rest need be disturbed nights
from apprehensions of their escape
We were shown, in addition to the
above, wheels made for the purpose of
transmitting power to given distance, a
plan which has recently come into vogue in
Europe, and which has been demonstrated
to be practicable, at various places in this
country. The power is transmitted upon
the same principle as the old-fashioned
belt and pulley system, with the exception
that instead of the wide faced pulley of
that system narrow grooved wheel is
mounted on the shaft and instead of a
belt wire rope runs in the groove, to an
other pulley to given distance and 80 on
till the power is carried as far as desired,
it being transmitted in some instances
distance of three miles. The wheel we
saw at Ross q Co.'s would move 1000 feet
of rope minute.
Next we came to the engine and boiler
room, and found the motive power of the
establishment to be an upright engine and
boiler of 40 horse power. Both of these
were manufactured at the shops and we
considered them as good as any, if not the
best of the kind we have ever seen.
Passing from here into the foundry we
found the usual moulding implements
and good force of men at work. The
cupalo, for melting the iron is monstrous
affair, and is capable of melting five tons
of metal an hour. In the center Of the
foundry is erected labor-saving machine
in the shape of huge crane, which
reaches every part of the moulding floor.
carrying the molten metal to the mould
j ing beds for the heaviest castings, thus