The mere signing of the men was but a small part of the task of putting them to work at Hadley's Bend. After they were signed up they were transported to Nashville, provided with subsistence en route, met at the trains and escorted to the main employment office at 831 8th Avenue North. Here a complete record of each man was taken, showing full name, permanent address and various other details. Men arriving late in the evening were quartered for the night in Nashville and the following morning were sent to the works, first on trucks and later, when the necessary railroad tracks had been constructed, on labor trains. At the employment office at the works each man presented his employment card showing the kind of work for which he had been employed. There was then issued to him an authorization card on which he secured his pay check card. He was then assigned to quarters, provided with a meal-book and finally sent to the proper superintendent who put him to work.

On July 1, the United States Department of Labor assumed supervision of the distribution of labor among the various war projects in course of construction. Private recruiting was therefore ended.

The Mason & Hanger Company organized a pay-roll and time-keeping department which began operation simultaneously with the employment department. For the sake of economy, however, these departments were shortly consolidated with similar ones of the DuPont Engineering Company. In the consolidation the head of Mason & Hanger's pay-roll department was made assistant pay-master for the entire operation, and the head of their time-keeping department became chief outside time-keeper. At the time of the consolidation, the Mason & Hanger Company had on its payrolls 7,600 men, 436 teams, 40 trucks and 18 saddle-horses.

Before real progress could be made at the plant site it was necessary to construct a railroad, but before even that could be done the country roads between the Lebanon turnpike and the site had to be macadamized in order that heavy trucks could deliver materials and men. The existing country road from the Lebanon pike at a point near the Confederate Soldier's Home was widened and heavily macadamized to the site of the plant, a distance of about five and one half miles. Over this road by truck, over the Gallatin pike by way of the ferry and up the river in barges came the first materials used at Old Hickory. Meanwhile, the construction of a railroad was being rushed. Knowing that such an emergency would arise, officers of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway had caused a survey to be made for a road connecting with their tracks and with the Tennessee Central Railroad tracks near Hermitage Station. This provided for a railroad a little over seven miles long into the plant reservation.

Speed in construction was of paramount importance. Construction was begun on February 10. Exactly thirty day later trains were running over the line. The work had involved moving 50,860 cubic yards of earth, 11,560 cubic yards of solid rock and 29,780 cubic yards of earth borrow; 10 acres of the right of way were cleared of trees and stumps, 624 lineal feet of pipe culvert were laid and 315 cubic yards of foundation excavation were moved. Thus was established a world's speed record in railroad construction.

After the first line of railroad was completed and was carrying hundreds of cars of material and thousands of laborers daily, construction of the second track was begun. Two interchange yards were constructed near the crossing of Stoner Creek, with some 16,000 feet of track. Much other grading and track laying was necessary both inside and outside of the plant area, involving the moving of about 2,500,000 cubic yards of earth. After the first track was laid there was not the same necessity for speed, but the entire work was done in record time. In less than five months there was constructed and ready for operation a double track line of railroad seven and one half miles long, over rough country, crossing one stream with a steel bridge and several trestles.