Water Wagon!

By Bill Vossler
Published on May 6, 2014
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This 1916 16 hp Avery steam traction engine was pulled out of a Kansas riverbed; the Avery water wagon was handcrafted by Ted McNamara and Jody Hicks.
This 1916 16 hp Avery steam traction engine was pulled out of a Kansas riverbed; the Avery water wagon was handcrafted by Ted McNamara and Jody Hicks.
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A view showing detail on the wagon. Note the line of rivets just below the Avery company name.
A view showing detail on the wagon. Note the line of rivets just below the Avery company name.
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The seat, footboards and sideboards were the result of custom woodworking by Ted and Jody.
The seat, footboards and sideboards were the result of custom woodworking by Ted and Jody.
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The wheels were among the only parts that could be salvaged for this project from an old Standard Oil wagon.
The wheels were among the only parts that could be salvaged for this project from an old Standard Oil wagon.
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The restorers used white oak in constructing the wagon.
The restorers used white oak in constructing the wagon.
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The Avery engine’s tools are carried on the side of the water wagon. These are used to remove ashes.
The Avery engine’s tools are carried on the side of the water wagon. These are used to remove ashes.
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Authentic detailing accentuates the quality of this project.
Authentic detailing accentuates the quality of this project.
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The Avery bulldog logo is painted in bright yellow on the end cap of the water wagon.
The Avery bulldog logo is painted in bright yellow on the end cap of the water wagon.
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On original Avery wagons, this red water pump was used to pump water by hand to fill the more than 400-gallon tank. On this restoration, the pump is just for looks, as mechanical pumps are used to do the work much faster today.
On original Avery wagons, this red water pump was used to pump water by hand to fill the more than 400-gallon tank. On this restoration, the pump is just for looks, as mechanical pumps are used to do the work much faster today.
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Ted working with his Avery steam traction engine and Avery water wagon.
Ted working with his Avery steam traction engine and Avery water wagon.
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View of the finished water wagon.
View of the finished water wagon.
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Jody and Ted with the 1916 16 hp Avery steam engine they and others restored.
Jody and Ted with the 1916 16 hp Avery steam engine they and others restored.
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“Before” photo of the old Standard Oil Co. trucks used to support the newly constructed Avery water wagon.
“Before” photo of the old Standard Oil Co. trucks used to support the newly constructed Avery water wagon.
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Nowthen club member Art Job built rear axles for the Avery, perhaps the most difficult part of the restoration.
Nowthen club member Art Job built rear axles for the Avery, perhaps the most difficult part of the restoration.

When Ted McNamara and Jody Hicks decided to find an Avery water wagon to pair with a 1916 Avery steam engine salvaged from the Republican River in Kansas, they knew it’d be a major undertaking. What they hadn’t figured on was building the piece from the ground up. Using a black-and-white 1916 Avery catalog, that’s exactly what they did — and the finished product is stunning.

Members of the Nowthen (Minn.) Historical Power Assn. — including Ted and Jody — recovered the 1916 16 hp steam engine from Kansas in 2000; a handsome and thorough restoration was completed in 2007 (see Rescuing a 1916 16 hp Avery Steam Engine from the Republican River). Later, Ted became captivated by the idea of a matching water wagon.

First he found a 1916 Avery catalog on the Internet. “Then,” he says, “as luck would have it, I saw a Standard Oil fuel tank on wooden supports on trucks with steel wheels sold during an auction at the Nowthen show.”

The buyer, who wanted only the tank, left the trucks. Ted gathered up the pile and took it home. “It just lay there, all rotted,” he says. “The information in the Avery booklet said you could just buy the tank to put on your own trucks, or you could buy one complete with Avery trucks and everything. So I thought, what chance is there of finding the bottom part with a buckboard seat and everything? That’s how the whole thing got started.”

“Just like the restoration of the 16 hp Avery, the wagon was a labor of love,” Jody admits. “It was our desire to have something we could pull through a parade with the Avery steam engine. When Ted ran across that really bad set of axles laying out at the threshing show grounds after the consignment auction, the idea of building an Avery water wagon came to life.”

One major rule

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