ANNUAL EEPORT—MANUFACTURES. 
49 
of the very best in the United States, all the latest and valu¬ 
able improvements in such things having been introduced. 
This building is 180x211 feet, covered with an arched self- 
supporting roof. The main engine for driving the ‘ rail train ’ 
is 44x44 inches in steam cylinder, and was built by the Cor¬ 
liss Steam Engine Compan}^, of Providence, R I. There are 
seven other engines in the mill, for various purposes. Steam 
for all these is supplied by nine boilers, placed immediately 
in the rear of the furnaces, which are fired by the waste heat, 
after doing its duty on the iron. This mill is capable of mak¬ 
ing 20,000 tons (250 miles) of finished rails per annum. 
“ The first bar of iron ever rolled in Wisconsin, was in 
this mill, March 8th, 1868. When it began business, it was to 
be confined to ‘ re-rolling ’ old rails—that is, making new rails 
out of old ones, with the addition of a certain percentage of 
new iron. The old rails are cut into four feet lengths, piled, 
heated and rolled into bars 8x1 inches. These bars are again 
cut into four feet lengths, piled, heated and rolled into rails. 
On the top of the ‘ rail pile,’ however, is placed a slab of new 
puddled iron, one and a half inches thick. When rolled, this 
slab comes on the head of the rail and presents a very hard 
and durable wearing surface. This head piece is made of 
four-fifth Iron Kidge and one-fifth Lake Superior iron. The 
Iron Kidge iron is rather too hard, and the Lake Superior 
iron is altogether too soft and lead-like for use alone. By 
mixing the two as above, a very hard, homogeneous and close 
iron is the result, and for the wearing surface of rails is 
unequaled by any iron known in the country. One of the 
greatest advantages of the Iron Kidge iron is its easy welda- 
bility. It will stand a high heat, without injury to the iron, 
being cold shorty and can be perfectly welded. Perhaps the 
greatest reason why so many poor iron rails are made, is to be 
found in the fact that they are made from red short iron, 
which, when heated, will drop to pieces before becoming hot 
enough to weld. Especially is this the case with cheap 
English and all the Welsh Iron. Thousands of miles of 
American roads are laid with the cheap, cindry, red short 
Ag. Tr.—4. 
