| River Works | |
|---|---|
 River Works, the factory to the north and of the marsh | |
 | |
| Built | 1943 |
| Location | Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°27′5.98″N70°58′13.83″W / 42.4516611°N 70.9705083°W |
River Works, formerly known as Air Force Plant 29, is a plant of General Electric's aviation division located in Lynn, Massachusetts. It is serviced by the River Works station on the MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport Line. It was purchased by General Electric in 1983 from the United States Air Force.
The Thomson-Houston Electric Company moved its operations to a new factory building on Western Avenue in West Lynn in 1883. By 1892, it had expanded into a sprawling factory complex between Western Avenue and the Boston and Maine Railroad Eastern Route tracks. [1] That year, the company merged with Edison General Electric to become General Electric (GE). [2] By 1894, the Lynn plant was known as the "river works" after its position along the Saugus River. [3]
The factory was expanded in 1943 as a supercharger facility (Air Force Plant No. 29), and helped to build the first jet engine during World War II. Activities performed at the plant originally included aircraft engine testing, disassembly, lubricating, cleaning and assembly. Operations included, degreasing, electrochemical grinding, engine maintenance, metal washing, parts cleaning and stress fracture testing. [4]
The workers at the facility were known for leftist politics, joining the new United Electric Workers union in 1936. They were targeted by state and federal governments during the Second Red Scare; in 1954, Joseph McCarthy subpoenaed five employees. [5]
From 1968 to 1972, the 'Pilot Program' was introduced. Faced with rising tensions on the shop floor, bottle-necks in production and low-quality products, GE management tried a scheme of workers' control of production in one area of the plant. Immediate results in increased output and machine utilisation, and a reduction on manufacturing losses but was eventually terminated by the management. [6] The plant had operations boosted in the late 1980s after General Electric decided to close the General Electric Everett Plant and move operations there. [7]
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892 and incorporated in the state of New York and headquartered in Boston. The company has several divisions, including aerospace, power, renewable energy, digital industry, additive manufacturing, and venture capital and finance.
Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, 3.7 miles (6.0 km) north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core.
The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in 1945. The company acquired the CBS television network in 1995 and was renamed "CBS Corporation" until being acquired by Viacom in 1999, a merger completed in April 2000. The CBS Corporation name was later reused for one of the two companies resulting from the split of Viacom in 2005.
Elihu Thomson was an English-born American engineer and inventor who was instrumental in the founding of major electrical companies in the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufacturer using licences from the American company. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and steam turbines.
GE Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Electric, is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, outside Cincinnati. GE Aerospace is among the top aircraft engine suppliers, and offers engines for the majority of commercial aircraft. GE Aerospace is part of the General Electric conglomerate, which is one of the world's largest corporations. The division operated under the name of General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) until September 2005, and as GE Aviation until July 2022. GE Aerospace's main competitors in the engine market are Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.
The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company that was one of the precursors of General Electric.
Electro-Motive Diesel is a brand of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. Formerly a division of General Motors, EMD is now owned by Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. Electro-Motive Diesel traces its roots to the Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, founded in 1922 and purchased by General Motors in 1930. After purchase by GM, the company was known as GM's Electro-Motive Division. In 2005, GM sold EMD to Greenbriar Equity Group and Berkshire Partners, and in 2010, EMD was sold to Progress Rail. Upon the 2005 sale, the company was renamed to Electro-Motive Diesel.
Framingham Assembly was a General Motors factory in Framingham, Massachusetts which opened in 1947.
General Electric has a long history, involving numerous mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures.
Charles Albert Coffin was an American businessman who was the co-founder and first president of General Electric corporation.
Edwin Wilbur Rice Jr. was a president and considered one of the three fathers of General Electric.
River Works station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line in West Lynn, Massachusetts. The only private station on the system, it is only open to GE Aviation employees who work at the adjacent River Works plant. The station has minimal facilities – two small sections of platform and several shelters – and is not accessible.
GE Canada is the wholly-owned Canadian unit of General Electric, manufacturing various consumer and industrial electrical products all over Canada.
The following is a timeline of the history of Lynn, Massachusetts, USA.
The Edison Machine Works was a manufacturing company set up to produce dynamos, large electric motors, and other components of the electrical illumination system being built in the 1880s by Thomas A. Edison in New York City.
General Electric Everett Plant, formerly known as Air Force Plant 28, was a plant operated by General Electric from 1941 into the 1980s in Everett, Massachusetts. It was situated along the Malden River on a 43-acre tract, covering 344,342 square feet. The facility, before it was demolished, was the location of ten smaller buildings and one large manufacturing facility. At the time, it was also home to machining, metal stamping, welding, grinding, cleaning and parts testing. Previously, the plant also was home to metal plating. The plant was closed after General Electric decided to consolidate manufacturing at other plants across the country, including to that in nearby Lynn, where parts from Everett were assembled into engines.
The General Electric Pittsfield Plant, which included Air Force Plant 69, was a plant of General Electric located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. GE acquired the facilities of the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in 1903.
The Lynn and Boston Railroad was a streetcar railway chartered for operations between Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts in 1859. Following a number of acquisitions, the railway was a part of a 1901 street railway merger that formed the Boston and Northern Street Railway.
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