A Baltic Engine House

As the newest shaft opened along the Baltic property, the No. 2 benefited from the installation of a modern surface plant including a steam powered Nordberg hoisting engine. The engine here was nothing special, more or less a standard installation for shafts of this era (early 20th century). By this time however the standard red-brick hoist foundation had been upgraded to concrete, and at Baltic it was this massive concrete structure that first attracted our attention through the trees.

As with the engine that it once supported, this foundation was also very typical. It consisted of two elongated concrete piers set in parallel about 20 or so feet apart. These piers would of supported the engine’s piston and crank assemblies used to turn the hoisting drum. The east pier is shown above.

The Nordberg hoist here at the No. 2 was most likely of the double-acting variety, which meant that a set of two pistons and cranks drove the hoisting drum from both ends. Sitting on the other end of where the hoisting drum would of sat is a second pier for this second piston assembly - which you can see here.

From atop the pier we could easily make out where the old engine was once mounted, thanks to the placement of the threaded bolts sticking up from the concrete. In the foreground would of sat the piston itself, which would of drove an extended drive shaft out of its front end (towards the top of the photo). There the drive shaft would of turned a crank connected to the hoist drum’s axle. The mountings for the bearing housing for that axle as well as the groove in the pier for the crank is seen at the far end.

Here’s a closer look at that front assembly with some labels for clarification. The drive shaft oscillated back and forth (up and down in the photo) which was converted to a circular motion by the crank. The groove in the concrete was to allow the crank to spin all the way around unhindered. The hoist drum would of sat to the left.

Looking closer at those anchor bolts we could see where the scrappers cut through the attached nut to release the engine from its mounts (the deep vertical cut through the threads). It didn’t take long for mine companies to sell off their steam equipment after shafts became idle - especially during the second world war when iron and other metals were in desperate need.

Sitting below the pier was this second set of bolts attached to a narrow concrete pedestal sitting down in the drum opening. We have seen this before (at Mesnard, Champion, and Gratiot most recently) and I believe these were part of the either the axle bearing housing or the drum’s brake mechanism. A mirrored foundation sits along the opposite pier as well.

As we have seen on many other modern hoist foundations, the ruins here at the No. 2 also featured this small “mini-pier” centered within the hoist drum opening. No clue yet on what this was for.

Surrounding both the engine’s foundation piers and the center drum opening is a narrow and deep trench. This trench physically separates the engine foundation from the building’s own foundation - which consists of a tapered concrete wall. I had always assumed this trench was for maintenance, and it contained exposed steam and water pipes. But new readers have noted that this trench kept the vibrations from the hoist from being transferred to the building itself - which over time would of compromised the building’s structural soundness.

Here’s a look at that outer foundation wall, which would of supported a set of steel beamed and sheathed walls. Here you can make out the narrow ledge which would of supported the building’s floor.

Before making out way back out of the engine house remains, we notice this brick-lined opening on the eastern wall. The bricks and the circular hole could only mean one thing, at least in my experience. This is where the main steam line from the boiler house once entered the building, before being pumped into the engine’s valve assemblies. With this find we now knew in which direction to look for the boiler house.

Hoist Engine House’s have a long history here at CCE, being one of our first “official” ruins we explored back at the Osceola. Back then hoists were made of red brick and were usually in the classic “H” shape, as I discuss HERE. This style was evident along other Osceola/Tamarack properties including North Kearsarge No. 1, and North Kearsarge No. 3. Since then we have been noticing a alternative to the classic “H” look, where the horizontal cross piece has been diminished in stature to a point of disappearing entirely. Hoist ruins of this type include the almost identical Mesnard and Gratiot hoists, as well as the Champion No. 4 and No. 1 hoists. The hoist ruin featured today seems to be the end-run of the line, with the horizontal member not existing at all.

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