This collection consists primarily of black and white photographs and negatives. Also included are Kodachrome slides and a few personal field notes. The photograph collection was donated to Sagebrush Consultants, L.L.C. (Sagebrush), by the Salt Lake office of AK Steel, successor to AD&MP. Armco manufactured many irrigation diversion structures which have been used since 1899. The dates represented in this collection range from 1951 to 1958, according to the field notes and the dates which were placed on the photos by the developer.

Although we cannot be absolutely sure, it is possible that these photographs were part of Armco company records and were kept on hand for a variety of purposes. In the years following World War II, Armco launched an aggressive advertising, promotional, and sales campaign, hoping to increase productivity in established markets and enter new markets as well. The company handbook, Handbook of Culvert and Drainage Practice, first published in 1930, was revised in 1937, and underwent a full scale revision in 1955. Various members of the Armco organization gave promotional presentations in the 1950's, which utilized assorted "visual aids such as slide strip films, groups of selected Kodachrome slides and some silent movies" (Armco Drainage and Metal Products Inc. [Armco] 1960:66). They also reached out to college engineering students, writing and distributing the Handbook of Culvert and Drainage Practice to faculty members, "and offering the same handbook to students at a nominal price" (Armco 1960:66). For a short time they even experimented with several scholarship programs.

This huge sales effort resulted in an extensive training program for all sales personnel. There were several months of product information classes, complemented by marketing and salesmanship training. Also included were visits to research laboratories and plants, interdepartmental personnel acquaintance and peer coaching. Apparently, all of this effort and work paid off. Between 1948 and 1956, "AD&MP had slightly more than doubled its sales in the industrial market" (Armco 1960:40).

The donation received by Sagebrush contained very little written information and almost no explanation or description of the photographs. Many of the envelopes in which the photos were stored, had deteriorated. Descriptive information written upon these envelopes, varied from highly detailed, to none whatsoever. This information has been transcribed as closely as possible to the original recordation. In addition, where data was missing, no assumptions have been made.

The content of the photograph assemblage includes the range of Armco- manufactured products during the 1950's. All phases of construction are documented and include: uninstalled materials, installation processes, close ups, classic examples, custom work, emergency installations, repairs, and exceptions. Also recorded in the collection are miscellaneous promotional items, the 1951 State Fair display, the Denver plant, and warehouses. Some photos were supplemented with further information: who installed the feature, diameter, length, gage, and what condition the featured item is in. The focus of the collection appears to be work conducted in the states of Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and Colorado.

When these photographs were donated, it was apparent that they had been assembled into categories by their subject matter. It appeared to be an efficient organizational method, so it has been applied here, as well. The categories are: Bin Walls, Bridges, Buildings, Flumes, Gates, The Glen Canyon Dam Project, Guard Rails, Miscellaneous Items, Pipe, and Tunnels. Some of the field noted consisted of such detailed information, mat a few subcategories have been created to aid in the overall understanding of the material. All of the categories are described below.

Bin Wall / Metal Cribbing

Earth retainers, such as retaining walls and cribbing, are applied in many different situations. They prevent landslides along roads and railway embankments, they are often required to protect shores from wave action and can help impede stream encroachment.

Until 1931, retaining walls were largely constructed of brick or concrete, which proved to be quite massive in size, as well as construction. In the early 1930's, metal cribbing was designed, allowing for easier installation and minor flexibility. These enhancements permitted for small adjustments under heavy loads and had "...the advantage of permitting flow of free water and are not so easily damaged by frost" (Woodruff 1937: 358). At that time, cribbing consisted of interlocking hollow metal units "...bolted into integral walls of various heights and designs" (Armco 1960:21). However, by 1936, the design was improved. The new design consisted of "a series of connected metal cells formed by galvanized S-shaped units bolted to U-shaped corner members" (Armco 1960:29). This resulted in an absence of voids in the wall, therefore, no loss of fill material occurred. It was named the "ARMCO Bin-type retaining wall", often referred to as simply "bin wall" (Armco 1960:29). The photographs in this collection are examples of the Bin-type retaining wall.

Bridge Plank

Bridges were originally made from wood, including the floor planks, however, in 1946 an unusual situation occurred. "Confronted with the need for immediate repairs and with no suitable timber flooring materials available...a couple of Ohio State Highway Department engineers" decided to use corrugated metal for their bridge plank (Armco 1960:51). They adapted the "FLEX-BEAM Guardrail" to provide suitable bridge flooring in this emergency installation. The advantages were obvious almost immediately. The metal flooring was "light in weight, easily installed, noiseless and fire resistant combined with known strength" (Armco 1960:52).

Buildings

While Armco entered the building industry with silos, grain bins, and corn cribs in 1916, they did not actively enter the steel building business until 1944. The building line utilized Steelox panels, which called for full interlock "...which required the panels to be slipped into each other for their full length"(Armco 1960:32). The S-l building model consists of a shed roof or single slope, while the S-2 building model is completed with a gabled roof.

Due to increasing demand for customized features in 1954, the company announced plans "to produce and market a complete line of industrial, commercial, and farm buildings" (Armco 1960:61). The expansion of the production of Steelox buildings is represented in this photograph collection.

Flumes

Corrugated metal pipe was first utilized for flumes around 1912. A flume is a "...trough or open channel...for conveying water" from one area to another (Nelson and Nelson 1973:99).

