GE may stoke up Lynn plant

By Thor Jourgensen / The Daily ItemLYNN - Closed in January and presumably doomed to the wrecking ball, General Electric's River Works gear plant could enjoy a new lease on life as a locomotive assembly plant.GE spokesman Richard Gorham said bringing overflow work from the firm's railroad equipment plant in Erie, Pa. to Lynn is "in the earliest stages of review.""They're looking at potential expansion," Gorham said.He added that the gear plant's size, high ceilings and heavy duty cranes "make it advantageous" for rail-related manufacturing. The plant is also located next to a rail line."The former gear plant is a site being reviewed by our transportation business people," Gorham said.Built in 1941 on the eve of the United States' entry into World War II, the 500,000 square-foot gear ....MORE