USA > Pennsylvania > Allegheny County > Pittsburgh > Standard history of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania > Part 120
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134
Upper Union Mills, at Thirty-third Street, Pittsburg, on the Allegheny . Valley Railroad. Built in 1863-4 by the Cyclops Iron Company; enlarged by Carnegie, Kloman & Co., Carnegie Brothers & Co., Limited, and Carnegie, Phipps & Co., Limited; nineteen heating furnaces and seven trains of rolls (one 8, one 12, one 18, and one 20 inch, and two plate and one skelp). Product, structural steel, steel bars, and steel universal mill plates; annual capacity, 140,- 000 gross tons. Fuel, natural gas and coal.
Lower Union Mills, at Twenty-ninth Street, Pittsburg, on the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Built in 1861-2 by Kloman & Phipps, and enlarged by Wilson, Walker & Co., Limited, and by Carnegie, Phipps & Co., Limited; twenty-eight heating furnaces, four trains of rolls (one 9, one 12, one 15, and one 78 inch), eighteen forge fires, and fourteen hammers (700 to 7,000 pounds). Product,
979
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
universal mill plates, car forgings, bridgework, angles, axles, links, pins, and bar steel; annual capacity, 65,000 gross tons. Fuel, natural gas and coal.
Keystone Bridge Works, at Fifty-first Street, Pittsburg, on the Allegheny Valley Railroad. Built in 1864-5 by the Keystone Bridge Company. Product, steel bridges, especially for railroads, elevated railway structures, and steel frames for modern office buildings; annual capacity, 50,000 gross tons.
Larimer Coke Works, at Larimer, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Built in 1872-3 by Carnegie & Co. Annual capacity, 120,000 gross tons coke.
Youghiogheny Coke Works, at Douglass, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Built in 1891 by Carnegie Brothers & Co., Limited. Annual capacity, 100,000 gross tons coke.
Scotia Ore Mines, at Benore, Center County, Pennsylvania; annual capacity, 100,000 gross tons red hematite ore.
The land owned by the association and used in connection with its various works aggregates 1,527 acres distributed as follows:
Acres.
Edgar Thomson Furnaces and Steel Works
270
Duquesne Furnaces and Steel Works.
308
Homestead Steel Works.
Lucy Furnaces 249
46
Keystone Bridge Works IO
I2
Lower Union Mills.
9
Larimer Coke Works.
4I
Youghiogheny Coke Works 18
Scotia Ore Mines. 564
At the works of this association there are in use 626 boilers, with a rating of 73,186 horse power; 418 engines, with a rating of 109,280 horse power; and 158 pumps, with a daily capacity of 128,208,440 gallons. These are distributed as follows:
Boilers. No
Horsepower. 18,475
Edgar Thomson Furnaces.
167
Edgar Thomson Steel Works.
93
7,250
Edgar Thomson Foundry .
2
500
Duquesne Furnaces
5I
12,IIO
Duquesne Steel Works.
65
4,760
Homestead Steel Works
I66
18,380
Lucy Furnaces and Works.
Keystone Bridge
I5
4,000
Upper Union Mills.
30
4,076
Lower Union Mills.
24
2,900
Larimer Coke Works
4
186
Youghiogheny Coke Works.
3
I20
Scotia Ore Mines
6
429
Total. 626
73,186
Engines.
No.
Horsepower.
Edgar Thomson Furnaces.
31
16,800
Edgar Thomson Steel Works
52
11,300
Edgar Thomson Foundry.
2
1,000
Duquesne Furnaces .
38
21,964
Duquesne Steel Works
46
14,037
Upper Union Mills
980
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
Engines. No
Horsepower.
Homestead Steel Works
I46
33,565
Lucy Furnaces ..
I6
3,500
Keystone Bridge Works.
5
400
Upper Union Mills.
47
3,820
Lower Union Mills
I8
2,230
Larimer Coke Works.
5
152
Youghiogheny Coke Works
I
67
Scotia Ore Works
II
445
Total
418
109,280
Pumps.
No.
Gals. Per Day.
Edgar Thomson Furnaces.
23
36,175,000
Edgar Thomson Steel Works
12
14,955,360
Edgar Thomson Foundry
I
350,000
Duquesne Furnaces
9
22,200,000
Duquesne Steel Works.
23
6,860,000
Homestead Steel Works.
50
33,149,000
Lucy Furnaces
IO
6,000,000
Keystone Bridge Works
2
35,000
Upper Union Mills.
9
2,946,720
Lower Union Mills.
