A trip in to the Old Continental Bottle house 1966 State of the Art

[dave ziegler]

Just a couple of notes I talked to my engineer Friend John today about the Black coatings covers on the Bottle House incoming tanks. I told him exactly what I saw when I looked at them this summer and I asked why this cover was only used on the Incoming Tanks at the end of the 1966 Bottling House. His his best guess was the following not knowing the exact process.

Here is what I saw when I looked at the covers.

The covers were black on the outside and were made of Rubberized Asphalt Pitch , I told him the Inside was a sort of Yellow Red and flexable and here is how they worked and what they were on those tanks for he speculates.

John said the outside coating was made of a combination of Asphalt Pitch and rubber coating, to protect the internal fiberos insulation from UV degridation.

The Coatings Purpose apeared to be, to maintain a stable Liquid temporature for the Whiskey and to Minimize the Generation of Condensation which could Dilute and contaminate the Process batch of the types of Whiskey in the tanks.

This would better control Process Quality throughout external outside temperature variations ie summer , winter temporature extrems.
Dave Z
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It Seems All the Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Today I also took some of what may be the Last pictures I ever take in the small Kinsey Bottling house built in the 1930's it was the place that Continental Distilling bottled and blended all their Famous Liquor's such as Caffe lolita and Peanut Lolita. It is now in very bad shape with no second floor to go up as I had done till last Nov when it fell down.
I went today at 11:00 Am to get these pictures and it was a beautiful day the pictures are the following
1.& 2. Looking from back of Old Kinsey Bottle house toward the front near the road.
3. The front room where bottles were put back in their cases to be sent up through the floor to the second floor to go out the top wall by fork lift.
4. Old Equipment that has fallen through the second floor to the first
5. Looking up where second floor has fallen
6. Looking from fron end of bottle house near the road toward the plant.
7. Side door out to the plant and the way you would go in if you were going there to work on Liquor Bottling
8. Two Explosion Proof switches on pole with Caffe Lolita Label on the pole this was where the caffe Lolita was bottled on one of the 3 lines of Old Philip Singer Bottle Machines
9. Power room in Old Bottle house
10. Cathonoic and Anotonic tanks in far back end of Old Kinsey bottle house
11.Old Water treatment tank in far back end of Old Bottle house
12. Looking behind the water treatment tank where dumping room on second floor has fallen down
13. Old dump trough from second floor fallen down
14. Old Barrel rails from DSP-Pa. 10 to warehouse's D&E behind the Old Kinsey Bottle house

[dave ziegler]

Well it Began here on Sept 12 1966 and here are some of the 106 Pictures I took inside the old 1966 Bottling house in Total Darkness on Sept 27 2009!
well here are some of the shots I will post some on the memories thread later today hopefiully and finish up back here tomorrow Here are 50 of my pictures I will try my best to give the place in the Bottle house I took them
1.Sign over door to bottling house Maint where Ludy Worked
2. & 3.Old Cabinettes in maint
4. & 5.Looking both to the front and back of the storage area for cased Whiskey
6. & 7.two of the openings that came through the bulkhead wall to the Shipping area where they put them on pallets at lines end
8,9,10 Pictures of Lines coming out to the end casing area
11.Another shot of Case storgage area
12.Looking back at line from far end
13.Where Line M-11 came out in Case area one of the 11 lines that ran through the bottle house
14.Another Shot of Storage area
15. Part of an old Bottling Machine
16.Overhead Line
17.Another over head lines these were shot in the middle section of the bottle house
18,19.More over Headlines
20.,21,22. More Line Pictures
23. Old Eye safety Area for washing eyes
24. This is an old Antifreeze line in the starting area of the bottling lines
25.More over Head pipeing
26. Another shot of a line
27,28,29.More Line shots from starting point
30,31,32,33. Far back room A where the incoming lines from the Black tanks came in
34. These Lines say Chiller on them incoming room
35. Stair to Tank Platform
36. says Scotch Whiskey only
37.Honeywell controls with paper disc in them for the next day that never came!
38.Pilot Lights above Disc Honeywell Machine
39,40. Pipe Lines
41,42,43.Inlets fromand out lets from Back tanks
44.Platform area
45.Explosion Proof Phone from the 1940's in incoming Whiskey area I got the front cover years ago as it is very wet there and the Phone one of two in the plant is ruin i have the other one at home
46. Equipment in Tank incoming area
47. Pipes along ceiling
48.more pipes on ceiling
49.Stainless tank in the incoming Whiskey area
50.An old Rain coat hangs where it was left the last time the Bottle House ever operated waiting its owners return which shall never be

Well I hope everyone enjoyes these My friend in IT here at work helped me to get these on my Work computer so I could load them quickly. I will post some on the Memories thread at home tonight and then the rest here tomorrow.

