Somewhat off topic, but an interesting project never the less. Last winter, we were contacted by representatives of the Hanford Mills Museum in East Meredith, NY, www.hanfordmills.org , about a cast iron boiler front. Hanford Mills is an intact industrial complex dating from the 1840's that included a sawmill, grist mill, feed mill, and woodworking shop. It closed in 1967, but has operated since as the Hanford Mills Museum.
The sawmill had been steam powered with steam supplied by an Erie City Iron Works return flue boiler built in the 1890's. While the boiler house remained intact, the original boiler had been scrapped. The museum has since purchased a new boiler, and installed it in authentic brick casing. The brickwork surrounds the boiler on three sides, with the forth side enclosed by a cast iron front that includes the smokebox, fire, and ash pan doors. ThatÂ’s where we came in.
There were no foundries convenient to Hanford Mills that could handle castings of the size required (the complete boiler front measures 72" wide by 117" tall) so they checked with us for a foundry. The foundry we work with had no problem with the size of these parts (they can cast parts up to 13,000 pounds), and we were able to produce all of the blueprints needed to give to the pattern makers.
We had one drawing from the Hanford Mill Archive showing the installation of the original Erie City Iron Works boiler, one ECIW catalog picture, a plywood template supplied by Hanford Mills showing the bolt pattern of the current brick casing, and the memory of our boiler maker Dave Griner, a former ECIW employee, to draw from to complete the design of the new boiler front. Using these resources, a set of drawings was produced that accurately duplicated the original ECIW design. Upon approval by Hanford Mills, the drawings were sent to the foundry for the production of patterns and castings.
When the castings were delivered, our shop went to work fitting the castings together, drilling holes and fitting hinge pins, etc. When completed, the customer picked up the parts and patterns, and they have since been installed on the boiler. The entire process took just under six months. The people at Hanford Mills have been very enthusiastic and patient throughout the process, and seem pleased with the result. They plan to have the boiler steamed up for their antique engine show on the weekend after Labor Day.
SRC Mechanical Dept.
kelly@strasburgrailroad.com