Suite 101 10 Edmonton Street Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
About two year’s ago, through the kindness of Mr. C. Syd
Matthews, founder of the Reeves Historical Society of America, P.
O. Box 1300 Meaford, Ontario, and who has recently been seriously
ill, two photos of a 32 hp. double simple Reeves engine and some
particulars regarding same, came into my possession. I believe
these originated by James W. Chandler of Frankfort, Indiana and
relate to 32 Reeves E/B No. 8091 in a sawmill fire September 29,
1947 near Kokomo, Indiana.
There are so many variations from the usual Reeves engine that I
considered it should be written up, with the thought that just
maybe there could be a few men still in a position to fill in some
of blank spaces and I particularly have in mind somebody who may
have had part in their design or on the erecting floor, etc., etc.
Let’s hope we find some person who has all the information, and
furthermore who will please have it placed on record for future
use.
Now this brings up one important thing again. Such information
should be recorded just as soon as it has been gathered together
because it is unbelievable how soon these things pass to oblivion.
As for example I found a nice Reeves a few years ago which had been
used on a sawmill back in the dirty thirties, a 1904 or 1905
engine, number stolen, but there is no living person who has the
least idea of anything pertaining to that engine’s history,
just a few short years and no memories whatever by any person.
Such information would be most interesting to the readers of the
Iron Men and it could also be filed for reference by the
Society.
Re engine 8091. The boiler appears to conform to the usual
Reeves specifications but is reported to have had one half inch
shell and to have been stamped 210 WSP Max. (working steam
pressure) The axles were mounted in the usual locations with the
usual Reeves wheels but note the side mounted water tanks were
rectangular and not oval. One injector at the platform and one
British type eccentric-driven-from-a-spur-gear off the crankshaft
water pump supplied the boiler, the water pump feeding through the
usual exhaust manifold as other Reeves engines. There is no
similarity whatever with the levers as illustrated to the usual
Reeves levers.
The two engine frames are wide apart. The governors, the springs
of which were destroyed in the fire and sagged, are down between
the two cylinders and it is impossible to trace the manifold
connections either to or from both engines, but the feed water
heater while appearing similar to the Reeves usual style is located
to the rear several inches. It is impossible to know what type of
valve gear was applied to this engine as it is all inside between
the frames and the motion brought outside on rocker shafts and arms
to the valve spindles.
This engine was placed a few inches farther ahead on the boiler
than the usual Reeves engine, hence there must have been an idler
gear which does not appear in the pictures, but there is an
expanding flywheel clutch. Now who ever heard of one such on a
Reeves? What a pity this engine was destroyed. Even if badly
damaged by the fire, which it may not have been, it would have been
a most interesting specimen. Does anybody know of one similar?
