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Tools and Machinery of the Granite Industry, Part II
Chronicle of the Early American Industries Association, Inc., The, Sep 2006 by Wood, Paul
Since the grout pile was distant from the cableway operator, it was necessary to design a mechanism that allowed remote-controlled dumping of the grout box. erator raised the fall block above a certain point. When the carriage reached the desired dumping location, the operator lowered the fall block. As the fall block was lowered, the mechanism released at a certain point and the grout box was tipped-dumping the load of grout. Another solution employed an additional rope called the dump rope that was attached to the back of the grout box. The dump rope did not support the weight of the grout box but was only used to tip and dump the box. The fall rope carriers were modified to also support the dump rope ( Figure 30). This solution required a third hoist drum for the dump rope that had two sections, one with a diameter equal to that of a fall rope drum and the other with a slightly larger diameter. When the carriage reached the dump site, the hoist was reversed, and the dump rope was shifted to the larger diameter drum section. Since the fall rope and dump rope drums rotated at the same speed, the dump rope was pulled in faster than the fall rope and the grout box was tipped and dumped while the carriage was moving back for the next load. As soon as the load was dumped, the dump rope was shifted back to the smaller diameter section of its drum and the grout box returned to its level orientation, ready to be refilled.
For grout that had to be hauled over longer distances to be used for paving blocks, road foundations, railroad ballast, jetties, breakwaters, piers, and such, standard flatcars for large pieces or gondola cars for small pieces were used.
Transporting from the Quarry
One of the earliest transport methods employed wooden rollers under a sledge-like base that supported the stone (Figure Sl). Granite equipment suppliers were still selling wooden rollers well into the twentieth century-one advertising hardwood rollers up to twelve inches in diameter. Several workmen were assigned to moving rollers from the back to the front as the stone moved along. For muddy conditions, wooden planks were placed on the road as tracks for the rollers to run on. In ancient times, large gangs of men-often slaves-would pull and push the stone. In America, oxen and horses were used-the oxen providing the pulling power and the horses the directional control. For a large stone, the progress on rollers was very slow, often averaging as little as one mile per day. On very steep routes, a block and tackle might be used for short distances. The sledge, a sled-like conveyance without runners that was pulled along the ground, was less efficient than the rollers but might be used to drag small stones short distances. If the ground was snow or ice covered, a sled, similar to a logging sled but with a flat bed, was an efficient means of transporting large stones.
Heavy-duty, horse- or ox-drawn wagons (Figure 32) with three or four axles and wide-rimmed heavy wheels were the most common form of granite transport over roads. One drawback was the crushed culverts and deep ruts that had to be constantly repaired after the heavy loads had passed. It was not uncommon for the heavy wagon to be immediately followed by a repair wagon with men and tools to repair the damage! To deal with muddy roads, granite teamsters often "double teamed"-one teamster would wait for the next to come along and they would combine their teams to pull the loads through the quagmire, one at a time. Downhill braking for extremely heavy granite loads required expert teamstering since horses do not tolerate a heavy load pushing on them from behind. Wagon braking was usually provided by brake shoes on the rear wheels activated by a chain or cable tensioned with a brake wheel (Figure 33). Braking was also accomplished by "wheel drags" placed under wagon wheels and "clog chains" placed under sled runners. (Note the wheel drag in Figure 32 being pulled behind the wagon.) Often the teamster would hitch horses behind the wagon or sled as well as in front to help brake the load. An out-of-control load could easily lead to the injury or death of horses and teamster as well as the destruction of the wagon or sled.
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