2204 Comanche St., Sulphur, Louisiana 70663
It was on a cool fall morning in the little town of St.
Martinville, Louisiana, nestled along the banks of the easy flowing
Bayou Tech in the heart of Cajun country, and the home of the
famous Evangeline Oak tree, that yet another old engine story
occurred. Only after our Foos crew consisting of Adolph Alloy, Carl
Simon, Bill McDaniel, and Robert Mayeux, had several cups of that
strong Cajun style coffee, did we gather strength to attack the
large 25 HP, 1919, Foos engine long ago wedged in the bottom of an
ancient sugar mill machine shop built in 1895.
This great Foos engine was used for many years both to power a
large triplex Demming pump to transfer water from the bayou to
supply water for the large Corliss steam engines in the sugar cane
mill, and to run a complete overhead line shaft machine shop.
As we all labored, making preparations to move this
technological icon of the past, we all wondered if the ‘Foos
was loose’ and to our amazement, after many years of remaining
dormant, the Foos was loose and in excellent condition.
After two and a half days of serious work and lots of Cajun
gumbo and jambalaya, the great Foos was loaded and on its way to
its new Smithsonian environment home of Mr. Adolph Alloy in the
Houston, Texas area.
