The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-06-08
HOW LOCOMOTIVES ARE MADE.
A Visit to the Works of the Portland
Company.
Hundreds of Men Employed In the
Construction Of Single Engine.

1t was not quite O'Clock the other day as
PRESS reporter approached the locomotive
works of the Portland Company. The great
engine that moves the manifold wheels in
the different parts Of the mandatory, set
ting in motion the multitndinous machines
that vary in size from the small half inch
drill TO the giant double-headed lathe that
trims and finishes the drying wheels. and
the powerful plane that smooths as wood the
massive iron frame upon which the complete
locomotive rests, was motionless, and no sound
proceeded from within. 1t was warm day,
and on the grass near the works lolled num-
bers Of the workmen waiting for the whistle
that sounds for work to begin. Others lott
cred near the doors, some were playing at
ball, and all, from the man who breaks the
pig iron that is cast into the blast furnace, to
the skilled workman Of the machine shop,
were enjoying the brief period of rest.
But soon the whistle sounded, there was a
stir on every side, the giant engine began its
sturdy stroke, and noisy machines and busy
hammers transformed the scene to one of
activity and assiduity.
''You make locomotives here" said the re-
porter on meeting one Of the foremen.
I swell, that is our chief business" replied
the man.
'How long does it take to make loeomo-
tivs?"
THAT depends upon the number Of men
employed and the conditions upon which the
work is done. II the locomotive is to be one
Of new pattern, and we have TO make the
drawings ourselves, 1t will take about six
months to complete the engine, from the time
when the order Is taken, provided we are
running crew of some four hundred and
fifty or five hundred men. After the first one
Is made, and we get started, we can make
six locomotives a month Of the same pattern
The great Baldwin Locomotive Company of
Philadelphia calculate there IS about 400
days work for one man In making a locOmO-
tive; and few years ago, before they in
creased their crew, when they employed
32c0 men, over two locomotives were made
every day. You see there's a good deal TO
one OF these engines, but when you consider
how they are made nowadays the
process don't seem so complicated
after all. We make every part Of locOmO-
tive here except the tires for the driving
wheels, and those, which are Of steel, are
bought at steel manufactures, the nearest
one to US being at Nashua, New Hampshire.
Many OF the tires used in this country are
made in Pennsylvania and Germany"
How many workmen are employed in
making locomotiye?"
"Well. that question is rather hard to an
swer. You see IL depends upon the size of
the works Much Of the work is done by
contract and in large manufactures one
man will contract to make the wheels, an
other man will make the axles, another the
cylinder and still another the boiler and so
on, each man contracting to make single
piece and he may employ in the work dOz-
en- men, more or less. In small works one
man will have for his special work the man
ufacture Of several different parts, for in
stance, one makes the eccentrics, cylinders
and Frame"
when you receive an order. say for half a
dozen locomotives, what Is the first thing un-
dertaken?"
"About the first things to be completed in
order that the work may 30 on advantage
ously Is the frame and boiler. The frame Is
simply foundation of wrought iron beams
upon which the boiler and cab rests. But TO
give you an idea Of the process of making To-
comOtive perhaps it will be well to beginwhere
the first step is taken. III the engine, or any
part OF 1t, Is to be Of a different pattern from
any we have ever made, the work begins in
the drafting room where some four OF more
men make the drawings. The drawings are
sent to the pattern shop where some skilled
w0OdwOrkerS are employed. From the
drawings these men make models or pat
terms in soft pine wood. "You see" said the
foreman leading .Ss the way to bench in the
making a wooden driving wheel of
the latest pattern. You observe it Is near
ly done now, and when finished it will be a
perfect model, complete in every
is sent to the foundry where
tifty-tive workmen are employed. A similar
model or mould Is made in the sand and mol
ten iron poured In an iron pattern, like the
wooden one thus being made. II the casting
Is a locomotive driving wheel 1t Is next taken
to the machine shop, its surface give better
finish and the rims trimmed to tit the tire.
The tire Is then heated so that 1t will ex-
pand sufficiently to be placed on the wheel,
and when 1t cools it is held so firmly In its
place that there is no danger Of 1t ever COM
ing off. This is the modern way of putting
on tires, formerly they were held in place
with bolts. After the tires are placed up
on the wheels the wheels are put on the axle
by means of hydraulic press Of great pow
er which presses them firmly on. and then
the finishing touch is given them in double
headed lathe that operates on both wheels at
the same time"
"HOw long will tire last?"
THAT depends upon their thickness and
the amount of service to which they are sub
jected. A four inch tire will last longer. of
course, than three-inch one. But they gem
orally LASS five or six years, and then they
are expanded by heat, removed and new
ones put in their place"
Come this way" said the foreman, "I
will show you how we make the ordinary
car wheels in the foundry" and he led the
way through the main foundery, where east
ings varying In size from common bracket
to a seventeen-ton anvil are made. to the car
wheel foundery beyond.
As the reporter entered he saw a stream Of
molten iron pouring forth from a large blast
furnace into an iron receptacle that holds
enough to make one ear wheel. On the op-
posite side Of the foUndery placed in a
semi-eirele, one after another, were the
moulds into which the molten iron is pour
ed To form the wheels, These mOulds are so
arranged that the arm of a derrick which Is
situated in the center of the foundry, will
swing over them with its load of liquid iron.
When four moulds have been filled the one
which was first filled Is opened, the red hot
wheel removed and lowered into a deep
brick lined pit, made In the earth, that win
hold about a score Of wheels. When the pit
hos haan Gliad with hot VhpaiS II il eovarad