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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1888)
THE WEST BHOHE. the necessary adjuncts for mining and manufacturing iron on an extensive scale. The first step for the establishment of an iron manufacturing plant here was taken in 18f5, when the Oregon Iron Company was organized, with a cap. ital stock of $200,000 00. The articles of incorpora tion bore date February 23, 1SG5. Operations were immediately commenced, and the first pig iron was made August 24, 18G7. This was the first iron ever made west of the ltocky mountains. During the time this company operated the plant, about ten yrara, it turned out seven thousand four hundred and sixty tons of pig iron. In 1878 the Oswego Iron Company bought the Oregon Iron Company's prop erty, and had made eighteen thousand five hundred tons of pig iron at the time of selling out to the Ore gon Iron fc Steel Company, October 20, 1882. This last named company operated the works until No vember, 188"), during which time it made fourteen thousand six hundred and sixty-three tons of pig iron. At the last named date the works were closed, and have remained so since. About the first of Septem ber next, work will begin with a greatly enlarged plant and complete modern equipments. The first charcoal furnace erected was run by water power, and had wooden tubs and cylinders. These wooden appliances were removed during the time the Oswego Iron Company owned the plant The difficulty which led to closing the works in 188. was amicably adjusted last year, and the company re organized with a paid up capital of $1,500,000.00, and the first step toward resuming operations was tho construction of new works throughout The old plant was entirely discarded. Even a new mine was opened. January 1, 1888, the construction of the new furnaco was begun, and the work was pushed to completion. The blast furnace has a thirteen-foot bosh and is sixty feet high, with six five-and-ono-half-inch tuyers. Tho bosh walls are protected by water blocks, and tho col umn of the furnaco is lined with fire brick two feet in thickness, with a back wall of red brick eighteen inches thick. Tho down-comer gas flue, from the furnaco to tho stoves and boilers, is of wrought iron, six and one-half feet in diameter, lined with fire brick. For heating the blast, there are three stoves of fir brick, with wrought iron shells, fifteen feet in diame ter and seventy-five feet high, with conical tops. These stoves are lined with a checker work of fire brick. This checker work is heated to t white heat by waits gas from tho furnace, then cold blast is turnM on t the reverse side and forced up and down through the stoves until it absorbs the heat, when it is carrM back to the furnace. The blowing engine is of tho Weimer type, having a total weight of one hundred tons and capacity of eight hundred hone tower. The capacity of the blow is twelv thousand cubic fee t , of air per minute, with ten pounds pressure to tho square inch. The power for running this machine is furnished by two batteries of French typo boiler. No fuel is used either in generating steam or in heat ing the stoves, this swico being performed entirely by waste gas from tho furnace The smokestack is of wrought iron, nine and onc-balf foot in diameter and one hundred and sixty feet high, and U lined with nine inches of fire brick from tattoru to top, Tho elevator has two cages, one ascending while the other descends, and is capable of lifting five thousand pounds. Tho stock house is sixty by ono hundrrd and eighty foot, with two ore bins, or bunkers, with storago capacity of three thousand tons each. Tho lime house, in ono end of this building, holds three thousand tons of lime rock. Seven hundred thou sand feet of lumber were uM in tho construction of this stock house, The mino of tho company is alxmt two and one. half miles west of Oswego, snd is connects) with tho works by a narrow gauge railroad It is a fisiuro vein of brown hematite, averaging ton feet in thickness, tho ore yielding forty jer ceut, metallic iron. Tho old mine penetrated tho hill in which tho ore is found for a distance of about a thousand foot Tho oro is first shoveled into cars in tho mine, hauhl out and dumped into bunkers, from which cars on tho Oregon Iron k Steel Company's narrow gauge railway aro loaded and drawn to tho furnaco stock house. There it Is weighed on tho cars and lumjl into tho crunher, from which it passes to tho bankers In tho stock houwn from there it drot into receptacles, is weighM again and hoisted to tho top of tho blast furnace, whi-ro it is charged. The molten metal from this furuaw is cut into pig iron, and is then ready for further manufac ture. Tho charcoal kilts aro thirty-six in iiumlr, lo cated near tho furnace They aro of tho Ui Lira pattern, thirty fM iu diameter and thirteen fo t Ugh, each with a capacity of fifty cords of woud, which mskes twenty-fivo hundred bushels of eal, and thry can be turned twice a month, lb railroad track runs along abovo the kilns, which ar charged from the topi It requires tho c al from ono hundred cord of wood to run tho furnace one dsy to its total capac ity of fifty tons. A call road Uk-s tho coal from tho kilns to tho furnace. Tho company's pi; foundry has a main building ixty elght by ono hundred and eighty f-rt, suppled with on t'u-ton steam eran and tire fie-to tarl cranes. It ta a largo pit for caV.itg pip's urtJcally, and cajcity for turning out twenty-firo tots di!y, pig Iron Uicg taken from tLo furtac and rrmrfoj for this work.
