WATERTOWN ARSENAL BY R. A. LANGWORTHY Watertown Arsenal has shared with other localities in the vast war time activities of the nation. It has grown almost overnight from a typical quiescent peace time Arsenal to a real, live manufacturing plant whose production will be one of the important factors in the coming decision. Like all other war work, it was imperatively needed and required the concentration of engineering and construction talent. The result is that in six months, in spite of one of the most severe winters in the memory of the oldest inhabitant, the cabbage patch shown in one of the photographs was replaced by a complete, modern ordnance plant. Both the engineering and the construction were done by Stone & Webster and its speedy completion is due to the close co-ordination of these two branches of the work and to the hearty co-operation of the ordnance officers and civilian staff of the Arsenal. One of the serious difficulties encountered was in deliveries of materials and equipment. From the time we entered the war, factories in certain lines were "swamped" and railroad shipments were badly disarranged. It was a proposition of no small magnitude to purchase the equipment and material, get it through the factories and then secure its delivery at the Arsenal. It is obviously undesirable to publish any details of the work, but we are permitted to give a general description. The entire expenditure was approximately $7,000,000. The main plant consists of five large buildings, i.e., steel foundry, forge shop, rough machine shop, heat treatment building and erecting shop. The type of construction in general is concrete foundations, steel frame, brick walls, metal sash and tile roof. The buildings are of a good substantial type, well lighted and present a pleasing appearance. An important feature is the crane service provided. There are 51 cranes ranging from 10 to 65 tons capacity, which will contribute to speed and economy in production. The steel foundry has modern equipment throughout and contains both open-hearth and electric steel furnaces. The open-hearth furnaces are served by an electric charging ma |