Total Eclipse

“Be sure you are right, then do it quickly.”  Good advice for almost any undertaking. It was George Frick’s personal motto and it served him well.

Born in Lancaster County, Pa. in 1826 at a time when the sleepy pace of thousands of years was changing very quickly; he was immersed in the technology of his day from childhood. By the time he was nine years old he was helping his father operate a water wheel powered sawmill near Quincy, Pa. At seventeen he was apprenticed to a millwright in Ringold, Md. a few miles away. He had little formal education, like most of his contemporaries, but he had an aptitude for math and an intuitive understanding of all things mechanical.

By the early 1850’s he was building an assortment of farm machinery and his first 2hp. Steam engine in his machine shop and foundry in Ringold.  In 1853 he established The Frick Co. By 1857 he had added threshing machines to his product line and around 1860 had moved his company into a larger shop in Waynesboro , Pa.  The 1870’s saw the addition of traction steam engines and sawmills to the list of products manufactured by Frick. This Frick sawmill dates to at least the mid 1930’s. It was donated to the Foothills Antique Power Association of NC. by Ira and Ann Cline and was in operation at the 12th Annual Power Show in 2015. It is being powered by the Eclipse traction engine in the background.

About 1876 Frick began using the Eclipse trademark on steam engines. Eventually the entire product line of portable and traction engines, boilers, threshers and sawmills would use the name. By 1879 the company was publishing a house magazine called “The Eclipse Era”.  The 1880’s were a period of rapid expansion for the company. A new plant was built in Waynesboro, Pa. that was a marvel of modern manufacturing. It was featured in an article published by the Scientific American magazine. Sales offices were opened around the country. A Frick catalogue published in 1907 listed 19 locations including this one in Salisbury, NC. Other branch offices in the Southeastern USA included: Winchester, Va., Baltimore, Md., Charleston, W.Va., Nashville, Tenn. and Atlanta, Ga.

In 1882 Frick built its first ammonia refrigeration compressor and entered a field that carried the firm far past the era of steam power. Frick became an industry leader building some of the largest refrigeration plants ever constructed. Food processing plants, ice houses, skating rinks all used Frick products. Compressors like this one provided refrigeration wherever cooling was needed. Known for their long life and dependable service they were built to run forever. Forty years of daily service was not unusual. This one was probably still operable when the packing house it served was shut down and abandoned.

After 43 years at the helm of the company he founded, George Frick retired in 1888 but Frick Manufacturing soldiered on.  His son A.O. Frick served as president from 1904 to 1924 followed by Ezra Frick from 1924 to 1942. In 1953 to celebrate a century in business the company published a small book titled A History of Frick Company Waynesboro, Pa. which is probably one of the best sources you will find online and is well worth a look. Visit : https://archive.org and search for Frick history . You’ll be glad you did. Frick was purchased by York in 1987. Refrigeration equipment is still manufactured today under the Frick name by Johnson Controls.

While you’re at archive.org take a look at a general catalogue of Frick products available in 1907, a very interesting historical document, full of photographs and illustrations. The web address is:  https://archive.org/details/1907Frick

According to a list of Frick serial numbers posted at www.oldengine.org  serial number 7883 would have been built in 1899, and here it is, powering a Frick sawmill in 2015. They sure don’t build em like they used to.

Additional resources:

www.farmcollector.com  George Frick and his Steam Empire by Sam Moore, March, 2012

Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines by Jack Norbeck

Old Rusty

To paint, or not to paint: that is the question.

Whether ‘tis nobler to suffer the pits and flakes of outrageous corrosion.Or take up spray gun, and by opposing end them.

So who wouldn’t want a tractor that looks, and probably runs, better than it did when it rolled off the assembly line half a century or more ago.

For the hardcore collector this kind of dithering isn’t an option. Nor is a good night's sleep as he lies awake, listening for the  unmistakable ping of a rust flake separating from base metal emanating from the tractor shed. Every atom of rust must be sand blasted and wire brushed into oblivion.

The thing is, at a show I always find myself being drawn to the unrestored exhibits. They have an air of history that gets removed along with the rust and grease and peeling paint. At the end of a total restore what you have is a new old tractor and wasn’t that history what attracted you in the first place? It is a dilemma.

There is however, a third path; midway between the untouched and total restoration. You could embrace the rust and make it your friend.

In the Rat Rod community rust is considered to be a precious metal and a patina like the one on Old Rusty is to die for.

The debate about how to best preserve your rust rages on bulletin boards and in chat rooms. Is clear coat the way to go or not? How about oil and what kind works best? Boiled linseed oil has a large and loyal following. So what is Ole Rusty’s secret? My guess would be lots of elbow grease followed by plain old car wax but what do I know? If you are privy to the inside skinny, or just have a favorite secret formula you want to share, please leave a comment.

