422 Route 148 Killingworth, Connecticut 06417
Thank you for running the article on our unknown engines in the
September ’90 issue. As I expected, the response has been very
helpful.
To date, I think we have identified the two diesels; so far no
luck on the 2 cycle marine engine. I got a call from Dick Day in
Maryland and he gave me the story on the #3 engine. It is a Palmer.
The model is RND-L. The ‘RN’ stands for Russell Newbury and
they were built from 1939 to 1946. Dick says they are quite
rare.
Cal Pixley from Westfield, Massachusetts made contact and came
down to Mystic to look at the hot bulb engine, #1. Based on his
knowledge and comparing it with a horizontal hot bulb that we have,
we think it is a Meitz & Weiss. Cal has a two cylinder M&W
marine engine and knows the whereabouts of about twenty-five other
M&W engines. All in all, two out of three isn’t bad.
In addition to the above, I received a letter from Max Homfeld
who has a job similar to mine at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime
Museum. He gave me a good idea for verifying the M&W. The data
is someplace in the lighthouse records in the National Archives. I
received a phone call from Henry Villard, who is in the Virgin
Islands. We must have kicked this thing around for about a half an
hour. It’s a good thing it was his ‘nickel.’ Also,
Henry Macomber and Paul Towne, from the Mystic area, wrote and
inquired about volunteering their time on the engine restoration
project.
It was a very satisfying response. Our collection keeps growing
so I may be back in the future. Best Regards!
