The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1892-03-05
sIPEEInR. MIS-. SATURDAY. NcH. 5. 1892.
A Big Concern. Though still In ITS
lnflncy.

A Big Concern. TEOnyh Still In ITS
Infancy.
The Inland Ocean of last week gave
the following brief history of the West
Superior Iron and Steel company's
plant:
The pipe foundry which has been in
operation since the summer of 1889,
employing from go to $50 men is still
working vigorously away, and with its
appurtenant machine shop and pattern
house will have turned out in 1891 a
product somewhat exceeding four hun
dred thousand dollars i'll value.
But as large and important as is the
pipe foundry and its attachments, six
buildings being occupied by them and
their product going to supply numbers
If towns in the west with water and
gas pipe, they are not considered of
the same Importance as the steel plate
mill which has been in course of con-
structlon since the summer of 1890, for
the reason possibly that the average of
wages is higher in the latter and also
for the reason that the plate mill is
higher form of production, giving out
material that may form the basis for
any number of small factories of diff
ferent classes of manufacture, The
steel plate rolling mill was put in pri-
marily to supply the American Steel
Barge Co. with material for shipbuild-
ing. Its machinery will turn out steel
llate and structural steel for any pur-
pose-for safes, stoves and ranges,
turned plates for tin, bridge steel-any
thing in fact except tool steel. 1t is
therefore an important institution to
Superior, as basis of hosts of other
lesser institutions in the same line.
There are five of these buildings as
follows: l. Bessemer Retort House.
2. The RetOrt Engine House. 8. The
Boiler and Gas Retort House. 4.
Furnace and Hot Rolls House. 5. The
Cold Rolls House.
The latter two are connected by
housed passageway through which
the rolled Plates pass from one to the
other over series of cold rollers.
The Rctort House contains two Bes-
.semer retorts and their companion
pieces, with capacity per day of 200
tons of pig steel. The casting takes
place Ill this house, the mouldS con-
sisting of what might be called hollow
derrick hammers, the pig steel pro
duced being about four feet long, one
foot wide and four inches thick. The
Tetorts or cupOlas much resemble or
binary iron-works cupolas, but the
molten metal passes from them into
enormous steel cones set upon an axis
worked by powerful machinery. These
cones can be inverted by the machinery
and are handled with the ease of
giant, receiving from the retort enough
metal to fill several moulds. being in
rerted after the running of the metal
for cleansing purposes.
In the retort engine room are two
enormous upright engines of 500 horse
power each. They are upwards of 20
feet high, and at the time of this visit
were being cleaned. oiled and painted
ready for active service. These en-
gines do all the heavy lifting and crane
work for the Bessemer reto-ts, being
connected by belts and pulleys with
the retort room an cupolas. These
are thelargest upright engines, single
or in pair, that have been put at work
at the head of Lake Superior. Tie
furnace boiler and retort building is a
long two story structure, covering
three enormous upright boilers and
eight tubular gas retorts. The boilers
furnish the steam for the engine
rooms. while the gas re:orts provide
the fuel gas for the temperlng furnac-
es of the rolling mill room. This room
is more of a curiosity Il an wonder
to most visitors, the coal being car
RED to the gas retorts and boiler fur
naces 10y small narrow gauge engine
on an elevated track. the gas is con
Quoted to the roller mill by an under
ground system of sewerage or condults.
The steel plate roller mill is a great
structure and great shop IN every
sense. The heating furnaces where
the plates are heated before rolling,
are great masses of brick and iron. and
deserve the name of the Devils Ovens.
The engines used to operate the gi-
gantic rolls in this steel bakery are
gigantic ones of 5000 and l,5On horse
bower respectively. with drive wheels
"A feet in diameter The steel rolls
and their frame works are massive.
such as the Almighty might have used
when he ran Minnesota Point out into
level tract. There is no such thing
as an accurate description IF this mill
that would convey 10 the IMMERSED
reader sufficient conception of its
wonderful powers and intelligence. \
steel crane with a sweep of 30 feet is
one of its muscles, that can lift and
carry loo tons of pig iron with perfect
ease and accuracy of motion. This is
rough guess on the capacity of the
crane, but probably under guesses it.
To steel man it is enough to say that
the mill has capacity of upwards of
- tons of steel plate per day, or about
81. 900 tons per year.
Wants a Clean Campaign.
The idea of the editor Of the Leader
wanting ANYTHING clean" politically
morally or socially, is comical sure