7
3,629,960
Larimer Coke Works
4
233,600
Youghiogheny Coke Works
3
568,800
Scotia Ore Mines
5
1,105,000
Total.
158 128,208,440
Messrs. Henry C. Frick (chairman), William H. Singer, Henry M. Curry, Charles M. Schwab, Alexander R. Peacock, Lawrence C. Phipps, John Ponte- fract, George H. Wightman, and Francis T. F. Lovejoy (secretary) constitute the Board of Managers; the present members of the Association being: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Phipps, Jr., Henry C. Frick (chairman Board of Managers), George Lauder, William H. Singer, Henry M. Curry, John W. Vandevort, Charles M. Schwab (president), Alexander R. Peacock (first vice-president), Lawrence C. Phipps (second vice-president and treasurer), Francis T. F. Lovejoy (secre- tary), Thomas Morrison (general superintendent Edgar Thomson Steel Works and Furnaces), Charles L. Taylor (special agent), James Gayley, John Ponte- fract (purchasing agent), Andrew M. Moreland (assistant secretary and auditor), Daniel M. Clemson (superintendent ore, coke and natural gas departments), George H. Wightman (general sales agent), William W. Blackburn (assistant treasurer), John C. Fleming (sales agent, Chicago), J. Ogden Hoffman (sales agent, Philadelphia), Millard Hunsiker (assistant to president, London),. George E. McCague (general freight agent), James Scott (superintendent Lucy furnaces), Henry P. Bope (assistant general sales agent), William E. Corey (general superin- tendent Homestead Steel Works), Louis T. Brown (general superintendent Upper and Lower Union Mills), David G. Kerr (superintendent Edgar Thomson Fur- naces), Homer J. Lindsay (special agent).
George Westinghouse was born October 6, 1846, at Central Bridge, New York, and is the son of George and Emeline (Vedder) Westinghouse. In 1856 the family removed to Schenectady, New York, where the father, who was an inventor, established the Schenectady Agricultural Works. The son received his earlier and preparatory education in the public and high schools of the town,
981
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
and, during that period, also spent much time in his father's machine shop, and he regards this opportunity to familiarize himself with all kinds of machine work as of great importance in laying the foundation of his success. The experience referred to enabled him, at the age of fifteen, to invent and make a rotary engine, and to also gain a knowledge sufficient to pass at an early age the examination for the position of assistant engineer in the United States navy. The same pa- triotic spirit which impelled one of his brothers to lay down his life as a soldier in the war for the Union, led George Westinghouse to leave school, and, in June, 1863, to enlist in the Twelfth New York National Guard for thirty days' service. The service being ended, he was discharged in July, and in November of the same year reënlisted for three years in the 16th New York Cavalry, being chosen cor- poral. In November, 1864, he was honorably discharged, and, on December 14, following, he was appointed third assistant engineer in the United States Navy and reported for duty on the Muscoota. He was transferred to the Stars and Stripes June 4, 1865, and detached and ordered to the Potomac flotilla June 28, 1865.
At the close of the war, resisting solicitations to remain in the navy and wish- ing to continue his college studies, Mr. Westinghouse tendered his resignation and was honorably discharged August 1, 1865. Returning home, he entered Union College, where he remained until the close of his sophomore year. Having found it difficult to resist the impulse toward experiment and invention, which has been such a marked trait of his mind and disposition and which moved him during his service in the navy to invent a multiple-cylinder engine, Mr. Westing- house, after conference with President Hickok of Union College, and by his advice and appreciative suggestion, discontinued his classical studies and entered upon active life to find a wider scope for his inventive genius. In 1865 he in- vented a device for replacing railroad cars upon the track, which, being of cast- steel, was manufactured by the Bessemer Steel Works at Troy, New York, twenty miles from Schenectady. Going to Troy one day, a delay, caused by a collision between two freight trains, suggested to Mr. Westinghouse the idea that a brake under the control of the engineer might have prevented the accident. This was the inception and key-thought of the air brake. The inventor began to think over the matter, and among the devices which his mind suggested was a brake actuated by the cars closing upon each other. No experiments were made, but the car replacer business was developed. In Chicago, in 1866, Mr. Westinghouse met a Mr. Ambler, inventor of a continuous chain brake, having a chain running the entire length of the train, with a windlass on the engine, which could be operated by pressing a wheel against the flange of the driving-wheel of the locomotive, thus tightening the chain and causing the brake blocks to operate upon the wheels of the cars. Mr. Westinghouse remarked to Mr. Ambler that he had given some attention to the brake problem, but was met with the reply that there was no use in working upon the subject, as the Ambler patent covered the only practical way of operating brakes. Undiscouraged, because he believed Mr. Ambler to be mistaken, and his spirit and genius only roused by difficulties, as has so often been the case in his career, he gave himeslf more earnestly to the study of the subject. His first plan was to use a steam cylinder under the tender to draw up the chain; and then the use of a cylinder under each car, with a pipe to feed all the cylinders, was considered. Experiments and discussion with his brother showed the plan to be impracticable. In the course of reading, Mr. Westinghouse met with an account of the operation of the drilling apparatus in Mont Cenis tunnel, at a distance of 3,000 fect from the air-compressor. The
. use of compressed air in drilling suggested to him its possible employment for the operation of the brake, compressed air being free from the objections to
982
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
the use of steam. Having made drawings of the air-pump, brake cylinders and valves, he explained them to the superintendent of the New York Central Rail- road, who declined to try the apparatus. After filing a caveat, he made the same request to the officers of the Erie Railroad for a trial, but with the same result.
