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After a month away from this column, we return with news of our
recent tour of Europe. Our tour started off with a stop at Roland
Porten’s collection at the Alp Hof near Sthlingen, Germany. We
visited Roland’s magnificent tractor collection, and that
evening we had a sumptuous dinner at his Hotel Rebstock
Restaurant.

Then it was off toward Garmisch and the Hotel Obermhle. From
there we took off for Munich and the world-famous Deutsches Museum.
Although some folks opted for seeing some of Munich for the day,
many of us spent our entire day at the museum, and at that, we saw
only parts of it.

The Austrian National Threshing Machine Museum was quite
interesting, and is home to a substantial number of machines.
Afterward we enjoyed some local hospitality with these folks,
consisting primarily of beer and schnapps.

Various other stops along the way demonstrated some nice engines
and tractors. However, when traveling in this part of the world,
vintage machines are not very plentiful; the ravages of war have
eliminated most of the old machinery. Thus, it is hard to find any
sizable collections. For the most part, machinery that was actually
being used during World War Two escaped meltdown, while most idle
equipment was forged into machinery of war.

Without a doubt, the most impressive display of old engines and
tractors was at Wim van Schayik at Langen-boom, Holland. The
restorations were amazing, and his new museum building is a sight
to behold. In addition, the van Schayik family hosted us to a
social hour before going into the museum, and that evening they
were on hand for a grand dinner celebration.

The H.M.T. Show near Eindhoven is a bit difficult to describe.
There were about 1,300 tractors on hand, plus about 350 engines.
The Lanz Bulldog and its clones were in abundance, with many
different styles being present. There were some very nice engines
on hand, including a very rare 2 HP Stover Vertical owned by L.
&. H. Terpstra at Lanhuisterweg 45, 9076 PL Annaparochie,
Holland.

Although the displays were roped off, engines and tractors were
mixed among the rows. This created quite a lot of extra walking for
those who were primarily interested in just looking at engines.
There were various activities going on with the tractors, with
safety considerations not always being of the same nature as we see
here in the U.S. However, everyone had a good time, and it was
interesting to see some of the old tractors being put to work
behind a plow or some other implement in a sandy area within the
exhibit field.

For ye olde Reflector, it was disappointing that our film
processor somehow has lost several rolls of our film, including our
photos from Wim van Schayik’s collection and for the H.M.T.
Show. We’re still hoping they will find them. .. what more can
we say? Apparently, they mislabeled the envelopes, and someone else
got our photos, while we ended up with pix of people we’ve
never seen before during a picnic or some celebration.

We’re also happy to report that our old friend Walter
Taubeneck is back in good health and good spirits. Walter has been
with us on almost all of our tours, but while we were staying in
Salzburg, he became ill during the night and ended up in the
hospital. We were forced to leave him behind in the hospital, and
in fact, he stayed there for a couple of weeks. Anyway, Walt has
recovered again, and wishes to tell us that he is now a firm
believer in getting travel insurance on a tourhis insurance covered
virtually all of his expenses!

All in all, we had an excellent time during the tour. We had
excellent drivers, and got to meet some very interesting people
within our group, as well as at the places we visited. We
didn’t fare so well with one or two of our hotels along the
way, but our tour company apparently did not check these out ahead
of time, or took someone else’s word for them.

Now that we’ve recovered a bit from the last tour, we’re
already making plans for a 1999 tour in England. If possible,
we’d like to take in the Tatton Park Engine Rally at the
beginning of the tour, and finish up by visiting the British Royal
Agricultural Show at the end. In the interim, we are hoping to see
some of the south and the east of England, areas to which we have
not traveled before. Our initial plans are looking for a stay at
Lincoln, and branching out from there to places like the wonderful
Thursford Collection near Fakenham, a visit to Ron Knight’s
collection near Stamford, and another stop at Arthur Hinch’s
huge collection of crawler tractors nearby.

See the accompanying photos of a few tour highlights.

Tour Photo #1: On our first evening we had a big welcome dinner
at the Hotel Rebstock in Sthlingen, Germany. After an evening of
merriment, there were the obligatory photographs, and this one
includes my good friend Robert Geyer on the right. Robert is the
proprietor of the Bulldog Press at Zollhaus. To the left of Robert
is ye olde Reflector, and to my left is Roland Porten, our host,
and the fellow who single-handedly assembled a magnificent
collection of engines, tractors, farm equipment, and tools. At the
extreme left in the photo is, I believe, Paul Mri, the editor of
D’Fettpress, literally meaning The Greasegun. This fine little
magazine is published in Switzerland.

