Planing Shed & Lumber Shed

Planing Shed and Lumber Shed. . Workers in the Planing Shed milled lumber for rail cars and other wooden items manufactured by the railroad., The grouping of the Planing Shed (A) and Lumber Shed (B) next to the Boiler Room (C) was intentional. A line shaft from the Boiler Room extended to the Planing Shed where it powered a Daniels planer. This planer had a reciprocating carriage and rapidly created a smooth surface on rough wood. Wood for planning was readily available in the adjacent shed and wood shavings from the planer helped feed the boiler fire that produced steam for the line shaft., The railroad converted the Lumber Shed into an area for electrical equipment in 1907, when electricity was supplied by a utility company. This area included a dynamo, which replaced the steam engine as a power source. Dynamos were generators that produced DC (direct current). They commonly powered industrial sites during this period. By 1931 a compressor was added here., “Extending beyond the stationary enginehouse is a brick shed for storing lumber. This is 83 feet long, and reaches to the carpenters’ shop beyond. From the front of this shed, a roof is carried out on brick columns for 63 feet, into the yard. This forms a sort of arbor, under which is placed a large Daniel’s (sic) planning machine, for dressing siffs and caps for cars and other similar work.” , Daily Morning News, Savannah, July 17, 1855