Badger Steam & Gas Engine Swap Meet Puts Stover Engines In the Ring

By Staff
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At $2,300, we would consider this the buy of the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club auction. These upright Stovers are rare, and while the engine needed a little TLC, it was still well worth the money. The records tell us that this engine is a 4 HP Type YB shipped to P.T. Legare, Quebec, Canada, on Jan. 15, 1912. Stover shipped many engines to Legare. The nameplate indicates this is a “Freeport” engine.
At $2,300, we would consider this the buy of the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club auction. These upright Stovers are rare, and while the engine needed a little TLC, it was still well worth the money. The records tell us that this engine is a 4 HP Type YB shipped to P.T. Legare, Quebec, Canada, on Jan. 15, 1912. Stover shipped many engines to Legare. The nameplate indicates this is a “Freeport” engine.
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Waiting for a new owner is this Stover Type TB (CT2) that was shipped to the Jaeger Machine Co., Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 3, 1939. This engine would have been used on a cement mixer.
Waiting for a new owner is this Stover Type TB (CT2) that was shipped to the Jaeger Machine Co., Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 3, 1939. This engine would have been used on a cement mixer.
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Stover sometimes labeled their engines as “The Freeport” and this 1912 Type YB engine is so marked. The actual Stover records almost never describe the Freeport engines as such. We have seen the Freeport designation as early as 1903 and as late as 1918. There appears to be no difference from a regularly marked Stover, although it makes an interesting ID plate. Since the horsepower isn’t marked, Stover may have left Legare of Canada to decide how powerful to make it. The records call it a 4 HP.
Stover sometimes labeled their engines as “The Freeport” and this 1912 Type YB engine is so marked. The actual Stover records almost never describe the Freeport engines as such. We have seen the Freeport designation as early as 1903 and as late as 1918. There appears to be no difference from a regularly marked Stover, although it makes an interesting ID plate. Since the horsepower isn’t marked, Stover may have left Legare of Canada to decide how powerful to make it. The records call it a 4 HP.
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Carl Wood of Wheatland, Iowa, had this fine Stover Type KA for sale in the flea market area. This nice running engine was shipped to the Kwik Mix Manufacturing Co., Port Washington, Wis., on August 16, 1926. At $500, this would have made someone a good engine to display.
Carl Wood of Wheatland, Iowa, had this fine Stover Type KA for sale in the flea market area. This nice running engine was shipped to the Kwik Mix Manufacturing Co., Port Washington, Wis., on August 16, 1926. At $500, this would have made someone a good engine to display.
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A nice solid Type KA Stover at the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club Spring Swap Meet consignment auction. This engine was shipped to Kwik Mix Mixer Co., Port Washington, Wis., on March 5, 1926. It would have been on a cement mixer.
A nice solid Type KA Stover at the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club Spring Swap Meet consignment auction. This engine was shipped to Kwik Mix Mixer Co., Port Washington, Wis., on March 5, 1926. It would have been on a cement mixer.

In our part of the world, one of the first large annual events to attend is the swap meet and auction sponsored by the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club at Baraboo, Wis. It’s not the largest in the country but it’s no slouch with all kinds of cool stuff from gas engines and tractors to guys just cleaning out all the old junk they bought at last year’s garage sales and swap meets.

There is something about a swap meet that draws engine nuts like a magnet. Just the anticipation will keep them talking and thinking and planning for several weeks prior to the event. Stick it in the spring after a typical Northern winter and everyone gets “fired up” to get out. Most important is meeting our friends coming out of hibernation from near and far.

The weather was decent but much cooler than the forecast. Imagine that! Saw a lot of guys running around wishing they had brought a warmer jacket. We holler at our kids for not dressing warm enough and here were old timers that should have known better, freezing certain parts of their anatomy because they didn’t want to miss anything. Oh well, guess that’s why we get pneumonia shots!

The club holds a consignment auction on Saturday and usually builds it around a collection or group of collections. However, anyone can consign any appropriate item and the club is good about keeping stuff appropriate. In addition to some fine engines, there were IHC, Oliver and MM tractors. Steam items were also included with a handful of small boilers and two full-size steam tractors in this year’s auction.

Stover engines in the ring 

There was a nice selection of Stover engines in the auction with all but one in good condition. The Stover types included a TA (CT1), TB (CT2), KA and a rare YB vertical that turned out to be the buy of the day.

Stover engines in the swap meet 

The swap meet also had a nice variety of Stovers and parts with most engines reasonably priced. It felt like we walked several miles and still didn’t see everything. So, with sore feet but a happy tiredness, we left Baraboo in the rearview mirror and headed on home, excited about the summer events to come and the friends to visit at the next show.

Stover engine registry 

The registry just keeps growing, so if you want to know when your engine was shipped and to whom, please send me the serial number. You can view the latest Stover gas engine factory records at Stover Gas Engine Registry

Until next time, keep your plugs dry and your igniters oiled.

Contact Joe Maurer at 797 S. Silberman Rd., Pearl City, IL 61062 • (815) 443-2223 • toadhill@aeroinc.net

  • Published on Jun 19, 2012
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