October 2014 The Swan Story By Paul Harvey
While searching for a
topic for my October Flywheel
article, my mind drifted to two of the museum's most unique engines, the
Swan and the
Nelson Swan was a
Swedish immigrant who married Esther Sander from
In 1902, he patented a
gas engine and a starting device for the engine and assigned the patents
to the John W. Swan Co. J.O.
Hover was president and Swan was general manager.
The company changed its name to the Lima Gas Engine Company in
1905, and Swan was no longer associated with it. His tenure as a gas engine designer and manufacturer only lasted
about three or four years. He is also
credited with two oil well pump jack patents; one in 1900 and one in
1905. One reference mentions that
Swan, after leaving the gas engines, joined with a Mr. Owen and a Mr.
Palmer to form the Lima Motor Car Company.
For a short time, the firm sold Peerless and Velie automobiles.
However, Swan's time in
The 1910
U.S. Census lists John and
The Foundry,
January 1913, states that the
Swan Carburetor Company was incorporated in
The 1920
U.S. Census shows that
the Swans were living in
Photo 1
is John Swan's first gas engine patent,
750,318,
applied for in 1902 and granted in 1904.
It is his "starting device" which is a compression release with a
novel return. By turning a knob
on the exhaust cam cluster, a finger or cam is advanced into play
opposite the exhaust cam. This
additional cam "bumps" the exhaust valve open on the compression stroke
to relieve some pressure, hence making starting easier.
As the engine picks up speed, the knob is held by hand, and the
starting cam recedes out of play by a screw thread on the exhaust cam.
The museum's Swan engine does not have this feature but the
Swan's second
carburetor patent, number
1,260,594, was applied for in
1904 and granted in 1918, when he was living in
John Wilcox and I made
a snowy venture into the oil fields of
western Next summer, my wife, Marilyn, and I made the journey to retrieve the engine. Photo 6 shows Marilyn and I starting the disassembly of the outboard bearing and clutch. Unfortunately, due to weight, we were forced to leave these items behind. Photo 7 shows the engine ready to pull up the planks onto the trailer with the hand come-along. This is the way I moved engines in the early days! Photo 8 depicts a job well done. As I make one last check of the load and trailer, Photo 9, I wondered a bit about the Scout and the big load. But the trip home was safe and uneventful and now the Swan is in Coolspring.
The Swan sat outside
at home for many years, just being a good conversation piece, before
being restored and placed into operation.
Presently, it resides in the
Photo 14
shows a 5 horsepower Swan engine, the only other
one in existence to my knowledge, as displayed in the
And so the Swan story
concludes with
Photo 16. Next month
the article will continue with the The museum's 2014 season will soon end with our big Fall Show and Swap Meet on October 16, 17, and 18. Please try to attend. Many of our engines will be running, and we will also have guest exhibitors, a flea market, and plenty of good food. Special off season tours can be arranged by contacting the museum. Please see our website at www.coolspringpowermuseum.org or call 814-849-6883. See you then! |
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Photo 1: U.S. patent 750,318 for a starting device |
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Photo 2: U.S. patent 771,028 for a gas engine |
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Photo 3: U.S. patent 1,260,594 for a carburetor |
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Photo 4: Swan carburetor for Fords |
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Photo 5: The 25 hp Swan as found near Pennville, Indiana |
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Photo 6: Disassembling the outboard bearing and clutch |
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Photo 7: Ready to load the engine |
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Photo 8: A job well done! |
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Photo 9: One last check before departure |
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Photo 10: The 25 hp Swan now in the Harvey Expo Building |
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Photo 11: Detail of Swan cylinder |
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Photo 12: Evidence of Swan's patented expansion chamber |
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Photo 13: Detail of the head and valve chests |
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Photo 14: 5 hp Swan engine |
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Photo 15: Compression release on the 5 hp engine |
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Photo 16: Grave marker for John W. Swan |
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