In 1867 steel works were started in Schenectady by Mr. Westinghouse for the manufacture of the car replacer and reversible steel railroad frogs, but lack of capital proved a hindrance. After correspondence, the inventor was invited to Pittsburg, where he made a contract with the Pittsburg Steel Works to manu- facture and to act as agent for the introduction of steel frogs. Traveling ex- tensively, Mr. Westinghouse took every occasion to interest investors in the air brake, offering repeatedly to railroad companies the right to use the invention if they would bear the expense of a trial. In 1868 he met Ralph Baggaley, whom he interested in the description of the brake, and who, upon being offered a one-fifth interest if he would pay the expense of apparatus sufficient for one train, accepted the proposition. The apparatus being constructed, permission was given by the superintendent of the "Pan-Handle" Railroad to apply it to an engine and four cars on the accommodation train running between Pittsburg and Steubenville. This train was fitted in the latter part of 1868, and the first application of the brake prevented a collision with a wagon on the track. The first patent was issued April 13, 1869, and the Westinghouse Air Brake Company was formed July 20th following. The first orders for apparatus were from the Michigan Central Railway and the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. The brake had a number of imperfections, but changes were rapidly made, and it was brought into good condition in 1869, when works for manufacture were begun, being completed in 1870. Uninterrupted attention was given to details, so that the brake underwent many changes. The policy of issuing no rights or licenses, but confining the manufacture to one locality and under one management, has not only been of the greatest possible use to the railroads in securing uniformity in brake apparatus throughout the United States and adjacent territory, but it has resulted in the erection of large works, equipped with the finest and newest machinery, at Wilmerding, thirteen miles from Pittsburg. This has caused the construction of a beautiful town, finely lighted with electricity, well paved and sewered, and possessing churches and schools.
In 1871 Mr. Westinghouse went abroad to introduce the air brake in England - a difficult problem, as the trains in Europe had hand-brakes upon only what was termed "brake vans," there being no brakes upon the other vehicles. Not only did this require the spending of seven years in Europe between 1871 and 1882, but it taxed inventive ability considerably to meet the new conditions of railroad practice. He invented the "automatic" feature of the brake, the improvement being made in what is known as the "triple valve." By this improved valve it became practicable to apply all the brakes on the train of fifty freight cars in two seconds. The automatic and quick-action brakes are regarded by experts as far surpassing the original brake in ingenuity and inventive genius. They are not mere improvements, but distinct inventions of the highest class, unique and remarkable. Simple in action yet complicated in the details of its construction, the automatic brake is wonderfully efficient, and it has prevented many accidents, as when a portion of the train has escaped from the control of the engineer, while the quick-action brake gives complete and instant control to the engineer over a train more than a third of a mile in length. The patents taken out by Mr. Westinghouse are interesting in their variety, because they cover every detail from the front end of the engine to the rear of the last car, and include stop-cocks, hose couplings, valves, packings, and many forms of "equivalents" of valves and other devices. Infringers of these patents have been invariably
---
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG. 983
enjoined by the courts, which have declared the inventions to be of great value, pioneer in character, therefore entitled to very broad construction. Scientists unite in regarding the air brake in its completed form as one of the most remarkable inventions of the century, and its usefulness is tested by its almost universal adoption by the railroads of the world. As is usual in the experience of every valuable invention, many claimants for its honor have arisen. The decisions of the courts in upholding the Westinghouse patents destroy such claims, and the additional inventions, increasing the efficiency of the brake, are sufficient to establish the superiority of Mr. Westinghouse.
