Big Inch Pipeline

First critical structure made by arc welding — 30-inch pipeline, Louisiana to New Jersey, 1930. Cited as the historical pivot from riveted to welded long-distance transmission infrastructure.

Historically, there are other important things. In 1930 the first really critical structure made by arc welding was the Big Inch pipeline. It was a 30-inch pipeline that went from Louisiana to New Jersey. It was the first all-welded pipeline. People were concerned — if this thing breaks, what's going to happen? Before that, if they had pipelines, they didn't go that far. Going to California, I've been to some penstocks built around 1900 — these were all forged and riveted together. Great big pipes, still in use.

The Titanic had brittle steel, but the problem was the iceberg cut through six compartments and all six of them flooded, and it became heavy on one end. It wasn't until the early 1930s that we started building critical structures of all-welded construction. The first one was the Big Inch pipeline from Louisiana up to New Jersey. It's a 30-inch diameter gas pipeline, and it was all-welded construction — first really critical thing that had been built. As far as I know it was successful; it probably was taken out of service for corrosion, or it just wasn't big enough — we have much bigger pipelines and higher strength pipelines now that can take more gas pressure. But it was World War II when we started to go into all-welded steel construction that allowed the Liberty ships, if you get a crack start it could run all the way around the ship and split the ship in two, because there was nothing to stop the crack.

Cited as the first major all-welded structural project — 30-inch Louisiana-to-New-Jersey pipeline, welded rather than riveted to avoid material penalty and joint leaks.

It's less than full joint strength. We used to rivet bridges together, but the amount of extra material you had to use when you overlap those things was horrendous. The first big all-welded project was the Big Inch pipeline in the 1930s. It was the 30-inch pipeline from Louisiana to New Jersey. The reason they welded it, even though welding had not been used for really critical applications, was because if you had riveted something like that, there would have been a substantial increase in the amount of material, and can you imagine all those bolted flanges and joints, and all the leaks they would have had? If something's going to fail, it fails at the joint.

First critical welded structure, early 1930s. Predecessor and proof-of-concept for welded ship construction in WWII.

They didn't build a critical structure by welding until the early 1930s. They built the Big Inch pipeline — Louisiana up to New Jersey, 30-inch diameter. They had pipelines before, but they were lap-seam overlap and very labor-intensive. They didn't have riveting guns; they had people with hammers and arms. They would lead pipe joints. And they built the Big Inch pipeline, 30 inch. And then in World War II they welded the ships. They could build five thousand ships with such people. There may have been Rosie the Riveter, but she built aircraft, because they were made out of aluminum, which is even more difficult. So they welded the ships.