The Replogle Steel Company, Wharton, New Jersey
A short history of the Wharton Furnaces by Phil Baggley and Bill Trengove.
An artist’s rendition of the Replogle Steel Company’s Wharton Blast Furnaces.
(Taken from a print in the possession of Bill Trengove)
In June 1990 Stan Knotts, then of Brookeville, Maryland founded the Railroad Industries Special Interest Group under the auspices of the National Model Railroad Association. From humble beginnings, membership worldwide slowly grew, aided by Stan’s guiding hand as he published "LINESIDE", the newsletter of the RRISIG.
Soon the group became a honey pot for Iron and Steel industry modellers and various contributions about aspects of the Iron and Steel industry began to appear in Lineside. Phil Baggley, in Workington, England contributed a series of articles about Blast Furnace modelling. Some of the material came from a book published in 1929 by Ernest Been Ltd. entitled Blast Furnace Practice. The author of the book was Fred Clements, the General Manager of the Park Gate Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. Of Rotherham, England.
Clements had scoured the globe seeking out best practice of contemporary ironmaking and visited the Replogle Steel Co. in Wharton NJ. on his travels. From his observations he was able to publish a detailed description of what was then a mothballed plant.
By coincidence, Bill Trengove a senior citizen and resident of Wharton had begun building an N scale (1/160) model of the blast furnaces based solely upon a few photographs of the dormant plant in his possession. He joined the RRISIG hoping to improve his understanding of blast furnace construction. He could never have anticipated that a detailed description of the plant, supplemented by drawings would appear in "Lineside".
Naturally, when Bill began to see plans and drawings of the Replogle Steel Co. Blast Furnaces in print, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Despite many years of research, nothing like this had ever turned up. Bill got in touch with Phil and after sharing their knowledge, a more comprehensive study of the Wharton furnaces appeared in Lineside.
So what lies here is the current extent of our knowledge. It is a fascinating glimpse into the layout of a 1920s era North Eastern USA blast furnace plant. The photographs were probably taken around 1933 when the plant was demolished.
If you are able to contribute to our knowledge please don't hesitate to get in touch. I will be pleased to expand these pages.
Phil Baggley Workington England.
Click on parts of the map to take you to one of five pages with photographs and captions
Clement's contemporary description of the plant. (Including additional notes by the authors)
Blast Furnace animation See how a blast furnace functions.
Last updated 3 January, 2003
