Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 47

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036

USA > Pennsylvania > Blair County > Altoona > Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens > Part 47

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Beginning at the western end of the shops, the paint shop and the paint store house are the first buildings. The paint shop is 68x150 feet, with three tracks for the accommodation of tenders and engines. It has a floor space of 10,895 square feet. David A. Little is the foreman of this shop. The department paints all the work turned out in the shops.

The electric and hydraulic building is probably one of the most interesting build- ings on the list of the shops. It is a one- story building, well lighted, and contains electric light and power machinery, hy- draulic pumping machinery for furnishing power to the boiler shop, air compressors and fire service pumps. H. H. Riggin is in

charge of the engines, boilers, etc., through- out the plant. The building is 45x105 feet in dimensions.

The boiler house, containing stationary boilers for furnishing steam throughout the plant, is a separate building, 45x151 feet. In the winter all the shops are heated by steam, on the Studevant system. All the boilers are fitted with self-feeding and self- cleaning machinery, thus doing away with the drudgery attending a fireman's work.

There are two blacksmith shops, known as No. I and No. 2. The floor space of No. I is 42,520 square feet, the dimensions of the building being 80x514 feet. No. 2 shop covers an area of 15,977 square feet and is 80x210 feet in dimensions. In this depart- ment William Cook is foreman, his assistant being Harry E. Gamble. The number of men employed in this department is about 500, these men being divided into six classes: Smiths, helpers, foremen, heaters, hammermen and hammerboys.

A number of giant hammers are used in ' this department. There are two 6,000 pound hammers, one 3,000, two 1,600, four 1,100, one 600, and other smaller ones. In the forging department gas furnaces are used, but in the bolt department oil furnaces are used. There are five furnaces in the forging department and two in the bolt de- partment. An enormous pair of shears, worked by hydraulic power, is a special feature of this shop.

The Juniata blacksmith shop is brilliantly lighted by large windows and the ventila- tion is about as perfect as possible, there be- ing a total absence of all the unpleasant smoke usually noticed in such shops. The system of lighting by means of arc lights is such that on the darkest night the shop is as bright if not brighter than in daylight.

The machine shop is a two-story build- ing, the outer walls of which are apparently all windows. The effect of these windows is noticed very readily on entering the shop every portion of the building being well lighted. The building is 75x578 feet in di-

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mensions and covers .an area of 84,125 square feet. In this department is also a brass department in which is made all the brass work required in constructing loco- motives. The headquarters for what is known as the tool department is also located here, and in this department all of the tools, gauges, etc., required throughout the shops are made. In addition this department takes care of repairs of tools and machinery throughout the plant. Arthur Timm was for a number of years foreman of this shop, and was later succeeded by John Gorrity, who had been foreman of the vise depart- ment. About 500 men are employed.

The erecting shop is 70x578 feet in dimen- sions and embraces an area of 38,797 square feet. In this shop engines have been erected at the rate of one a day. W. H. Bennett, now master mechanic of all the Juniata shops, was originally foreman of this shop, which is now in charge of Will- iam T.McConnell.

The boiler shops is 80 by 722 feet in di- mensions, with an area of 58,255 square feet. It contains four departments, viz. : the boiler, tank, tin and flue shops. Thomas McKerihan is foreman over the whole.

Other buildings embraced in the Juniata shop department are as follows: Office and storeroom, two stories, 52x72 feet, 6,703 square feet ; store room, 45×151 feet, 6,220 square feet; carpenter shop, 45x90 feet, 4,325 square feet; scale shop, 45×73 feet, 2,922 square feet.

The first master mechanic of the Juniata shops was T. R. Brown and the position is now filled by W. H. Bennett. No repair work is done in these shops, only the erec- tion of new engines to be used on the Penn- sylvania lines. Within recent years a num- ber of the giant electric locomotives, used in the tunnels about New York, have been erected here. Some of the finest mechanics in the world are employed in the various de- partments of these shops.

East Altoona Engine House .- Coincident with the construction of the immense east-

and west-bound classification yards at East Altoona in 1902-03, the company erected a roundhouse with accompanying buildings at this point. It is used exclusively for hous- ing and taking care of the freight engines of the middle and Pittsburg divisions. Upon its completion the old middle division round- house which stood in the machine shop yard at Twelfth street in Altoona, was torn down, and the Pittsburg division roundhouse was used for the passenger engines for the two divisions.

