Construction Equipment Guide
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Fri January 05, 2001 - Midwest Edition
This past Labor Day, if you were in Wisconsin at the Rock River Thresheree 45th Reunion you were in for a treat. While there were all the things that equipment lovers are attracted to — tractors, steam engines, an industrial engine museum and the ever present flea market — one item located at center stage mesmerized old and young alike. This was the 1905 steam-powered pile driver that was exhibited at the show. Not only was this almost century old machine on display, but it also worked.
Merriam Webster ’s Collegiate Dictionary offers a definition of a pile and a pile driver. A pile, in this case for building, was described as, “A long slender column usually of timber or steel, or concrete driven into the ground to carry a vertical load.”
In this case, the pile driver had been used mostly for bridge building The pile driver was listed as “a machine for driving down piles with a drop of a hammer or a steam or air hammer.”
This pile driver was operated by steam. The history behind this machine is fascinating. The pile driver was built by the American Hoist and Derrick Company located in St. Paul, MN. This driver is the only one that is on permanent display anywhere. It was reduced in size to accommodate the display area on the grounds of the Rock River Thresheree, which is located between Edgerton and Janesville, WI.
Located almost dead center in the middle of the park, the steam engine was housed in a small building, that lead to the pile driver tower 80 ft. (24.3 m) into the air so that it can be seen from almost any location in the park. A sign outside of the pile driver told all about it. The steam hammer that drives the piles into the ground is a No. 2 Vulcan, single-acting steam hammer that weighs 14,000 lbs. (6,350 kg) and has a striking energy of up to 25,000 lbs. (11,400 kg).
The sound of the steam hissing and the reverberation of the hammer hitting the pile resounded. Of course the sound was mixed in with the shrill whistle of Keck Gonneman and Avery steam engines moving their way across the parade ground.
The pile driver has been brought back to life and operates for special events. Peter Bruno, owner of the pile driver, is credited with keeping it in operational condition. The last big job that the pile driver was involved in was driving all the pilings for the foundations of the locks and dams on the St. Lawrence Sea Way during the late 1940s and 1950s.
When the pile driver was in its hey-day and working regularly it was usually mounted on a barge. Back then, the leads to the driver were a whopping 130 ft. (39.6 m) tall and the driver handled a steam hammer of 66,000 lbs. (29,937 kg), which was the largest in the world at that time. According to information about the pile driver, it was used to place octagonal pilings of pre-stressed concrete 90 ft. long and 42 in. across (27.4 m by 107 cm). These pilings were driven three deep in some areas.
It is easy to believe, with the hissing of the steam, that the boiler ran at 250 lbs. (113 kg) of pressure. The boiler allowed steam to be used in a variety of ways. The steam engine drove the hammer for the piles, winched engines, ran air compressors for divers, air pumps and engines, plus operated decompression chambers. To operate this massive steam engine, it took 20 tons (18 t) of coal a day.
When the engine quieted down, and a closer look was manageable, it was even easier to believe that the boiler and turntable weigh about 140,000 lbs. (63,503 kg). So how did this massive machine end up in a Wisconsin agricultural museum park? The engine was brought to Milwaukee WI, by barge, then transported to the park. The trip took three days and the pile driver has been part of the park since 1959.
The pile driver will again be on display at the next annual event during Labor Day weekend 2002.
For more information, call 608/756-2407 or visit www.thresheree.org.