In 1883 Mr. Westinghouse became interested in the operation of railway signals and switches by compressed air, and developed and patented the system now manufactured by The Union Switch and Signal Company. To operate the signals, compressed air is used as the power and electricity as the agent to operate minute valves for setting the compressed air in motion. Under the patents obtained for this invention the Union Switch and Signal Company has introduced in Boston, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and many other places, what is termed the "pneumatic interlocking switch and signal apparatus," whereby all the switches and signals are operated from a given point, using compressed air as the motive power and electricity to bring that power into operation. Through this invention, the movement of signals and switches no longer requires considerable physical force, the operations being controlled by tiny levers which a child can move. These plants are splendid illustrations of what can be accom- plished by a proper combination of steam, air and electricity. The development of the switch and signal apparatus finally led Mr. Westinghouse to take up the subject of electric lighting, and having purchased some patents from William Stanley in 1883, he began the manufacture of lamps and electric lighting apparatus at the works of the Union Switch and Signal Company. In 1885 he purchased the Gaulard and Gibbs patents for the distribution of electricity by means of al- ternating currents, and in 1886 formed the Westinghouse Electric Company, and engaged actively in the manufacture and sale of all kinds of electrical machinery. The business rapidly developed, and in 1889 and 1890 this company absorbed the United States Electric Lighting Company, and the Consolidated Electric Light Company. In 1891 all of these properties were reorganized into the Westing- house Electric and Manufacturing Company. This company has built most extensive works at East Pittsburg, twelve miles from Pittsburg, where about 3,000 operatives are employed. In the construction of these buildings, as in all the others under his management and control, architects have, by direction of Mr. Westinghouse, borne in mind the health and comfort of his employes and made every proper arrangement for their well-being. His persistent and domi- nating desire has been, not only that the best class of operatives shall seek his employ, but that every just provision shall be made for their physical good. In addition to this work of manufacturing electrical machinery, he became interested in electric lighting companies in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Pitts- burg, and has given great attention to the problem of the generation and dis- tribution of electricity for commercial purposes. In 1881 the Westinghouse Machine Company was formed to manufacture engines designed by H. H. West- inghouse, brother of the inventor. Becoming largely interested in it financially, the latter was made its president, and the business has developed into one of large proportions, with extensive works at East Pittsburg.
In 1884 the natural gas having been brought from Murrysville to Pittsburg, Mr. Westinghouse suggested that drilling might develop natural gas in Pittsburg, and, carrying out this suggestion, he drilled a well on the grounds of his own residence, resulting in the production of gas in enormous quantities. An ordi-
984
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
nance was enacted by the city authorizing him to lay pipes under the streets, and he purchased the charter of what is known as the Philadelphia Company, having the power to carry on the natural gas business, no law relating especially to this business being in existence at that time. This company has laid about 900 miles of pipe, some of it three feet in diameter, for the conveyance and distribution of natural gas. Mr. Westinghouse was the first justly to appreciate the perils and requirements involved in the distribution of such enormous quantities of this almost odorless gas, under great pressure, with the possibility of leakage at every joint. Not only did he provide for this leakage by special appliances for conveying the waste gas to the surface, where it would be harmless, but also foresaw the need of large pipes for the reduction of friction when the pressure should decrease. His theory of the utility of pipes of large diameter was ridiculed but experience has justified his sagacity. The work of the Philadelphia Com- pany contributed very largely to the reestablishment of Pittsburg in the iron and steel business. In 1892 it became necessary to produce incandescent lamps, which did not infringe on the patents of other gentlemen, and Mr. Westinghouse began manufacturing on a large scale the lamps designed by Sawyer and Man, made in two parts, the patents for which were owned by the Westinghouse Elec- tric and Manufacturing Company, and he also established a glassworks known as the Westinghouse Glass Factory, to produce the necessary glassware.
