R. D. 1, Cairo, Illinois
I am a long time threshing machine man, I was 14 years old when
I started operating machines for my father. I have never been able
to get them out of my blood so I decided to build a scale Model of
a Keck-Gonnerman engine. I made the boiler out of a 10-12 inch old
well casing. Five feet long (82 in. overall). It is 51 inches high,
holds 12 gallon of water and the side tanks hold 6 gallons each.
The boiler has two flues made of automobile drive shaft tubing. The
firebox is 18 inches long by 7 inches wide. I carry 55 to 60 pounds
pressure. The boiler is fed with a Penberthy injector one-half inch
in size. Coal bunkers carry 25 lbs. of coal.
The rear wheels are 6:00×16 auto wheels mounted on front axle
spin dies. The front wheels are 4:00×8. The engine is steered by a
worm gear welded to the firebox and a chain connects the front axle
in the conventional manner.
The engine has a 2 inch bore by 4 inch stroke. The crankshaft is
in. xl4 in. long. The engine has stack blower, exhaust in stack. It
is pulled with a chain and a V belt which is run by a cone clutch.
It has an eccentric slide valve, a steam lubricator, inch safety
valve and everything works perfectly.
My son Don Verble, who is seven years of age, is the engineer of
this ‘Baby Keck’, and enjoys it very much.