The East Altoona roundhouse is one of the largest structures of the kind in the world, and is said to have cost a million dol- lars. The structure is 395 feet in dimaeter and has an area of 124,606 square feet. In addition to the roundhouse there are two inspection pits, four ash pits, coal wharf, toilet and locker rooms, machine shop, smith shop, office building, storehouse, fan house, oil house, and power plant. There is a turntable seventy-five feet in diameter, with an area of 4,418 square feet. The total area of all the shops of the department is 183,899 square feet, or 4.22 acres, while the area of the shop yard is 33.65 acres. Will- iam D. McKelvey is foreman of the depart- ment and he has under him about 750 men. An everage of 300 locomotives are handled per day of twenty-four hours.

South Altoona Foundries .- The latest ad- dition to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany's plant in Altoona are the South Al- toona foundries. Prior to 1904 the foundries were included in the machine shop department, but the buildings were entirely inadequate, and as there was not sufficient ground for the purpose at that location, the company ac- quired a large tract of land about a mile south of the city, along the line of the Hollidays- burg branch railroad and in 1903 began the erection of what is now probably the largest and best equipped wheel foundry in the world. The shops and yards cover a tract of eighty- four acres of ground, and the total floor area of the buildings is 325,649 square feet, or 7.5 acres. Here are manufactured all the wheels used in the various departments of the loco-

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HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

motive and car shops, the operations giving employment to 954 men. Edward McClain is the foreman of the department. Following are the buildings comprising the department, with their respective areas and dimensions :

feet

sq. feet

Pattern storehouse (3 stories)

193x 91

50,193

Pattern shop

192x 91

17,714

Boiler room

43×161

6,360

Engine room

47x161

6,926

Scale houses (3)

20x 18

824

Wheel foundry

602x188

87,386

Annealing pits (2)

145x 45

11,928

Wheel breakers (3).

16x

322

Material building and storehouse ..

146x 60

8,760

Iron foundry

564x163

91,925

Core rooms

180x 60

16,748

Cupola rooms (3).

45× 40

10,575

Office building (2 stories)

50x 40

6,727

Coke trestle

216x 23

4,968

Machine and smith shop.

99x 60

5,940

THE STRIKE OF 1877.

One of the most memorable events in the history of Altoona was the railroad strike in 1877. On July 19, the city was thrown into a furore of excitement by the announcement that the freight conductors and brakemen on the Pennsylvania railroad had struck at Pitts- burg-that they not only refused to go out with their trains when the latter were ready, but that they would not let the trains go out. When the strike was inaugurated in the morn- ing, none but freight conductors and brake- men were concerned in it, but at night the freight engineers and firemen joined them.

A few days previously Robert Pitcairn, su- perintendent of the Pittsburg division, had is- sued an order that thirty-six cars should be run to a train, a pusher from Conemaugh to Altoona. In those days a single freight train was a locomotive and eighteen cars. The crew comprised an engineer, fireman, con- ductor and three brakemen. Mr. Pitcairn's order did not provide for an increase in the crew in proportion to the increase in the size of the train. The men thought that a reduc- tion on the first of June previous of ten per cent. and then an increase of one hundred per cent. in the labor required of them was more than they could bear. Previous to the order, the custom had been to employ four men be-

sides the engineer and fireman in moving a single train of eighteen cars. If the order had gone into effect an ordinary crew would have had to take charge of a train twice the usual size. This would have been equivalent to the discharge of every other man, and those re- tained would have had to perform double work. It was the increase in the amount of labor, the uncertainty as to who would be dis- charged and who retained, combined with dis- satisfaction created by the June reduction in pay that caused the strike.

Early in the morning of July 21, three train loads of soldiers, enroute to Pittsburg, passed through Altoona. As they entered the depot at this point they were received by a few of the railroad employes there collected with ex- pressions of disapproval. Four large boxes of cartridges were put on board the train in Altoona. As the trains left the depot here the coupling pins of the engines were pulled five different times. O'ne soldier was knocked down for an alleged insult. About 200 rail- roaders were gathered at the depot. A stone was thrown just as the last train went out, which struck the side of the last engine, and a link was thrown which struck a car.

