California Series Pile Hammers

Although not the “flagship” of the Vulcan line, the “California” series pile hammers are an interesting part of the company’s story, both in themselves and how they came about.

The California series hammers were developed by James N. Warrington.  His ill health forced him to leave Chicago and live in Los Angeles, California. It was there in 1911 that he developed the “California G” hammer (U.S. Patents 1,019,386 and 1,020,467.) It was a major departure from the rest of the Vulcan line in that it was a closed hammer and provided downward assist for the ram. It also used the steam expansively (“compound acting”), something no production Vulcan hammer did before or since (although the single-compound hammer did on an experimental basis.)

The “G” hammer was first produced in 1922 and officially introduced into the product line two years later. The first “E” hammer was produced and sold in 1927.

Above: James Nelson Warrington (1860-1933) was probably the most accomplished designer of pile driving equipment in the company’s history, with the Warrington-Vulcan hammers, California hammers, Vulcan pile extractors, and many other designs and inventions. This photo was taken the year before his death. He was also an associate member of the American Society of Naval Engineers, and a member of the American Academy for the Advance of Science.

The “California G” hammer. With its 100 pound ram, it was ideal for smaller jobs. Its relatively low velocity ram focused its intended use on small pile driving. The “plumbing” on the left was for operating the hammer at the hammer itself.

A California “G” hammer is shown below driving wood sheet piling in northern Indiana.

As James Warrington had envisioned from the beginning, the California concept was intended to be used on larger hammers. At the right is the “California E” hammer, which was designed to run in leaders. None of the other California hammers matched the popularity of the “G.” After World War II, Vulcan attempted to expand the DGH line in similar fashion with the DGH-900, but this attempt was if anything less successful than the “E.”

A general arrangement of the California “F” hammer. The sliding valve can be clearly seen.

Parts diagram for the California “E” and “F” hammers. The lubricator was mounted on the right side of the hammer.

• Catalogue description of the California series of hammers, from Vulcan’s 1931 general catalogue.

The “G” hammer was discontinued in 1951. Although James Warrington had envisioned a replacement design for the line around 1930, the actual replacement by the DGH-100 hammer did not take place for many years.

After his brother William’s death, James assumed “remote control” of the business from California. This situation was repeated in the 1960’s when the executive office was relocated to Florida for basically the same reason. This tended to give the employees left behind a great deal of autonomy, which created a contentious situation when the new generation took command (this too repeated itself in the late 1970’s.)

James’ death ended the Warrington family’s second generation’s control of the business, which had spanned almost a half century. It then passed to his nephew Chester, although he was busy with other things when this happened. He returned from Washington to Chicago to assume full command in 1940.