Lechner Air Mining Machine photograph   Save
Jeffrey Manufacturing Company Photograph Collection http://www.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/
Description: The 1877 model of the Lechner air mining machine revolutionized the coal mining industry. This image measures 8.5" by 11" (21.59 by 27.94 cm). In the 1870s, coal mining was slow and dangerous work. In a typical 12-hour day, productivity was only two tons per man. Much of the labor involved under-cutting--a miner had to lie on his side while digging a 6-inch-thick cut 4 feet deep across a 10-to-20-foot wide face. In 1876, a Columbus man, Francis Lechner, designed a chain-driven, air-powered machine that could undercut the coal mechanically, increasing daily productivity by one ton of coal per man. Lechner teamed up with Joseph Andrew Jeffrey and formed the Lechner Mining Machine Company in 1877. The Lechner coal-cutting machine eventually became a standard for the coal industry. The Columbus-based business, which in 1887 became known as the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, was one of the city's most successful and long-lasting firms of the 20th century. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1479_1149139_001
Subjects: Business and Labor; Science and Technology; Geography and Natural Resources; Coal mining; Machinery
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)