The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-06-03
RAILROAD ORDERS
HAVE HEALTHY TONE
No. 9 Furnace at the Gary Works is
Completed and Ready for Service
When Required-Stacks Nos. 5, G.,
z and s Are Under Construction
Stacks Nos. 10, II, IL in Bast.

The Gary steel works and blast fur
naces have now orders to the extent of
90 per cent of their producing ca
pacity, One of the open hearth units
is now in operation. Three blast fur
naces are in service. one ready to be
commissioned, and four more nearing
completion. Regarding Gary and South
Chicago steel conditions todays issue
of the Iron Age prints:
Gary Stacks Await Blowing In.
Shipments against contracts already
placed are coming forward promptly.
The attitude of furnacemen respecting
prices remains unchanged. on ship
ments through the last half S115o,
Birmingham, for No. . foundry is the
schedule adhered to by leading south
ern producers. The desire to realize on
surplus stocks is responsible in a few
cases for the naming of 81 for May
and June shipments, but such conces-
sions do not extend to deliveries be-
yond that time. The American Car
& Foundry company is reported to have
purchased at Detroit a tonnage of NAL
Ieable iron required for the construc-
ton of 5000 cars. There are more in
quiries of this character in the market
than for some time 1t is expected
that by June Is the entire available
blast furnace capacity of the Illinois
Steel company will be in operation,
with the exception of two stacks at
the North Works, which are not likely
to be ever blown in again. No. fur
mace a the Gary works is completed
and ready for service when required.
Stacks Nos. 10. IL and u are in blast.
Nos. ;, g. Z and s are under construc-
ton, but will not be included in the
active list for some months.
A steadily rising volume of business
in finished lines of iron and steel is
coming to the mills, which with rare
exceptions are all running fuller than
they were a month ago and very much
nearer normal capacity than at any
time since 1907. The phase of recent
! developments of most significant in
| terest in this direction concerns rail-
road purchases. which are notably larg-
er and more broadly extended. A late
order for $4,000 tons Of ninety pound
open hearth rails received by the Illf-
nois Steel company from the Santa
Fe railroad raises the tonnage taker
so far in May by this steel company
to 10000.
This. together with other ope1
hearth specifications recently received
assures the continued operation of tn,
Gary mill at its present gait of abou
20 per cent of capacity for severa
| weeks ahead.
Among the late orders taken by ca
shops is one for 500 refrigerator car
given by the Great Northern railwa,
to the American Car and Foundry CO
Fifteen of the twenty-one blast fur
naces in the several plants of the Hi
nOis Steel company, exclusive of Gary
are in operation, and another one i
to be blown in at the South Work
this week. This represents So per cen
of full capacity. Since the compan
converts all of its pig iron into stee
the percentage of active blast furnac
capacity is practically identical wit
that of the steel making and fnishin
departments. orders for structural ma
terial are pouring in and the loca
mills are crowded with work. A Ioca
fabricator is in the market for $500
tons of material for delivery throug
the remainder of the year
The market has drifted into anothe
period of comparative inaction