Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-04-06

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plant. The shop is equipped with
forges, bolt treading machines,
lathes and iron working machinery,
steam engine and large steam air
compressor and a giant steam pump
that takes water from the lake and
fills the tank that supplies the en-
gines with thousands of gallons of
water. The boilers have a capacity
of 300h.p. and supply steam for the
shop power plant and heating.
The roundhouse has twenty stalls
and the men working around the
225-ton Mikado engines look like
small objects in comparison. The
engine on every train is taken into
the yard and the engineer goes to the
office of the shop foreman and books
his engine, giving in detail the re-
pairs needed. Workmen take the
engine to the coal pocket, fill with
coal and sand, then to the pit, where
the fire is dumped; then the tool kit
and other tools used on the run are
taken and placed in the tool house
and the locomotive run into it's stall.
Then the boiler inspector and mech
anics put it in perfect working con-
dition for its next run.
There is a tine system carried out
in all this work and it is remarkable
how quickly and accurately engines
are handled and taken care of.
One of the necessary things to
look after is filling the sand box on
the engine, and say, can you form
any idea of the amount of sand used
in this work? 1t hardly seems pos
sible, yet at this division point 800
tons are used annually. This has to
be dried over a heater and forced by
air into pocket where it can be run
into the sand box. The ashes and
fire are dumped into an iron box and
mechanism operated by air lifts
the box and dumps the ashes into a
car. The oil tanks supplying the
engines with every kind of oil used
in their operation are sunk in the
cellar of the stockroom and air pres
sure delivers the oil at faucets on
the floor above.
The system is wonderful. Every
appliance to save labor and quickly
:. and economically perform the work
, is used. Thoroughness and looking
after the little details is emphasized
in all this work. 1t was General
, Thomas, of Civil war fame and noted
= in American history as 'The Rock of
Chickamauga," who instructed his
: artillery captains to look after every
r detail of their ordinance for he said
= "The fate of a battle may depend
! upon a linchpin." So in the opera.
| ton of railway, the fate of human
/ lives may depend on a loose connec-
| ton of these great engines; and it il
| the work of these shops to see that
| all these are taken up and everything
| put in perfect condition for the mex
run.
| Mr.. Robert Gardner is superinten
dent of the shops here. Ray Ches
ney, chief clerk, E. j. Maxwell, shol
foreman, James Malyon, foreman
boiler maker.
| Since Mr.. Gardner came here abou
year ago the work has more thai
| thribbled and he now employs owe
| 100 men. He has made many add
tions, including enlarging the round
house, building a tool house, sho
foreman's Office, and building owe
the turntable, which will be com
pleted when the iron work arrives
These shops mean much to thi
place and the additional work unde
Mr.. Gardner has brought about a
increased business activity tha
marks the progress of Island Pom
and brings the place more prominent
ly before the public as the busines
III &c Neutrality-suspicious. Nnu.~.4