R.D. #2 West Winfield, New York 13491.
During the years when steam power was the driving force on the
American farm, a large percentage of the portable and traction
steam engine manufacturers in the United States were located in the
state of New York. I have no concrete information on which to
speculate why so many different engines were made in New York state
and agriculture.
Some of these engine builders such as Buffalo-Pitts and
Westinghouse were made in fairly large quantities and were
distributed over a large area. These remain well known to
collectors and enthusiasts today. The great majority of these
manufacturers however, were small-scale operations and only sold in
their own particular localities. These makes are almost unknown to
most collectors today. Some of these engines were produced by small
town foundries which were operated only to serve local needs. They
also may have lacked the facilities and financial base to produce
such a costly machine.
Many of these engines were undoubtedly seen by their makers as
the beginnings of a large and successful manufactory. However the
only company which I have thus far discovered that made steam
engines, and is still in business, is the Ames Iron works of
Oswego, N.Y. This company, incidentally is still producing steam
boilers, although, not the type with which we are dealing here.
In retrospect it seems to be a very large undertaking to
manufacture a portable or traction steam engine. It would seem to
me to be as huge a task to make one of this type engine using the
tools and technology of lets say the period 1860-1880 when many of
these small companies started business. Bending the thick iron
sheets into useable shapes for building boilers and wheels, for
instance, would require either heavy machinery or perhaps, in some
cases, heavy manual labor. The large and heavy engine and gear
castings would require the use of heavy, large lathes and boring
mills to shape the rough castings into a precision part. If today a
complete restoration of a rough and incomplete steamer seems to be
a task indeed for even a well equipped shop, imagine building
one!
An odd fact has emerged while compiling information on steam
engines made in New York state. While a large percentage of the
steam manufacturers were located in the state, a glance at a list
of one cylinder gas engine manufacturers reveals that the situation
is almost entirely reversed! Very few of the total were produced in
this state. Also it doesn’t appear that any of the steam engine
makers made the switch to gas engines when the trend to gas power
cut into the market for steam engines.
Ames Ames Iron Works
Oswego
Annis Annis Iron Works
Cherry Creek
Birdsall
Penn Yann, Auburn & Newark
Buffalo Pitts
Buffalo
Robert George
New Lisbon
Groton
Groton
The Ithaca Williams Bros.
Ithaca
Lang & Button
Ithaca
Mills Fishkill Landing Mach. Co.
Fishkill
Minard Harder Empire Agrl. Works
Cobleskill
Oneida Oneida Iron Works
Oneida
Payne
Elmira
Porter Porter Mfg. Co.
Syracuse
Ryan & McDonald
Waterloo
Ryther & Pringle
Carthage
Sheridan
Champlain
Starbuck Bros.
Troy
Steam Engine Co.
N.Y.C.
St. Johnsville
St. Johnsville
A. W. Stevens
Auburn
L. Sweet
Wellsville
The Utica
Utica
Washingtonville Iron Works
Utica
Watertown
Watertown
Westinghouse
Schenectady
Weston
Painted Post
Wheeler & Melick
Albany
Whitman & Burrell
Little Falls
Wide Awake J. O. Spencer & Co.
Waterloo
S. W. Wood
Clyde
Wood & Mann
Utica
Wood, Tabor & Morse
Eaton
As I have had an interest in collecting and restoring old steam
engines for many years I have heard of a great many different
makes. Naturally, I have been particularly interested in those
which were made in this part of the country. The following is a
list of these engines. Some of them I have actually seen while
others I have seen printed reference to only. At one time I owned a
Birdsall traction, and currently own a S. W. Wood traction and a
Robert George portable.
There is of course, a good possibility that a few of the engines
in the preceeding list may never have actually been produced. An
example of this would be the Minard Harder engine. While I have
seen printed reference to this engine, my late father-in-law did a
thorough study of this company. Over a period of years, he never
saw anyone who had ever seen one or heard of one, even in the town
where it was supposedly made. Another area of confusion exists with
the ‘Wide Awake’ engine and the Ryan & McDonald engine.
Printed references to these engines give the address as the same
street and building in the little town of Waterloo.
I realize that this listing is not complete and certainly must
contain errors. I hope that those of you reading this who may have
owned or seen engines that would be added to this list will contact
me so that I may add to and correct the list for publication in a
future issue of the IMA. Also if there seems to be enough interest
I would consider compiling a roster of New York state engines for
the purpose of acquainting engine owners with other owners of the
same make engine. In this way perhaps some important information
could be exchanged between enthusiasts who share common interests
in certain makes of steam engines. Please contact me at the above
address or phone 315-822-5835. Thank you
