4000 Marietta Avenue, Columbia, Pennsylvania 17512
In January 2001, I had the opportunity to take a voluntary
two-week assignment in Kosovo, which was formally part of
Yugoslavia. One of the interesting things I had the opportunity to
observe was the use of old gas engines. These photos were taken in
the city of Prizren, in the southern part of the country.
Unfortunately, I only had time to snap a few photographs and did
not have time to really study the engines in any detail. I did
learn from one operator that they were made around 1922 and were
originally used on small boats. They were made in Yugoslavia and
have the ARAN name cast into the water hopper.
They are using these old engines to cut firewood into shorter
lengths. The engines are mounted on an old car chassis, thus making
them self-propelled. By changing the v-belt from one pulley to
another, they can either run the saw in a stationary condition, or
‘drive’ the unit as a self-propelled vehicle. It is not
fancy, but it works. They were quite a sight and sound running
around this city of 60,000 people.
Most homes are heated with electric heat, but electricity is not
fully dependable, so many people also have wood-burning stoves.
Firewood is sold in about four-foot lengths, so the wood needs to
be re-sawn after purchase. These portable saws go around the city
re-sawing the firewood.
As you can see from the photographs, ingenuity and functional
mechanics work around the world to keep these engines working. No,
I did not try to purchase any of these engines. These engines are
needed in this war-torn country, and my friends threatened to not
meet me at the airport if I got any old iron fever!
Hope you enjoy the photographs.
