The Penn's Grove record., 1919-07-25
EddystOne Rifle Plant

Few realize the immense magniti-
tude of the Eddystone rifle plant,
which closed recently.
When the huge enterprise was es-
tablished a few miles south of Phila-
delphia soon after the United States
entered the war for democracy it was
described as the worlds rifle plant,
but the secrecy enforced by wartime
precautions prevented details becom-
ing public.
An inventory of the plant and stock,
just completed, gives an accurate idea
of the true proportions of the project.
The inventory required the services
of 148 men for 83 working days. This
does not include the 100 laborers who
handled the articles inventoried. The
total cost was $89,270. Articles count
ed and described numbered 42,567, 800.
The equipment and stock inventor
led, which is to be moved by the gov
eminent, will fill 2,150 freight cars, OF
a solid train 16 miles long. The larg-
est article is a 15-ton lathe. The small
est is a black diamond, weighing 1,1OO
of a carat.
The total weight of these articles is
such that if all the soldiers of the
United States Army at the height of
the war were required to march thru
the plant and carry an equal share,
each would have a load of At pounds.
During it's existence the plant pro-
duced 1,352,477 United States rifles,
model 1917, and 607,092 British Enfield
rifles. The maximum production for
one day was 1901 rifles. The highest
daily average was 5000.
At the peak of production there
were 1907 employees with a weekly
pay roll of $402,817. Besides the en-
ployes, 1877 government inspectors
were assigned to the plant at one time.
The entire area of the plant was
34h acres, enclosed by a fence $500
feet long, or a little oven a mile. The
total floor area of the buildings was
1914 acres, over 10 acres of which was
on the ground floor. The building was
1,O4O feet wide, and the length of the
longest bay was 816 feet.
More than Tx acres of glass was
used in the window panes and sky
lights. The heating plant boiler horse
power was 2,400. The radiating sur
face, reduced to IL inch pipe would
make a length of 45hmiles. The max
imum 24-hour coal consumption for
heating was ITO tons.
Electricity was used for power.
There were four electric sub-statlons,
with a total capacity Of 5000 kilo-
watts. The total current used in the
same month was 2,323,600 kilowatt
hours. The installed capacity of the
electrical equipment was equivalent to
100000 25-watt lamps. The total
electric wiring would connect Philadel-
phia with Elizabeth, N. j. The belt
ing would reach from Philadelphia to
to New York.
There was a mile and a quarter OF
railroad track within the plant. The
maximum monthly consumption OF
water for drinking and washing was
1892. OS4 gallons. More than i7,500,-
600 cubic feet of gas was consumed
monthly. Over 5000 china dishes We're
used in the company restaurants,
which fed $500 persons a day.
Gun stocks blanks in the plant jan
nary II numbered 1,400,0O0. Placed
end to end, they would reach from
PHILADELPHIA to St. Louis. The bar
bar stock of component steel on hand
at the same time, if the bars were laid
end to end, would have reached the
full length of the journey of the Nc
nlanes from Halifax to Trepassey Bay,
and thence to the Azores.
Ia make the number of gun stock
blanks on hand January IL, 53,oo3
walnut trees had to be cut. This
means 3.137 acres Of grown trees,
While the plant was in operation, oZ0
walnut trees were cut into gun stocks
for shipment there each WORKING gay.
Among these was the argos w oao
mt tree cut in 20 years. 1t was 80
years old and measured SIX Ieet loul
inches in diameter. 1t Was.1Tom .He
Turkey Run tract, 80 miles from 1ndl-
ana half was sawed into gunstock
eIanks for Eddystone and the rest was
made into airpiane propeller blades.