Canada

Your magazine is certainly a very novel article and to many of
us older engine fanciers it sure is tops. Wish it were published
each week but then such might seriously interfere with duty since
most things come to a stand-still for an hour or so when it
arrives, so please keep up the good work.

This little Waterloo engine was built in June 1917 and is of the
type commonly built for use in eastern Canada where most work was
in the belt and with machinery working in barns, most of which were
placed on high foundations with inclined driveways, so side mounted
engines were almost a necessity and much the handier to operate. It
was produced as a straw burner with the usual type straw-burner
screen-top stack but I changed it over to a coal burner as you can
see. It was sold New in 1926 at Hart Saskatchewan, and did some
threshing there for a few seasons then was taken north to Nip a win
where I found it late in 1954 after the death of the owner, brought
it home here and spent all my spare time since then, and until
exhibition time, renewing it. Displayed it together with a display
from the Western Development Museum for the enjoyment of our old
timers, this having been celebrating year for fiftieth birthday of
our province.

Serial number of this engine is 1646, cylinder is 7?x10, boiler
pressure was 165 lbs., 31? inch connecting rod, link valve gear,
with most convenient adjustment features, driving a box-type valve
of their own design. Firebox is 38x26x32 deep, forty one flues,
thirty inch barrel, triple lap joint and the whole engine is almost
like new, this due to it not being suitable for drawbar work in our
loose western soil, but as a belt engine one could not find better,
so snappy and lively. These engines have a novel adjustable exhaust
nozzle operated by a hand-wheel from outside the smoke-box, a fine
feature for change in jobs or change in fuels, four positions, and
four different diameters.

I placed the gauge on the dome beside the whistle to be more out
of the way and also welded cross angles to the bottoms of the
platform sills in order to increase the depth of the two water
tanks without increasing their over-all height, this gave it
considerable more water capacity which was needed but otherwise the
engine is renewed as issued from the factory. The lion’s head
(in relief) trade mark cast into the smoke box door is a work of
art and since this picture was taken I have applied one of their
old transfer trade mark emblems to each water tank. These really
set her off and I am sorry I was unable to apply them in time to be
included.

By this time someone may be wondering ‘what prompted him to
do that?’ Well that story began in Ontario about 1900 when a
little boy then two years old feasted on steam engines constantly
for many years, or until he left home late in ’16, and steam in
that country was well on the way out. Unfortunately steam in our
vicinity (Oakville) was the first to suffer and as there was little
to encourage a thresherman’s life in those parts, except the
love of an engine, it became necessary to look elsewhere. Steam
took me railroading of course, but not on the head end, that was
just too tough in those days for my long back, but have maintained
a close touch with steam throughout, taking a trip to see any of
the old loves whenever an opportunity presented, and always with
the thought ‘oh if she were only mine and we had WORK to
do’.

Finally that idea took, but proper, aided somewhat by the
’54 celebration at Montpelier which my wife and I enjoyed very
much and on my return the idea of trying to form a local club of
enginemen in this locality, at which to date have not had too much
success but still plenty of hope. A good friend, Wilbur Frew, of
Pense, 20 miles west, has a Case 60 and a Gaar Scott 25 double,
another friend Bernard Dale of Brier crest, 40 miles southwest, has
a lovely Case 65 (outfit complete) and recently I have acquired a
lovely Sawyer Massey 76hp. rear mount one of their latest, that
together with my little working scale model Sawyer Massey 115hp.
(one inch to the foot) gives us some hope of gathering a club
together in the future. We are all members of the Pioneer Club at
Saskatoon but that is 170 miles away and hot too convenient to
attend regularly.

When a boy I was surrounded by all makes of Canadian engines,
one or two Case 50’s, all makes of road rollers including
several British and was fortunate enough to have been permitted to
operate them all, some just for the pleasure of it … things were
different in those days . . . also was around the Sawyer Massey
plant in Hamilton a good deal and knew well many of their key men,
among whom my uncle Mark was for several years their engine tester
and finisher as they passed from the erecting to the paint shop . .
. we had experiences plenty, some of which are as vivid yet as when
they happened, e.g., hens on the buffet at dinner time . . . but
not often, other memories of hearing the decking of a bridge
cutting off as fast as the drivers would climb from breaking to a
good or better plank and the horror which went with it … or
making a very lively pass at a spot burning through your back where
a cinder had taken hold . . . this when safe to take the screen out
on the sawmill, and believe me firing with green slabs and cutting
heavy hardwood timber with a small engine was not exactly the
makings of a picnic.

Before we cut too much timber and space hereon had better bring
this to an end.

W. E. DEARING, 33 our Appell Apts., Regina, Saskatchewan

MIDWEST GROUP MEETS

On December 11th, 1956, the Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers
Association, Inc., held their yearly meeting at City Hall in Mt.
Pleasant, Iowa with about 50 persons present. They planned for
their Reunion for 1957 to be held at McMillan Park at Mt. Pleasant,
September 4-5-6-7.

At the meeting the following officers were re-elected:
President, Wm. O. Sater, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Vice President, Lyle
Burroughs, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; Secretary, Mrs. Peter Bucher,
Fairfield, Iowa; Treasurer, Milo Mathews, Mt. Union, Iowa.

‘SAGINAW VALLEY’ LIVE STEAM ASSOCIATION, INC.

5309 Susan, Flint, Michigan

Most of our members take the ALBUM and even bring it to our
meetings.

We had our second annual election of officers December 15, 1956.
Mr. J. Bullock was re-elected President; Mr. Carl Johnson
re-elected Vice President; and Mr. Seeley Randall was elected
Secretary-Treasurer.

The date for the Second Annual Convention is July 27th and 28th,
1957. The place to be determined later.

Anyone who has some sort of steam power and who is interested in
our Club, in or around Flint, please contact your truly, Orville
Estes, 1145 W. Howard Ave., Flint, Michigan, Phone SU 97448.