Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-18
LARGEST CONCRETE STACK
Towering pipe mt Butte OvertoBa
AnythinE of It's Kind on the
Continent.

The Butte CMont) Reduction Works has
what I believed to be the highest con-
crete chimney In the world. The inside
dlameter( both top and bottom) Is eighteen
feet, ana the height Of the chimney Is ssS
feet inches, or $50 feet inches above the
surface; the top OF the chimney has also
the rather uncommon altitude Of 5,7sLs
feet above the sea level. The foundation
Of the chimney goes seven feet below the
surface the lower portion being formed
OF Stag poured in the molten state into a
gray iron casing 100 feet square, giving an
area Of 10000 square feet. This process was
repeated six times, giving a foundation
eighteen feet deep, tapering to 662s feet
square at the top, and full of various forms
OF metal sowh through the Stag. As seven
feet of this are In the ground. there is
necessarily a height Of eleven feet above
the ground. The base, which rests upon
the Stag foundation, Is Of Portland cement
concrete, 4218 feet square and 81 feet high
in the center the concrete also having
metal distributed through Il, some OF which
projects up above the base, to help retain
the walls Of the chimney. having a re-
semblance TO the roots OF a tree. The
chimney proper was formed in a system
OF sectional molds Sh feet high, which.
when coupled together formed a complete
ring. The concrete walls contain vertical
and horizontal steel bars, the number re-
ducing as the height increases, and also
rings of one-inch T-iron wired to the bars
For the first twenty-one feet in height of
the chimney the walls are eighteen inches
thick. and In these walls are two inlets
TO the chimney. one on each side, each
opening sx1T feet. On top OF the eighteen
inch wall starts the double she'll OF the
chimney. the outer shell being nine inches
thick. the inner shell five inches thick.
these shells being separated by four
inch air space. which at the bottom is con-
nected with the atmosphere through the
outer shell by port holes
The inside shell extends up to a height
OF 1914 feet above the base and the outer
shell is OFFSET over the inner she'll as can
be seen on the exterior Of the chimney,
the air space being left entirely open on
the inner side OF the chimney and the in
ner shell perfectly free from the outer
shell at the top. The outer she'll is then
carried seven inches thick to the top OF
the chimney. The outside diameter OF the
chimney at the bottom is twentv-one feet
and the diameter Of upper shell is nine
teen feet two inches
The weight Of the chimney Is as follows:
Stag foundation, $500 tons; concrete base,
1000 tons; chimney proper. 1.475 tons. This
chimney besides being the largest and
highest concrete chimney in the world. Is
one OF the largest chimneys Of its height
in the United States, as can be seen by
comparing its dimensions with those of
the following examples OF some large chin
neys in this country; The Washoe Copper
company's at Anaconda, which Is the
largest in the world. is constructed Of brick
and is thirty feet inside diameter and 800
feet high; the Metropolitan Street Railway
company's. New York City. Of brick
twenty-five feet inside diameter. 35s feet
high; the Clark Thread works. Kearney
N. j., Of brick. eleven feet inside diameter
s5 feet high; Omaha and Grant Shelter
Denver, Colo. OF brick, sixteen feet inside
diameter, $50 feet high; oxford Copper COM
pany's. Constable Hook. N. j.. radlal brick
twenty feet inside diameter at the base
thirteen feet at the top. 800 feet high: Ia
coma Smelling works, Tacoma, Wash, con-
crete. eighteen feet inside diameter, 800
fcSs high.