Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Condition Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Avery-Abex Metallurgical Collection, Ms1995-025, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in multiple accruals from 1995-1997. One report donated in 2006.

Processing Information

Minimal description and some processing was undertaken in 1998 and 1999.

Please note: The collection is being processed. An in-progress inventory of the collection is available upon request. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information.

Administrative History - American Brake Shoe Company (later Abex Corporation)

The American Brake Shoe Company was formed as the American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company in 1902 from the merger of five smaller foundries that specialized in railroad brake shoes, castings and forging, as well as hydraulic equipment. The research laboratory, known as the Mahwah Research Center, from which the collection is drawn, did applied industrial research in mineral extraction, cement, construction, dredging, timber, railroad, and non-magnetic (e.g., submarine). Testing facilities included metallographic evaluation, chemical analysis, machining, heat treatment, various non-destructive methods such as x-ray testing, abrasion, physical, and mechanical analysis. In 1966, the company became Abex Corporation, and upon the purchase of Abex by Illinois Central Industries in 1990, the research center was closed.

Biographical Note - Howard S. Avery

The materials forming the collection were rescued from destruction by Mr. Howard Avery (1906-1996), VPI honors graduate (B.Sc. MinE 1927, M.Sc. MinE 1928), one of the Mahwah Research Center's leading research metallurgists, with a national reputation in the field of wear-resistant and heat-resistant alloy research. His research career spanned 60 years, and his work included metals abrasion wear resistance analyses; hard surface facing and welding; manganese steel; and high chromium stainless steel; with primary areas of specialization being alloys utilized for railroad tracking, as well as austenitic manganese steel (alloy composition and heat treatment analysis).

Scope and Content

The collection documents the research of metallurgist Howard S. Avery over the span of 50 years at the American Brake Shoe (later Abex) Company's Mahwah Research Center. Research topics concern mechanical properties, metallographic alloy microstructure, physical (electrical, conductive, or thermal) properties, spectroscopy (chemical) analysis, tribology (sliding and lubricant properties), and light, x-ray and other defractional properties. Data is available from experimental foundry "heats" of combined and melted alloys, hot tensile and room temperature tensile tests, and alloy compositions. Research data is recorded on glass negatives (photomicrographs) and metallographic photographs, in polymer resin-encased specimens (ca. 40,000), "Polaroid" negatives and prints, and ca. 3,000 case files (paper and microfiche). There are also master log books and a listing of compositions on keypunch cards, some of the Battelle Institute Research Reports, as well as research related publications and reference books.

Please note: The collection is being processed. An in-progress inventory of the collection is available upon request. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives for more information.

Related Material

VT Special Collections and University Archives also has the Howard S. Avery Papers, Ms1997-026 , which primarily relates to Avery's personal and professional life in Virginia.

The Mahwah Museum in Mahwah, New Jersey, also holds a collection of Howard S. Avery's papers .

Separated Material

Numerous books were separated to the Rare Book Collection and Newman Library. Duplicates were weeded.

Some of Avery's personal papers and early professional papers were separated to Howard S. Avery Papers, Ms1997-026 .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Administrative records
• Blueprints (reprographic copies)
• Books
• Businesspeople
• Conceptual drawings
• Correspondence
• Financial records
• Geology
• Glass negatives
• Inventors
• Photographs
• Receipts (financial records)
• Reports
• Science and Technology

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Avery-Abex Metallurgical Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).