Box Making and Packing
Now that the dynamite sticks have been produced, the final step in the process is boxing the dynamite up in preparation for shipping, to be sent across the peninsula to various Copper Country mines. The Packing House sat at the end of the powder line, receiving finished sticks of dynamite on hand-trucked rail cars from the shell packing houses. At first the box’s were made of wood, but later the company turned to fiber cases to save money. The boxes (wood or otherwise) were made just down the line at the box plant.
Powder Magazines
After the dynamite sticks were completed and boxed, they would then be loaded onto narrow-gauge rail cars for transportation over to the storage buildings at the other side of the property. Atlas had three separate storage buildings (known as powder magazines) to insure an accident at one wouldn’t destroy the entire inventory. All three were served by a spur of the Copper Range Railroad, which would haul box-cars full of dynamite out to Keweenaw copper mines.
The Horse Barn
Due to the vast size and scope of the Atlas facility - over a thousand acres and a hundred separate buildings - an internal narrow gauge railroad was built connecting the various components of the explosive making process. While steam powered trains were used to deliver supplies and ship out finished dynamite, they were too dangerous to operate near the powder line. A more low-tech solution was applied instead: horse power.
The Age of the Loci
While horse power in the rest of the country was quickly being replaced by the automobile, horses continued to serve the Atlas plant well past the war. Gas powered machines were too dangerous to have around the nitro, so until a safer alternative could be found the horses still had a job. This all changed in the early 50’s however, when Atlas retired their loyal horse team and bought a collection of electric powered locomotives. Known commonly at the plant as a “Loci”, these narrow-gauge haulers were powered by an on-board battery. Like the horses they replaced, these machines posed no risk along the powder-line. Better yet, they were much cheaper to maintain then a team of horses requiring no food or water.
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.