The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-30
A SWAMP BECOMES A BUSY Scene


way into the arteries of ST. Paul trade.
The big plant itself is full of inter-
est. The man interested in mechanical
work and fortunate enough to get
through the guard line could fairly
revel for days on and among the mon
ster planers, lathes, hammers, electri
cal generators and scores of queer
shaped and ponderous machines being
rapidly put in place, To one who is
unfamiliar with giant machines and
buildings, the length of two city
squares, it is all too big and strange to
furnish at first more than sensation
akin to that experienced when one in
a forest discovers that he has lost his
bearings.
The plant itself includes seven big
buildings, situated at the southwest
end of tfirty-acre tract. which ex-
tends eastward from Dale street along
the line of Minnehaha street, to Como
avenue, and from Como avenue and
the tracks form the eastern and
northern boundaries of the triangular
plat back to Dale street.
Entrance to the plant is secured via
the office and laboratory building at
Dale and Minnehaha streets. This,
like all the other buildings Is of white
| brick, made and purchased on the line
of the Great Northern in Minnesota.
1t is the smallest building on the tract.
| 1t is two stories in height. The front
half will be devoted to the uses of the
| office and administrative staff; the
rear to a complete laboratory.
A short distance in the rear of the
! Office, and bearing off to the east from
Dale street, is the machine shop and
| erecting plant This is a two-story
| building 150x600 feet. 1t is divided
equally, by row of columns running
| down the center into a machine shop on
| the west side and erecting plant on the
| east On the west side are the big
lathes, planers, slotting machines and
scores of other devices. the names Of
which are Greek to layman; on the
| east side the tracks and pits for the
accommodation and erection of twen-
| ty-five locomotives.
Out in front of the big doors on the
east side is a transfer table so feet
wide and $50 feet long. On this en-
| gines may be rapidly transferred from
| the blacksmith, boiler or tank shops,
on the opposite side of the table, to
! any one of the twenty-five tracks in
| the machine shop in from two to five
! minutes.
| The tank, boiler and blacksmith
| shops are under one roof, just east of
| the transfer table. The mean dimen-
sions of the buildings are 235x425 feet.
| The tank shop is at the south end and
| to it is devoted the entire width of
! the building and eighty-seven feet Of
| its lateral dimension. The boiler shop
| adjoining to the north Is 191x235 feet.
The remainder of the building is given
over to the blacksmith shop.
In the rear of the blacksmith shop,
| and extending $50 feet along the line
of the main yards, is the main store
| house, with the brass foundry at one
end and commodious offices at the
other. A little farther to the east is
the iron store house, 100x200 feet, and
still farther to the east are the docks,
100x322 feet.
In the angle formed by the black
smith shop and main store house is
the power house, probably the most
complete establishment of Its kind In
the West, if not on the continent.
All the machinery of the vast plant,
covering seven acres of ground, will be