An old engraving of two small, wheeled platform scales manufactured by E and T Fairbanks and Company in the 1800s. It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. These mobile, counterbalance scales were useful at places like rail depots. American Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796 –1886) was an American inventor. In 1824 he built an iron foundry in St Johnsbury, Vermont, USA with his brother Erastus. Fairbanks’s most famous invention, ‘The Fairbanks Scales’, a platform scale, capable of weighing of very large loads accurately. Fairbanks Scales continue to be made in St Johnsbury.
An old engraving of two small, wheeled platform scales manufactured by E and T Fairbanks and Company in the 1800s. It is from a Victorian mechanical engineering book of the 1880s. These mobile, counterbalance scales were useful at places like rail depots. American Thaddeus Fairbanks (1796 –1886) was an American inventor. He was an inventor of stoves, ploughs and other items. His greatest success was the invention and manufacture of the platform scale, which allowed the weighing of large objects accurately. In 1815 he moved to St Johnsbury, Vermont, USA and set up a wheelwright's shop. In 1824 he built an iron foundry and his brother Erastus joined him. In 1830 Thaddeus and Erastus became interested in hemp and flax production. Thaddeus built a set of platform scales that would measure large loads of hemp, as there were no accurate scales at that time to do this. Upon the success of the scales his most famous invention, ‘The Fairbanks Scales’, was patented in 1830. In 1834 Fairbanks and his brothers formed E and T Fairbanks and Company to manufacture and sell platform and other types of scales. A platform scale, if big enough, can even weigh a large vehicle and its load. These revolutionised the weighing of large loads and have been in use ever since. The first railway track platform scale patent was granted to Fairbanks in 1857. Fairbanks Scales continue to be made in St Johnsbury.
Size: 4724px × 2650px
Location: St Johnsbury, Vermont, USA
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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