General Electric Dan Patch Electric Locomotive

General Electric Erie Works and Dan Patch Electric Train postcard courtesy of Jim Peters.

The sprawling GE Transportation Systems Erie Works campus is shown in the top picture on this postcard. GE is bordered by Franklin Avenue, East Lake Road, Water Street and the Conrail railroad tracks on the south.

The center photo shows a gas electric motor car made by General Electric for the Dan Patch Electric Lines, run by the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester & Dubuque Electric Traction Company.

The bottom photo, billed as the Largest Electric Locomotive in the World, shows the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company locomotive No. 10203. This 3,000 volt engine was GE locomotive No. 5028. Go train spotting for more C.M. & St. P engines in General Electric promotional photographs.

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Top 40 Erie Industries in 1950

As I was coming home last night on East 12th Street, a couple of things caught my eye. The setting sun looked like a blazing ball of fire in the sky. The three smokestacks were a sad reminder of the old Hammermill Paper Company on East Lake Road. I turned north on Downing Avenue and captured this scene just before the sun disappeared below the horizon 

The stacks also got me thinking about what a great manufacturing town Erie, Pennsylvania was. Coincidentally, I found a list of the principal industries of Erie in a 1950 publication. Thousands of skilled workers were employed in these shops. Just a handful of these businesses remain.* See if you can name them.

Alsco, Inc. made aluminum windows and doors
American Sterilizer Company
Henry Althof & Sons specialized in iron and iron works
American Hollow Boring Co. made forgings
Bliley Electric Company
Bucyrus-Erie made steam shovels
Burke Electric Company made motors
Bury Compressor Company made compressors
Cascade Foundry Company made castings
Continental Rubber Works made rubber goods
Erie Brewing Company made beer
Erie City Iron Works
Erie Concrete and Steel Company fabricated steel
Erie Forge Company made machinery
Erie Foundry Company made machinery
Erie Malleable Iron Works
Erie Meter System made meters for gas station pumps
Erie Plastics Company made radio parts
Erie Resistor Corp. made radio parts
General Electric Co. makes locomotives
Griffin Mfg. Company made hardware
Hammermill Paper Company made quality writing paper
Hays Mfg. Company made brass  products
Jarecki Mfg. Company made valves and fittings
Johnson Metal Products made metal items
Kollman Mfg. Company made sewer and drain cleaners
Lord Mfg. Co. made rubber mountings
Lovell Mfg. Co. made wringer washers and mouse traps
Metric Metal Works made gas meters
National Erie Corporation made machinery
Nosco Plastics manufactured items out of plastic
Nubone Company made items for undergarments
Odin Stove Company made stoves
Pelham Electric Manufacturing
Penn Brass and Copper
Perma-Lite Displays made neon tubing for signs
Protane Corporation made items for gas
Reed Manufacturing Company
Skinner Engine Company
Standard Stoker Inc.
Talon Inc. made zippers
U. S. Printing & Lithograph Company made circus posters
Wayne Brewing Company made beer
Weil-McLain Company made radiators
J. A. Zurn Company

*some companies merged with others or operate today under a different name

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General Electric Erie Locomotive Plant Philosophy

General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania held an open house on June 12, 1960 to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. Visitors to the plant at 2901 East Lake Road received a 24-page booklet which told the history of the Erie plant. What follows are excerpts from the document entitled Welcome Visitor.

"We at General Electric's Erie Plant are pleased to have you as our guest. As a consumer, you're probably already familiar with GE television sets, radios, appliances, and light bulbs. But General Electric at Erie also means locomotives and generators, ferrous and non-ferrous castings- products that are basic to transportation, industry and defense all over the world. 

The headquarters of the Company's Motor and Generator Division is at the Erie Plant. The Direct Current Motor and Generator Department, Locomotive and Car Equipment Department, and Erie Relations and Utilities Operation are assigned to the Motor and Generator Division. Two other GE operations at the Erie Plant are the Erie Foundries and Erie Reconditioning Shop...

We hope that we have given you a better idea of what we do at General Electric's Erie Plant- the products we make, and the philosophy we try to live by. In the interest of all of our five 'Partners in Progress,' we try:

To give EMPLOYEES a good job at a fair wage under capable and trained supervision- in return for their attendance, skill, care and effort.

