February 2011
The 80 Horsepower Bessemer Project
By Paul Harvey
This month I would like to tell the reader of an amazing project that the museum accomplished, and all within a year’s time. This feat was made possible by the ambitious and untiring work of so many of our volunteers, as well as the generosity of two individuals. The project included the disassembly of a vintage building, the moving of 30+ tons of machinery, and the re-erection of all at the Coolspring Power Museum. Final details will be completed this spring and it will be operating by summer.
During the autumn of 2009 while exploring some of the old oil fields south of Kane, PA, we found the air plant that the late Paul “Skip” McKenna operated still existed and was intact. The big 80 hp Bessemer engine-compressor was still there and looked as if it just shut down yesterday! I remembered knowing Skip and had seen him operate the engine to pump oil in the early 1980s but had expected the installation to be long gone. But it was still there and complete to every detail so we thought that the entire installation could be moved to the museum and operate again for all to see and enjoy. After some inquiry, we found that it was owned by Mrs. Helen McKenna and Mark Batista and with some discussion, they readily agreed to donate it all to the museum provided we clean up the site. The project began!
At this time, I would like to give some history of the site and description of its use. During the 1880s, the area south of Kane and near James City was a rich oil field with many wells closely spaced. These wells were drilled with steam engines and then the same engines were used to pump the oil from the ground. During that time, a central boiler was set up with pipes running to about one dozen wells each. After the turn of the twentieth century, the oil production decreased and it was no longer feasible to operate a big boiler. An alternative had to be found and this was the air plant. This plan was quite common in northwestern Pennsylvania and had a gas engine to drive an air compressor and used the pressurized air to replace the steam. So all the old steam engines still operated the wells with a central gas engine air plant supplying the power. A new era of oil production was born with this innovation.
At the McKenna site, we found remnants of the foundation of an earlier gas engine and compressor but could not determine what it was. The 80 hp Bessemer, a Type X ("Type Ten"), was installed in 1925 and was state of the art at that time. It must have been quite expensive as well as difficult to move to such a remote area. The Bessemer was a combination unit having the engine and compressor cylinders opposed on one common frame with the crank shaft and single 7 foot flywheel in the center. It served well for the next 60 years and is still in like new condition. We were also able to save the last six steam engines and they will again be operated from the air of the Bessemer.
Photo 1 shows the air plant completely intact in its pastoral setting as we found it in November, 2009. As we entered the building, it was a trip back into time with everything in place and ready for the next run. There was still oil in the oil cans ready to lube the engine. After securing the donation, we removed some of the small parts, and although anxious to start the project, decided it was best to leave all locked up for the coming winter and begin in the spring. Now we had time to choose a site at the museum for its new home as well as plan the details of how this big project would be done.
With our relocation site chosen in a wooded area on high ground at the museum, we began to clear the area of trees and brush. Photo 2, taken in April 2010 shows Chris Austin on the 1952 D8 Cat pulling out tree stumps. It was pleasant to hear our old tractor work a bit! Soon after Mark Himes brought his Case backhoe and trucked in a borrowed excavator so we had a big hole in the ground in short order. Photo 3 from May, 2010 shows the foundation for the engine being formed and readied for concrete.
Museum member, Ben Egloff from Albion, NY headed the project and spent
every weekend in Coolspring from April thru November.
While the site was being prepared, he disassembled everything at
the Kane location and oversaw loading it onto our trucks.
Photo 4 shows Ken Uplinger on the forklift and Chris Austin
directing as one half of the flywheel is unloaded.
Then, in June 2010 as shown on Photo 5, the main frame of
Photo 6 takes us to August, 2010 when the engine was placed on the foundation and grouted in place. The project was now taking shape and we were all enthused to see completion before snowfall. In September, 2010 Photo 7 shows Pat Colby using a shovel as the pit is filled in. Note the engine is more complete and the flywheel is in place. Next came the re-erection of the building. The roof had to be dismantled but the four walls were brought home in entire sections and we were able to use our crane to set them into place. Finally, Photo 8 shows a smiling Ben as the installation is essentially complete by the time of the fall engine show.
Before any snowfall, the building was completed with all doors and windows in place and secured until the final details can be completed this spring. The museum thanks all those who have worked to hard to make this project possible. It will be here for all to enjoy and to interpret as an important part of oil field heritage.
For more information about Coolspring Power Museum, please call 814-849-6883.
Photo 1: The air plant as found
Photo 2: Pulling stumps with the Cat D8
Photo 3: The Engine foundation under construction
Photo 5: The main frame arrives
Photo 6: The engine in place on the foundation
Photo 7: Foundation walls complete
Photo 8: Reconstructed building nearly complete