Comments

Wtf o_O

Something very skull-like about this facade...

I don't know if anyone has made this observation, but t's almost as if there is blood flowing from the building... What horrors lie within, we will never know.

How much horsepower/torque do you suppose these things made?

just don't fall in the trough

I bet the plumber was paid extra

Thnx a bunch for engine house pics Motts! Great historical writeup too!

Nobody stole our lunch, 1042. We gave it away. See your elected official.

A reciprocating engine. Perhaps torn down for spares in the last days as the plant was gasping it's last breath.

An interesting note about the power grids in the old steel towns. They were built up to sell the massive power needed to the mills. Now the infrastructure is way more than needed and costs a fortune to maintain.

I seem recall numbers on the old monsters where the giant flywheels were ran 60 to 70 RPM max to keep them from disintegrating. I think the new giant high tech ship engines can be as low as 80, then up to near 500. Heavier parts move slower.

Note the questions in the video about the origin of the engines. Done in a day when citizens cared whether we had a manufacturing base or not.

Zombies crawl out of that!

@Dave This shoot has me crapping my pants! Finding photo shoots of these old engine houses is near impossible. I'd wear out a camera in this place just on these engines alone! Motts could post 100s of photos of these from every angle and detail, and I'd love every one! I'd want to see all the specs and blueprints, all of it. But then, I'm sick that way. ;o)

Looks like a steam turbine rotor.

Slow. IIRC, the large flywheels on most of the old monsters never went over 500 RPM, if that. Many much slower. It was the heavy weight that stored the power, not the speed so much.

I've hunted down material on old giant engines in that past. Those flywheels had to made properly and used very carefully. Flywheel explosions were not uncommon. A runaway flywheel easily destroyed the building it was in, sent pieces into surround buildings, and took more than one engine mechanic out! Governor belts might break, governor sticks, an engine runs away? Guys scrambled to shut it down, but only the ones that dared to go near it!

Giant flywheels! Massive iron! The mighty machines of the Morlocks! This may be the only giant engine house left intact in the USA. Yikes!