Company: Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Beloit, WI
Year: Circa 1910
Serial Number: 152,147
Horsepower: 4
Owner: Paul Harvey
The history of this great company dates to 1823, when Thaddeus and Erastus Fairbanks set up a small foundry in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The business soon blossomed into the manufacture of scales and windmills.
About 1850, Charles Hosmer Morse apprenticed with Fairbanks. His business skills were remarkable, and he quickly rose on the management ladder. The firm of Fairbanks, Morse and Co. was established in 1865. In 1893, the company entered the gas engine market and was committed to making the “best engine available.”
Replacing an earlier vertical design, the Type T was introduced about 1897, and continued until 1916. It was built in sizes of 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, 9-, and 12hp. It was very successful.
Features
The Type T was easily adapted to electric generation with a direct connected generator. This unit produces 3 kilowatts of direct current power at 110 volts. With large wheels and a throttling governor, its speed was well regulated. It could burn either gasoline or kerosene, and featured an electric igniter.
History
This engine was acquired from another collector in the early 1980s and no earlier history is available.
