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Dubs & Company, Glasgow Locomotive Works
| Name | Dubs & Company, Glasgow Locomotive Works |
| Ortssitz | Glasgow |
| Straße | Aitkenhead Road |
| Art des Unternehmens | Lokomotivfabrik |
| Anmerkungen | Inhaber und Gründer: Heinrich bzw. Henry Dubs (s.d.). Seit 1903 Teil der "North British Locomotive Company". |
| Quellenangaben | http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1888_Book/Dubs_&_Co.htm [Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1895) 478] |
| Zeit |
Ereignis |
| 1864 |
Gründung von "Dubs & Co." durch Heinrich Dubs |
| Mai 1865 |
F. G. Lentz wechselt für knapp ein Jahr als Konstrukteur von "Beyer, Peacock & Co." zu "Dubs & Co." in Glasgow |
| 1868 |
Heinrich Dubs erfindet den Lokomotiv-Dampfkran |
| 24.04.1876 |
Tod von H. Dubs in Glasgow |
| 1877 |
Verbesserungen am Lokomotiv-Dampfkran |
| 01.01.1888 |
Die Anteilseigner der "Canadian Locomotive and Engine Company Ltd." in Kingston, Ontario, die auch Mitglieder der "Canadian Pacific Railway" sind, verkaufen ihre Anteile an "Dubs & Co.", der zum 1. Januar das Management übernimmt. |
| 1903 |
Das Unternehmen wird zusammen mit "William King & Co." und "Sharp, Stewart & Co." Teil der "North British Locomotive Company" |
| Produkt |
ab |
Bem. |
bis |
Bem. |
Kommentar |
| Lokomotiv-Dampfkrane |
1868 |
Beginn |
1888 |
Publikation |
|
| Lokomotiven |
1864 |
Beginn (Gründung) |
1903 |
zu North Brit. Loc. Co. |
|
Zeit = 1: Zeitpunkt unbekannt
| ZEIT | 1888 |
| THEMA | Beschreibung |
| TEXT | Of all the great industrial concerns of Glasgow, there is none whose important achievements and rapid advancement merit more attentive consideration at the hands of the reviewer than that of Messrs. Dubs & Co., of the Glasgow Locomotive Works. The history of this distinguished house dates from the year 1864, when it was founded by the late Mr. Henry Dubs, a gentleman who, from the very first periods of his eventful business career, was never in any other than the foremost rank of whatever enterprise he associated himself with. His early records constitute the groundwork of the present firm?s history, and concerning them a few words will at this point be appropriate.
Between 1850 and 1856 Mr. Dubs was manager of the Vulcan Foundry, Warrington, but owing to changes in the proprietary he left that concern in the latter year and entered the well-known firm of Beyer, Peacock & Co., of Gorton Foundry, assuming the post of shop manager, which he filled for something like two years. Leaving this house, he then entered the firm of Messrs. Neilson & Co., Hyde Park Locomotive Works, beginning his connection there in 1858; and during the continuance of his partnership, about 1862 or 1863, Messrs. Neilson built their new works at Springburn, which exist under the same name.
It was while associated with this firm that Mr. Dubs saw the rapidly increasing demand for locomotives both at home and abroad, which, notwithstanding the rapid strides that railroad building was making, promised to attain still greater proportions in the near future. He accordingly resolved upon establishing a business of his own, which should bear his name. In 1864 he turned, in person, the first sod of the present Glasgow Locomotive Works, and so well were all his plans matured, and so admirably were they carried into effect, that in a little over twelve months after the inception of the business their first locomotive was completed. From that time onward the career of Messrs. Dubs & Co., industrially and commercially, is expressible in the two words, progress and prosperity.
The works are among the largest, if indeed they are not the largest, of their kind in Scotland ; and the various departments in connection with them constitute a magnificent example of the proportions to which a modem industrial centre can attain. The drawing office is a vast airy apartment lighted from front and rear, and having separate tables or desks for each draughtsman. Here every part of the engine being designed must first be accurately drawn out on paper.
Behind the offices there is a large open space with numerous lines of rails on which are to be seen in action numbers of the patent locomotive steam cranes, patented by the firm in 1868, subsequently improved, and now a special feature of the manufacture of the house. These are most useful for lifting large masses of metal or other weighty substances and depositing the same in any required position. The locomotive crane was invented and patented by the late Mr. Henry Dubs in 1868, and was most favourably mentioned in Engineering of April, 1869. The same journal published another favourable review in 1877, when an improvement of great value had been perfected in the slewing arrangement of the crane. The firm produce these cranes of a power capable of lifting as much as seven tons, and have supplied them to many large engineers and railway companies. One was exhibited at the late Sydney Exhibition.