About 10:35 the same morning about fifty brakemen assembled in the yard of the rail- road company, stopped two trains laden with stone, and refused to allow the other engines prepared to take the trains on to go out of the gate of the round house. They also sent all the shifting engines in but one for passenger use. They allowed all passenger trains to pass, but refused passage to freights.

At 2:50 p. m., as the Hollidaysburg branch train was hauling out of the depot with some freight cars attached, the strikers cut the train and would not allow the engine to proceed until the freight cars were placed on a siding. At 5 :20 p. m., a train of eight cars, containing about 400 soldiers, under command of Col. H. Rodgers, passed through the city, taking sup- per here. Engineer Philips came out on en- gine No. 924, and at the request of the strik- ers stepped down, and Jacob Russell, foreman of the roundhouse, took the engine. Engineer

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James Westfall refused to come down from engine No. 136. One striker attempted to un- couple the engines from the train and was pierced through the arm by a bayonet in the hands of a soldier. A guard was thrown out around the engines, and when the trains started several of the guard were pulled off by the strikers. One man was pulled down and severely beaten, but they all managed to get on. After this the train was fired upon and stoned by the strikers around the depot, but nevertheless succeeded in threading its way out of the city en route to Pittsburg.

In the afternoon, previous to this occur- rence, Sheriff James M. Stiffler issued a proc- lamation, verbally, in the depot, requesting the assembled multitude to disperse and quietly return to their homes; not to trespass on any of the railroad company's property; preserve the peace ; leave all trains pass, and not molest or stop engineers or engines from work, or to molest, in any manner, men in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad company. Mayor .David A. Gilland also issued a proclamation cautioning the citizens and others against any unlawful assemblies. He also requested all landlords to close their bars until the excite- ment subsides. These proclamations had the desired effect for the time being.

In the evening of the same day a large num- ber of citizens assembled at the Brant house. Col. David Jones presided and addresses were made by Col. James F. Milliken, who had been colonel of the Fifth regiment Pennsylvania National Guard, and at that time was district attorney of Blair county, Frank P. Tierney, Esq., Thomas H. Greevy Esq., and Colonel Jones. The speakers all expressed their sym- pathy for the men but cautioned them not to disturb the peace or violate the law.

During the evening and night the Latta guard patrolled the streets for the protection of private property and the maintenance of law and order. The streets were thronged with an excited crowd. The latter portion of the night passed quietly, however, no freight trains running east or west to demand the at- tention of the strikers.

Sunday, July 22, was characterized by the shriek of the fife, the rattle and roll of the drum, the marching of armed troops through the city, the rapid movements and cheering of men, the scream of the locomotive whistle, all strangely intermingled with the solemn tones of the church bells.

About 9 o'clock in the morning ten carloads of troops, aggregating about 500, composed of parts of the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth and Twelfth regiments, under the com- mand of General James A. Beaver, arrived in the city, and immediately pulled up to the upper end of the yard. Here breakfast was served to them, and their engine was backed into the upper round house. The strikers then closed the gates of the roundhouse yard and refused to allow any engine to go out to take the troops to Pittsburg. A detachment of Company B, Twelfth regiment, of Williams- port, Robert M. Foresman, captain, under the command of Colonel Stead, was detailed to take an engine from the roundhouse. They marched up to the roundhouse gate, where they faced and were surrounded by about a hundred cool and determined strikers. They were compelled to halt within six feet of the gate, and about a half dozen of the railroad men stepped into the ranks and laid hold of muskets in the hands of the soldiers, who qui- etly and not unwillingly yielded their arms. Fearing the utter demoralization of his com- mand, Captain Foresman faced the crowd and attempted to drive back the more venturesome at the point of his sword, when a huge stone was thrown which struck him back of the right ear, prostrating him. Sergeant Osborne Gifford received two cuts on the head from stones. For awhile the affair looked serious. The strikers, on learning that more troops had been detailed to secure an engine, and were marching towards the roundhouse, rushed into the yard and disabled three engines, by taking off driving-rods, drawing the sand, water and fire, letting the steam escape and soaping the boxes. The troops started to march to the gates, but, concluding that it would be useless to attempt to get an engine, and that even if

338

HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

they did, no engineer could be found to take it out, marched back to their train. From the engine the body of troops, with the exception of a guard at the train, marched to the depot and stacked arms. The soldiers and strikers then commingled in friendly intercourse. Though not allowed to go west, the soldiers were permitted to return to their homes in the east if they chose. Company G, of Philadel- phia, and squads of other companies, took ad- vantage of that and left for home in the even- ing.

