11 Wayside Drive Bedford, New Hampshire 03102
Back in 1937-38, I was a young boy who amused myself ‘working’ on old #1789. I learned just how motors work from old #1789. One can physically see how each part moves and the reciprocating movement of the related parts which cause the engine to turn and produce power. The things I learned helped me to become the vehicle manager of one of the bigger auto fleets in the U.S. I buy and sell well over 1000 vehicles each year.
Old #1789 was originally purchased to power a water pump which pumped water from Big Squam Lake in Holder-ness, New Hampshire, where they filmed the movie ‘On Golden Pond’. It pumped water into an overhead storage tank. The water then gravity fed into the camp water system for use by the occupants.
Old #1789 is the 1? horse NC Model. It runs beautifully. One modification of the original equipment seems to have been made-probably when the engine was new. The engine has a Holley carburetor Model NH Patent 9-8-1911. This information is taken from a little brass tag on the carburetor. This carburetor has a donut shaped cork float. It is a collector’s item all by itself.
The electrical coil is similar to a model T coil but was made special for this engine. It works as good as when it was new.
When I saw letter 25/8/7 in the ‘Reflections’ column of August 1990 GEM, I reactivated old #1789. It sure does draw a crowd of interested people when I start it up. Watching and listening to old #1789 run on videotape is almost as much fun as being there when it is running.