It was dark damp cold and yet I loved every second in the Bottling house as in my mind there they all were working the lines keeping them going and bringing in great whiskey from the Warehouse's Dump trough's. It hurts to think back to the awesome Whiskeys we bottled there and for it to sit now and rot yet I want more then anything to let you all see how it was back in the Day and what a joy to work there back then! In those days this building was the highest Tech Bottling House in The world.
Dave Z
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Kinsey The Unhurried Blended Whiskey for Unhurried Moments
It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon
Inver House Scotch Soft As A Kiss
Philadelphia The Heritage Whiskey

[sandiefett]

Well, Dave, another trip back thru memory lane. Twenty years of my life spent in that bottling house and warehouses! Just looking at the pix brought back so many forgotten memories but also horror at what the place has become. I don't know why, but I keep looking for some sign that I was there, but, of course, there is none. In my mind I see the three parts of the bottling house the way they were in it's heyday. Sometimes I think I do not want to look at your pix but can't seem to stop myself. I want to cry!

[dave ziegler]

Well Here are 20 more Pictures I will post the other 30 plus on the memories thread later this morning!
51.Tank Far end of incoming area
52.Black Tank incoming area
53.Says heater
54.Lines on ceiling
55.Another Tank
56.More tanks
57.Looking toward Room B wall
58.Ceiling Pictures of pipes
59.,60.,61.Tank Platform at wall to to room B where the lines started
62. Pipe Lines from Platform
63.Going down the stair from Platform
64.,65,66,67.,68.Tank signs two say Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol 10-10-84 others say Dump & Reduction
69.looking up at ceiling near Platform roller line across ceiling
70. Government Tax Strip machine

I will be posting the rest of the pictures this morning on the memories thread I have one picture that shows Tax strips laying in a wet mess in the room where the machine is. It is very hard seeing this terrible thing happen to Kinsey as I will always be proud I worked for the Continental Distilling Disvision of Publicker Industries in Linfield at Kinsey a name i will always reveer.

However so that people will see these pictures in the future years and read about Kinsey I will continue to give as much information as I can while I can as there are not many of us left. And This living History Must go on!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

This morning I printed out all my Pictures from in the bottle house from Sunday and put notes on them and gave them to my Friend Paul who wired my Explosion proof Light sets I built. He is one of the top Electricians where I work and in looking at the pictures he said bet you never noticed on this picture of lines on the ceiling what else is there. Well it turns out that if you go back to #53 on this page and look at picture #40 you will see the end of a early type Explosion Proof Fluorescent light Bulb Fixture. The Big Round ends are what makes it Explosion Proof does not let spark out.

Paul also said he was amazed at how well the plant controls tanks pipes and electrical lines and bottling lines were layed out. And how everything was spaced apart very good for safety from explosion. Also for that time frame being built 1964 till 1966 when it opened sept 12 1966 how good the quality of the equipment was such as the motors which also were made Explosion proof.

He see's these things because he has worked with these type of things his whole life and everyday here at the plant I work at now there are certain places where explosion proof things are needed in chemical area's.

The company that did 90% of the piping and tank layouts and much more was Piersol & Pine corp of Oaks Pa about 15 miles from the plant. Continental always used local companies. Also if you look back at some of my Black tank pictures you will see their name plate on the tanks. They specialized in Stainless steel lines and tanks and put all the Stainless steel dumping lines from warehouse to warehouse up in the air back when the plant was built.

Every Tank and every Line was made of the Best Stainless you could buy and it took 3 years 1964/1966 till Multi Purpose Explosion proof Warehouse U was made into the New Continental Distilling Bottling House. When it opened on sept 12 1966 the Old Bottling house at Bigler Street in Phila closed down for the bottling of Spirits for good.
Once in opened here it ended them having to ship spirits ready to be bottled down to phila instead new barrels only came up from Phila to be put in the warehouses to age and whiskey that was ready could be dumped and sent right to the Bottling House on site!

All these ideas and the great construction point to Mr Si Neuman getting the best stuff and People doing it as He always did and always if possible using Local Companies for everything.
An example again was getting all our Glass Bottles from Diamond glass which was about 7 miles from the plant in Royersford! sadly once Publicker shut down Diamond glass closed also not long after.
Publicker had used Diamond way back at the begining of the company in Phila to supply all the glass for spirits.
Dave Z
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Old Hickory America's Finest Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Well today around 11:15 - AM I went for a walk again at Kinsey from my friends house across the street.
I went into a couple of open warehouses and I got some shots of the black incoming tanks at the far end of the 1966 Bottling House.

