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BETTENDORF STEEL CAR WORKS (RAILROADS) FLORAL ENAMELED SILVER SPOON
Antique. Marked Sterling.Weighs 20 grams and is 5 5/8 inches in length.
Please see photos for details. Note lighting variations may alter colors of item in photos.
From Wikipedia on the brothersJoseph W. Bettendorfand William P. Bettendorf:
The city of Bettendorf is named after the two brothers.
W. P. Bettendorf established a shop to manufacture the wheel at Peru Plow and as the metal wheel branch of the business increased the name of the company was changed to Peru Plow & Wheel Company. Because the company was slow to increase capacity he moved his business to the Eagle Manufacturing Company ofDavenport, Iowaafter meeting with its president E. P. Lynch. With his brother, J.W. Bettendorf, he manufactured metal wheels at Eagle Manufacturing until 1889 when the brothers started the Bettendorf Metal Wheel Company in Davenport. In 1892 he developed a steel gear for farm wagons and the company manufactured those as well. He severed his ties with Bettendorf Metal Wheel and designed the machinery to manufacture the steel gears, which he eventually sold toInternational Harvesterin 1905.
He organized the Bettendorf Axle Company with his brother J.W. The company was incorporated on January 1, 1895. W. P. Bettendorf was the company's first president and J. W. Bettendorf was the secretary. Two fires in 1902, one on January 28 and the other in May, destroyed the plant. The residents of the town of Gilbert, which was about three miles (4.8km) east of Davenport at the time, raised $15,000 to buy the old Gilbert farm between theMississippi Riverand theDavenport, Rock Island and North Western Railwaytracks.[4]The brothers decided to establish a new plant in Gilbert. A year later the citizens of the town elected to change its name to Bettendorf.
The factory was built on a 70-acre (28ha) plot of land. The company originally was a manufacturer of agricultural implements.Its rapid growth was spurred by Bettendorf's design of a one-piece railroadtruck framethat eliminated bolts. Bolts could loosen as the train moved and cause delays or derailments.[5]The new frame was cast as a single piece ofsteeland revolutionized the railroad industry.
By 1909 the building had grown to three times its original size. It contained two regenerative open-hearth basic steel furnaces, with the capacity to heat 25 short tons (22 long tons; 23t). They were able to produce about one hundred tons of finished steel castings daily. These were used to construct railroad boxcars. A complete railroad car was built from raw materials in the east end of the plant to the finished product on the west end.[4]The company expanded in the early 20th century to manufacture oil burners, toys, water pumps, ice crushers and other products. The company also built the Meteor automobile.[1]Between 1903 and 1910 the workforce grew from 300 to 800 employees.
