Evening journal., 1900-04-20
STEEL MAKING
SOON TO BEGIN
BY Middle Of July ESQ Work.
men Will be Operating
Diamond Plant.
FIVE HUNDRED TONS A DAY
BUILDING CONTAINING MAMMOTH
ENGINES. DYNANiOs ROLLS AND
FURNACES. is SAT FEET IN
LENGTH AND 60 FEET WIDE.

FURNACES. is s7 FEET IN
LENGTH AND 60 FEET WIDE.
Persons whose Ideas OF the NAM
moth steel plant, being constructed by
the Diamond State Steel Company in
this city, have been formed by reading
short newspaper accounts, have but a
slight conception of the vastness of the
undertaking.
Gazing at the great barn-like shell
OF the buildings conveys no idea OF the
great furnaces, rolls, boilers, dynamos,
motors and other paraphernalia
which are requisite to the manufacture
of steel for construction purposes and
with which the plant is fully equipped
This great plant will be completed
in about two-and-a-half months, or in
the words of Charles j. Wezen, chief
engineer of construction. 'dt will turn
out steel by the middle OF July"
The steel mill and bloomong mills
are under the same roof. and the build
ing is S47 feet long and 60 feet wide.
| There is also a lean-to, or shed-like
addition 20 the west side of the build
ing, in which the gas producer for the
soaking pit is located Another build
ing 800 feet long and 16 feet wide will
contain the gas supply for the five
large furnaces.
500 TONS A DAY.
When the mill is finished and in
operation a narrow gauge railroad will
connect Il with the cOmpany's wharf
near Third street bridge, and when a
shipment OF pig or scrap iron arrives,
IL will be placed upon small nat cars
and the John r. Davis, a small loco
motive, will draw the pans within the
} range Of the electric furnace charger.
This machine will empty the contents
OF the pans into the hungry maws OF
: the five big iron eaters.
The furnaces are capable OF turning
out 100 tons of steel each in twenty
{ four hours. and when they are filled
! with old scrap iron of almost every
conceivable kind, the gas from twenty
[ gas producers Is turned on. In twelve
hours the scrap iron has been trans
formed into liquid steel. and Is ready
TO be drawn of TO make room for an
T other heat. The furnaces are emptied
with a large ladle. the capacity Of
, which Is sixty tons. From this large
cast iron moulds and shaped into in
p gots. After the ingots have cooled
enough to hold their shape, they are
taken from the moulds and placed in
/, the soaking pits. In the latter place the
. heavy blocks of steel are heated to a
white heat with the aid of five gas
= producers. From the soaking pit they
go to the rolls and are shaped into bill
cat "a rrfh oh I.r e.. H.
p made up into merchandise.
e MUCH VALUABLE MACHINERY.
Besides the machinery mentioned.
! there will be one 75-tOn electric crane
and three of lotions each; two direct
connected Westinghouse dynamos and
Fisher engines; one $500 horse power
steam engine and four smaller ones
twenty electric motors, from three
horse power to seyenty-fve horse
n power; six 5000 horse power Edge
/, Moor boilers, with Holly dOwndraft
erates several large pumps. two of
them hydraulic; one main stack 175
e feet high and twelve feet in diameter,
n and two soaking pit stacks SO feet
s high and 4 feet 6 inches in diameter.
d The Pencoyd Iron Company made
e the frames and w. w. Lindsey g. Co.
W constructed the steel MILL The bloom
d ing mill was built by the Phoenix Iron
n Company.
y In addition TO the narrow gauge rail-
road, there will be an elevated rail-
Il road OF the regulation width, 800 feet
c long and elevated twenty-five feet al
IS the highest point. Tt will be construct.
r. ed with the B. & o. railroad tracks ant
}. be used for carrying coal 10 the large
boilers. The steel company will pur.
chase a new locomotive for this track
d. BUILT ON A MARSH.
y AS the new plant is being built on
u marsh it required great skill in engi
IN neering on the part of MIR. wezen. tt
~ prepare the foundations for the heav,
,ol equipment Piling, heavy timber an,
concrete were used 10 make solil
foundations. The foundations of tn
FIVE open hearth furnaces are as soil,
as a rock. Piles were first driven Z,
the depth of from twenty to forty-fiv'
a. feet. Heavy cap timber was then lai'
lg on top. Next was a six-inch floor ant
IN on top of that three feet of solid con
crete. There are 260 cubic feet of con
s. crete in the foundation Of each Of tn
K five furnaces.
s. When the plant is finished and pu
in operation, it will require about 25
ad hands to run It.
4 J. NJ Waldron, who is an expert elec
trician, has charge OF the plants elec
i trical work.