To give CUSTOMERS a good product at a fair price- in return for their business and loyalty.

To give LOCAL SUPPLIERS all the business we can- in return for quality products and skilled services.

To give SHAREOWNERS an equitable return on their money- in return for their investment in the Company.

To give you, our COMMUNITY NEIGHBORS, our full cooperation as a corporate citizen- in return for your continuing efforts to keep the Erie area a good place in which to work and live."

Note: GE made howitzers for the Army during World War II. Read about the 75mm weapons here:  GE Howitzers

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GE Made Howitzers in Erie During WWII

General Electric made howitzers in Erie during World War II and chances are that someone in your family played a part in the wartime effort. Employment at the Erie Works of General Electric jumped from 5,675 people in 1940 to 9,544 persons during World War II. Between 1946 and 1951, employment averaged 15,031 workers per year.

Back to the howitzers. I remember hearing people talk about this, and I finally found proof in a GE pamphlet published in August of 1941. The text is as follows:

"On machines previously used for making electric motors for street cards and locomotives, skilled machinists at the General Electric Erie Plant are producing the latest 75-millimeter pack howitzers for the United States Army.

The size of the howitzer- it is only 47 inches long- permitted boring operations to be performed on turret lathes already in the plant, and with few changes, other tools on hand were adapted for the work. As production was stepped up it was necessary to add some new machines; special rifling equipment had to be installed. But assembly-line production has been underway for some months, with the men who formerly made motors now making howitzers.

Maximum portability and striking power for its weight and complete interchangeability of parts are features of the pack howitzer. It was originally designed for mule transport, but the new type of howitzer is now towed on pneumatic tires by motorized troops. Some batteries have even been carried by airplane on maneuvers.

This weapon hurls a 15-pound shell nearly three inches in diameter more than five miles. One of its special features is its ability to drop its projectiles accurately behind hills, buildings or other obstructions. It can be quickly disassembled and reassembled with interchangeable parts.

All through production, parts must be made to exact measurements, as the howitzers must be assembled in the field with few or no tools. Parts must be definite fits, and enormous stresses must be withstood in firing, thus providing a continuous job for the Army inspectors. These men see the individual parts as they are finished; they inspect them after they have been given their final polish; they are present at the last tests before the guns are put in packing cases.

At the final tests the individual parts are assembled and reassembled at random to prove their interchangeability, and three rounds of primers in empty shell cases are then fired in each howitzer to check the breech mechanism. The guns are then ready to be shipped out for their mountings, recoil mechanisms and other parts not made in Erie."

This leads to the next question...were the howitzers tested on the shores of Lake Erie?

Note: Click here to read about the philosophy of the Erie Plant here: GE circa 1960

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Perry Square Fountain Light Show

New Edison Electric Fountain postcard courtesy of Michele H.

The fountain in the east park of Perry Square was dedicated with a huge celebration on October 22, 1929, when the Chamber of Commerce presented the structure to the City of Erie, PA. The ceremony kicked off with a military parade led by the 112th Regimental Band, followed by the Academy High School Marching Band, the Erie Drum and Bugle Corps, the American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The parade started on 18th and State and ended at Perry Square. 

The fountain was dedicated to Thomas Edison in honor of Light's Golden Jubilee, a week-long celebration of the invention of the electric light. The Edison Electric Fountain was constructed by General Electric for $16,500 and was the pride of Erie when it was finished. The City of Erie paid $5,000 and the remainder of the money was raised by private citizens through popular subscription. 

"Said to surpass even the Atlantic City fountain, there will be eight changes in water effects, the entire light cycle requiring 10 minutes for completion. For each water effect there will be 12 changes in lighting effects, or a total of 96 combinations to each cycle." -Erie Dispatch Herald, October 22, 1929.

A number of dignitaries were present when the Edison electric fountain was dedicated, including Erie Mayor Joseph Williams, local G.E. head H. L. R. Emmet, Charles H. Strong, W. Pitt Gifford and judge/congressman/state representative Henry A. Clark. 

Knowing the history makes me look at the fountain in a whole new light (no pun intended). My aunt moved to the Los Angeles area, and whenever she came back to Erie for a visit, she had to go see the 'colored water' in Perry Square.

Old fountain in Perry Square. Postcard courtesy of Tom DiLuzio.

