The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-17

which have obtained in the transfer
ring of the vast amount of grain
shipped on the lakes from the wheat
fields of the Northwest to the railroads
and canals at Buffalo.
A few final touches are to be given
it here and there, as is always the case
with new structure, but they will
mostly develop after the vast fabric is
in full operation.
No one who has not visited the ele-
vator can have much idea of the pro-
digious undertaking it embodies, and it
would take a practical elevator man
to note the niceties of the construction,
and the many new things it utilizes;
and no one short of a practical elec-
trical engineer could understand how
far beyond the possibilities of other
harbor elevators it has advanced.
A few figures as to it's size may give
an idea of it's capacity. 1t has a front
age on the Blackwell canal of 296 feet,
a depth of 100 feet, and a height OF 16l
feet from the level of the dock. The
foundation begins on solid rock. forty
eight feet below the water, and is COM
posed first of 5000 piles, on which is a
superstructure of heavy masonry, in
cluding 266 ears of stone.
ENTIRELY FIRE-PROOF.
The entire building is composed of
steel and brick In all the frame, raf-
ters, roof floors, bins and machinery,
there is nothing whatever that Will
burn. Though it looks when finished
much like any huge elevator, it is vast
11l1i1 hRTG
before. and is in advance of any other
anywhere in many Of its appointments.
When the work began on the 1st OF
March last, the spectator saw for a
while nothing but an army of eXcaVat-
ors. followed closely by another army
of pile drivers. This host of workers
was again followed by third, which
began to set up long series of great
circular steel tanks, and, by the time
the foundation was completed, the site
was an array of tanks placed in three
ranks of ten each. with two inner rows
of smaller tanks to utilize the spaces
between the large ones. The capacity
of the thirty large tanks is s. 900 bush
els each, a total of 2,5a00 600 bushels
and of the eighteen smaller taP4lS, 49,
0O0 bushels each, a total of 324 0CS bush
els, making a grand total of 1874 ,00(
bushels. There are also smaller ship
ping, storage and other bins, in the
elevator, sufficient to bring the entire
capacity to something more than 3000,-
600 bushels
These forty eight bins, as well as the
smaller ones, are Of steel, from one
fourth TO a half inch in thickness, the
material weighing 5000 tons. There
are $500, 600 bricks in the structure, the
bins being enclosed by continuous
wall, besides the 100000 in the ground
! floor of the elevator.
EVERY MODERN DEVICE.
The elevator is equipped with all
| modern machinery for handling grain
and keeping it in condition. In its
equipment, not mentioning many
necessary articles. may be noted two
conveyor belts so inches wide and 74C
| feet long; cleaners; ten legs inside the
movable marine towers; twenty-seven
gamers, and ten scales with capacity
OF ], 400 bushels each; twenty-five ship
ping bins of 1,400 bushels each.
There are tracks for one line Of cars
inside and two lines outside the ele-
Vator all cars being moved by elec-
trieity. The loading capacity of the
elevator is 800 cars day of ten hours
and $4,000 bushels an hour to boats
There is a canal slip at the north end
Of the elevator. so by 120 feet. with
twenty feet depth to make it uniform
with the depth of water along the front
Of the elevator.
The entire floor Of the structure thai