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Building #15 and #85 with Leith street at the left. A piece of the powerhouse #14 next to my thumb. Factory #31 is at the top. This view is from the (then new) powerhouse smoke stack. |
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| A Leonard Thygesen print just before demolition. |
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This view reminds me of the time my relief man was dragged from the rail dock of #04 to the south-east corner of #12 by the train. He later died. Follow bridge #43 link for this story:
Buick City Bridge #43
This south-west view overlooking Buick assembly shows a lot of good details from the 1971 era. When you enlarge you can even see the old frame yard between factory #04 and #40. You can also see the old Oak Park entrance that went right through the north-end of factory #04. Follow the factory #09 link for a story on this old entrance to the Buick property.
Factory #09 Northeast Corner 1923Chassis Receiving Before Buick City
I was not going to post these photos because of the bad reflections from the Mylar, but they are still alright for research purposes. These were all taken at The Buick Research Gallery in Flint, Michigan.
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Here were overlooking the old powerhouse building #14. Factory #12-a is beyond it. That is factory #15 at the bottom foreground on Leith Street.
Factory #15 Die And Pattern ShopBuick Power House. |
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Here we are at the top of one of the smoke stacks of the powerhouse #07 during construction. This would be the vantage point for the photos on this posting. Were facing west. That is factory #29 visible at the bottom left corner.
Factory #29 Tool Factory.Buick Powerhouse #07 |
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Looking south from the “then new” powerhouse built between 1971-1973. It was known as building #07. You can see almost the whole of final assembly at Buick. In the far distance is downtown Flint, with Hurley hospital seen at the right in the distance. The well known twin water towers erected in 1920 were removed during this period. The old train shed is in the foreground. Links:
Buick Water TowersPowerhouse #07Train Shed At Buick Rail Entrance |
Leonard Thygesen said: I'm wondering if that smoke in the far left/upper is from the 12C baler. That shed housed a 1000HP motor to shred scrap sheet metal. I remember when work was to be done on the baler it took 19 minutes for the unit to finally stop spinning.
ReplyDeleteWhen model change came our electricians would rewind the motor. As an apprentice I used one of the bearings to make a sword.
We cut a slot in the bearing so the
steelshop (blacksmiths) could heat the bearing up and then hammer it into the sword. Roller bearing housings are made of the right kind of metal that can hold an edge when ground on a tub grinder. Then I used a wet stone to sharpen it. I made a sheath from leather belting material. In the foundry we had one conveyor that had a leather belt. Can't remember that derailed info, but I knew where to get the thick leather. I used big brass rivets to make the sleeve accept the sword. It was about 3 inches wide and at least 27 inches long. I made the handle out of oak or maybe walnut. Not sure.
We used it to cut watermelon in the summer months with it. Got my Foreman in hot water back in 68 when someone ratted me out. Some scum bag in the main office cut the lock off my toolbox and ripped me off. I think it was the third shift janitors. Lazy good for nothing bunch. I used to find them sleeping in the penthouse when I came in a 6 am. Often wonder where my knife is now....