The sun., 1905-09-12
MAKING NIYROGLYCERIN.
NOT so DANGEROUS, WORKERS
SAY, AS PEOPLE THINK.

SAY, AS PEOPLE THINK.
Cold weather Lkeliest Time Of Accidents
-sptIling the Fluid or Leaks in the Cans
Most Carefully AvOided-Transported
Across the Country in Padded Wagons
A day with the nitroglyoerin makers
TO say the least, Is nerve exhilarating
The fumes from the acid tanks may cut
ones nostrils and stimulate the heart 70
Unusual activity, and the pungent ana
stimulating aroma from the mixing oneh-
icals may make ones head ache TO tne
splitting point, but Notwithstanding this
there Is In the atmosphere sort OF air OF
unusual risk that appeals to the tender
foot-that is, after he has figured 1t out
with mathem atical precision that the
chances are about one in million that
the plant will be thrown out OF operation
in hurry during his stay. There Is, how
ever, says the Indianapolis Neus, a throb
OF gratitude to the powers that be in the
heart Of the tenderfoot when at last he
does get clear Of the danger belt with his
body intact.
The process Of making nitroglycerin
h not extra interesting In itself. Tho
new Hartford City plant Is one OF the most
modern in the country, and the new com
pressed air appliances used in mixing tne
acids and then mixing the acids with the
gycerin reduce the spectacular side OF
the work. The old way Of feeding the
acid and the glycerip into tank and
mixing them with revolving paddles
was much more picturesque. At the
Hartford City plant the acids are kept
in great iron tanks similar to those used
by the Standard Oil Company In its local
storage yards. The acids are forced from
one tank into another and are mixed by
the application of the air pressure, and
then this mixed acid, which throws OF
cloud Of dark, angry looking smoke through
safety vents is forced through long pipe
line to small, towerlike building This
is the nitroglycerin house itself.
In this building are the great mixing
watts, which are kept at a uniform tempera-
ture OF so degrees by circulation OF brine
forced from refigerating plant. which
passes in lead pipes around and through
the tanks. The acid and glycerin are fed
in with precision and mixed by gently
20 say that care is exercised by the two men
superintending this process. but that care
is not so painstaking as the ordinary person
would expect to find. When mixed the
LIQUID, which then looks like moderately
thlok molasses of whitish brown color, is
drained of into storage tanks, and from
the tanks IL drained into ten-quart tin
cans.
The LIQUID hits the bottom Of these cans
with that sort Of a thud that makes ones
flesh creep, until one realizes that 1t is not
such fall as this. but peculiar jar or
hat Ao n
fills the liquid makes gurglng sound that
to the tenderfoot is not reassuring. Not q
drop of the explosive Is permitted to land
outside the cans, and these cans before being
used are carefully inspected and tested with
water for leaks A leaky can, especially
after 1t is loaded into wagon for transporta-
ton, means loud report that awakes an
entire county. makes a great hole In the
scenery, and wipes everything around 1t out
OF existence. A drop Of nitroglyoerin on
the floor probably would mean the same
thing when the friction OF foot would be
applied to it.
The capacity Of the Hartford city plant
Is about 1900 quarts Of the explosive
day. Nine thousand quarts OF nitro
glycerin is moving power for sure
perhaps an estimate Of what 1t will do
may be gained by the statement ea that the
ply around in small walls and use only a
few drops In blasting their way into a big
safe. The nitroglycerin clinging to the
sides Of an empty can, II touched on, Is
sufficient to jar whole community. There
fore as much care has to be used with the
empty cans as with the filed ones.
Though the railroads deliver the acids
and glycerin to the factories in carboys
and tanks they do not handle the dan
gerous commodity that their mixture
produces. The distributing process. by
which the faotorys production Is got to
the consumer, is more interesting than
the process OF mixing the acids and the
glycerin. Every morning q dozen or 30
unusual wagons are backed up to the can
ming and stock department OF the factory
wagons have long, shallow beds, and over
these beds is q heavy top that Is bound
down securely by heavy iron bars that are
fastened and held In place by bolts and
screws. Along the sides Of the beds runs
the warning ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
red paint.
These are nitroglycerin freight trains
They are driven In fast walk across the
country by nervy drivers, who have good,
heavy horses. Each wagon is loaded with
soo,, quarts-ninety OF the two and half
IN padded compartments. The padding
is OF felt and the cans push down Into the
compartments snugly. When once there,
the cans have no play and there Is no vi
bration Of them. Even the bottoms and
tops are padded to hold the cans firmly.
The extra high and sensitive springs under
the wagon bed reduce the jar OF the road.
The liquid in the cans, which becomes
thin in hot weather and copgeals rapidly
at q temperature under AZ degrees, swishes
around some, but there is no danger in this
transportation, provided! Yes-pro-
vided: provided there ia no leaky can.
That above all things else Is the thing to be
guarded against. A drop Of nitroglycerin
getting down on the axle or on q working
spring, where it is subjected to even the
slightest friction. means that it is all off-the
whole 900 quarts-and there is not enough
of driver or horses or wagon left to take up
on blotting paper; not a piece of the wagon
large enough to make respectable kindling
remains to tell the story and the wagon
tires may be found wrapped around dis
tant treo top.
OF course, a jar-an unusual jar-will do
the business sometimes but there are rec
ords OF drivers going to sleep and the
wagons being run off small culverts and up
against fences without bad results. There
are also records Of smaller wagons upsetting
and in one or two instances they have been
butted into by electric and steam trains.
1t has not been three years since a car at
Alexandria buried its nose in q nitroglycerin
wagon with only damage TO the car front
and the nerves of the people on the car,
who did not know what had happened until
It was all over and then almost became VIC
TINS OF nervous prostration.
These freight wagons ply between the
factory and the factory maya zines, or To-