A Walk For the Angels
After being neutralized at the Store House, the nitro had to be then sent on to the Mix House, where it was mixed with the “dope” to form the gelatinous filler for the dynamite sticks. This was by far the most dangerous job at Atlas, as the smallest of bumps or jolts could cause the nitro to explode. To minimize this risk the transportation of the nitro was handled as delicately as possible, using wheeled carts pushed along level wood and concrete pathways. The path was known as the “Angel Walk”, for obvious reasons.
Where Nitro and Dope Become One
After the nitro has been created and neutralized the next step in the dynamite production process is to mix the nitro with a fibrous filler material known in the biz as “dope”. Working much the same as sawdust, the dope soaks up the liquid nitro and creates a gelatinous material similar in consistency to Playdo (but smell not nearly as good). It is this Playdo-like material that will be used to form the dynamite sticks.
The Shell House (p1)
During World War II most civilian explosives plants across the country were drafted into military service, producing explosive shells and other military explosives for the war effort. The Atlas Plant at Senter, however, had never been converted to ammunition production. It served the war effort in another capacity, producing the explosives mine companies needed to mine the large amounts of copper needed to create those munitions. In fact, Atlas increased its production substantially, to make up for other Atlas Plants that had been enlisted in the war.
The Shell House (p2)
After taking a look around on the inside of the Shell House, we decided to take it outside. The building was served by two sets of rails, one for each side of the building. From one end, the paper rolls and other materials were brought in from Warehouse Row on the plant’s safety side to the north. On the other end - the end we now were exploring - the finished shells were loaded on horse-drawn rail cars to be brought down to the packing houses along the line. Today this side had become horribly overgrown, making it hard to images a rail line running alongside.
Shell Packing
After being mixed into a Playdo-like consistency at the Mix House, the nitroglycerine was then loaded onto small rail cars and pushed by hand to the nearby Hall House. Here a series of machines would use the nitro mix to fill the empty paper tubes from the shell house to create the finished dynamite sticks. At Atlas there were two Hall Houses, set one after the other in a line. This insured once again that if an accident should occur at one of the buildings, production could still continue at the second.