The Worthington Parkover

The best thing about going to shows is they’re always a learning experience. The Tri-State Antique Power Association Show was no exception. I always see some interesting oddity that I didn’t even know existed. Case in point, the Worthington Parkover.

Charles Campbell Worthington born in Brooklyn New York in 1854 was a second generation industrialist, his father founded the Worthington Pump and Machinery Company. After graduating from Columbia University he joined the family business, inheriting the company when his father died in 1880. The firm produced steam pumps that enjoyed worldwide success and later branched out to produce steam powered automobiles and later still gasoline powered models that did not. In 1899 he sold his holdings in Worthington pump Company and “retired” to pursue his real interest in life, Golf.

He purchased a 5 thousand acre estate that he named Buckwood Park that  included a summer resort complete with country club and golf course. Now that’s a lot of grass, no matter how you cut it. Maintaining the greens and fairways was a formidable and time consuming task and his game was not improving as a consequence. Something had to be done! Sir Charles, as he was now known ( a reward for his company’s pumps contribution to expanding the British Empire ) was familiar with the traditional method of dealing with the problem having played the links of Scotland. His first recourse was to import a herd of sheep complete with shepherd and border collies. The result was less than optimal and the guest complained about the effect the byproducts were having on their golf shoes. Back to the drawing board, literally. He designed a series of horse drawn mowers that resembled the reel type push mower you still occasionally see used  to mow very small yards and started the Shawnee Mower Company to produce them. If you look for Shawnee mower Co. at https://books.google.com you can find illustrations of several of these mowers. The horses were a marginal improvement in the organic waste department but their hooves were dinging up the fairways so Sir Charles had leather booties made to cover their hooves. Honest! I’m not making this up. The booties wore out quickly and the horses complained. Clearly it was time to automate the process. Given his background, you have to wonder why it took so long.

By the early 1920’s the Worthington Mower Company in Stroudsburg Pa. was turning out light duty tractors to pull the various styles of mowers it produced. The Ford Motor Co. did the industrial heavy lifting, providing most of the drive train components. Certainly this was not the first attempt to turn a Model T into a tractor. Conversion kits abounded and almost all failed miserably because the T was never intended to pull heavy loads at low speed all day. It could however pull a mower with ease.The tractor and mowers were sold to .local governments for parks and road maintenance, golf courses, schools, hospitals, private estates, almost anyone with a lot of grass to mow.

Worthington produced the T based version until 1930 when it was replaced by an updated version using Model A components that offered electric starting among other improvements. The A version was offered at $650 while the T model sold for $495. The page from a 1933 issue of the Municipal Index that was clipped to the machine claimed that with a Worthington triple gang mower attached the rig could mow an acre every 10 minutes and move from one location to the next at at a road speed of 20 mph.

Meanwhile back at the country club, Worthington was making friends and influencing people. In 1912 he invited a group of golf professionals to play at Buckwood. This gathering reputedly lead to the creation of the P.G.A. which no doubt opened many doors over the years that followed. Politicians and ranking military brass were undoubtedly among those who found their way to the Shawnee Country Club. In 1938 Worthington was awarded a contract to provide mowers and tractors for maintenance of the growing number of Army Air Corps airfields amid howls of protest from his competition. Despite the ensuing litigation the military continued to purchase Worthington tractors throughout World War Two . In addition to their mowing duties the tractors were used to tow aircraft and trailers loaded with munitions. The number of tractors produced for the military must have been considerable because the company received several commendations for their war effort.

C.C.Worthington died in 1944 and the company he created was purchased by Jacobsen Manufacturing in 1945. Jacobsen produced products using the Worthington trade mark until 1959.

Sources:

www.gasenginemagazine.com C.C. Worthington and the Worthington Mower Sept./Oct. 1999

www.thegolfballfactory.com The Shawnee Mower

www.digplanet.com/wiki/worthington_mower_company

www.hemmings.com Article from Hemmings Motor News by Jim O’Clair Feb. 2012

Unfortunately, no information about who brought this tractor to the show was provided.

The 8NCredible

So why would anyone, sane or otherwise, want to flog a machine intended to pull heavy loads at a crawl to speeds illegal on most of the world’s highways? A reasonable question and one you might ask Jack Donohue who plans on attempting to best his own world speed record for tractors on June 18 - 19 2016. Way back in 1935 David “AB” Jenkins blasted across the Bonneville Salt Flats on his Model U Allis-Chalmers at 67 mph to set a record that would stand until Donohue’s 8NCredible blew it away in September 2015 by clocking 96.3185 mph at an East Coast Timing Association event. Next month he’s going back to Wilmington, Ohio to see if he can do better. Ya gotta admit, “ First tractor to break the 100mph Barrier”, just sounds better.

