Machinist - Masters of the craft 1868 Postcard

Colorized photo from 1868 Original title: Interior, Laramie Machine Shops Photographer: Andrew J. Russell Location: Laramie, WY This machine shop is a part of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad, probably used to maintain equipment. They relied on it being a sunny day to do work, as I see no lights (haven't been invented yet), I don't even see lanterns. For the most part the shop is filled with lathes and drill presses. Some of the equipment looks a bit shaky though, there is what I believe is a planer of some kind on the left, that is mounted on wood blocks. The building itself has an attention to detail that you could miss if your weren't looking. The beams use scarf joints. Complicated overlapping joints that lock together with either a bolt system or a peg. You can easily see one of them at the centre bottom. Others can be seen at the centre joint where the beam gets fatter. Keep in mind these were all cut by hand.