On Monday morning, July 23, a meeting of the railroad men was held, and it was unani- mously agreed to protect both private and public property at all hazards. A committee of workingmen also waited on George W. Stratton, master mechanic of the machine shops and requested him to close the shops, which he did. The car shops were also closed.

The same morning, by the advice of promi- nent citizens, placards, signed by Mayor Gil- land, were posted in every conspicuous place in the city calling a meeting of all the citizens at the Opera House, to be held at 3 o'clock p. m. Before the appointed hour arrived the house was crowded. The mayor opened the meeting by announcing his purpose in calling it. He said a great burden had been laid on his shoulders, and that he wanted to do right by all, both the workingmen and the company, and if he failed it would not be his fault. He concluded : "I want you to act as men and good citizens, and not as roughs and rioters. I have sworn in a number of policemen and I want you to stand by them. I called this meet- ing through a pure motive and trust it will be so regarded."

David K. Ramey was made president, and Samuel S. Goodman and Hon. J. W. Curry, vice presidents. A. F. Kerr, G. S. Hamlin and N. C. Barclay, were elected secretaries.

Addresses were then made by Henry .H. Herr, Esq., Hon. J. W. Curry, George J. Akers, Major Richard J. Crozier, William B. Blake, Simon Hawk and the presiding officer. All expressed the hope that the difficulties might speedily be adjusted. It was voted that

the mayor be authorized to swear in 500 tem- porary policemen, and these were put under the control of Andrew Kipple and Thomas I. · McKierman.

In the evening of the same day a meeting of the shop men was held in the Opera House. Some 300 persons were present. Captain J. W. Dougherty was elected president, and Cap- tain E. M. Warren, secretary. A series of resolutions was adopted, expressing the desire of the men that the wage scale in force prior to June 1, 1877 might be restored and that no discharge or suspensions occur to any one who participated in the present difficulty.

A motion was made that the chairman ap- point a committee of three to present the res- olution to General Superintendent G. Clinton Gardner, which was carried, and M. J. Mc- Coy, W. B. Blake and J. B. Harkins were ap- pointed such committee.

The following morning another meeting was held, with William Fortenbaugh in the chair and M. J. McCoy, chairman of the com- mittee previously appointed to wait on Mr. Gardner presented a report of the interview. Mr. Gardner expressed himself as a consistent friend of the workingmen, which he had shown all through the panic in scouring the whole country to get work to be done here in the shops. He had done for them all that was in his power. He further said that he could not, at this short notice, give the men a definite answer; he could not negotiate between the workmen and high officials, and all that he could do was to obey orders. Under such cir- cumstances he could not assure the men any- thing. He would forward their resolutions, with remarks of his own. He expressed solici- tation for the property of the company, and the committee assured him that it would be protected. The committee further expressed their entire confidence in Mr. Gardner, and their belief that he would do all in his power to bring about a satisfactory solution.

Governor Hartranft, accompanied by his secretary, Matthew S. Quay, afterwards United States senator, arrived in Altoona on the morning of July 25. He made a brief ad-

339

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

dress at the station, in which he said he would endeavor to render exact justice to all and that he would execute the laws of the state, protecting all citizens, as well as public and private property.

The main body of soldiers was encamped near Haggerty's woods, in passenger cars, their places of rendezvous being styled Camp Beaver, while a considerable number made their headquarters on Tenth avenue, opposite the roundhouse.

On the morning of the 27th four engines were fired up to take freight trains out, but after some forty engineers and the same num- ber of firemen had been asked to go out and refused, the fires were withdrawn and the en- gines returned to the upper roundhouse. On the 27th, ten soldiers, under a lieutenant, marched through the depot, clearing every- thing before them, allowing nobody to remain. All freight trains in the yard were moved east that morning. The strike terminated on Mon- day, July 30. By that time, freight trains, both east and west, including Hollidaysburg branch, were running the same as before. Workmen returned to their places in the shops that morning. The curling smoke of industry again wafted skyward, and the buzz of the machinery was again heard in and about the shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad company.

