The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

80 MESSRS. SCHNEIDER AND CO.’S WORKS. Puddling Section. —At the commencement there were, in the two buildings devoted to the special purpose, as many as 100 single puddling furnaces. To-day there are only 40 of these ; 21 serve for the manufacture of high- grade iron, and the remaining 19 have been transformée! into double-ended mechanical furnaces, devoted to the treatment of lower grades. The average charges are 550 kilogrammes (say 11 cwt.). These furnaces are fully illus- trated by Figs. 190 to 193, Plate XXXIX., and by Figs. 194, 195. The mechanical puddling arrangement adopted the quality ; the men are paid according to weight and quality produced. The brands vary from the common quality, styled No. 2, to the liigh-grade quality, styled No. 7, which is equal to the best brand manufacturée! at any other works. The bars are distributed among the varions rolling miils in the next building, to be sheared and piled for the manu- facture of merchant bars and sections. The space origin- ally occupied by the puddling furnaces, which have been pulled down, serves for storing and classifying scrap. Rolling-Mill Section.—All the mills for finished pro- ducts, bars, sheets, and plates, are placed in the large bay of the main building mentioned above, and of which they occupy the whole length. But the original length of building (380 metres) became entirely insufficient, and a second parallel line of mills had to be put down for sheet rolling. It is impressive to witness, especially at night, the whole of the mills in operation at the same time. Near the entrance are the small roils, running at a high speed, for the manufacture of wire rods ; beyond, they inerease gradually in size to those which serve for rolling heavy round bars, and girders ; these are rolled in lengths of 35 metres (115 ft), and are afterwards sawn hot or sheared. There are twelve mills for merchant iron and sections, the diameter of roils varying from .250 metre (9% in.) to .760 metre (30 in.), with housings and acces- sories built in proportion. The trains are, as a rule, worked in pairs of equal power, by two-cylinder Corliss engines, the motion being transmitted by powerful gearing and flywheels fitted on the mili shafts. The roils have the following speeds : □□□□ □□□□□□□DÇIDQDO □□□□□0D Mechanical Puddling rurnaces. Diameter of Rolls. Revolutions. ni. i in. .250 95 260 .330 13 150 .475 18U 100 .600 23§ 80 .640 70 to 80 .760 30 60 has done away with a great deal of hand labour, and has brought the efficiency of the furnaces to 10 or 11 heats per 12 hours. Pig iron coming from the blast-furnaces is either used direct or stacked ; there is always a large quantity on hand ready for immédiate working. The puddling fur- naces are placée! near each other, and form together approximately a semicircle, in the centre of which are nine 3-ton steam hammers for shingling the balls. These are then rolled direct in two roughing trains with three high roils, worked by a 200 horse-power engine. All the bars are weighed, and then broken, in order to judge of All these mills are fitted with three-high rolls. The two-cylinder Corliss engines vary in power from 400 horse-power for the smaller mills, to 600 horse-power for the larger ones. The mil! for large sections and long lengths is the only one worked direct by a special com- pound engine, at 65 revolutions, the power of which averages 1,500 horse-power ; motion is transmitted direct from it to the central roll. Reheating furnaces, varying in size according to the material to be rolled, are placed in a lateral bay opposite each mill. The grates of these furnaces are of the usual type, and air is driven from underneath by means of fans. Washed small coal is used as fuel, and the waste gases serve to heat the multitubular boilers, as mentioned above ; the temperature of the smoke escaping from the chimneys is under 300 deg. cent. The same furnaces serve for