Water Control Gates

Gates are used for flood control, water supply, irrigation, and sewage treatment plants. "After 1957, Armco's line of gates ranged from a simple turnout gate for irrigation to a bronze fitted sluice gate capable of withstanding a face pressure of 100 feet and an unseating pressure of 30 feet" (Armco 1960:54). The photographs in this collection represent the gates before the 1957 improvements were made.

Glen Canyon Dam Project

The assortment of photos donated to Sagebrush did not contain any literature regarding the Glen Canyon Dam Project. However, because some of the pictures and envelopes were labeled "Glen Canyon Dam Project" and were seemingly kept together, they are presented here as an independent category. This category includes buildings, tunnels, multi plate, guardrail, and scenic pictures.

Guard Rail

Armco started selling FLEX-BEAM guard rail for highway safety in 1944. It was improved and standardized in 1955. Most of the guardrail photographs here do not have dates assigned to them, so they may or may not demonstrate the changes made in 1955.

Miscellaneous

The miscellaneous photos in this collection include Armco promotional items, the Armco 1951 State Fair Display, grain bins, road damage, snow fences, and various plant pictures. This category also contains several unidentified features, which have no accompanying explanation.

Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP)

Corrugated Metal Pipe is where the Armco history begins. In 1896, Crawfordsville, Indiana city engineer, Stanley Simpson, was struck by an idea. A metal pipe, corrugated much like cardboard, clearly possessed advantages for the culvert industry. At the time, the culverts being utilized were constructed of clay, wood, cast iron, and heavy masonry. A corrugated steel sheet would be significantly more lightweight, easier to install, more flexible, and stronger. With the assistance of James H. Watson, a local sheet metal operator, the idea was patented that year as The Watson Patent.

In 1906, an association was formed, which included the fifteen companies who manufactured Corrugated Metal Pipe at that time. The National Corrugated Culvert Manufacturing Company was the first to formally introduce Corrugated Metal Pipe into the irrigation market.

End Section

The inlet and outlet end of a culvert are subject to severe erosion, which, in turn, compromises the embankment above. One remedy is the headwall. Serving as a retaining wall, it can be constructed of concrete, attractive rubble masonry, or metal. In some cases, it is called for, however, it is too costly to be maintained as a common practice.

The next best idea, until 1939, was to extend the culvert all the way to the toe of the slope. This prevented the erosional problems, but was extremely unattractive and proved obtrusive to highway maintenance. The compromise was the "Armco End Section, a flared opening fastened to the end of the pipe which fits all commonly used slopes. It was easy to install, provided greater flow efficiency, protected against scour and undercutting and was one hundred percent salvable" (Armco 1960, 30).

Hel-Cor

"This pipe differs from standard corrugated pipe in that the corrugations run diagonally around the pipe instead of at right angles to the length of the pipe" (Woodruff 1937:49). In addition, the corrugations were more shallow and the seams were folded over into a lock-seam instead of being riveted. These features increased its ability to resist frost action and the impact of live loads from above. The fact that it could also be fabricated in small diameters, made it a suitable and economical form of subdrainage for highways, railway subgrades, airports, playgrounds, bridge abutments, landslide control and smaller sewer and culvert construction.

Miscellaneous Pipe

These photos came to Sagebrush without descriptions or explanations. They appear to be photographs of the installation process, however, it would require a trained eye to identify exactly which category of pipe they would best fit into.

Multi-Plate

The advantages of Corrugated Metal Pipe were obvious in the engineering and its acceptance quickly grew, along with the demand to have it in larger sizes. However, Corrugated Metal Pipe had many gage, diameter and size limits. An economical way to fabricate it in larger diameters and then transport it to the site was simply not possible. By 1931, Multi-Plate was created. It allowed for large corrugated plates to be bolted together, allowing the culvert to be assembled at the site of installation.

Multi-Plate Pipe Arch (MPPA)

In some situations, a circular pipe did not provide a good fit. With the help of a press, invented in 1937, a round corrugated metal culvert could be transformed to take on an arch shape. As an unexpected advantage, "it also became evident that the shape of pipe arch was more efficient hydraulically than pipe under some conditions" (Armco 1960:24). As the corrugated metal pipe arch gained in popularity, it became more desirable in larger sizes. In 1941, the Multi-Plate process was applied to pipe arch, and was very successful. The collection here does not show the actual making of pipe arch, but rather, the on-site installation.

Spiral Welded Steel Pipe

As the name implies, Spiral Welded Steel Pipe "was made by winding diagonally a long coil of steel to the required diameter and fusion welding the touching edges" (Armco 1960:19). The Armco history uses the terms "spiral welded pipe" and "welded steel pipe" interchangeably, implying that they both refer to Spiral Welded Steel Pipe. For that reason, in this assemblage, the photos labeled as such, are grouped together.

Tunnel Liner

Tunnel Liner plate provided an advantage over traditional timber or metal plate supports. It is a combination of "deep corrugation, circumferentially flanged edges, and an offset overlap joint" (Armco 1960:25). Developed in 1935, it eliminates open trench construction allowing traffic flow to be undisturbed and speeds up the tunneling process. This collection contains examples of the construction of tunnels using tunnel liner.