Evening journal., 1898-04-06
THE EDGE MOOR WORKS
Some Of Their Facilities Dis
cusSed.
THE BLUE PRINT APPLIANCES
WHAT is SAID OF THE LOCAL
PLANT BY A CORRESPONDENT
WHO WRITES NOTES FROM
AMERICAN BRIDGE SHOPS.

AMERICAN BRIDGE SHOPS.
In the current number of the Engi |
neering News the following article in |
relation to a big local enterprise is |
found:
The works of this company are 10 |
Gated upon the Delaware river, about |
twenty-four miles from Philadelphia, |
and comprise a complete bridge plant, |
including an eye-bar plant, and also |
boiler shop. If the writer is not mis- |
taken, these works were the first to in
stall a plant for manufacturing steel
eye-bars by upsetting the ends and am
nealing, the universal process for forg-
ing steel eye-bars, which, of course,
cannot be welded. AT present eye-bars
OF 3x10 ms. section are made, and one
of the accessories of the works is a
$50 ton hydraulic testing machine ca
pable Of taking in bars S5 feet long,
and about 11kx6 ins. section.
The movement of material in the
truss shop is by push cars, and over
head trolleys and jib cranes. For
punching and roaming the equipment
/ of tools is very complete. Besides
single punches there are two Sellers
multiple punches, one capable Of taking
1
for punching angles. The reamer plate
consists Of nine radial reamer5 placed
| in a row and so arranged that all the
holes can be reamed in a girder 131 feet
| long and Is feet deep without shifting
the work. A recent tool which has been
| installed is a planer for planning the
| bevel track for swing bridge turn
| table drums. This is simply a circular
drum 38 feet in diameter, pivoted at
the centre and having wheels at the
periphery much like a swing bridge
drum An extension Of the pivot above
the drum serves as the inner post of
a tool arm, the outer post of which is
erected outside of the drum. The tool
arm is capable of being adjusted verti
cally at any height on these posts while
the tool head slides on the arm and can
also be adjusted to ny angle so as to
vary the bevel of I . planer cut. The
method of operation is simply to adjust
the turntable drum on the table, adj
lust the tool arm, and put the table in
revolution by means OF the mechanism
provided for the purpose, the tool be-
ing stationary.
The drafting-room practice Of these
works has recently been described by
Charles H. Wright. chief of the draft
1 Ing III AAAo DbOh OA III ~ ~
| Drafting" far better than can be done
in the limited space at the writer S
command. and it will not be mentioned
further here. In the blue print room
however. the writer observed an ar
rangement OF the blue printing frames
e | which he had never seen before. and
: | which may also be unfamiliar to some
: OF the readers of Engineering News
Instead of the more common sliding
. l frame. which is run in and out OF {
Y window. this firm has designed The
d special window. The window project
!, ing from the side OF the building, con
> tains the fixed glass, and the movab'
e frame. counterWeighted by the arm anC
e weight. The frame is covered by a beC
n | of cotton wool held in place by bee
t, of cotton wool held in place by squar'
2; of ordinary carpeting, and closes vi
r ( tight against the glass. The sensitive
: paper and tracing are simply placed II
the proper position on the frame, which
is closed up against the glass for print
IS ing and lowered for inserting and re
moving the paper and prints. AS al
K | drawings are made upon sheets zo12'
35lb inches, the frame Is made jus
- large enough to hold. these sheets. I'm
- Iblue print room has number OF thes
L
should they be needed.
ic Some idea of the important iten
B. which blue printing becomes in
" large bridge works is obtained from tn
statement of Mr.. Wright that the aver
ig age daily production Of blue prints a
ID the Edge Moor works is 175 sheets
IN About eleven prints are made Of ever
- tracing, nine Of which go into tn
shops for use in getting out the ten
plates and steel work.
n In the loading yard a travelin
st bridge crane for loading finished me
e terial was noticed, which was OF ur
A | usual size. The trestles along whic
o. IL moved were fully hmile long, an
~ the crane had a span of 75 feet. Bot
= the push car tracks from the shoI
and the switch tracks from the railwa
-. run under the crane, and material
transferred from one to the other veI
= rapidly. The great length Of the trest
also enables material which is read
TO ship to be stored temporarily with
direct reach OF the loading crane. N
principal work which the company ha
in hand at the time OF the writer
visit was the steel work for the Will
avenue bridge across the Harlem rive
in New York city, and this had not g
| much beyond the template shop.