CANADIAN NOTES
H. S. Turner,
Goderich, Ontario, Can.
In 1902 the Advance Thresher Company and the Minneapolis
Threshing Machine Company jointly purchased the John Abell plant
in. Toronto, Ontario, and renamed it the American-Abell Engine and
Thresher Company Limited Although American owned the new company
immediately adopted the policy of 'Canadian-made goods for
Canadian users' and continued without interruption to build the
threshing machinery formerly manufactured by the John Abell Engine
and Machine Works Company.
John Abell's 'Toronto Advance' separator had been
well received in Western Canada and was improved by the addition of
the Maple bay wind stacker with wooden chute followed by the
Cyclone sear driven blower with metal pipe and the Parsons
self-feeder. In the. East, where all kinds of grain are grown, it
was not so popular, so, in the late 1890's John Abell designed
a new separator for Ontario. This machine featured a revolving'
grain carrier instead of the oscillating grain deck and had the
straw decks made in four sections which were hung on pivots at the
outer ends and given a nicely balanced motion by a center crank
shaft connected to the inner ends.
About this time the press was featuring the exploit of Lance
Corporal Find later of the Gordon Highlanders who won the Victoria
Cross at the assault on the Dargai Hill in Northern India, on
October 20th. 1897 where, shot through both leg's, he sat
through the hail to bullets and continued to cheer his hard pressed
comrades with the stirring tune 'Cock O' the North' on
his bagpipes. John Abell was impressed and named his new separator
The 'Cock O' The North' and incorporated the story and
illustrations of the epic feat in his catalogue. The American-Abell
firm went further by adopting a game rooster on a stump as their
Trade Mark and calling tilt if output the 'Cock o' the
North' line. The American- Abell engines had the figure of a
rooster cast in the smoke box dour.
For a few years the new owners continued to build the
'Toronto Advance' and the 'Cock o' the North'
separators and a full line of American-Abell 'Advance' and
'Compound' portable and traction engines. The simplest
engines had a spring mounting similar to the U. S. built
'Advance ' of the same period and were equipped with the
Marsh reverse gear and double-ported balanced valve. For the
western trade the simple engines were built in the 14, 16, 18, 22
and 26 hp. sizes and the cross-compounds 22 and 28 hp. and were
mounted on John Abell Patent End-Fed Straw Burning Boilers. Two
feet and a half of the flues extended back into the firebox of
these boiler giving the engines, especially the compounds, a short
stubby appearance. Those in the smaller sizes built for the east
had regular wood-burning fireboxes and diamond top smoke stacks and
looked better proportioned.
With the demand for more power for threshing and heavier engines
for ploughing the American-Abell firm developed a line of sturdier
engines of their own design. Familiarly known as the 'Cock
o' the North', these side mounted engines were built in the
16, 18 and 20 hp sizes with simple cylinder for the east and in 22,
26 and 30 hp simple and 28 and 40 hp compound sizes for the west.
The dropped crown sheet on straw-burning boilers was discontinued
after a few years but the John Abell patent idea of aiding
combustion by admitting air through openings in the sidewalls was
retained. Spring mounting was omitted id heavy gearing and flat
spoked drive wheels used on all models. The Woolf single eccentric
reverse gear and plain slide valve were adopted. Later a. balanced
valve was designed and the steam chest raised at an angle to give
the valve stem and rod a straight line motion. Three experimental
double simple engines were built and all compounds were of the
cross-compound type with one side and one center crank set at right
angles. The exhaust from the high pressure cylinder passed through
a re-heater in the smoke box before entering the low pressure
cylinder. Front or side tanks were mounted on ploughing engines if
ordered.
Straw Burning Boiler
In 1908 the first rear mounted engine was built, a 36 hp simple
with drum type drivers so that water could be added to make more
weight. Named after F. R. Kenaston, . President of the Minneapolis
Threshing Company at the time, it was shipped west and shown at the
Winnipeg- and Brandon Exhibitions then on to Regina where it was
stored until the disastrous fire in Nov., 1911 cleaned out the
American-Abell branch there. It was rebuilt the next year and sold.
This experimental model was followed by many more rear mounted
ploughing engines built in two sizes. A 28 hp simple and a 32 hp
cross compound. The latter being one of the heaviest of North
American traction engines having a shipping weight of 24 tons. Both
these models had a novel steering arrangement designed to steer
easier and relieve thin boiler from the strain of jerking steering
chains. Both standard front wheels were mounted close together in a
yoke and the steering rod moved the roller bearing turntable by
means of a, worm and segment running in oil. Another feature was a
power feed pump mounted below the level of the water tank for
positive gravity feed and driven from a crank on the intermediate
gear.
In addition to the number each 'Cock o' the North'
engine bore a name on its number plate according to its size. Some
of these may be of interest. The 18 hp 'Garfied'; 20 hp
'Dewey'; 22 hp 'Bobs' named after the Boar War
figure. Lort Roberts; 26 hp 'Dun Donald' after a colorful
British Admiral; 28 hp Compound 'Watts'; 20 hp Simple
'King' and 40 hp Compound 'Queen.' The 28 hp Rear
mount was named 'Bush' after S O. Bush, Vice President of
the Advance Thresher Company and the 32 hp Rear mount
'Drummond' alter the plant superintendent.
Along with its line of engines the American-Abell Company
developed a now separator by combining the best features of the
Toronto Advance and Cock o'-' the North machines. The new
separator was named the Toronto Combination and proved itself a
fitting companion for the American-Abell engines.
'When the great Rumley merger took place in 1912 the
American-Abell factory was included and the Cock o' the North
line was discontinued. No further engines were built. The
boiler of their last traction engines shipped west now series as a
heating plant for the Allis-Chalmers -Rumley building in Saskatoon,
Sask. They built a total of nearly 2500 farm engines, the majority
of which went to the Canadian West where the Cock o' the North
line was a famous name, sworn by and at as are the tractors of
today.
HOW ABOUT IT DELBERT?
Delbert Wolfe of 1618 K. Clinton St., Frankfort, lnd., had about
completed a 2' scale Model, rear mounted double Gaar-Scott.
Let's have a picture, Delbert
The fool kills time the wise man makes it do double duty.
I enjoy your paper very much. I have threshed for 29 years and
hope to thresh some more. Have used steam and gas but enjoyed steam
most. I have owned three steamers, 20 hp Huber, 80 and 50 Case,
also owned two 30-60 Aultman Taylor. Did a lot of road work with
these engines. Had a 36x58 Case thresher. At present I own a 32x58
Nichols and Shepard thresher and 44 Massey Harris tractor. Henry
Sanny, Remsen, Iowa