Harry Merritt, Allis-Chalmers’ tractor salesman extraordinaire and sometimes ringmaster is generally credited with being the father of tractor racing. Always on the cutting edge A-C offered pneumatic tires as an option on the Model U in 1929. Farmers were not impressed. They knew steel wheels would hold up but rubber tires! Undaunted, Merritt hired racing legend Barney Oldfield and Ab Jenkins to barnstorm the country racing specially modified Model Us at every county fair they could attend. It worked. How many new tractors with steel wheels have you seen on dealership lots lately?  These antics eventually led to world speed records for tractors, first by Oldfield in 1933 followed by Jenkins in 1935. Visit blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2009/09/15/land-speed-tractors-oldfield-v-jenkins/ to see some really cool photos of these events. There may have been some earlier impromptu races but it’s not likely. Would you want to race a tractor with steel wheels?

Today the United States seem to be somewhat of a backwater when it comes to tractor racing, but that may soon change. Certainly it would be a natural for small dirt tracks in rural areas. After that, would NASCAR be far behind? Judging by the videos posted on Youtube, It’s big in Russia. If any of our Rooskie Comrades out there want to add a comment, please do.

Why did Jenkin’s record go unchallenged for eighty years? That’s an easy one; MONEY! Record setting doesn’t come cheap and without backing from deep corporate pockets, there’s little incentive to try. If not for Donohue’s background, Jenkin’s record would probably still stand. Jack worked for thirty years as a NASCAR mechanic and car builder so he knows a thing or two about making a machine go fast. Add to that a lifelong passion for the Ford 8N that dates to the day his family bought a new one for their farm and the picture comes into focus.

After he retired from life on the NASCAR Circuit Jack started a second career specializing in 8N restorations and conversions from the standard four cylinder to the flathead Ford V-8. At this point all the pieces for the 8NCredible project came together. He originally intended  to make his bid for the record books at Bonneville but bad weather intervened. Following the June event at Wilmington Ohio’s Airborne Park he would still like to give the salt flats a try but sponsors to help defray expenses are needed.

You can follow the 8NCredible story as it develops and learn more about Jack Donohue Motorsports by visiting http://jackdonohue.com and be sure to look for the  world’s fastest tractor at a show near you.

Additional resources:

www.firstsuperspeedway.com

www.steel-wheels.net

Engineering Products Company

The Engineering Products Company began producing a line of garden tractors in 1946 that they marketed under the Economy brand name. Assembled at their factory in Milwaukee Wisconsin from off the shelf components, production continued into the 1950’s.

A throwback to the days of steam traction engines models with chain steering were produced from 1946 until 1949.

Somewhere between the realms of full size farm tractors and riding lawnmowers lie the garden tractor variety like this nice selection on display at the Foothills Antique Power Association’s 12th Annual Power Show in Hickory, NC.

About as basic as you can get, they consisted of little more than a motor on a wheeled frame with a seat and a few controls.

Online sources vary on the dates of production but E.P.C. marketed tractors under at least three different brand names; Economy, Jim Dandy and Power King from shortly after the end of WW 2 into the 1990’s.

Most, at least in the early years were powered by Briggs & Stratton or Wisconsin engines like the models shown here.

Engineering Products Co. changed ownership several times during the 80’s and 90’s eventually being bought out by Yazoo.

Sources:

www.yesterdaystractors.com

www.tractordata.com

Minneapolis-Moline Uni-Farmor

It was a strange looking contraption, no doubt about it. It stood out from the crowd of regular tractors at the Foothills Antique Power Association of NC's 2015 show as it would at any event.

Minneapolis-Moline called it the Farmor or the Uni-Tractor. Some sceptics called it "The Motorcycle".

According to the ad copy under the plastic laminate it was the greatest advancement in agriculture since the invention of the pointed stick.

"Five machines in one, a self propelled machine for every harvest job at less cost than pull behinds." "One basic tractor with interchangeable harvesting machines." The attachment units turned it into a; forager, windrower, harvester, husker and picker-sheller. All of which mounted on the Uni power unit.

"Husk corn in the morning and combine soybeans the same afternoon with the same tractor."  "Change from one harvesting machine to another in less than 30 minutes."

Sounds good to me, I'll take two. Where do I sign? But wait! Why am I the only one standing in this line? Why indeed?

Introduced in 1951 Minneapolis-Moline manufactured the Farmor at their plant at Hopkins, Minnesota until 1962. It was powered by a M-M 206cu. in. 4 cylinder gasoline engine. Three forward speeds offered a range from .9 to 9.8 mph. one reverse gear was provided. During the final year of production in 1962 the sticker price was $3,900.

During the entire production run Farmor sales were limited. For whatever reason, farmers never embraced the concept, prefering to stick with the equipment they were familiar with. As always, If you can provide any additional information or insight on this topic please leave a comment.

