Change Houses
Nitroglycerin had several bad habits, the least of which was its tendency to explode violently when agitated. Even more of a problem for workers at Atlas was the chemical’s seemingly natural attraction to their clothing. Even if you never handled the explosives directly, by the end of the day you’d be covered in it and your clothes would reek of it. Unfortunately for those wearing the contaminated clothes, nitro fumes are highly nauseous and caused severe headaches after a prolonged exposure. Washing the clothes at home was not an option, so Atlas had to take care of it themselves.
The solution to this problem was the issuing of company uniforms, clothes that would remain at the plant to be washed each and every day. Upon arriving at the plant, workers would have to change out of their clothes from home and into these uniforms. This would be done in one of several change houses sprinkled across the plant, the largest of which can be seen here. This change house sits along the powder-line, where most of the workers would come to get into their company issued uniforms.
Wood framed buildings tend not to survive a half century out in the elements, and this one is just barely holding on today. Here’s a shot at the front entrance, where workers would enter the building. A look at the BIG PICTURE would seem to suggest the building is in pretty good shape, but its deceiving. Going around to the back reveals a collapsed roof and rear wall. The rest will probably succumb soon enough as well.
Like a great deal of the Atlas Plant, the change house is built on a reclaimed wetland (just a few feet from the building is a small pond). Because of this the building is built up on posts, and this bridge had to be built to connect the nearby narrow-gauge rail line to the building.
Lying just outside the building is this old locker which once was used to store the uniforms. Atlas issued a pair of overalls, socks, gloves, and even underwear to each of its employees each day. At the end of the day the workers would remove the clothes and place them in a large hamper to be washed that night. The next morning freshly washed uniforms would be hanging in these lockers once again.
Besides the large change house along the powder-line, there is another much smaller house sitting up near the NG house at the front of the production line. Like its bigger brother, this one hasn’t survived the years all too well either. With its roof collapsed, only two walls still remain standing. This house served the workers at the NG house, who were somewhat isolated from the rest of the plant due to the dangerous nature of their work.
In fact, these NG operators were so isolated that there appears there wasn’t even a toilet in the building. Sitting just behind the change house is this square hole, which looks like an old poo hole from an outhouse. Of course it could be a hole for something else, I just don’t know what.
Moving on….