At the back of an open space are situated the different blocks of buildings devoted to the mechanical work of the industry, and covering an area of about 60,000 square feet each. Here there are numerous steam engines stationed at convenient intervals, and so arranged that an accident happening to one or more would not materially interfere with the general progress of the work going on. The first building on the left is the cooking depot, established by the firm for the convenience of the employees living at a distance ; and in connection with this is the large dining hall, capable of seating about two hundred men. Then comes the tinsmiths? department, and adjoining this are the extensive stables. Next is the forge, on the outside of which are five charcoal furnaces, helping to supply the smithy with charcoal. The forge is admirably and quite perfectly equipped with all requisite plant and appliances ; and under the same roof is the wheel forge, where the parts of wheels are firmly and finally put together.
The smithy is another building of 200 ft. by 80 ft. in dimensions, and the boiler shop and angle-iron setting shop is 200 ft. by 120 ft. Thence comes the plate flanging sheds, the case hardening shop, the dressing shop, splasher shop, and the iron-moulding and pattern shops. And after these comes the similarly complete and extensive erecting shop, where all the several parts of locomotives are put together. The mechanical workshop, in which nearly all the plant and machinery is by Whitworth, and comprises planing, paring, slotting, drilling, milling, and powerful testing machines, with a host of other modern and highly effective apparatus, the whole shop being said to be one of the finest in existence ; the brass-finishers? shop, and the grinding and polishing shops. The paint shop, always a busy place, is in a line with the erecting shop ? all under one roof, 300 ft. by 280 ft. ; and the great packing department, 100 feet square, stands at the back in a separate building, and is supplied with an engine and travelling crane. All locomotives going abroad are packed here for shipment.
The whole works are perfect in every respect. The works are most advantageously situated, being bounded on one side by the Caledonian Railway Company?s line, and being within a short distance of the centre of the city. They thus possess facilities of the best kind, equally for the shipment of goods throughout Great Britain or to foreign countries. Employment is given to upwards of 2,500 hands, and some idea of the magnificent capacity of this immense establishment may be gleaned from the fact that the works can turn out, when in full running order, about 200 complete locomotive engines per annum.
The firm have lately commenced the manufacture of tramway steam engines on an improved principle. Owing to the great increase in the business of the house, extensive additions have been made to the works since 1878, and it is quite probable that further enlargements will be carried out in the near future. Messrs. Dubs conduct an enormous volume of business throughout the United Kingdom, and, in addition, are in constant receipt of orders from every quarter of the globe in which railways exist. At the time of our visit to the works a South American order of great magnitude was in hand, not to mention many others from all parts of the world.
The firm have also recently inaugurated extensive works at Kingston, in the province of Ontario, Canada. This place, one of the oldest and most historic towns in Upper Canada, and locally known under the characteristic name of the "Limestone City", is situated on the main line of the Grand Trunk Railway, and also upon the northern shore of Lake Ontario, one of the great series of North American freshwater lakes. In this way the firm have an unsurpassed facility of water transit for their locomotives during the open navigation season, and the Grand Trunk Railway line passing their gates so to speak, gives them a direct through route to Chicago and all points west, available when navigation is closed.
The whole industry of this great representative house is one of distinct national and, indeed, imperial influence and importance, and it deserves an appropriate touch of national interest as well from the fact that the works herein briefly and all too inadequately surveyed are situated but a short distance from the spot where, more than three centuries ago, the hapless Mary Queen of Scots was forced to resign her pretensions to sovereignty by her turbulent nobles, thus fairly inaugurating that career of misfortune and disaster which culminated subsequently on the calamitous field of Langside, and terminated tragically nineteen years later in the Castle of Fotheringay. |
| QUELLE | http://www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1888_Book |
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| ZEIT | 1895 |
| THEMA | Beschreibung |
| TEXT | These works are situated in the south-eastern district of the city. They have a frontage of 1,300 feet to Aitkenhead Road, and a frontage of almost equal extent to the main line of the Caledonian Railway, with which they are connected by sidings. Even when first built they were of considerable magnitude, covering about 8i acres; and they were carefully designed by Mr. Dubs with a view to the extensions since made, which have increased their area to between 11 and 12 acres. When working under pressure they are capable of turning out nearly 200 locomotives a year.
The offices are of unusual magnitude, and full provision has been made for the clerical and draining-office staff. All the departments are lighted by electricity. The drawing-office is about 120 feet long by about 40 feet broad, and has separate desks or tables ranged on each side, while along the centre runs a broad counter fitted with drawers containing the original drawings of the engines and tenders which are in progress in the works. At the extreme end is a highly finished slide-valve motion metal-frame, where the valve-gear of all classes of engines is tried, the proper angle for eccentric-pulleys and the length of eccentric-rods and valve-rods &c. are ascertained, and the valves are accurately set. Above the drawing-office is the tracing department, where a number of young ladies are engaged in making tracings from the original drawings for use in the shops. There is also on this floor a well-equipped photographing room, where prints are taken off the drawings.
Immediately under the drawing-office on the ground floor is the locomotive store, where all the materials used are kept; forgings from the smithy, and iron and brass castings from the foundry are sent here, weighed by the store keeper, and put on shelves till wanted in the machine-shop; whence they are returned to the store, and kept until required in the erecting shop.
