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I Forge Iron

end of an era


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And a heads up to T Powers---Columbus Castings is no more--once one of the largest foundry operations,much directed to the RR industry-----now leveled.The tooling long gone,I have made a number of attempts to "get in and take a look"------hoping to lead to----hey, mind if i throw a few of those ol rusty hunks o junk in the truck ! ---it truly was the mother lode ---acres and tons headed to the scrapper---blocks/slabs/gears/cut offs/chunks-------they keep giving me the wrong answer-----so far !!

Screenshot_2018-12-07-13-04-07.png

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Very sad; the MOB, (Mid Ohio Blacksmiths), once got a tour as one of our members was a MatSci/Metallurgy student and got in contact with the Metallurgist there.  We went in around Midnight---Arc Furnaces run when the electric rates are cheapest. (Arc furnaces with 14" diameter graphite electrodes, running KILOAmps on each one, 3 per.) Amazing mix of modern high tech and archaic tech. Back in one of the enormous buildings used as storage then there was a 500# anvil and a large "RR" forge and a "small" erie steam hammer; (there was also a switching engine "hidden" inside that my train mad friend *missed* walking through it!)  Very reminiscent of that last scene in "Raiders of the Lost Arc". I was once walking through their old dumping ground along the river and found a top swage sticking out of the "crud"... 

Unfortunately a lot of this may go directly onto train cars and ship to remelt mills. Or to MAJOR scrapyards that won't let folks in the door.  It was a HUGE facility.  Now suborning one of the demo workers to keep an eye open for that anvil...  It will probably be a superfund sight...

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Thomas---that seems the case,must have been a doozy of a scrapping contract,and I understand their reluctance for outsiders----doesnt mean I wont keep looking for the one guy with the right answer !-----the photo does NOT give justice to the sheer volume of potential "improvised anvils"------as far as the eye can see !!!!

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