ALTOONA'S GENERAL INDUSTRIES.

Altoona's chief industrial reliance has al- ways been the Pennsylvania railroad com- pany, whose shops have given employment to most of the people. Efforts have been made from time to time to launch other in- dustries, but with a few exceptions they either did not materialize or ended disas- trously. Thus a number of years ago a number of local business men formed a com- pany and erected a plant for the manufac- ture of glass, which they operated for about two years at a financial loss, and the estab- lishment was destroyed by fire Jan. 14, 1906. In . 1899, through the instrumentality of the board of trade, the Altoona Machine and Foundry company was formed and a plant

erected at Ninth avenue and Thirty-first street. It also proved a failure, and the building has been standing idle for a num- ber of years.

ALTOONA CAR WORKS.

Greater success, however, has crowned several other ventures. In 1868 shops were erected along Broad avenue in what is now the Ninth ward, by the Altoona Manufac- turing company. A fire which occurred on May 23, 1879, destroyed the buildings. New and better structures were then reared,. filled with improved machinery and such other appliances as enabled the manage-

ment

execute

better work, more

promptly and at lower prices. The name was later changed to the Altoona car works, and, as the title of the establishment indi- cates, the principal industry was the manu- facture of railroad cars, coal-pit wagons, castings of every description, and general machine work. The works gave employ- ment to several hundred men up until 1890, when business was suspended and the plant dismantled. S. C. Baker was the president of the company and N. A. Green the super- intendent.

ALTOONA IRON COMPANY.

The Altoona Iron company was formed in 1872, for the purpose of manu- facturing merchant bar iron, and was char -. tered July 10, 1873. The construction of the rolling mill was commenced July 24, 1872, and it was put in operation April 16, 1873, with a capacity of 3,000 tons manufac- turing iron annually. Since 1874 extensive improvements have been made to the plant, and the annual product reaches into the hundred thousands. Dr. S. C. Baker was the president of the company for a number of years, and later John P. Levan held this position. H. K. McCauley has been the sec- retary and superintendent in charge of the plant for a number of years. About 150 men are regularly employed. The plant is located at Thirtieth street, between the

340

HISTORY OF BLAIR COUNTY

Hollidaysburg branch railroad and the line of the Logan Valley railway company.

THE SILK MILL.

Next to the railroad shops, the most im- most important industry the city has ever had is the silk mill. This industry was pro- jected in 1888, and during that year and in 1889 a fine building was erected between Eighth and Ninth avenues between Twenty- fourth and Twenty-sixth streets. A large annex was built a few years later, and in 1897 a still larger addition was built, until now the plant covers almost two solid squares, it being the largest, with two or three exceptions, in the United States en- gaged in the manufacture of silk. It employs . about 1,000 operatives, mostly females, and the finest finished fabric are turned out. : Panics have never affected this industry, it being kept steadily in operation during the periods of depression following the panics of 1893 and 1907. Schwarzen- baugh, Huber & Co., of New York city, are the owners of the plant.

MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIES.

Besides these larger industries, there are numerous smaller establishments which give employment to more or less labor, viz. : three ice plants, the Pennsylvania, the Citi- zens' and the Standard, two brick yards, a dozen planing mills, one overall factory, brush, broom, soap, mattress and churn factories; three soft drink establishments ; three marble and granite works; steam dye works; one flouring-mill ; two chop and feed mills ; three cabinet shops ; several cigar fac- tories, ice cream manufactories; merchant tailors and shoe makers, wagonmakers, har- nessmakers, bakers, book binders, etc.

THE GAS WORKS.

The gas works of the Altoona Gas com- pany are the largest between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. The company was char- tered in 1857 and for many years the plant was at the corner of Eleventh avenue and

Ninth street, but the present plant at Sev- enth avenue and First street was put into operation in February, 1892, shortly after. which the old works were demolished and the ground is now occupied by a freight shed and tracks of the railroad company.

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Twentieth century history of Altoona and Blair County, Pennsylvania, and representative citizens, Part 47

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Number of Pages: 1036

Author: Sell, Jesse C 1872-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Publishing
Number of Pages: 1036