A heavy metal piece of Powerhouse history returns home newly restored
The sturdy iron box on casters, tucked away beneath the stairs on the lower level of the Powerhouse, beyond the pool tables and the Metallica pinball machine, might be easy to miss if it weren’t for its fresh coat of bright Beloit yellow paint.
Credit: Matthew Alland
This heavy metal piece of Powerhouse history is known in the skilled trades as a “tool tender.” Tool tenders were used at the Wisconsin Power & Light (WP&L) Blackhawk and Rock River Power Plants as portable workstations, storing hand tools, power tools, light rigging equipment, electrical cords, pneumatic hoses, and parts needed for maintenance. While small enough to fit on the elevators, tenders could weigh over a ton when filled with tools and equipment. Each was customized to its user’s preferences, and often a maintenance mechanic apprentice’s first project was to build their own tender or modify an existing one inherited from a departing employee. No two tenders were alike.
The Powerhouse’s tool tender was donated to the college by Alliant Energy and WP&L, along with other artifacts of educational and historical significance. The tender was used by the electrical crew at the Blackhawk Generating Station (now the Powerhouse) and later at the Rock River Unit 3 Combustion Turbine. It was constructed from 1/4” thick steel top and bottom, 1/8” thick steel sides and doors, 1/2” thick steel plate for the caster mounts, and 1/4” angle iron internal frame. Though the original builder is unknown, their craftsmanship survives. The olive drab Lyon drawers are likely military surplus, which was readily available after World War II, and appear to have been retrofitted, notes Karl Wedel, a longtime electrician for WP&L who worked in the Powerhouse back when it was a powerhouse.
Credit: Karl WedelWedel restored the bright yellow tool tender for its return home to the award-winning student center last March. The tender was decommissioned in 2019 and moved to the Rock River Maintenance Building with several others, still full of tools. When Wedel retired in 2021, he saw the opportunity to restore the tool tender as a way to help him make the transition into retirement, and as a way to honor all those who had worked at the powerhouse over the previous century. “It was a way of giving back to the Beloit community,” he says.
Wedel diverted the tender to a local repair shop where he painstakingly restored it, stripping off years of grime and the original paint. He repaired the drawers, replaced the hinges, and rewired the electrical service with safety enhanced electrical plugs and USB ports. “There was a lot of welding involved,” he explains. “The original wheels were cast iron. I welded plates to accommodate new polyurethane wheels that are easier on the floors.”
Dewey’s Towing and Recovery of Beloit provided transportation and space in their shop for the restoration. Another local company, Colours Inc. Automotive Paint & Supplies, went the extra mile to help Wedel get the color just right. Wedel re-painted the tool tender with automotive paint matched to Beloit yellow, and stenciled the word “Electrical” on it in black.
Wedel muses, “It’s humbling to know that under Beloit College’s care, this item that I’ve left my mark on could last another century as a part of the Powerhouse.” This refurbished tool tender functions in a new role, as a charging station for cell phones and storage for games and puzzles for students looking for a diversion from school work. The sheet metal top, now a surface for flyers advertising campus events, features a heavy-duty vise, a reminder of the building’s history as a power plant and a tribute to those who worked there over the years.
