Industrial Films from Westinghouse Works, 1904 - An Engineer's Aspect

Breaking

Home Top Ad

Responsive Ads Here

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Industrial Films from Westinghouse Works, 1904

The following videos are from The Library of Congress:

"The view from a moving train shows some of the Westinghouse interests and the surrounding areas. It appears that the film is in two parts and has been incorrectly spliced together with the last part put first. The film is supposed to show one rail route, but maps indicate that the first part of the film logically should be placed last. The first part of the film shows the Turtle Creek train station followed by buildings, homes, train yards, and industrial buildings, possibly the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. It passes by another station which appears to be Pitcairn. The second part of the film shows the Westinghouse Machine Co. buildings followed by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. buildings."




"A small group of men turn on what appears to be a generator. As the rotary spins, the men make adjustments to the machine and check its operations."




"Filmed using a camera on an overhead crane, a traveling view of a large, long aisle is shown. Men are busy performing various tasks on machinery, probably generators. Other men are walking down the aisle in all directions, and carts carrying items come and go. The film ends when the camera reaches the end of the aisle where windows and a large opening are. Rail tracks coming in through the opening are visible."




"A group of men work on various parts of a large generator, assembling the pieces. A crane carries a large piece of the generator over to the rest of the machine, and the men guide it down to assemble it. The crane brings two other pieces to the machine and lays them down where they belong."




"Rows of women are shown at tables with winding machines. They wind using material from spools behind them, apparently putting the finished products on the table in front of them. Various supervisory staff, male and female, walk through the aisles, checking the work of the women."




"A large bucket full of molten material is poured into a large container, possibly a mold, by a group of men using machinery. Some other men stoke the fire under the container. When finished pouring, the men lift the bucket up from the container and take it away on a crane. Two men put prods down repeatedly into the container, while others lay covers on top of it."




"From what appears to be a furnace, a large, glowing block is lifted with the help of a crane over to a table by a group of men. A hammer comes from above and pounds down on the block repeatedly as the men turn the block several times so that it will acquire a certain shape."




"Men working in teams carry buckets of molten material and pour the material into what appear to be molds lined up on the ground."




"A group of men weld one area of a large ring in a fire. They lift the ring, which is hanging horizontally on chains, out of the fire. Four men hammer the hot area on the ring into shape while the remaining men hold the ring. They put the ring into the fire again, take it out, and take it over to a machine which continuously hammers down on that area of the ring. The men then take it away from the machine and hammer it themselves into shape. The ring is presumably a piece of a generator."




"A large bucket is lowered into a pit by male workers using machinery. Molten material from a furnace is poured into the bucket using a slide. The bucket, which has flames coming from inside, is lifted up from the pit by a crane."




"Almost 200 women file by a device on the wall from which they take their time checks. A man runs half-way across the screen at the end of the film."




"A closeup of the steam whistle blowing at the "Westinghouse works" complex of factories in Pennsylvania, probably at the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co."