Pinion Gears - Bethlehem Steel Foundry - Bethlehem, PA
Posted by: 
jiggs11
N 40° 36.762 W 075° 22.225
18T E 468665 N 4495830
Two 40,000-pound pinion gears from the former Bethlehem Steel milling rollers.
Waymark Code: WM108MW
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2019
Views: 2
A pair of 40,000 pound (20 ton) pinion gears that used to drive the rollers that milled molten steel in the Bethlehem Steel foundry. They are on public display at the National Museum of Industrial Heritage, located in part of the old Bethlehem Steel plant.
An accompanying marker reads:
"PINION GEARS
Weighing 40,000 pounds each, these gears
came from the #2 of the steam-powered
Universal Finisher of the 48" mill (the
pinion pitch diameter is 48" giving the
Mill its name). The two gears were
positioned one on top of the other in a
large gear box known as a pinion stand.
A 20,000 horsepower steam engine powered
a shaft which turned the lower gear in
one direction, this gear then moved the
second gear positioned above it in the
opposite direction. Both gears together
turned the rolls inside the adjacent mill
stand, squeezing the molten steel between
the two rolls as part of the process of
forming wide flange beams."
The museum is located at 602 East 2nd Street, Bethlehem, PA.
There is a fee to visit inside the museum. However, the gears and other artifacts are in a free-access area outside the museum entrance.
Type of Machine: Pinion gears
Year the machine was built: Not listed
Year the machine was put on display: Not listed
Is there online documentation for this machine: Not listed
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