THE BRITISH FORD

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3168, 22 June 1931, Page 10

THE BRITISH FORD

\vo.\Di-;i; W.OKKS AT DAGKXIIAAi UKAC.M. KIVKK TIIAMLOS. Progress that U little short of amazing has been made with tlic construction of the vast new Fold Works ;i! Dagenhain (ail il lust rut Lull of which is hero reproduced ). This tremendous factory—one of {lie largest i>L : its kia-l in the world, \i il'h ;iii oulpul rapacity equal tu Muit tit" every other Knglish motor works combined, is planned to employ more than 10/MMI workers. Towering above the lOssex marsh arc Ihe hug' 1 strack stoves and chimneys of ih,. biggest blast furnace in Kugland. lOii'lle:;.'! vistas of steelwork. tinder glass roofs so wide that iliey scarcely in ,•••(•(•].! the \ iew of. the sky, and si .'Hiding on acre after acre of con i-ri'le, are the main shops of the far. lory, soon to resound to the hum and c!;. ng of giant Ford machines producing two vehicles every minute. Night and day for IS mouths, thousands of British workmen, aided by unique building machinery which re duces laborious tasks to automatic jiro cesses, and performs them at astonish tug speed, have been at work on this land. The visitor would not refuse to believe that twice that length of time had been occupied in bringing about so amazing a change. One of the biggest of ail th'.' undertakings has been the work of piling the land t-> withstand the enormous weight; of concrete and steel buildings close-packed with machinery. The whole of the structure stands on massive pillars of steel and concrete, driven down -10, ■"><>, 00, and in some cases, 70 feet into the ground, until blow after Wow with the 4-ton driver is unable to move them another half-inch. The work is now practically completed: .I:>,SOU of these piles have been driven, l-o miles of them if they were [dace:! end to end. In some places the\ are packed so tight that the surface of the ground has bulged two and three feet into the air, due to the pressure created below. An undertaking of hardly less formidable proportions has been the laying of the reinforced concrete door of the three main shops. 'these three shops alone—the foundry, the manufacturing shop, and the ns.-jemldy shop—cover over L'tt acres of ground, and almost (he whole of this atea has now been covered by a thick concrete slab reinforced with steel. The walls and roofs of these engineering shops provide further examples of high-speed const ruction IT.oUO tons of British steelwork were ordered for these buildings, and practically all of il is now erected.

One of the most .striking examples is the splendid natural lighting in every comer of every shop, obtained by the extensive use of glass in the roof. The urea of tooling glass is approximately (>OO,OOO square feet —nearly J-l acres—and it is one of the largest contracts ever given out for British glass-rooting. Those parts of the roof that are not glazed are covered with a special pro toeted metal coaled wilh aluminium on the inside—another feature that add:; In the excellent illumination. The method by which each shop will he kept well ventilated is another ol Hie minor wonders of this factory. Warm air will be blown in during tin winter, cool air in the summer nearly 2.~>0 ventilators, ranging from -t to ■" feet in diameter, will extract the air. while nearly six miles of glass roof, '■'< r ; feet wide, can be opened by touching a series of electri<- switches. One switch will lift 8 tons of window, while nlher switches operate the sash windows in the sides of the buildings. The Idast furnace —now almost completed—is the only one in the south of Kngland, and one of the largest in the world; ;100 tons of pig iron can be produced in this furnace every day. Nearly 3(1,000 tons of coal, ore and limestone will be brought into the Thames every week to feed this voracious furnace. The ore yard (now in course of construction), from which the furnace will lie supplied entirely by electrical means, will hold 34,000 tons of coal, 122,000 tons of ore, and 11,500 tons of limestone. Work on the -Jo ovens forming the coke oven block is also well advanced; S 0() tons of coal will be carbonised here every 24 hours. By means of a special installation—the first to be used in this country—steam is generated from the coke for use in other sections of the factory. The by-products sections is also situated near the ovens. Among other valuable derivatives will be a large amount of benzol, which will leave the Avorks in the fuel tanks of new .Lord cars! The power house will generate enough current to supply a big town with light, heat and power, and will consume London's rubbish at' the rate of 1000 tons a day. The construction of the .jetty has been one of the biggest tasks in the whole of this vast undertaking; costing over £338,000 to build; it is over 1800 feet long and ol feet wide. The Dagenhaiu factory to-day represents a noteworthy achievement by British architects, British contractors, British manufacturers of concrete and steel. Only a little more than 18 months ago they were shown 500 acres of waterlogged land on the banks of the Thames. To-day the home of a new industry is in being on that same =pot.