Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-07
A HIVE Of INDUSTRY
Over 800 Men Are Busy in the
Iowa Central Machine
and Car Shops.
Big Traffic Business Makes Work
to Keep the Engines and
Cars in Repair.
New Machinery Being Installed
capacity Of Shops Taxed--
Rebuilding Must Come.

I
closer to their work than in the various
branches of the Iowa Central machinery
| department. There never was a time In
| the history Of the road, at this season Of
the year when so much work was in
hand, and work, too, that has to be
| pushed to completion in order to make
traffic meet and to prevent the master
| mechanic from going insane.
1t Is extremely doubtful whether Mar
shalltown people as general thing
| comprehend what little world there is,
located all by itself, and confined in an
area of few square blocks between
Center street and Third avenue; that 331
men, largely heads of families. are there
employed in the various departments
the Iowa Central machine shops.
We speak with pride of 1.-The shops"
and at the same time do not realize fully
what those two little words mean, and
that day after day there are being mani
ufactured in those shops articles of ma
chinery, rolling stock and motive power
that compare in every detail with the
productions of other larger shops that
have reputation worldwide.
Five or six hours could be spent 60
ing thru the different departments, and
then one would come out marveling at
the many interesting sights and wonder
ing how it happened he had lived so
long in Marshalltown and had not COM
pretended the magnitude of this insti-
tuition.
The shop men are now working bat
nine hours per day, but before another
month rolls by the ten-hour schedule
will go into effect. The nine-hour sched-
ule at present is due only to the light
ing conditions, as some OF the depart
ments are not equipped with adequate
facilities to permit night work. In tho
machine, boiler, blacksmith and tin
shops the December pay roll shows 1S9
men employed. while in the car shops
there are 101 more. The paint shops add
sixteen more to the number and the
round house an additional Twenty-Five
making 331 men in all under the super
vision of the machinery Department.
Even this is not all of the large family
of Master Mechanic George d. Brooke.
There are eighty enginemen who are di-
rected by him. and many car inspectors.
Master Mechanic Brooke has improvedI
the conditions of the shops in every de- |
partment since he came to the Centralsl
but even yet he is not satisfied and will
not be until he sees the shops enlarged
and able to handle more business that
they do even now. In speaking of thel
situation he said: ION account of the |
great increase in business of the road, |
and the fact that during the past few
months, and at the same time there has |
been no increase, practically, in our mo-
tive power to handle it, the rate of wear
has been greatly multiplied and is fast
getting beyond the shop facilities for
maintaining it, We are trying to meet
these conditions to a great extent by the
purchase of new machinery, but like all
railroad building material, the machin
cry is almost impossible to get SO great
is the demand for it.
I'VE ordered on November 15
last, one 16x16 special lathe
for the tool room; an upright drill;
q double tool grinder and knife grind
err, the total of which will cost us $1,000.
On Dec. 20 we placed orders for a tim
Der planer, such as will plane dimension
timbers on four sides at once, and hand ID
ling a maximum timber 14X30; one spe-
cial universal saw table and an auto +;
matte saw cumming machine, at out ]
lay of So, 500 more. The betting, shafting {
and pulleys for this invoice will cost an
additional $780, and when it is all in
stalled it will better our condition con- Is
and will give employment to !
more men. These new machines. accord I
ing to our contract, We're to be delivered {
at the earliest possible time, but they /,
are just beginning to arrive now.
1--WE are working now about as full II
handed as we can, with our limited I
room, excepting in the boiler shops, and i
only today I have written six different +
places to try and get more help for this '
department." i
Just now the locomotive department i
If the machine shops is working both q
lay and night shifts, in order to main h
ain running conditions. Until the new t
engines already ordered can be built the I
,oad is going to be short of motive ID
power, no matter how many hours are
,ut in in trying to keep the engines in h
shape for operation. Work on building II
he new passenger engines, two or three v
If which have already been completed, b
IDS OGSIl SlpPPSb lOA SAS PANSNiis' ~
.ause of the repairs necessary to the "
arge freighters. In reality, however, d
.ngines are being rebuilt every week, W
or in the general overhauling Of the I
arge engines when they leave the shop p
hey are practically new, and as good as Il
hey were the day they were turned out II
# the factories.
The material is in the shop now with /
which is to be constructed a new pas t.
enger engine to take the place of en- "
inc No. sc, which was destroyed in a 81
ollision some time ago. Work has also
cen suspended temporarily on the new
anks, of 5000 gallon capacity and the
ew engine boilers, because of the me-
essty of the men to keep at work on
epairs to engines, and get them ready ii
Or service. To relieve the condition as II
luch as possible. and meet the de- f,
lands of emergencies the road has i.
.ased four Minneapolis & st. Louis en- n
ines, which are now In service II
Two or three of the big Pittsburg and N
aldwin engines are about ready to IL
ome out of the shops now, bright and
ew in appearance, to be limbered up
nd then hurried on to some point or We
mother where there is the most use for in
lem. In the back shop there r.
re several more locomotives that need | 81 &