The Miller
Manufacturer:
Miller Gas Engine Co.,
Springfield, Ohio
Year: circa 1910
HP: 300
This 300 HP Miller was originally installed in the
Spring Creek compressor plant of the Northern Oil Co., near Kane,
Pa., in 1913.
It was used to belt drive a huge Ingersoll-Rand air compressor
to operate the old steam engines that pumped crude oil from the
wells surrounding the plant.
The engine, no. 1326, is a quad-opposed style in the “H” design.
Bore and stroke is 17-1/2-by-22 inches. This engine weighs in at a
healthy 70,000 pounds. To our knowledge, it is the only Miller of
this design to have survived and perhaps the only quad-opposed from
any manufacturer to be running in this country.
In 1976, compressor failure caused cessation of the engine’s
operation after 63 years. At that time it was moved to Coolspring
by John Wilcox and Paul Harvey to await its recent restoration and
operation.
It is now the centerpiece of the museum’s Nate Lillibridge
Station, where three Miller engines are on display. This Miller
engine is part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Contact the Coolspring Power Museum at: P.O. Box 19, Coolspring,
PA 15730; (814) 849-6883; coolspring@penn.com
www.coolspringpowermuseum.org
