“Vernon Mesler, I thought of you while watching the ironworkers use their busters” said a LinkedIn post by Terrance Narkum, Operating Engineer from Local 150 working on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Modernization of Chicago’s Historic Elevated Train System. I’m not a big fan of rivet busters, but I indicated that if I had these old rivets it would be great for an educational opportunity. Narkum recognized the educational value of these historic rivets and within a few weeks several of these rivets arrived in a package in the mail. Working at Lansing Community College as an adjunct welding instructor, I was able to section and etch the rivets with nitric acid and discovered a fine example of nineteenth century wrought iron. These rivets came from the Chicago Green Line at West Lake Street and North Damen Avenue; the original Damen station opened in 1893.
It soon became apparent the number of Green Line wrought iron rivets would not be enough to provide educators and historians with a sample of these historic specimens, and I asked Narkum if he could find me more. Two dozen nineteenth century wrought iron rivets, an early twentieth century steel section with steel rivets, and several sections of historic square rebar were soon ready to pick up at Narkum’s home in Crown Point, Indiana. It was a pleasure meeting Narkum, and we appreciated his enthusiasm in preserving a part of Chicago’s transportation history.
With the assistance of the craftsmen at Lansing Community College’s Center for Manufacturing Excellence at West Campus (Lansing, Michigan), I began preparing these historic metal specimens for LCC instructors and a future permanent display of historic wrought iron.
There is still a lot to learn from these historic metal specimens and the historic sections of Chicago’s Elevated Train System.
Vern Mesler
Narkum shared a link to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red and Purple Line Modernization work.