At the present time he is interested in the following companies, being presi- dent of all except one: The Westinghouse Air Brake Company. the Westing- house Brake Company, Limited, London, England; the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, the Westinghouse Electric Company, Limited, London England; the Westinghouse Machine Company, the Westinghouse Com- pany, Schenectady, New York; the Westinghouse Glass Factory, the Philadelphia Company, the Allegheny Heating Company, the Allegheny County Light Com- pany, the Union Switch and Signal Company, the United Electric Light and Power Company, New York; the Pittsburg Meter Company, the Brush Electric Company, of Baltimore; the East Pittsburg Improvement Company, the Turtle Creek Valley Water Company. The combined capital of these companies is $41,000,000, and their gross annual business is about $20,000,000. These various companies own, control or are interested in upwards of 3,000 patents in the . United States and various foreign countries. Mr. Westinghouse is a member of the Union League and Lawyers' clubs of New York, and of the Duquesne and Pittsburg clubs of Pittsburg. August 8, 1867, at Brooklyn, New York, he was married to Miss Marguerite Erskine Walker, and to them one child, George, has been born. Mr. Westinghouse regards the sympathy and strong qualities of mind and heart of his wife as being important factors in his success. In 1884 he received from the King of Belgium the decoration of the Order of Leopold, and, in 1889, from the King of Italy, the decoration of the Royal Order of the Crown of Italy. In 1890 Union College gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Benjamin Franklin Jones. It is doubtful if any other citizen of Pittsburg has contributed more to its wonderful industrial development or has exerted a greater influence upon the public affairs of Pennsylvania than the subject of this sketch. His life has been full of activities and stern responsibilities such as baffle men of ordinary caliber, but his dominant nature, wise forecast and excep- tional ability have made him a conspicuous figure not only in this State but in the nation as well. He was born at Claysville, Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, August 8, 1824. His ancestors for several generations were also of Penn- sylvania birth. On his father's side he is of Welsh descent, his great-grandfather having immigrated to this country from London near the close of the seventeenth
985
HISTORY OF PITTSBURG.
century, landing in Philadelphia the same year as Penn. His mother was from those sturdy people that have impressed themselves so decided upon the fortunes of this State-the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Scotch. His father, Jacob A. Jones, who died at Rochester, Pennsylvania, at the age of ninety-six, was born in Philadelphia in the same year that gave birth to the Declaration of Independ- ence, was by profession a surveyor, and was largely engaged in farming and merchandising. His mother, Elizabeth Goshorn, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and married there in 1813. In 1837, when thirteen years old, the subject of this sketch removed with his father's family to New Brighton, Pennsyl- vania, where he remained until his nineteenth year, securing in the meantime a good academic education at the New Brighton Academy. He was offered a liberal education, and such are his mental characteristics that had he chosen a professional career, he would have been eminently successful, but with a knowl- edge of his own tendencies and abilities he chose the life in which he has been so successful, wrought out by the strength of his brain, the industry of his hands and his steady clearness of vision. In 1843, when but nineteen years old, he left his home and came to Pittsburg to begin life on his own account. Pittsburg was then on the route along which the commerce between the East and the WVest came and went. It was the era of canal-boat transportation. The entire line of the Pennsylvania canal had been opened from Philadelphia to Pittsburg nine years before, in 1834. The era of the railroad had not come, though even then it was fast approaching, and some of the pressing problems of that day concerned the relation of the canal boat and the railway car. Mr. Jones' first employment was as assistant shipping clerk, or perhaps better, as receiving clerk, at no salary, in the Pittsburg office of the Mechanics' line of boats, which ran on the canal between Pittsburg and Philadelphia, with a tidewater branch to Havre de Grace, Maryland. Mr. Samuel M. Kier, the chief owner of this line, took a great interest in the young shipping clerk, and encouraged him in every way. The agitation at this time in favor of a continuous line of railroad between the East and West was widespread, and April 13, 1846, the Pennsylvania Railroad was chartered. Mr. Kier set about devising plans for utilizing both methods of internal com- munication, and established the Independent Line of section boats, one of the first of this class to run between Pittsburg, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and so constructed as to be adapted to both rail and canal. Within three years of his first appointment Mr. Jones, not yet twenty-one years of age, became manager of both lines of boats, at a salary at that time almost unprecedented. The canal boat business also included a general commission and forwarding business. In 1847 Mr. Jones became a partner with Mr. Kier in the Independent Line, and operated .it until 1854, when the Pennsylvania Railroad superseded the old system of state canals and railroads. Mr. Jones has never ceased to be connected with the transportation interest which furnished his first employment. For many years he has been identified with the railroad interests of Western Pennsylvania, and relative to railroad matters his advice is frequently sought, and his judgment 'relied upon. At its first inception he was made a director of the Pittsburg and Connellsville Railroad. He was for many years (thirty at least) a director of the Cleveland and Pittsburg, and for a long period held a similar relation to the Alle- gheny Valley Railroad. For some time, also, he was president of what was formerly known as the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston Railroad, now styled the Monongahela Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.