The old fountain in the east park of Perry Square was replaced in 1929. You can see the Reed Hotel in the background on the left on North Park Row, and the Becker Block on the right along French Street. I'll bet kids got yelled at for jumping the rail and splashing in this fountain on a hot summer day. 

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Top 20 Credit Unions in Erie, PA in 1970

Back in 1970, nearly every major industry had its own employee credit union. A few of the big employers in Erie, Pennsylvania included Hammermill, Marx and the New York Central Railroad. Let's see how many you recognize from this list:

American Sterilizer Federal Credit Union, 2545 West 23rd St., Erie, PA
Bucyrus Erie Employees Federal Credit Union, 1521 Raspberry St.
Employees of General Electric Federal Credit Union No. 1161, 3525 Main St., Lawrence Park
Erie Fireman Federal Credit Union, 1740 West 26th St.
Erie Hamot Federal Credit Union, 231 State St.
Erie School Employees Federal Credit Union, 1106 East 9th St.
Fenestra Federal Credit Union, 4040 West 20th St.
General Teamsters Local 397 Federal Credit Union, 1918 West 12th St.
Hammermill Employees Federal Credit Union, 1306 East Lake Rd.
Kaiser Erie Federal Credit Union, 1015 East 12th St.
LC-DCF Employees of GE Federal Credit Union, 2154 East Lake Rd.
L T C Federal Credit Union, 218 West 29th St.
Loc & Cont Employees Federal Credit Union 1111, 2230 Broad St.
Lord Employees Federal Credit Union, 1635 West 12th St.
Marx Toy Federal Credit Union, 962 West 20th St.
N Y C Erie Federal Credit Union, 110 West 13th St.
National Forge & Steel Federal Credit Union, 3202 Maple St.
Rubber Employees Federal Credit Union, 962 West 20th St.
Smith-Erie Federal Credit Union, 1602 Wagner Ave.
Toymakers Federal Credit Union, Penn Avenue Ext., Girard, PA
Zurn Industries Inc. Credit Union, 1801 Pittsburgh Ave.

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Railroad Bridge at Four Mile Creek and Water Street

Steps to the New York Central Railroad tracks at Four Mile Creek. Photo ©Debbi Lyon 2012.

This railroad bridge on Water Street near the General Electric Plant in Lawrence Park Township has been covered with graffiti for as long as I can remember. The bridge was built in 1865. I took this photo in the late eighties.

The stairs used to lead to the New York Central Railroad tracks before an iron bar was welded on to block access to the steps. The New York Central roundhouse and repair shop used to be located just east of this bridge. The old roundhouse had twelve bays to repair trains.

Fishermen often cast a line over the cement wall. Fourmile Creek is now posted with 'No Trespassing' signs just north (left in this photo) of this bridge. If you look over the edge of the wall after a rainstorm you'll often see raging, muddy water. On a hot summer day, the creek runs at a trickle.

There is a footbridge just north of here that you can use to cross over the creek; it comes out at Bell Street and Napier Avenue.

How Different is Erie from 1927?

-ad in Erie Dispatch-Herald, July 6, 1927.

The Andrews Land Company placed an interesting advertisement in the Erie Dispatch-Herald on July 6, 1927: "How Different is the Erie of 1927 From the Erie We Knew in 1910."

The article states: "What a difference a few years make in the growth of a city! In 1910 Erie had no Lawrence Hotel. Remember? There was no Marine Bank Building- no Second National Bank Building- no Commerce Building. The Ariel Building, the Palace Hardware Building, have been built since 1910.

And the beautiful Erie Trust Company building was not completed until this year. In 1910 there were very few residences west of Cascade Street. There was almost no houses west of East Avenue- and only a few scattered groups of homes south of 26th Street.

Central High School was regarded in 1910 as our leading educational institution. But since that time five new and beautiful high schools have been built- East High, Wilson High, Lincoln High, Academy High, and Roosevelt High. And another new high school is planned for West Eighth Street.

The entire General Electric Company plant; almost all of the Hammermill Paper Company plant, and more than half of the newer manufacturing plants in Erie have gone up since 1910.

More than 12,000 new homes have been built since 1910. And many new grade schools, new churches, and additions to Hamot and St. Vincent's hospitals.

That's progress!"

Find more facts and old photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie