The Steam Engines of the Henry Ford Museum
May/June 1997
Larry G. Creed
RR 13, Box 209, Brazil, Indiana 47834
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Several old steam threshing engines''...
Aultman-Taylor outfit''...
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8 HP Huber 'Buckeye' portable steam engine built in
1882. Huber had only been in business a few years when this engine
was built.
10 HP Upton steam traction engine, serial #401,built in 1887 at
Battle Creek, MI. Upton moved in 1890, changing their name to Port
Huron Engine & Thresher Co.
The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan, contains over 30
traction and portable steam engines; many of them are one of a
kind. Few people realize the affection that Henry Ford had for
steam engines. This affection developed at an early age as he
showed an interest in mechanical things and a dislike for chores on
the family farm.
When he was sixteen, Henry left to work in nearby Detroit as an
apprentice machinist. He remained an apprentice for three years and
returned to the farm. For the next few years, Henry divided his
time between operating or repairing steam engines, overhauling his
father's farm implements and occasional factory work in
Detroit. Henry was married in 1888, he supported himself and his
wife by running a sawmill. In 1891 Ford became an engineer with the
Edison Illuminating Company after fixing a bearing problem with one
of their engines.
The museum contains not only small engines but also some very
old walking beam engines on exhibit and some very large Corliss
engines. One of the Corliss engines was used in Ford's Rouge
River Plant which was at one time the world's largest
industrial complex, containing a steel mill, glass factory and an
automobile assembly line.
'Iron Slave' return flue portable steam engine was built
in 1875 by the L. Sweet Co. of Wellsville, New York. This engine
was used to power a cream separator.
10 HP Chillicothe portable steam engine built in 1878 by
Chillicothe Foundry & Machine Works of Chillicothe, Ohio. The
valve gear is operated by a very unusual eccentric operated off the
crank disc.
16-30 Baker steam tractor built in 1925. Powered by a cross
compound double-acting steam engine and a high pressure boiler with
'U' shaped water tubes, vertical header and steam
condenser. Inexpensive slack coal was automatically fed to the
firebox.
Boilers used for heat and electricity at Henry Ford's estate
'Fairlane.' President Hoover, while visiting the estate,
was caught in a rainstorm and was able to dry his hat by placing it
on a spotlessly clean boiler steam pipe.
The Henry Ford Museum, which was founded in 1929, receives over
one million visitors annually. I would recommend that a full
day's visit be allowed to see the museum and a full day to tour
Greenfield Village which is next to the museum. The museum is not
air conditioned so it would be best to visit during the cooler
seasons. Both the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are open every
day except Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Enjoy my pictorial catalog of the museum's engines!