Nostalgia & History > What are these men doing?

Picture 1 is from the website,

http://uofllibraries.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/groupmenengine209_t.jpg

Picture 1, “University of Pittsburgh. Ohio Connecting Railway Bridge Construction. May 25, 1914. Pennsylvania Railroad Glass Plate Negative Collection, 1907-1917.”

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Picture 2 is Zoom enlargement of a portion of picture1.

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Looks like a drop-hammer pile driver. I saw a somewhat more elaborate unit working on a Pacific Electric bridge project in Monrovia back around 1950. It hoists a heavy weight up to the top and lets it drop, rather like a guillotine. The one in the photo looks like it started out as a "donkey engine" and then the pile driver structure was added.

The operation of a pile-driver was quite interesting.
The main sole or frame was skidded from side to side or forward to back to change location as needed. Note the various cables at the corner of the frame.
DNRY, above, gives a very correct explanation of the drop hammer operation.

Later improved models featured a steam piston in the drive-head that raised the head and allowed it to drop to pound the pile into the earth.
Later versions that are used today have a gas or diesel ignition that raised the head.

Loud ?? - You Bet!!

--Jim Baker.

Flynn,
It says on the pic., I can't make out the first part of top line except at the right side, PGH Div.
Ohio connecting bridge, locating pile driver South side of span #7. May 25, 1914 1:43pm. upkpfan

I concur, they're driving piles.

I find the bent stave wooden barrels of special interest. Two have their hoops tightly driven, but the one on the left has had three hoops removed, allowing the staves to spring back slightly allowing the head to be removed to remove the barrels contents. The barrel was then inverted, probably to allow the last remnants to be shaken or pounded out. I wonder what was in the barrels - that type barrel would have been used for some type of non-explosive powder or granular material.

-John

I thought they were trying to find the best pickle.

Making moonshine!

Thanks to everyone for the information. I originally thought the equipment was used to lift up something to the bridge. I don’t think I would have ever thought of a pile driver because I associate the pile driver with the start of the building of the bridge but in this case the bridge appears to be finished or almost finished. Why would they be using a pile driver on a finished bridge?

Looks like the two fellows on deck are concerned with the pulley works or something. The other 3 are dealing with driving a pile for the truss bridge above them that is resting on the stone pier. Looks like the other two higher bridges carry trains and this is a third line belonging to the Ohio Connecting Railway Co. Note the driver hammer suspended behind the diagonal brace between the top second and third set of bracing on the boom. Since the adjacent bridge appears to have both steel and wood piling, I'm assuming maybe these men either have, or, are driving a steel piling.