Star Rte. 2, Gunnison, Colorado 81230
The fall season has arrived and with it more time to do the
things most enjoyed – and for an engine collector that means
working again with the favorite engines, or maybe just remembering
some of the things they bring to mind:
Another fall. My wife had been in a Denver hospital for quite
some time. As often as possible I would head the Jeep for Denver,
two hundred miles away. One day I spotted flywheels off through the
trees but there was no time for engines then. Better days after her
recovery, I went over the mountains to meet my wife who was
returning from a checkup. This day, I thought, I’ll have time
to check on that engine. A friendly man owned it and he took time
off from his plowing to help me load it and he called to mind some
of the things he had used it for and then I thanked him and hurried
into the nearby town to meet the bus.
Still another fall a few years later. I had acquired another
engine in the high country and we had gone to pick it up. Enjoying
the beautiful scenery and nice weather we had spent the day hiking,
driving and sightseeing and toward evening drove up the mountain to
load the engine. No one was there to help so my wife and two
daughters lent a hand and we soon had it in the pick-up. A bitterly
cold wind had started to blow and heavy clouds were moving in fast.
We decided to take the short way home, directly over the mountains.
Soon we were in a world of swirling white snow, climbing skyward,
four-wheel-drive engaged and the low gears singing a lonely song
into the gloom. In an hour we were on top -Cinnamon Pass,
Elevation, 13,200 Ft. the sign read. The wind had stopped as
suddenly as it had began and now the snow was falling softly, but
overhead a few stars could be seen. We were alone in a silent
world. The sheepherder that we had waved to so many times during
the summer had folded his tent and gone and only a small pile of
split wood marked where it had been. My wife opened our thermos of
coffee and the girls had Kool-Aid and we ate homemade cookies and
nothing ever tasted better. Then the engine roared back to life and
the cab heater hummed again and times. They share something in
common, however. Both are Fairbanks-Morse, one type T, one type
unknown.
A 5 Hp. Simplicity built by Western Mallable and Gray Iron Mfg.
Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hit and miss with igniter and bat and
coil. Original bat. box.
Virgil Gerdes inquired on page 33 of the Sept-Oct GEM as to the
type a certain Fairbanks-Morse was. I have one of these same
engines (see picture) Serial 159356 and I hope someone can come up
with the type. The other engine is the Fairbanks-Morse Type T
vertical serial 89333. I notice on comparing these two engines that
they have several parts bearing the same casting numbers. Both have
the nameplates missing and the T is missing its fuel pump but
otherwise they are in fair shape, and about 2 H.P.
I’ll try and get back to the troubleshooting business in my
next article, but right now I’ve got to investigate that aroma
of do-nuts and coffee!
