"Have you seen TheMachine?"

beauregaardhooligan · 06-05-2007, 11:20 PM

My friend asked me this as I was helping him store some stuff at an old warehouse/train depot where he rented some space.
These are pix of a cotton bailing machine, and they don't really convey how massive this thing is.
The 2nd pic shows some railroad tracks still there at the bottom of it where a flatbed cart was rolled under it and the cotton compressed onto the cart. The carts weren't regular gauge, but it was still impressive. I'm guessing a single cart would have carried close to a ton of cotton.
From what we could figger it was run by steam.
I took these pix a few years later, after my friend had moved out, and had to sneak onto the property to get them.
There is a plaque toward the top that says it was made in Birmingham, Alabama.

beauregaardhooligan · 06-05-2007, 11:27 PM

Here's a pic I took where I put a brick on top of part of it for scale. There are also a couple of handles to work the thing so maybe you can get a feel for how massive it is/was.
The place was/is being torn down, and theMachine may be scrap now.

Yznhymr · 06-05-2007, 11:57 PM

I'm sorry, never saw it before. When I saw the thread title, I thought you meant a different machine.

glatt · 06-06-2007, 11:27 AM

The first machine is pretty impressive.

The second machine is also impressive. You could slide that stand right under a bed, so the arm would have quite a reach. Just sayin'.

beauregaardhooligan · 06-06-2007, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yznhymr

I'm sorry, never saw it before. When I saw the thread title, I thought you meant a different machine.

wisenheimer

xoxoxoBruce · 06-06-2007, 08:49 PM

Never seen one of those.... uh, either of those.

06-05-2007, 11:20 PM	#1
beauregaardhooligan Elite Elitist Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 323	"Have you seen TheMachine?" My friend asked me this as I was helping him store some stuff at an old warehouse/train depot where he rented some space. These are pix of a cotton bailing machine, and they don't really convey how massive this thing is. The 2nd pic shows some railroad tracks still there at the bottom of it where a flatbed cart was rolled under it and the cotton compressed onto the cart. The carts weren't regular gauge, but it was still impressive. I'm guessing a single cart would have carried close to a ton of cotton. From what we could figger it was run by steam. I took these pix a few years later, after my friend had moved out, and had to sneak onto the property to get them. There is a plaque toward the top that says it was made in Birmingham, Alabama. Attached Images

06-05-2007, 11:27 PM	#2
beauregaardhooligan Elite Elitist Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 323	Here's a pic I took where I put a brick on top of part of it for scale. There are also a couple of handles to work the thing so maybe you can get a feel for how massive it is/was. The place was/is being torn down, and theMachine may be scrap now. Attached Images

06-05-2007, 11:57 PM	#3
Yznhymr the crowd goes wild! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 663	I'm sorry, never saw it before. When I saw the thread title, I thought you meant a different machine. __________________ "The pride system tends to intensify the self-hate against which it is supposed to be a defense, since any failure to live up to one's tyrannical shoulds or of the world to honor one's claims leads to feelings of worthlessness." Bernard J. Paris, Ph.D.

06-06-2007, 08:49 PM	#6
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Never seen one of those.... uh, either of those. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

06-06-2007, 11:27 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	The first machine is pretty impressive. The second machine is also impressive. You could slide that stand right under a bed, so the arm would have quite a reach. Just sayin'.

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