Here are 8 different Pictures taken of the black tanks and their area behind the 1966 Bottling House. I will post more of them and some warehouse pictures tomorrow.

Here are some of the Black Tanks and I counted them there are 9 of them incoming! I also got some shots of informamtion plates on them the signs with the Capastiy of them. I also climbed up the stairs again almost to the top I will post some of them shots plus my shots in the plant tomorrow.
I also took a picture of gauges on them.


Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Here are the rest of my incoming tank area pictures for the bottling house!
Here are the last 15. shots I took inthe Black tank area of the Bottling house outside!
1.Another tank sign
2.Two of the black coated incoming tanks
3.Pipes going in from tanks
4.Climbing up platform stairs to top of tanks
5.Up the stairs to the roof level
6.Explosion proof Lightgoing up the stairway
7.Looking at the tin covers to keep rain and weahter out on the bottom of the tank area
8.Walkway to the far side white tank
9.looking up the Platform stairway from the bottom
10.Looking through tank tunnel ground level
11.Tank Lines running along the bottle house wall
12.Lines into black tank
13. Thermometer Gauge on one of the 9 black incoming tanks
14.Explosion proof lights running along the wall of the 1966 Bottling house in tank tunnel
15. Shot taken through port hole in one of the Black incoming tanks

This finishes the bottling tank shots from sunday, I had a grea time just taking my time getting the shots. It was a cool clear overcast day and there were lots of nice river breezes coming through the Plant!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest people Drink Old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Well Gene Autry May have been back in the saddle again but I went back in the 1966 Bottling house again at Kinsey today after Church with my friends and got lots of Pictures and my friends that watch the place found something very nice for me in the old Maintaince Shop to?

Here are 13 of the 100+pictures I took today will be posting all week and will post a picture of my surprise things my buddies found and gave me they were the only ones in there
1.,2.3.,4. Maintaince shop in Bottling it was out of Here that Ludy worked and in here that they repaired stuff such as pumps. Last of these Pictures a old Drill press in shop
5.Maintaince again
6.Old Refridge in Maintaince when i opened it there were some old Lunch bags in there. Plus other stuff
7.Shelves in Bottling Maintaince
8.Forklifts just outside Maintaince
9.through 12. The Power Room next to Bottling Miantaince shop
13. Pyrotronics fire safety Control warning Box!

I will be posting lots more on here later in the week as hve around 80 pictures yet. I am now going to post my surprise things my freinds found me on the Memories thread!
Dave Z
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It Seems All The Nicest People Drink Old Hickory
America's Most Magnificent Bourbon

[dave ziegler]

Well Here are some more of the shots in the 1966 Bottling House I got on Sunday Oct 18.

Here are the Pictures
1.,2. The last Project done for Whisky Bottling buy Continental Distilling a specail boiler for Water heating in the Shipping end of the bottle house. I called Ludy and asked him about it and that is what he told me, it was the last Project done by Joe Trish our Engineer He designed stuff from the 1940's through till the year 1979. I have an old Blue print from the early 1940's called the Potato Project and Joe's name is on that.
3.,4. The Warehouse Part the little four sided things in the picture are caused by Moisture in that part of the Building and is the apeture of the camera showing in the picture
5.,6.,7. Shipping Offices in area
8. Cage area I believe this was used to keep imported Whiskey that were bottled when they arrived in to keep them safe
9.Safety Signs on Piler
10.Bulkhead wall looking at Line M-11 Room C
11. Different Lines at end in Shipping warehouse Room C I did not post all as 11 total lines note all lines coming into room C had a sprinkler above the end wall over the line for safety
12.Lines in the Middle opening in wall coming into the shipping / Warehouse area
13.Looking again at warehouse area
14.the Middel lines on other side in Room B
15. The Next pictures are all of an Old upstairs office in the General office area. Note 1985 Calender with vacations marked, also calender with the last year of the Plant doing Antifreeze and home products 1986 Sept
16. Little Closet area with Coffee maker with Coffee and suppiles still there for coffeee never to be made!

I am hoping that Sandie can tell me who was in the little upstairs Office as I have no clue.

I have many more shots all mostly in the Incoming and tank area's of lines and equipment and also the time clock area and much more to be posted soon. i will also post a few things on the Memories thread later today.
Dave Z
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It Seems All the Nicest people Drink old Hickory
America's Most magnificent Bourbon