Narrative of the Tenth Annual Meeting. [Volume: 8, Issue: 5, 1889, pp. 274-289]

280

UNITED STATES ASSOCIATION OF

[VOL. 8,

the blast-furnace plant of the Duluth Iron and Steel Company, nearly
completed. The furnace stack is 16 feet in diameter at the bosh, and
76 feet 7 inches high. It is equipped with a special Weimer charging apparatus, and stands in a cast-house built of brick, the inside
dimensions being 62 feet x 130 feet 7 inches, and 22 feet high to the
square of the roof. Air will be supplied by a Weimer 4 x 7J feet
engine, steam cylinder 42 inches in diameter, and heated in three
Gordon Cowper Whitwell fire-brick hot-blast stoves, 18 feet in diameter and 60 feet high. The engine-house, which is 61~ x 42 feet,
and 34 feet high, has room enough to accommodate two additional
engines when the plant is enlarged, and all the different portions of
the plant are so arranged that a twin blast-furnace can be added.
Steam will be supplied by two batteries each of four combined, double-flue and cylinder boilers. The upper boilers are 48 inches in diameter and 35 feet 10 inches long, with two 16-inch flues, and the
lower boilers, 42 inches in diameter and 28 feet 8 inches long. The
draft-stack is of brick, 132 feet high and 7 feet square inside.
The ore and stock-shed is 120 feet long and 42 feet wide; the stock
being carried from the stock-house floor level to the furnace top in
an automatic skip-car, running on an inclined plane, 325 feet in
length. This car will hold 2 tons of coke, or 5 tons of ore.
The fuel used will be coke, which is to be made on the ground,
from Pennsylvania bituminous coal, thus avoiding any loss by
breakage in transportation. If this is obtained at or near Chicago
prices, as is expected, the furnace could save a large proportion of
the ore freightage, and should be able to make pig-iron at or below
the cost at Chicago.
The Minnesota Iron Car Company's works, adjoining the Duluth
Iron and Steel Company's, was next inspected. The foundry is
61 x 385 feet, the rolling-mill and forge-building 30 x 300 feet. The
erecting and machine shops and planing-mill are under one roof,
the dimensions of the building being 97 x 527 feet. The paint
shop is 58 x 362 feet.
The cupola made its first heat on the day of the visit, and some
plates for the rolling-mill were cast. A system of overhead trolleys
for handling ladles and castings, attracted attention.
The Minnesota Iron Car Company is reported to have a number
of orders on hand, some of which are from the Iron Car Company
of New York, with which it has close relations.