The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-30
CHANGES At SOUTH WORKS
New Mechanical Devices That Have
Been Put In Operation.
THEY SIMPLIFY RAIL-MAKING
New Device for Carrying Rails from tho
Rolls That Is Working Success.
fully-Improved Method Of
Loading Rails on Cars.

Recent changes at the South works
of the Leckawanna, Iron and Steel
company, in the mechanical arrange
ments have, by the substitution of ma
chinery for manual labor. increased the
capacity OF the mill 25 per cent.
Three weeks ago the mill shut down
for a week for repairs and when work
was resumed a change was observed In
the handling of the hot rails at the
rolls The workmen were amazed at
the simplicity and ease that the rail-
Travelled from one station to the other,
doing away with the necessity of using
heavy bars to give 1t a momentum and
heavier bars to lift II from one bed to
the other. The changes were made at
the finishing rolls and the rail no longer
sped along on the spOols or dummy
rollers that were worked by the speed
Of the rail as It emerged from the rolls.
1t now moves on live rollers, operated
by a small stationary engine. There
are three horizontal sets of live rollers,
where there used to be inclined planes
When the rail comes through the rolls
It used to come with sufficient speed to
carry the dead rolls along with it up the
incline, and on the return the dead rolls
would roll down the plane by the force
of gravity and carry the rail back to
the rolls.
One Trouble Obviatcd.
The trouble that the live rollers obvi-
ates is that which had to be met by the
workmen in pushing the dead rolls up
the incline in order to give the new rail
| that came from the rough rolls an i'm
petus. Sometimes the workmen would
not have to do this because another
rail almost finished might have rolled
the spools up the incline simultaneously
with the coming of a fresh rail from
| the other rolls. But If both rails did
not meet the workmen would have to
roll the spools up like a schoolboy
| would roll SNOWFALL up against grade.
and that operation caused a good deal
| of lost time.
The live rollers are level and the
speed of the rail coming from the rolls
| does not be the less If the rollers are
| reversed in carrying a new rail to the
rolls. Reduced to a nutshell 1t is this,
| boy sits in a nook and watches the
coming of the rail; he has his hands on
| two levers, and without any exertion
moves these big, hot bars at will, and
does the work that a half dozen brawny
artisans formerly spent energy and
| lost much sweat to accomplish.
Will Soon BE Supplantcd.
| Whoever has not a proper idea of the
old style of handling the rail, had bet
| ter visit the rail mill quickly. Because
there still remains a relic of the old
style on the far side of the finishing
rolls. The dummy rollers or spools are
| still used to do the work on that side
| but their lease of life is short, as in q
| short time live rollers will be made to
supplant them.
| Perhaps the most wonderful improve
j since it was built is what the employees
are pleased to call 'the iron man.
| This gentleman is not of flesh and
blood; it stands in its place with mute
| acknowledgement and when the heavy
hot bar first comes through the rough
| rolls and greets him, the iron man
| salutes the bar by graphing it an6
turning 1t over on its back. In ap.
| pearance the iron man resembles lob.
ster; but it saves time and energy. Gen
eral Manager Mckinney receives the
credit of this invention.
| Leaving the rolls until the visitor
| reaches the rail bank. where the rails
| are hoisted on cars by machinery, ht
Is presented with an endless view OF
rapidly moving machinery that more
| than any one other fact has been the
cause of creating capacity for the
mill almost double that which is pos
essed five years ago.
This rail loading device is a recent
invention and is the best that has ye
been tried.