908 Chestnut St., Grand Forks, North Dakota
Having seen a lot of traction engine boilers in my day, I am
going to write about some of those I’ve seen about thirty some
years ago that were junked at a junk yard not far from where I
live. One of the first I looked at and examined was a Minneapolis,
about 25 HP. The boiler barrel was cut off close to the fire box
taken care of and was in good shape. It was not very old, only
about 7 or 8 years and it was clean. The stay bolts were in good
condition, lime coated and no rust on them. The threads were in
good condition.
The next one I looked at and examined was an old style Buffalo
Pitts direct flue built shortly after the company quit building
return flue boilers. It had the water bottom fire box. This boiler
had been well taken care of as it was in splendid shape. It had
been kept clean and the stay bolts were slightly coated with lime,
also the sides of sheets. The flues had been in a long time and
were very thin. They would dent easily from the blow of the hammer.
The steel from which this boiler was made was not very heavy as it
was not built for more than 125 PSI to 135 PSI.
Some time later I had a chance to examine another Minneapolis.
This was a double cylinder and one of the first doubles the
Minneapolis built. It was not a very heavy boiler and I would guess
about 30 HP. It had not been very well taken care of in the last
few years that it was used as it was full of mud and scale in the
bottom of the fire box. It was so baked in with scale and lime
around the flues in the firebox end that you had to hammer it hard
to break it off. The bottom of the fire box was so baked with mud
and lime you couldn’t drive a rod into it. This boiler, as far
as I could see,, was built for about 135 PSI.
Not far away was another boiler which was a J. I. Case of about
20 HP. It surely had been misused. The fire box was cut apart in
several pieces and showed neglect. The lower part of the water leg
just above the grate line was full of mud and scale and was baked
in hard. How the boiler worked is hard to understand as it must
have been foaming all the time as these boilers have so little room
for mud and silt. The crown sheet had a blister up near the flue
end and that was so thin that it dented with just a light blow from
my hammer. It was heavily coated with scale and lime and mud.
Whether the soft plug was bare or not I couldn’t see but it was
clear so it could still be good. This boiler seemed to be quite old
and could have been in poor hands in its later years.
In the case of a blister in the boiler sheet anywhere in a
boiler, it is best to cut it out and examine the sheet, its
thickness and how badly it is eaten away by the water and scale.
Stay bolts should be checked the same way. They can be patched up
again with electric welding. When a man sees what his boiler looks
like inside, where the steam pressure is, he is better able to
judge what his boiler is good for.
Another boiler I spotted close by was a Minnesota Chief built at
Still-water, Minnesota. It was quite old but in good condition. I
checked the dimensions and have them. It was a twelve
horsepower.
‘And just when did you realize that your wife was no longer
in love with you?’
‘When she began wrapping my lunches in road maps.’
