The engine that’s now being used to power their demonstration sawmill was built at the Fairbanks Morse factory at St. Paul Mn. in 1925 and shipped to a customer in Gaithersburg, Md. in May of that year. In 1928 it headed south to Orangeburg, South Carolina where it provided the motive power for a cotton gin for an unspecified number of years. In use or not it stayed there until 1987 when it changed owners again and was moved to Dacusville, SC where it was used to power a demonstration sawmill during their annual tractor and engine show. The current owners acquired it in December 2017 and moved it to the Legion Fairgrounds site at Newton, North Carolina.
To give you some idea of the effort that went into this project, consider these numbers. The type Y engine weighs a hefty 17,420 pounds. Add to that: flywheel, 2600 pounds, exhaust system, 1,500 lbs, platform and ladder, 500 lbs, clutch, 3500 lbs. Add those together for a nice round total of 25,520 pounds of antique engine.
Thaddeus Fairbanks could have told you exactly what each of those parts weighed because he designed and patented a platform scale in 1832 that became the industry standard and the best selling product of the company that he and his brother Erastus operated. In the years that followed, the E & T Fairbanks Company would sell thousands of those scales in countries around the globe.
As the years passed, the Fairbanks Co. prospered and continued to add new products to their line. During the 1870’s, one of their dealers by the name of Charles Morse added Eclipse Windmills and pumps to their product line. They sold well and before long Mr. Morse became a partner and the name was changed to Fairbanks Morse & Co.
During the 1890’s production expanded again with the addition of stationary engines. Gas burning engines came first. These were typically used by oil field operations. Small engines that burned kerosene followed around 1893. Coal gas was the next fuel in 1905, followed by a semi diesel that was ready for market in 1913. Rudolf Diesel’s American patents expired in 1912, opening the door for companies like Fairbanks Morse to sell their own versions.
The model Y was a semi-diesel that entered production in 1914. F-M offered it in a variety of power options that ranged from a one cylinder engine at thirty horsepower to a six gang engine rated at nearly 200 hp. The model Y-VA replaced the Y in 1924 and became a mainstay for applications that required long periods of non stop operation, like generating electricity.
The key to this engine’s long life was the simplicity of it’s design. A two cycle, airless injection design, with few moving parts to wear out or break kept down time for repairs and maintenance to a minimum. Oldmachinepress.com has posted a sectional view of the model 32 engine that replaced the Y-VA, that gives you a better understanding of the working parts of this engine than any description that I could provide here. The Model 32 version was produced into the 1940’s and some were still in daily use into the 1970’s.
The tag on this engine identifies it as a Y-VA rated at 120 HP running at 257 RPM when it left the factory in 1925. According to the FAPA It underwent extensive modifications in 1941 that boosted its output to 150 hp.
The other engine in this display ( the red one ) is a 60 horsepower Fairbanks - Morse Diesel that was also moved to Hickory during 2018 - 2019. Unfortunately, that’s about all the information that they have provided about this engine. Watching these big engines run is a lot of fun and they provide an extra incentive to visit this show. For information about the 2020 event visit: www.foothillsantique,com .
Sources:
oldmachinepress.com/2012/08/31/fairbanks-morse-model-32-stationary-engine/
www.asme.org #208 Fairbanks-Morse Y-VA engine 1924
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