This ca. 1909 slip roll came to the East Broad Top Railroad around 1910, purchased from the Niles Tool Works of Hamilton, OH, part of the Niles Bement Pond Company. It resides in the south side of the the Boiler Shop. The roll is used to bend curves in sheets of metal, up to 3/4" thick. It would have been used to build the EBT's tank car, air reserviours, boiler lagging, tanks and any other cylindrical time. It was last used over fifty four ago when the shops engine last ran in service. This was shortly after the East Broad Top shut down as a coal hauler in the spring of 1956. Since then the limited operation of sections of the line shaft system has been via electric motors mounted in those section, disconnected from the rest of the system. The section of the line shaft system the slip roll is connected to was never re-powered. Although the shops engine was restored last year, settling of the buildings has thrown the line shafts out of line and so they are currently inoperable. In 2008 it was found that the sill behind the roll had rotted out and the post atop it (which was in turn holding up a roof truss) was dropping and kicking out. In 2008 and 2009 FEBT volunteers worked to jack up the post and replace the sill. The post was then repaired and set back on the new sill. These repairs not only protected the maine, but also brought its jackshaft (the line shaft dedicated to this machine) back into line. With this opportunity presented, volunteers begun restoring the ...
Keywords: machine, tools, east, broad, top, narrow, gauge, railroad, slip, roll, restoration, history, antique
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