Skip to main content

Blast Furnace

Smithfield Street Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: BridgesEra: 1880-1889DateCreated: 1883Monongahela RiverPittsburghState: PAZip: 15222Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Smithfield-Street-Bridge/Creator: Lindenthal, Gustav

Three rivers - the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio - join in Pittsburgh, making the city a natural site for the building of bridges. But the Smithfield Street Bridge stands apart from other Pittsburgh bridges for several reasons: it replaced structures by two well-known bridge engineers, Lewis Wernwag and John A. Roebling; it was the first use in America of the lenticular - or lens-shaped - truss design; and it was one of the first major bridges in the U.S. built primarily with steel.

YearAdded:
1975
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/RJ Schmidt (CC BY-ND 2.0)Image Caption: Smithfield Street BridgeEra_date_from: 1883
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: Minerals Extraction & RefiningEra: 1700-1749DateCreated: 174294 Rexmont RdLebanonState: PAZip: 17042Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/minerals-extraction-and-refining/-106-cornwall-iron-furnace-%281742%29Creator: Grubb, Peter
When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself was enlarged; the blast-air bellows were replaced by a pair of wooden cylinder "blowing tubs"; the waterwheel that had powered them was replaced by a 20-horsepower steam engine; and a pair of waste-heat boilers to supply the engine was built into the open stack of the furnace.
YearAdded:
1985
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/Wherring (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Caption: Cornwall Iron FurnaceEra_date_from: 1742
Cooper Steam Traction Engine Collection
Society: ASMEMain Category: CivilSub Category: AgricultureEra: 1860-1869DateCreated: 1860sKnox County Historical SocietyMount VernonState: OHZip: 43050Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-a-l/agriculture/-201-cooper-steam-traction-engine-collection-%28late, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/4071fc96-7a0c-4d14-8f4e-5d9371c259b2/201-Cooper-Steam-Traction-Engine.aspxCreator: Cooper & Co.

These engines, built by Cooper & Co., of Mount Vernon are among the oldest surviving agricultural steam engines to show the evolution from the portable, skid-mounted engine (ca. 1860) to the horse-drawn engine (1875), through the self-propelled but horse-guided engine (1875) and finally to the self-propelled, self-steered traction engine (1883). Such engines powered the conversion to mechanized farming, which was a great hallmark of the Industrial Revolution.

YearAdded:
1998
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Cooper Self-Propelled, Self-Steering Traction EngineEra_date_from: 1860s
Subscribe to Blast Furnace

Innovations

Cooper Steam Traction Engine Collection

These engines, built by Cooper & Co., of Mount Vernon are among the oldest surviving agricultural steam engines to show the evolution from the portable, skid-mounted engine (ca. 1860) to the horse-drawn engine (1875), through the self-propelled but horse-guided engine (1875) and finally to…

Read More
When erected by Peter Grubb to smelt the rich iron ore of the nearby Cornwall ore banks, this stone-built blast furnace was typical for its time, producing about 20 tons of pig-iron and cast-iron products a week. A major reconstruction in 1856 to 1857 produced important changes: the furnace itself… Read More
Smithfield Street Bridge

Three rivers - the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio - join in Pittsburgh, making the city a natural site for the building of bridges. But the Smithfield Street Bridge stands apart from other Pittsburgh bridges for several reasons: it replaced structures by two well-known bridge engineers, Lewis…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.