Resources:
Minneapolis-Moline advertisement
www.tractordata.com
www.minneapolis-moline.com
www.agweb.com  The unique Minneapolis-Moline Uni-Tractor by Larry Gray Oct. 20, 2015

Lookout Boiler

Sometimes you just draw a blank. It's amazing how little information you can glean from the web about Lookout Boilers like this one that was displayed at the 2014 WNC Fall Harvest Days Show. It almost seems like the Lookout Boiler Company formerly of Chattanooga, Tenn. was stuffed down the ole memory hole like one of those pesky conspiracy theories. Go ahead, try a search ; you'll find more listings for law firms specializing in mesothelioma cases than the info you're looking for. Maybe that has something to do with it.

The vertical boiler design had it's share of advantages. It was relatively compact and light compared to horizontal boilers. It got up to operating temperature faster and was considered to be safer to operate than the locomotive style due to the design of the water jacket that precludes the crown sheet being exposed to the fire without water covering it, a condition that resulted in many boiler explosions. It was widely used to power small stationary engines and portable applications like fire engine pumpers that used vertical boilers almost exclusively.

On the down side a limited heating surface reduced the amount of steam available to convert to the horsepower needed for traction engine applications. The D. June & company was one of the very few to manufacture a vertical boiler traction engine. It was reputed to be a very effective road locomotive.

Located behind the boiler is a vertical steam engine bearing a reproduction Sears, Roebuck & Company decal that reads: 5 hp. 1904 600rpm B & OB steam engine, Southwest Michigan in the black border at the bottom. A web search result at www.ehive.com yields an ad from a Sears catalog offering Kenwood brand vertical steam engines that look very similar to this one that ship from a factory in Southwest Michigan. The listed horsepower ratings however jump from 4 hp. at 325 rpm to 6 hp at 250 rpm. The catalog says it's a "center crank type with throttling governor. Each engine furnished with governor, governor belt, governor pulley, oil cups, throttling valve, cylinder lubricator, belt pulley and a flywheel. Steam and exhaust pipe not furnished unless a boiler is ordered with the engine." The ad doesn't say what type of boiler. A Lookout maybe? The ad copy concludes by adamantly stating that under no circumstances will mounting bolts be furnished. In that regard you were on your own.

Resources: Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines by Jack Norbeck

Farm Engines and How to Run Them by James H. Stephenson   

International Harvester Action

Here's some chuffing and poping action for all you hit and miss fans.

International Harvester Portable Engine

In the early years of the 20th century International Harvester, like many of their competitors, sought to produce a full line of agricultural tools and equipment with the goal of providing the farmer with a device for every need. A look through a catalog of the period reveals that by and large they succeeded. With an array of labor saving machines offered it was only natural to produce a power source to run them. To fill this market niche they produced internal combustion engines ranging from 1 to 25 hp.

This beautifully restored example was displayed at the 2015 WNC Fall Harvest Days Antique Engine and Tractor Show sponsored by Apple Country Engine & Tractor Association. www.applecountry.org As is often the case at these shows, not a lot of information was provided. This framed photocopy of a page from a catalog was all that was offered and it didn't even give the date of manufacture which made learning more about it somewhat difficult.

The data plate on the engine offered that it was a portable engine by IHC of Chicago. Serial number EF421E producing 10hp at 350 rpm. The framed page from a catalog states that these engines were ideal for running huskers, shredders, threshers, shellers, pumping,well drilling,stone crushing and generating electricity for electric lighting. In short, pretty much any device you could power with a belt.

Visits to a number of websites turned up information on International portable engines but nothing that would definatively identify this particular engine. The closest match I found was at www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/2796/5964.pdf with an illustration for a Titan tank cooled10 hp @ 350 rpm engine from 1913. If you know of a site that provides a listing of serial numbers for these engines please leave a comment.

The thing that caught my eye about this engine was the evaporative cooling system with water from the engine being dribbled across a screen before running down to the collecting tank. Company literature of the period refers to it as tank cooled which I found somewhat misleading since that suggested something more like an open hopper to me.

I wonder if the brass bright work is original equipment or a later embellishment? Most likely original since that was the way they built things back in the day.

 

Farm Collector Salutes The General

When Farm Collector announced their annual show photos issue back in November I rounded up some of my favorite shots and sent them in. Members of the Foothills Antique Power Association of North Carolina and participants in their 12th Annual Power Show might want to visit their favorite newsstand and checkout the February 2016 issue because two of their exhibitors were selected to be included, not bad for one club! In order to avoid any possible question of conflict the photos shown here are not the same exact ones published so you'll have to get a copy of the magazine (plug-plug). And the winners are.......

A 1939 General built by the Cleveland Tractor Company owned by Ned Story.

A 1939 Sears & Roebuck Economy owned by Floyd Sigmon. It seems 1939 was a good year for tractors.