Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-09-10
freight cars.

sDeeu OF % miles an nour, ana SUI
freight cars.
As evidence of the pressure of the de-
mand for iron at Pittsburg a dispatch
from that city states that the last two
merchant furnaces in western Pennsyl-
yania. the Clinton, Pittsburg and the
ATTAINING stack, are preparing to go IN
blast. The Nj. A. Hanna interests will
put their last remaining Shenango Val
ley furnace in blast within a week. The
Mcheefrey furnace at LeetOnia has gone
INTO blast, and only three stacks in the
ShenangO and MahOning valleys are now
Idle, all of them undergoing improve
ments. Two isolated furnaces of the
Carnegie company in Pittsburg are to
go in blast as soon as possible-the
last OF the idle furnace capacity of the
Carnegie interests with the exception of
the BessemeT stacks connected with the
Columbus (Ohio) steel plant. The Co
iumbus plant is the only one of the Car
negie company that is not now in opera
ton. The delay in resumption there is
due TO strike.
The New York Journal of Commerce
quotes officials of large corporations en-
gagged in the manufacture of equipment
as authority for the statement that be-
tween $1500000O0 and S175,OO0,0OO
represents the total amount of orders
placed for rolling stock by steam and
electric railroads, dispatch companies
and others since January l last This
is a large increase over last year, but
the equipment companies are not vet
back to normal. Nearly all the equip
met companies are now doing a comfort
able business, and the outlook for a con-
tinuation of the improvement that set in
several months ago is said to be very
bright
Contracts for fifty miles of 1S-inch
pipe, costing 100000. have been placed
with the National Tube company and
the pipe will be turned out of the Nc
keespcrt mills. Forty miles of nine
were ordered by the Pennsylvania Con
meeting Gas company for a new pipe
line connecting with the company's new
wells in the West Virginia field. The
other ten miles of pipe was ordered by
the Kansas Natural Gas company and
is to be laid in its Kansas field.
A Pittsburg dispatch states that the
rush to place new structural contracts
before the fabricating concerns and the
rolling mills are filled up for the fail
season, has resulted in the placing OF
much new work that it had not been in
tended to let until September. Railroads
have had much to do with the present
situation in the structural market, with
bridge and steel car orders.
In the steel trade, the prospect of a
car shortage is beginning tc be feared,
with the coming of heavy crop shipments
in the fall. Already suitable equipment
is not so free to shippers as it was in the
spring months, and Pittsburg district
railroad officials freely admit that rolling
stock now on hand will not be equal 10
such demand as that which taxed the
railroads during the rush months of
1907, while the prospects are that that
rush will be even exceeded the coming
fall.
The reduction of the tariff on pig iron
will result in sharp curtailment of sales
of American iron on the Pacific coast
where even before the passage of the
new tariff bill foreign countries enjoyed
a large part of the business.
The Union railroad, the terminal rail-
road of the Carnegie Steel company, has
ordered 400 steel underframed box cars
from the Pressed Steel Car company,
Pittsburg. The Southern railway has
placed an order for 10000 tons standard
rails with the Pennsylvania Steel com
pany.
1t is expected that within the next few
weeks the railroads of the country will
place orders involving upward of 5O0OO0
1t has been reported John w. Gates
has purchased the plant of the Eastern
Steel company, at Pottsville, Pa, and
will operate it with his plant at Halle
ton, o., as independent ventures. 1t is
a significant fact that in addition to the
four open-hearth steel furnaces, with a
capacity of 200 tons per heat now in
operation, four blast furnaces are to be
built just west of the present plant.
Pennsylvania Railroad company has
just awarded a contract for the cree
tion of complete pressure wOod-pre
serving plant at Point House pier,
Greenwich point, Philadelphia. In addi-
ton to the plant to be constructed. the
company has one at Mt. Union, Pa. and
small experimental plant at Green
witch Point, both of which are in sue
cessful operation. The Pennsylvania
railroad alone uses from 100000 to
100000 ties each year for renewals
and new work. The average life of
these red oak and chestnut ties under
present conditions in main running
tracks is from three to four years, while
white oak lasts from seven to eight
years. 1t is estimated that preServative
treatment will increase the life of red
oak and other treatable ties to at least
fifteen years. The Pennsylvania rail-
roads enormous requirements for ties
and lumber strip the timber from some
$4,000 acres annually. 1t is estimated
that by proper treating with preserva-
tives even part of this timber, its life
will be so increased that perhaps $4,000
acres will supply the company's require
ments.
The Atchison. Topeka & Santa re
railroad has ordered 10000 tons of 90
pound steel rails, costing 100000 for
delivery next year. They viii be used
for renewals and building 700 miles of
new road principally in Texas and Cali
fornia. The new Texas road will CON
meet the gulf lines for the California
road at Mexico, making an air line from
California to the Gulf of Mexico
The Illinois Steel company has closed
contracts for 100000 tons of standard
rails.
The heavy demands for bars. which IS
now contesting the mills, is said 10 be
due to the preparations TO harvest aud
move the crops. 1t comes principally
from the manufacturers of agricnltnral