Rushton Oil Engine

[ETOBICOKE]

Was at the Milton Steam Era show this weekend and took some photos of this large Rushton and Hornsby oil engine. It uses kerosene for fuel but has a spark ignition. The engine was made in England in 1927 and originaly installed in a waterworks in Kitchener Ontario and ran a 375 kva generator. Four cylinders, 20" bore x 28" stroke, thats 27135 cubic inches. Rated at 450 horsepower at 400 rpm and can run a 10% overload every other hour. Some of the main features are: high pressure fuel atomization, water cooled exhaust valves and pressure lubrication for the main and rod bearings. The engine was aquired by Walter Deadman, a Rushton collector, in the early 80's. Walter specialy constructed this trailer in order to transport and display this engine in running condition. The trailer that walter built for it is amazing, as you can see from the photos it has built in jacks to lift it, this is to clear the flywheel (it hangs bellow the trailer) which is disconnected and raised for transport. The exhaust also has to be removed from the top of the engine in order to lower the canopy, their is a hydralic crane on the fron of the gooseneck for this purpose, and the canopy is also raised hydralicly.

The trailer also has abuilt in hydralic power pack and air compressor.

In previous years engine cooling was via a large radiator with an electric fan was mounted at the rear of the trailer, this has been changed to the water tank that is in place now.



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Now after counting all the axles, how much does it weigh? The weight is given as 1431 cwts (hundredweight) thats 80 tons.

This is Walter's largest Rushton, the other one he brought is still overwidth but not nearly as heavy.



Neil

 

[R.E. Miller]

Nice pictures, bet that thing sounded sweet!

 

[dodger22]

Nice pictures Etobicoke, I saw the same machine at a plowing match in Ayr about 3 years ago. I'm just down the road from you eh?

 

[Woodenhead]

Nice pics. I'm pretty sure I saw the same engine at the steam show in Paris about 4-5 yrs ago. Ever go?

 

[adiabatic]

Actually that's 35186 cubic inches, truly amazing.

 

[ETOBICOKE]

Walter hauls his engines all over Ontario. His first large engine was set up on a standard size trailer, When he got this one, he had a hard time finding a suitable truck to pull it with at a reasonable price. First truck he used was geared low,it came from a steel mill, top speed 37mph, so hence he didn't travel too far. The truck he has now is better suited to traveling longer distances. His other big engine has a camper built into the front of the trailer, thats why he usualy brings both of them. Unfortunately they were parked so close together that I couldn't get very good photos of it.



Neil

 

[Doc Tinker]

Wow - nice pictures and an amazing display.



Doc

 

[ETOBICOKE]

Glad you like the photos of the Rushton engine, the Steam Era show is run on Labour day weekend at Milton Ontario. Milton is about 20 minutes west of Tornoto just off highway 401, get off at hwy25 and follow the signs.

Hey does anyone like steam engines? 16 steam tractors at this show this year, all in working condition, can post pictures if you like. Don't have pictures of every one of them but have pictures of a few under steam. Steam era usualy has tractor pulls, for stock class tractors. Few years back a fella did an exibition pull with one of the big steam tractors, beat everthing in the 10000lb class. Amazing since the largest steam tractors are usualy rated at 75-85 hp, and have a fixed drive ratio. Another interesting tractor is a Lanz Bulldog, have seen them in two sizes 6000 and 8000 lb. They have a 500 cubic inch single cylider diesel engine. The cylinder runs front to back, at idle the tractor rolls back and forth a few inches . Talk about pulling power, they put them in the next heavier weight class, and still they out pull everything. Had wanted to post a picture of one, but none were at the show this year. Posting a link bellow for a large steam pump house built in 1859, unfortunately the boilers were removed in the 60's, but the engines are intact, wish they had better pictures on their site, these engines are huge!



Woolf Compound Engine, Hamilton Ontario:

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/hamilton/pump.htm

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/hamilton/steam.htm

Neil

 

[Doc Tinker]

Yes, I really like steam engines and any other old engine. I've been to the Hamilton show. It's been a few years though. Next summer, my family (parents, siblings and kids) will be having the annual family gathering near Buckley, Michigan for their 35th annual Steam Show. I think a lot of the tractors and engines that show in Hamilton show in Buckley too.



Doc

 

[Woodenhead]

There's a show this weekend in Blyth (sp?). A guy I work with, his brothers will have have a few old JD's and and maybe their crawlers. I'm gonna go on Sun. and check it out. The only other steam show I've been to was in Paris (probably a small one), and I loved it. I'm also interested in old engines, especially the big ones. In college on a co-op term I got to work rebuilding an old Mirlees V-12 diesel, 3600 hp @ 450 RPM, 12" bore not sure about the stroke. It was coupled to a 2000K GE generator. Apparently these m/c's used to operate where the Sky Dome in Toronto is now. Have pics and if I can get em scanned I'll post them.



Mike

 

[ETOBICOKE]

Photos

Hey Mike I have a scanner and can scan your photos for you, while you wait, and drop them on a disk. I should be fairly close to you, I'm near 401/427 area, send me an email. Looked up the Blyth show, couldn't get much information, but it looks to be 3+ hour drive to get there.

Doc good to see that you have Been to Hamilton,big live steam area almost year round, now that the model railway people have a track set up there. Hope you also visited The Canadian Warplane Heritage when you were in Hamilton. It always amazes me how far away some of the live steam enthusiests will display their engines, must cost a fortune just to transport them. For many of these people the whole family is involved, the waterloo engine bellow was being operated by a mother daughter team delivering the wood (fuel) for the other engines on a trailer.

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Small "Waterloo" Engine ,

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[Deezul1]

Thanks for the great pics, I love those old tractors and engines. Wish there was a Steam show around central Texas.

 

[Doc Tinker]

At the Buckley, MI show, they had a dyno that hooked to the tractors via the belt drive pulley. It had a dial w/sweeping hand and you could watch the hand rotate to show how much power was put out. I was amazed at how exciting it was to watch each tractor as they put out double digit horse-power readings



Some of the steam tractors move so sloooowwww.But the ground shook and you could feel the power vibrating through your body.



I think what really makes these tractors so attractive, is the danger that seems to radiate from them. Those long leather belts whipping through the pulleys, rocking the machinery that they power. The knowledge that there's a huge tank of steam, under pressure, just looking for a weak joint. The primative steering systems, that sometimes requires two men to turn the wheels. The steel, spiked and spoked wheels churning the ground.



When I was at Hamilton, they had a huge tractor that pulled a giant plow. If I remember right, there were several men standing on the plow, manually raising and lowering the blades.



I'd rather go to one of these shows than to a Winston Cup Race.



Doc

 

[Woodenhead]

Neil, thanks for the offer, I'll send you an e-mail. I'm around the 403/Winston Churchhille area. I figure Blyth'l take about 2 hrs (not far from Goderich), should make a nice sunday tour with the lady in the cummins. I found a little bit about it here http://www.mestern.net/pm/blyth.html.



Here's a couple pics a friend scanned for me a while ago of a piston from Mirlees I spoke of above.

 

[Woodenhead]

I guess these are a little off of the steam topic, and gettin back to diesel, sorry.