Two Years of Spare Time Became a Little Traction Engine

1125 Brookline Avenue Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54703.

This is a picture of a little traction engine that took two
years of spare time to make and was completed in 1991. The frame is
made of angle iron bent and welded. The wheels are off a horse
drawn manure spreader. I don’t know what make it was but would
like to find another one just like it. The fenders are made of 10
gauge sheet iron and rolled in an old stove pipe roller. The water
tank is an expansion from a hot water heating system and the water
gauge on the side takes the guess work out of how much water’s
in the tank. The steering box is from an old Ford truck and I
fabricated the drag link. The steering wheel is from a Case
separator.

The engine itself is quite interesting, in that is has a
variable cutoff governor mounted in the flywheel. I haven’t
seen another factory made engine that small with that type governor
before. I think it was made by a company named Payne.

A friend used it to power his shop by line shaft and flat belts.
I got it at his estate sale. It has a 2 x 3 bore and stroke and 2-3
HP.

Because the governor is in the flywheel, the engine can’t be
reversed. A transaxle from a garden tractor solved that problem. It
does about 2 HP in high, which is fast enough, since it was built
with the kid in mind.

The boiler is 18′ around and 32′ high without the
firebox and carries 125 lbs. It’s Wisconsin certified, and from
a cold start to full head of steam, it only takes 45 minutes
without crowding the fire. The whole thing fits nicely in a
standard pickup box, which makes hauling quite nice.