13 Main Street Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania 16929
Most everyone doing serious restoration on real wrecks, or those
simply wishing to complete their engine 100 percent, will have run
into the problem of missing or damaged castings that are impossible
to replace. For instance, I have needed crank guards, governor
arms, mag brackets, and mufflers for some of the off brand engines
I have done. In this case two things are required: a pattern and a
foundry. Unfortunately, these days it is often easier to come up
with a pattern than it is to find a foundry willing and able to do
this kind of piece work.
Here in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, we are fortunate to have
just such a foundry. Cowanesque Valley Iron Works has been here a
very long time and has a history as long and enduring as many of
the engines we covet. CVIW was started in 1887 by John Rieppel, a
German immigrant. From the very beginning, just as it is today,
CVIW was both a foundry and a machine shop. Cowanesque, was a
strategic location in 1887, with two railroads available to supply
iron works and ship their products. Large tanneries located up and
down the valley were customers for, among other things, iron and
wood flat belt pulleys for lineshaft machinery. Figure 1 shows the
original office and buildings, with some pulleys stored outside.
All manner of repairs for local farmers and industry were done,
including reboring steam engines and cylinders. Figure 2 shows the
rear of the original foundry and shop. Just visible is a small farm
steam engine and boiler. Examples of early business are 80 manhole
irons for Westficld Sewer and 200 truck wheels for Elkland Tannery
in 1916.
John Rieppel died in 1918, passing the business to sons George
and John. George ran the business until he died in 1936. Walt and
Harold Rieppel took over in partnership at that time, Walter having
started work there in 1928 after finishing school. The foundry and
shop grew to employ 35 men. A fire in 1946 destroyed all of the
original buildings and much of the original machinery, sadly
including a very large REID engine that was used to power the
facility in the early days. Undaunted, the Rieppels rebuilt the
shop even bigger than before, and in 1957 added more products by
acquiring the Indiana foundry’s patterns for ‘Sutton
Brand’ stoves, fireplaces, ashpit doors, dampers, post mauls,
drains, and other cast building supplies. Today these building
products plus stove grates and other parts account for maybe 75
percent of the business. Walt’s son William joined the business
in the 1950s, and in 1969 Walt became sole owner and president of
the iron works. They were joined in the late 1970s by William’s
son Jeffrey. Several years ago William passed away, and Walt is now
‘retired,’ although he still shows up for work every
day.
A 1994 fire nearly wiped out CVIW a second time. The night-time
fire started in the area of the cupola furnace and swept across the
roof into the machine shop. Much of the antique machinery was
damaged, although not totally lost. One exception was the ancient
pulley lathe in the corner, which broke up when hit with cold
water. This machine had been used in recent years to finish a large
engine flywheel which the foundry cast, and may be missed by some
of us. Once again, CVIW rebuilt and is back in business today, but
it could just as easily have gone the other way, and we would have
lost yet another small foundry. Today they pour iron about twice a
week, and run aluminum and brass about every day from small
furnaces. I encourage anyone needing parts made to talk to Walter
or Jeff because they can help you and would like your business.
Walt is particularly knowledgeable about the machines we like to
work on and has seen just about everything in his lifetime. The
address is: Cowanesque Valley Iron Works, PO Box 13, Cowanesque,
Pennsylvania 16918. Telephone is 814-367-2218.
This photograph of a gasoline engine powering a cider press is
so crisp and clear you can almost taste the tart apples and feel
the juice running down your chin. The photo is part of the
collection of J.C. Allen & Son Inc. Rural Life Photo Service,
1341 Northwestern Ave., West Lafayette, Indiana 47906
