Steam Hammer

[UnkaJesse]

The large steam hammer in the attachment was used at the GM&O's Iselin shops when I worked there in the 1950s. It was removed shortly after this photo was made and now, sadly, it is residing in a grassy field near Atwood, TN. I am sure the owner of the field would be happy for someone to remove it and erect it somewhere where it could be appreciated. This thing really shook the shops when it was operated.

Unka(wish I had a place for the hammer) Jesse

[FredR]

Well, go get it... I always seem to have good luck with that sorta thing [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif"%20alt="[/img]

[Bruce_Mowbray]

Jesse,
I'll ask the Shop Forman at Steamtown if they need one. They want me to make a pair of new eccentric rods for the K-4 and I could hammer out the ends with that. Otherwise I have to hog each one out of a 6 foot long, 6" x 10" bar of 4140 steel. Lots of chips!!!

[UnkaJesse]

Bruce, I haven't seen the hammer since I worked at Iselin, but a friend of mine was instrumental in taking it out of the shop and delivering it to Atwood, TN. I would suppose that the hammer could be made operational without much trouble since it is cast iron and that stuff weathers pretty well, although it has been about 10 years since it was removed from its foundations. At time of removal, it was hoped that the Adams Steam Show people would erect the hammer, but they were not interested. It needs to find a home for sure and if Steamtown could use it, I am sure it could be obtained from the weeds. I will probably see the guy in whose field it is presently residing on or about the end of April. He usually comes to a local "Heritage Days" thingie and brings gas engines. Atwood is about 50 miles from here and last time I was there, it was to photograph the lokie in the attached picture.

Unka (hammer down)Jesse

[Bruce_Mowbray]

Jesse,
Do you have some specs on the hammer? Size? Weight? Capacity? Steam requirements?Also, does it have all the tooling to go with it? I am volunteering one or two days next week in the loco shop so I will be able to ask around if the would like the hammer. There are plans for renovating a few of the ancillary buildings and the hammer might find a home in one of those. We'll have to ask Mike V. if he would move it for us. I'm sure it weighs more than a few tons.

[UnkaJesse]

Bruce, I know almost nothing about the big steam hammer other than having seen it beating out an axle into something once when I was in the Blacksmith part of the shop. I know it is a big mutha for sure and it shook the whole shop when it was hammering away. I doubt that any tooling for it still exists but was probably hauled off for scrap when the shop was closed by the IC RR. Hammer was too much trouble to move I suppose, so it was left standing. Shop was bought by a steel company because of the three overhead cranes (15T, 45T and 180T) which they could use for handling bridge beams etc. My late friend, Willie McCommon, said something to the steel company owner about the hammer and he gave it to him to get it out of the way. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif"%20alt="[/img] My Audel's manuals show what is needed in the way of timber work to absorb the blows to the anvil. Quite a bit of heavy crib work under those things. See attached photo from the manual. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Unka( really ignorant on this matter) Jesse

[gwrdriver]

About fifteen years ago on a road trip to Chattanooga TN, I had half a day to kill so I wandered (on purpose) into the abandoned remains of the Ross-Meehan Foundry (ie Meehanite) and the only thing in the way of equipment left in the entire plant (other than the pattern sheds which were FULL) was gigantic steam hammer. The nameplate said 1885 and I don't recall the builder. I also have no way now of making a size comoparison aside from the fact that it was the largest hammer I'd ever seen, perhaps 16 ft tall to the top of the cylinder. I didn't have a camera with me so I couldn't get photos, but I went back about one year later with a camera . . . . . and nothing had changed . . . except the hammer was gone!

[Grady Smith]

Bruce,
Please do not waste time , effort, and big money to hog an eccentric rod out of a huge chunk of material. Get a forging made. The savings in material cost alone will more than pay for the cost of pounding one out. Contact Vern at Camforge, in Cameron, WV. Call information for area code 304. They forged a drive shaft componant for us (Mountain State Railroad and Logging Historical Association) to put on the 70-ton Cass Climax that we are beginning to rebuild.

One item of interest that Camforge produces is large swivel- type crane hooks for the steel mills. The largest they produce are 75 ton. They stop at this size, not because of forging capacity, but this is the largest size that can be mounted in their 48 inch lathe, for turning and threading of the round shank.

Grady Smith (locoguy@charter.net)
Marietta, Ohio

[Bruce_Mowbray]

Thanks Grady,
I tried to send you a personal message but you're not registered.
I contacted him on the phone and sent him the drawing. I will let you know how we make out.
Thanks again

[Gerald Parker]

Steam hammers don't have a big following but for those of you who would like to see one in operation a trip to the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion on Labor Day weekend will allow you to see a "small" hammer. This machine dates from the 1890's and is rated at 1500 pounds. It was used in the Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN RR shops for 70 years and then hauled to the WMSTR grounds. It is used to stamp out aluminum plates each year. If the hauling and loading wasn't so expensive I am sure that we would try to get it for WMSTR. They use lots of steam when in full-time operation.