The weighbridge stands next to the gatehouse, on the main access road to the former premises of the New York Hamburger Gummiwarenfabrik. At the beginning of the 1990s, it was to be completely removed from the driveway of the Museum der Arbeit, which was being built at the time. However, the construction workers were stopped by the museum’s research assistant Christina Bargholz. Unfortunately, the wooden planks covering the bridges of the scales, the load levers and the transmission levers had already been removed. After the dismantling work was stopped, the outer steel frame measuring 4.0 m by 4.5 m was refilled with sand.

The wagon scales must have been built between 1879 and 1919. The New York Hamburger Gummiwarenfabrik only had its branch in Hamburg-Barmbek from 1873 to 1954, and the manufacturing company was only called Gebr. Essmann and Co. Ottensener Waagenfabrik. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to verify exactly when the scales were installed. The entire site with the scales was taken over by the Museum der Arbeit in 1984.

Christin Grundmann carried out the restoration work as a trainee for “Restoration of technical cultural assets” at the Museum der Arbeit. The restoration of the running weight lever and pedestal was carried out from May to August this year.

The elaborate restoration documentation was kindly made available to us by Mrs. Grundmann, for which we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks.

Source:
Restoration documentation by Christin Grundmann, August 08, 2003 – Museum of Labor