In the forge the largest steam-hammer is principally used for stamping wrought-iron wheel-cranks, balance weights, wrought-iron axle-boxes, &c.; and under the same hammer all coupling and connecting-rods and other heavy details are forged. There are a number of smaller hammers for lighter work; and a special hammer having its standards wide enough apart for bossing the largest sizes of wrought-iron wheels. The wheels are heated in a specially prepared fire to heat the centre only, while the washers to form the boss are heated in an adjoining furnace to a soft welding heat, and are then welded, one on each side, under the steam-hammer. In the smithy are the usual small hammers, a Ryder forging-machine, and two pairs of steam-strikers, where bolts, washers, nuts, and tube-ferrules are made.
In the boiler shop are two 10-ton travelling cranes, and two hydraulic jib-cranes for serving the stationary hydraulic riveting machines. The largest riveter has a gap of 12 feet, and is capable of riveting up an entire locomotive-boiler and fire-box. There is also a set of 10-foot vertical-rolls for bending the barrel plates of boilers; and immediately adjoining is a large boiler-shell drilling- machine, having six radial arms and drilling heads, three on each side, specially designed to drill all holes in position, thus doing away with the necessity of the holes being rimered when plates are drilled separately. A number of tacking holes are drilled while putting the boiler together, then temporary brackets with pivot ends are attached to each end, and the boiler is placed in bearings on a trolly and run under the machine, and all the holes in the upper half are drilled; the boiler is then turned half-way round, and the other half drilled, the whole boiler being thus drilled complete with only one shifting (Proceedings 1894, page 521). There is also a quadruple fire-box side-tapping machine, with which the four sides of a locomotive fire-box are tapped at one time, a copious supply of lubricant under pressure being supplied to keep the taps cool. There are also portable hydraulic-riveting machines, and a special machine for riveting fire-doors and fire-box foundation-rings. Attached to this department is a large hydraulic flanging press, for which the power is supplied' from an accumulator at a pressure of 1,500 lbs. per square inch.
In the foundry is a 15-ton travelling crane, and two 3-ton hydraulic jib-cranes; and two cupolas, each capable of melting 9 tons of metal per hour. There are also three large core-drying stoves. Outside is a 5-ton hydraulic crane, round which the moulding boxes are laid when not in use; when wanted they are lifted upon a trolly wagon by the crane, and run into the foundry.
In the erecting-shop are three 20-ton travelling cranes, worked by rope and friction gear, and running the whole length of the shop. In the next bay, which is used as a tender and boiler-mounting shop, there is a portable drilling machine for drilling the holes for studs, &c., for fixing the boiler mountings. A slide is fixed on the side of the boiler, to which is attached an arm with drilling-head worked by rope gear, whereby all the holes in the boiler can be drilled. Under the same roof is the machine shop, in which the first bay is wholly occupied by machines and lathes for dealing with the frame-plates and wheels.
The machines for planing, drilling, and slotting frames are all of Whitworth make, and the great bulk of the tools in this department are from the same firm. There is here a quartering machine, designed by the late Mr. Dabs, and made in the works; in this the holes in the crank bosses of the pair of wheels for receiving the crank-pins are bored to the exact throw of crank wanted, while the crank-pins when in the wheels can also be trued up in the machine, making them exactly at right angles to one another.
Adjoining are two large Whitworth lathes, and a facing lathe for boring tires dc., having a chuck 11 feet diameter; and a hydraulic wheel-press worked at a pressure of about 10 tons per inch of diameter of axle. In the next bay are three mills for boring and facing locomotive cylinders; special axle-lathes, having combined slide-rests for turning both ends of the axle at one time; a number of planing machines with Whitworth reversible tool-holders; and a lapping machine designed by the late Mr. Dabs, on which case-hardened slide-bars, wrought-iron case-hardened axle-boxes, and other flat parts are lapped up to a true surface. There are also heavy planing machines for planing cylinders, cast-iron foot-plates, and similar work.
In the next bay the machines and lathes are of a lighter kind, and are used for machining and turning valve-motion details, pins, &c. On one of the shaping machines a special head is fixed for circular shaping, also designed by the late Mr. Dubs, having a ball joint connecting-rod, whereby the fillets of the ends of coupling and connecting-rods can be shaped to the radius of the end of the rod. In the next bay is the grinding and polishing shop, where all parts of the valve-motion are polished on emery wheels after being case-hardened. Here also are the tables for marking off the work for the machines; and the brass finishing shop, in which are also machines for milling flats and edges of .coupling and connecting-rods; and a 30-ton Buckton testing machine.
In the yard is a 4-ton steam-crane, within the range of which is a gas furnace, where the tires are heated and expanded for shrinking upon the wheels. At work in the yard is a combined locomotive engine and crane, designed by the late Mr. Dubs and made in the works; large numbers have been made in various sizes, the heaviest for lifting and handling up to 7 tons. All the operations of slewing, hoisting, and working the engine are manipulated by the driver from the foot-plate. The number of men employed is at present over 1,700. |
| QUELLE | [Institution of Mechanical Engineers (1895) 478] |
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