12025 Steven Avenue, Smithsburg, Maryland 21783
My friends and I have talked over the years about the big Frick 8 x 10 double cylinder steam engine. We have heard stories about the engines, but have never been able to find if any are still around. Here is some of what was said:
These letters come from the Frick Engine Club Bulletins
What is the truth about the Frick 8 x 10 D. C. T.?
In order to compete with the big engines in the West, Frick came out with an 8 x 10 double cylinder traction engine in 1911. This engine had 24″ drive wheels and 12″ front wheels. Some people close to the factory I have talked with claim there were six of these engines made, and all shipped to the same place in the Midwest. Searchers of the Frick records up to 1916 do not confirm these claims. I have only found the record of two engines. These two 8 x 10 DCT engines were built in 1909. Engine #13797 was shipped November 22, 1911, to Cooper Machinery Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The second engine #14009 was shipped November 19, 1913, to Dukehart Machinery, Smyrna, Nebraska, and some two years after it was built. Frick listed the 8×10 UCT in their 1911, 1912 and 1913 price lists, but did not list it in their 1914 price list. This would seem to indicate that the 8 x 10 DCT wasn’t a howling success and was dropped after these two engines were made and shipped.
From a different bulletin
Bill Strayer goes on to say that in the early fifties he met a Mr. J. D. Roberts, of McLean, Illinois, at an engine show in northwestern Ohio. During their conversation, he learned that Roberts had worked at the Frick branch in Illinois, so he asked him about the big engines. Mr. Roberts was surprised that Bill knew anything about these big engines and went on to say that he had personally unloaded four of these big engines from rail cars at the Illinois branch. Mr. Roberts further said that the freight cost from Pennsylvania to the west kept Frick from being competitive with the western made engines.
Mr. W. J. Eshleman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, writes that he spoke with Mr. F. O. Rebok of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, on the morning of March 24, 1982, about these big engines. Mr. Rebok remembers these two 8 x 10 DCT being built and shipped essentially as stated in the March issue of the Bulletin Board. Mr. Rebok said that he had heard the rumors of the six engines many times, but that it was false and that only two 8×10 DCT engines were built and shipped.
From another bulletin
Another nice letter from W. J. Eshelman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania about the big Frick 8 x 10 double cylinder engines that we discussed last fall here in the bulletin. Mr. Eshelman talked again with Mr. F. O. Rebok, who spent 50 years with the Frick Company, and Mr. Rebok recalls, in addition to the two big doubles shipped out west were six big doubles with fast road gearing and six log wagons shipped to Honduras, Central America, in 1914 on a hush, hush deal. Mr. Rebok doesn’t recall the reason for the secrecy. This may account for the six engines in question. There is nothing that shows this in the Frick records.
From another different bulletin
Have a nice letter from Danny Black of Canden Point, Missouri, asking about the Frick 8 x 10 double cylinder engines. Some of you will remember we had an interesting discussion of these big engines in bulletins #10, 11 & 15. In summary, a search of the records shows only two of these 8 x 10 DCT engines. Engine #13797 shipped on November 22, 1911, to Cooper Machinery, St. Louis, Missouri and engine #14009 was shipped on November 19, 1913 to Dukehart Machinery, Smyrna, Nebraska.
Mr. F. O. Rebok, who spent 50 years with the Frick Company recalled in 1983 that in addition to the two big engines shipped out west, there were six big engines with fast road gearing with six log wagons shipped to Honduras, Central America, in 1914 on a hush, hush deal. Mr. Rebok didn’t recall the reason for the secrecy or why they don’t show up in the Frick records. Mr. Rebok is now deceased as well as the other Frick employees of that period, so we may never know the whole story about these big engines.
From my study of the records, I conclude that there could very well be some confusion between the 8 x 10 DCT and the 7 x 10 DCT. There were many 7×10 DCT engines built. In fact, the records reflect that the first double cylinder engine was a 7 x 10 DCT engine #12450 and shipped to Kansas City, Missouri.
In the reprint of the 1912 Frick catalogue it has the 8 x 10 double cylinder engine specifications and the ones for the 7 x 10 DCT.
As you will see, the boiler for the 8×10 DCT is larger than the 7 x 10 DCT:
SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE 8X10 DCT
Boiler waist diameter – 38 inches
Fire box-length 48 inches, width 32 inches, height 48 inches,
Tubes – seventy-three 2 inch, 89 inches long.
Heating surface – 356 square feet.
Grate surface – 10.7 square feet.
Working steam pressure – 160 pounds
Water carrying capacity of tank – 311 gallons.
Diameter countershaft – 4-3/8 inches.
Diameter driving axle – 5-1/2 inches.
Depth channel beams – 8 inches.
Flywheel – 40-inch diameter, 12 inch face, and 230 revolutions.
Front wheels – 48 inch diameter, 12 inch face.
Traction wheels – 77 inch diameter, 24 inch face.
Extreme width of engine – 10 feet.
Distance between axles – 13 feet.
Approximate weight – 28,000 pounds.
SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE 7X10 DCT
Boiler waist diameter – 30-1/2 inches.
Firebox length 44 inches, width 25 inches, Height 38 inches.
Tubes – fifty 2 inch, 83 inches long.
Heating surface – 215 square feet.
Grate surface – 7.6 square feet.
Working steam pressure 135 pounds.
Water carrying capacity of axle tank – 130 gallons.
Diameter of counter shaft – 3-3/4 inches.
Diameter driving axle – 5-1/4 inches.
Depth channel beam – 7 inches.
Flywheel – 40 inches diameter, 10 inch face, 250 revolutions.
Front wheels – 41 inches diameter, 10 inch face.
Traction wheels – 70 inches diameter, 18 inch face.
Extreme width of engine – 8 feet 6 inches.
Distance between axles – 10 feet 6 inches.
Approximate weight – 20,000 pounds.
As you see by the specifications of the engines, the 8×10 DCT is 8,000 pounds larger than the 7 x 10 DCT. The one thing that sticks out about the 8×10 DCT is the water tank that is mounted on the rear of the engine. It looks much like the tank that the Reeves Company used on theirs. I have not seen any pictures of any Frick engine that has the water tank mounted on the rear.
I was told there was a man who saw an 8 x 10 DCT engine in Texas. I don’t know how long ago that was.
If anybody knows anything about whatever happened to the two 8 x 10 DCT engines, please let me know, or if anybody has any pictures or drawings of this engine, I would like to have a copy.
