Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-12-11

consists in boring wheels, cutting bolts and
nuts, turning sxles, adjusting them, etc,
THE BLACKSMITH SHOP.
an extensive apartment well ventilated and
with continuous sky-lights, is one hundred
feet long and forty feet wide. It employs
at present six blacksmiths and nine help
ers. All the welding, rivetlng, and iron
work necessary for Car building, is done
in this department, where glowing fires
tanned by 3 steam machine, in continuous
brightness esst a cheerful light over the
tolls of honest industry.
THE PAINT SHOP
where the cars receive their finishing touch
is also large and well arranged building
two hundred and twenty-five feet long aad
fifty feet wide. All manner Of painting is
done in this department which employs
seven men, the scenic artist being Mr.. Sam
kirkpatrick, whose well dipped brush can
sketch the soft charms and saffron beauty
of sn evening sky or paint scenes of ma
lures most enchanting loneliness. The
cost of painting, lettering and numbering a
Green Line car is Sl5,75, much less than
could be done by others who paint houses
and signs. The cost of painting, lettering,
vanishing and numbering locomotive de-
ponds on the character of the work and is
from $187.17 to $500. This is the finest
painting required and oftentimes the gold
leaf increases the cost of painting.
THE ENGINE
Is a twenty-five horse power, has twelve
inch cylinder and thirty inch stroke, ten
foot hy-wheei Of two feet rim on which
works betting f0rty-fve feet long. This
is an old engine and although mighty ugly,
has very winning ways since it is steady,
never gets stubborn and turns all the ma
chinery in the whole department. 1t runs
in addition TO the steam fan in the black
smith shop the following
MACHINERY IN THE CAR SHOPS,
four rip saws, one flooring mill, one sur
fsce planer, one sticking machine, one Dor
ing machine, two terdron machines, one
gaining machine, one forming machine, one
traverse planer, besides several lathes and
miscellaneous machines. AS above stated
CAR BUILDING
has been suspended for the present, and
the force very much reduced 10 the shops.
Only few cars now remain unfinished,
and when completed will make
200 CARS BUILT
| in the shops at this city since July 1, 1872,
| besides ten flats. These cars are built for
the Green Line, and will be used on the
| Nashville and Northwestern road, increas
| ing its numbers to three hundred. Besides
this work, thirty old freight cars have been
repaired and one sleeping coach, the Vir-
| GINA, is now being made over. This is
one of the finest sleepers of the Pullman
make, and she viii present a handsome ap
| pesrance both as to the outside ornamen.
tation and the interior comforts when com.
| pleted. In fact
THE UPHOLSTERY WORK
conducted in the shops is of the first order
and displays most creGitable taste. Thi:
department, though not on large scale i:
carried on with considerable expense, g!
the best and most endurahle material is le-
quired for passenger and sleeping coaches
| THE LUMBER
| Of which the cars are made is generally o
oak, pine and poplar, some little ash beng
used. With the exception of the pine from
Alabama, the other lumber comes iron
various sections, and is placed in kiln con
nected with the shops allowed to dry ant
then worked. Since last July
| l,5OU,OUU FEET OF LUMBER
have been worked up in the car shops a
this place, and now The supply on hand
| 100000 feet, well seasoned and ready 70
use. 1t viii be seen that every part of
railroad car, except the
CAR WHEELS, AXLEs, AND SPRINGS
is made in this city, and even the wheel
for locomotives are manufactured AM
dressed here. The wheels are purchased
where they are made, a. Knoxville, and
Chattanooga, Tennessee, St. Louis, Mis-
souri,, and Cleveland, Ohio. The sprini
used is made by the Union Car Sprin.
Company, of New York, and is that know
as the Hubbard patent, Consisting of tire
spiral cords. 1t is considered by the super
intendent of the works, Mr.. Greene Saw
yers, to be the best spring for freight car;
In this connection it would be well to stat
that each fire.. hit car has twelve of thes
springs, two termed the buffers or DRAWN
springs, and the ten others the bearing
springs. The drawing spring is six inche
in diameter and six inches in length and 1t
price delivered here is $3.50, The cost @
the buffer is S4.25, it being one inch less il
diameter THAI the other,
THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE WORKS
have never been duly considered by th
citizens of Nashville. The amount {
money paid out each year is very great, an
few ever think that these car shops a.on
distribute near
$4,000 EVERY MONTH.
In July the amount paid out was, by II
books, $4,000. Since then the expens
have increased largely, and there is no dOul
that S37,500 is monthly expended. Tn
amounts to the neat little sum of
$450,000 ANNUALLY.
How far this promotes the commerce.
interests Of Nashville it will be for tls cit
zens themselves TO determine. Ten p;
cent of this is 5000, ia which sum thel
is sufficient margin for forty-dve merchant
or grocers or business men to each mai
ten per cent. In other words granting tn
only ten per cent Of the S450,000 annual
paid out by the car shops is expended
parties receiving it ia this city, the amour
so expended is enough to give fJrty-h'
merchants each one Thousand dollars, 9
!, | actual profit of ten per cent on that sui
g Way the fact is palpable that such ente
prses irrespective of the immigration i
s duced to skilled labor, offer most povt
J, fal inducement for liberal encoursgeme
!, and generous cooperation from the CT
}, zsns. Yet is it true that an enterprise ID
Y this with all of its capital is to be
a REMOVED FROM NASHVILLE
a and why? Is it thai the location is inco
4 venient? Is it that men cannot be obbai
e ed here? Is it that no homes for the 81
n ployees are TO be had in this city? Is
e that the managing officers Of the railro
If company dislike Nashville aud prefer sor
IS other place? No, none Of these operate
q causes. But it is the
e OPPRESSIVE WATER TAX
J lately introduced by the water meter, co
l. corning which there is much to compla
n of. So far as this water meter is cOncel
, ed we believe it is obnoxious to those "
:, pay most to support the city gOyernmel
), and that its effect will check enterprise a
e more thoroughly break down and ruin
o nucleus of manufacturing system th
s. any other measure.
d THE WATER TAX
% amounts to 1000 by the new system of I
(. water meier. The company intend bui
IS ing a union depot, to cost $4,000, in t.
d city, and place it on the space nov O2c
pied by the machine shops. Inasmuch
they, as well as the car shops, will have
% be removed from their present site, tn
SIS could lie easily located al Chattanooga.
a prominent gentleman from tha5 city b
lg seen tie officers of the railroad clmpal
IA ,,.J otf,-ad f-ao around and fraa VAT