In the May/June 1982 issue of I.M.A., page 7, we featured a
picture of Dave Dearborn on the Kitten engine he once owned. Dave
has written to tell us more about the Kitten and where it has gone
since he sold it:
‘The best we can figure, the Kitten was built in 1910 and is
a 24 HP. I bought it from Al Corp in Chippewa Lake, Ohio in 1975 or
the steam and water lines. Did some major repairs on the running
ear, such as rebushed loose pins and replaced pins and spider gears
of the differential. Put a new paint job on her, then built a new
canopy. All this was done over a period of years.
‘It was shown here in New Hampshire at our Granite State Gas
and Steam Association meets and it won first place several times in
our local Old Home Day parades. Steam traction
engines are not very common in this part of the country because
many farms were small and hilly and horses were more practical. Our
Kitten was the only restored working traction engine in New
Hampshire and the neighboring states (that we know of). She made
quite a stir roundabouts.
‘The present owner of the Kitten is Edaville Railroad in
South Carver, Massachusetts. They plan to use it as a working
exhibit at their railroad and museum. It was traded in the autumn
of ’81 for an unrestored Frick traction engine. We still have a
great many photographs and happy memories of the fun we had,
‘Playing with the Kitten”.
