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Relive the Days When
Stationary Steam Engines Powered Industry in Connecticut Antique
Machinery Association's Industrial Hall
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Greene Engine Valves
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The Industrial Hall at CAMA houses
the largest permanent collection of full sized operating steam engines
in the State of Connecticut. During our Fall Festival and our
Spring Steam-up/Gas-up, we fire up our 200 hp York-Shipley boiler, get
up a head of steam and put our steam engines to work. If you've never
seen or heard the quiet power and majesty of an immense 12 foot
flywheel in rotatory motion,
then a visit to CAMA during one of our steam-ups is a must-do
experience.
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Noble T. Greene Steam Engine
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The grand-daddy of our collection is the Noble
T. Greene steam engine. It is thought that the Greene
engine was built under license by the Pacific Ironworks on Arctic St.
in Bridgeport, CT at the turn of the century and shipped by rail.
The engine was installed in the then-brand-new Tiffany & Pickett
Company wood
products mill in Winsted, CT in 1904. This engine sports a 12'
flywheel
and generates 150 hp at 80 rpm. The Greene Engine was the sole
power
source for the Tiffany & Pickett mill running all of the powered
tools
in the mill through a system of overhead line shafts, pulleys and
connecting
belts.
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Skinner Universal Unaflow
Engine
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Another steam engine of note is
the Skinner Universal Unaflow.
This steam
engine, built in 1939, is our "newest" engine and saw service in the
Rocky
Hill Veteran's Hospital until it was taken out of service in 1994. The
Skinner
engine generates 200 hp and is connected to a large 2300 volt AC
generator.
The Skinner engine incorporated the latest in reciprocating
steam
engine technology of it's day and was extremely efficient, but it still
couldn't
compete with the convenience of internal combustion.
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Conrad Milster oiling the
Greene Engine
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Other steam engines in our
collection include a 1910 Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon
cross compound engine and a 1910 GE marine-style vertical engine
coupled
to a DC generator, both used in the Scovill Brass Foundry in Waterbury,
CT. Our oldest engine in the collection is an early 35 HP engine
from
the mid-1870's used in a sawmill in Ledyard, CT. Our latest steam
acquisition is the impressive Charles H. Brown engine. This
engine
was bolted to it's footing in 2002, and has a 14' flywheel. It
will
be our largest operating engine when restored and will be the premiere
exhibit
in our Industrial Hall expansion, which began construction in May of
2004.
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