Tour Photo #2: To the left in this photo is my neighbor, Carl
Oehl of Amana, Iowa. Carl is fluent in German, and has just
proposed a toast to Roland Porten in the center. In English, the
toast was: Here is to the wood in your coffin, and may it come from
a hundred-year old tree which we shall plant tomorrow. Roland was
greatly flattered and amused by this humorous toast. To the right
is Walter Reiff who sells books and memorabilia all over Europe,
and who frequently visits the United States.

Tour Photo #3: The engine collection at the Deutsches Museum at
Munich is not large in numbers, but contains some very rare and
interesting engines. Shown here is a beautifully restored Deutz
engine. Although no engines were running when we visited, this one
is apparently quite capable of doing so, and is even equipped with
an original gas bag to stabilize gas pressure during operation.

Tour Photo #4: An Otto inverted vertical atmospheric engine was
on display at the Deutsches Museum. This was among Otto’s
earliest designs, and was a predecessor to his four-cycle Otto
Silent engine.

Tour Photo #5: Hydraulic rams are a popular collectible in
Europe, and at the Deutsches Museum this cutaway was on display to
better demonstrate how a hydraulic ram would operate. There were
numerous cutaways of various engines and other items.

33/11/1 Unidentified Engine Q. Neville Botha,
PO Box 149, Henley-on-Klip, 1962, South Africa sends along some
photos of an unidentified marine engine. It is about 24 inches long
and of all-aluminum construction except for the brass prop and the
crankshaft. The engine is started with a cord around the propeller.
The only marking on the casting is ‘Made in the U.S.A.’

33/11/2 Universal Light Plant Q. See the photo
of a Universal Lighting Plant, Model S431, 32-36 volts, 9.6 amps
,1250 rpm, made by Universal Products Co., Sandusky, Ohio. Any
information on this engine would be greatly appreciated. Bill
Ewoldt, 300 Dwight St., Boscobel. WI 53805.

33/11/3 New Way Model C Q. I recently purchased
a New Way Model C, Type C engine, 2 HP, s/n 1366. Can anyone give
me an idea of when it was built? Also, your Notebook has the paint
color codes for these engines, but I don’t know the color of
the flowers painted on the base. Can anyone give me these colors?
Dave Brown, 6548 Lipscomb St. SE, Salem, OR 97301.

A. You might want to check out the back cover
of the July 1997 GEMit shows a color reproduction from a 1915 D16
catalog showing correct paint colors for all New Way engines. It
was sent to the magazine’s editorial offices by Richard Babbitt
of 1571 Glasgo Rd., Voluntown, CT 06384.

33/11/4 Cast Iron Seats Q. I would like to know
on the unnamed cast iron seats if the lack of listing in the
[guide] books has any bearing on their rarity? Don Jole, Box 336,
Iola, WI 54945.

33/11/5 Identity Unknown Q. See the sketch and
photos of a small machine that looks like it was installed
stationary in a mill to polish grain. Two scrub brushes work
against side plates, then into a hexagon-shaped cylinder with wood
pegs, and then into a [discharge] auger. Any help would be
appreciated. Herb Mann, 2588 W. County Road 250 S, Warsaw, IN
46580.

33/11/6 Fairbanks-Morse Q. I am looking for
information on Fair-banks-Morse gas engines used on mine hoists
during the 1890-1910 period. I was told that F-M had an archives
department but I am unable to locate it. Any information would be
appreciated. Bill Heckethom, 2112 Railroad Ave., Kingman, AZ
86401.

A. To our knowledge, there is no organized
archive at F-M. There is a fair amount of material there, but
having gone through virtually all of it, we can tell you there is
very, very little on hoisting engines. Our book, Fairbanks-Morse:
1893-1993, available from GEM, probably has the lion’s share of
information on these engines.

33/11/7 Unidentified Engines Q. See photo 7A of
a small vertical engine. It is 14 inches high and has 8 inch
flywheels. Can anyone identify it? Photo 7B shows a hit-and-miss
that I have been told is a Sattley. The only numbers on it are
W-1086 on the flywheel. The handle sticking up between the flywheel
and the splash guard is the governor control. Can anyone tell me
anything about this engine? Bud Edwards, PO Box 372, Palermo, CA
95968.

33/11/8 Friday Tractor Q.  What is the
correct color for a Friday tractor made at Hartford, Michigan? Any
information would be appreciated. Harold W. Storicks, Rt 74, HC 70,
Box A, Auburn, WV 26325-9112.

33/11/9 Trump Bros. Q. Does anyone have
information on a 3 HP Trump Brothers engine? It also has Pilot
Marine on the plate. R. L. Mack at RLMackl213@aol.com (no regular
mail address on this one, so an e-mail reply will be required).

33/11/10 IHC Tom Thumb Q. I would like to build
a scale model of the IHC Tom Thumb engine and would like to find
some of the patent drawings or the patent numbers. Any help would
be appreciated. Stewart Labus, 3819 Lenwood, Amarillo, TX
79109.

