The giant steam hammer that changed ironworking

The giant steam hammer that changed ironworking

The most powerful steam hammer in the world until 1891, the Creusot steam hammer was the pinnacle of Schneider and Co.'s output. Built in 1877, its impressive size and strength shattered expectations.

The Creusot steam hammer was built in 1877 by Schneider and Co. in Le Creusot, France. As the most powerful hammer in the world, it could deliver blows of up to 100 tons, eclipsing the record set by the Krupp steam hammer "Fritz" in 1877. It remained the largest of its kind until 1891, when the Bethlehem Iron Company in the United States built a hammer capable of delivering a 125-ton blow. The Creusot steam hammer was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1981 and is now a tourist attraction in Le Creusot town square.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons

Written by Nicolo Ciampini

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