A. So far as we know, there were no patents
covering the entire Tom Thumb engine, only bits and pieces that may
have also applied in principle to other IHC engines of the time. We
would suggest that the preferable method would be to find a Tom
Thumb which you can photograph and measure up to get what you
need.

33/11/11 Clark Bros. Engine Q. Our club, Power
from the Past, is looking for an engine ID plate and any
information such as the horsepower, rated speed, correct timing,
and correct fuel feeding to a 60 HP Clark Bros. engine of two-cycle
design. We think it is 60 HP but we are not sure. It has a 14 x 20
inch bore and stroke. Most of the time it runs fine, but
occasionally it lets out a big bang as if it is loading up. Any
help would be appreciated. Robert A. LeBaron, 5801 E. 5th St.,
Tucson, AZ 85711.

33/11/12 F-M Mixer Q. See the sketch of the
mixer for a F-M 1 A HP Type H light plant. I can’t figure out
what the air butterfly control lever is attached to. When I got the
unit, the butterfly control lever had no control rod attached. Was
the air mixture automatically controlled by a governing device on
the generator? Or was the butterfly air intake attached to some
type of manual control? Also, this intake casting is unusual, in
that it drops down 90 degrees from the mixer face, then takes
another 90 degrees toward the engine base and is attached by means
of sheetmetal duct. Any information would be appreciated. Robert
Rowe II, 145 Mol-lie Ave., Many, LA 71449-3825.

33/11/13 Burrell Engine Q. See the illustration
from a 1900 Sears & Roebuck catalog illustrating the Burrell
engine. Has anyone ever heard of these? Any information would be
appreciated. Carl Blackwell, 1804 West Union, Wynne, AR 72396.

A. We show this engine as having been built by
Skillin &. Richards at Chicago, but have never found any
further reference to the firm.

33/11/14 Engine in 33/9/11 Regarding the John
Beaty engine in the September issue, this is a Wisconsin engine,
Judging by the serial number, I’m guessing it was built in 1950
or 1951. I also have one of these engines, a 1949 with a 2 x 2 bore
and stroke, Model ABN, s/n 1273352 and OPEC number 63601. Wisconsin
Engine Co. has merged with Continental, is now called Wis-Con Total
Power, and is located in Memphis, Tennessee. Phone number is
1-800-932-2858 for further information. Jason Robertson, 445 W. Ann
St., Whitewater, WI 53190.

33/11/15 Johnson Hay Fork Regarding the
unidentified implement in 33/7/14, you stated that it was a row
marker for planting com rows. This is incorrect. JHF9 stand for
Jackson Hay Fork #9. This device was used to haul hay from the
ground or from wagons to the hay loft. I have one like it. Edward
E. Hill, Rio Oso, CA 95674.

33/11/16 Briggs & Stratton Q. I am 12 years
old and have purchased my very first engine. It is a Briggs &
Stratton engine, s/n 162157, model WMB. I’d like to know what
year this engine was manufactured. Your help would be greatly
appreciated. Justin Hendrick, 1393 Flint Rd., Murray, KY42071.

33/11/17 Information Needed Q. See the photo of
a grinder with steel burrs made by. H. Day Company, Cincinnati,
Ohio. Ellis Smith, Box47, Frank-ford, WV 24938.

A. If it has steel burrs then it was likely a
grain mill of some type.

33/11/18 Ford 8-N Tractor Q. I own a Ford 8N
tractor powered by a six-cylinder flathead engine. It is apparently
one of the later model Funk conversions. The block serial number,
located on the left side of the block, is 1HA6015A. Just in front
of the s/n is the word Ferro, followed by the letter A. The
distributor is on the left side at about center or a little
forward. On the head is the Ford logo, FoMoCo, but that doesn’t
appear on the block itself. Presumably this was the same series
engine as used in Ford light trucks of the period. If anyone has
information or knows of publications with data specific to this
engine, please advise me of the title and cost. The 8-N manuals
I’ve seen only cover the four-cylinder flathead engine. Any
information would be appreciated . Bob Brady, 10109 – 173rd Ave SW,
Rochester, WA 98579.

33/11/19 Unidentified Engine Q. See the photo
of an engine I have owned for over 30 years. We showed it at the
National Meet in California. One person thought it was a Sta-Rite
and another said it might be a Chapman. It is not like any Sta-Rite
engines I have seen. Perhaps someone can identify it. The engine is
about 2 HP and has a brass connecting rod, as is the governor
detent bracket. Any information would be appreciated. Charlie
Roncelli, 3625 Granger Lane, Watson-ville,CA95076.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1998
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