Gear Heads
COOLSPRING, Jefferson County — The village of Coolspring equates to a cluster of homes and a general store. A charming throwback to earlier times, the store doubles as the post office for the 40-some community residents who get their mail "in town."
On designated days throughout the year, Coolspring welcomes a second community: Collectors of antique engines converge to display their mechanical treasures.
Visitors year-round also can view permanent and semi-permanent exhibits at the Coolspring Power Museum. Founded in 1985, the museum has about 20 buildings on 40 acres.
Although the regular collection includes about 250 stationary internal-combustion engines dating to the 1800s, the museum hosts two special exhibits a year in which the collectors arrive with temporary displays.The next such event, "Those Magnificent Butler County Engines," is set for June 14 to 16."We always try to feature different engines, a different group of interest," said Dr. Paul Harvey, whose childhood home evolved into the museum as his personal collection grew.The son of a mechanic, Harvey acquired his first engine as a sophomore in high school in 1958. His passion continued through college and medical school.Now an emergency room physician in nearby Brookville, Harvey shares that passion with fellow collectors, some now members of the nonprofit museum's board.Harvey said about a third of the collection of antique engines came from oil fields in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia — many of them abandoned in the 1960s.Butler manufacturers included Etna, Ball, Braden, Evans, Wise, Palm, Spans, Walter-Campbell and T.W. Phillips, with Price Brothers, J.P. Berry and Pugh and Tinsman based nearby."Ball was probably the largest builder in Butler," he said. "Evans was one of the major players," he added. "He probably built the most dependable engines of the nine."Harvey counts 16 Butler-built engines in the permanent exhibit. Those include a George Palm convertible engine — or one that could run on steam or natural gas — used for pumping oil."It's an extremely unique engine, and the only one of it's kind so far," Harvey said — explaining that collectors continue to bring rare items to each of the expos.The museum's Butler engines also include a 15-horsepower Wise and a unique old-style Evans once used in the Allegheny Arsenal, now the site of Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville.With 400 exhibitors expected to set up, Harvey said many more items in the show will have originated in Butler.Although various food and engine-related products also will be sold, collectors count information among the show's commodities."The largest mass of knowledge will be on these grounds in June and October,"said Preston Foster of Warren, Ohio, a museum board member and volunteer."Most people don't realize it, but you come here in a month, and there are going to be people from all over the world," he said.
Foster was among a group of about 20 who gathered in mid-May to prepare for the upcoming show. He was recently doing maintenance in the Susong building, named for the late Calvin Susong, who owned the collection housed in the structure.Looking at one of the machines, Foster said, "This happens to be my personal favorite." He was referring to a 2 horsepower vintage 1885 slide-valve Otto, built in Philadelphia from original patents."It's a prime mover. It supplied power to something that would have otherwise been powered by man, steam or dogs," Foster said, speculating the engine was used in a print shop.Dogs and their handlers were commonly hired to produce power before technology evolved, he noted.Nearby, a Sombart noncompressing gas engine was inscribed with a large "5," indicating the engine's power was equivalent to that of five men. Each unit of horsepower is equivalent to seven men, Foster added.The Susong building contains a number of engines meticulously restored by the benefactor, but many other displays at Coolspring are found in more casual settings.
"We're a working museum with gravel floors and dirty volunteers, but our stuff runs," Harvey said.As a result, even novices can differentiate between them simply by strolling the grounds, where audible percussions resemble anything from wood being sawed to metal dowels rolling on pavement."Engines have personalities," Harvey said."Some you can start in the morning and they run effortlessly all day long. Others are being tweaked and tuned."Appearance also plays a role with the machines. Some, such as those built for industrial purposes, are streamlined and simple. Others contain rounded, stylish "acorn" nuts and polished surfaces meant to be seen.The antiques vary in color, shape and dimension, some as large as a massive 300 horsepower Miller once used to drive an air compressor. It occupies an entire shed.<BR><BR><BR>
Harvey said Coolspring boasts the largest known group of Klein engines, built by National Transit in Oil City.Coolspring was also designated in 2001 as a Mechanical Engineers Heritage Collection by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.Aplaque on the premises describes the museum as the nation's largest collection of historically significant stationary internal combustion engines.Although many pieces were used for oil production, others generated electricity, pumped water or gas or even helped power print shops or farms.Designed to run on natural gas, Harvey estimates the museum goes through 600 gallons of propane each season to power the engines.With so many permanent and semipermanent exhibits, however, Harvey said the goal is shifting from acquiring engines toward improving their presentation.In addition to the many structures in place, a series of smaller sheds has begun to emerge that showcase privately owned displays.
Inviting private owners to erect permanent exhibits also enables Coolspring to show equipment that is operational while minimizing maintenance costs. Groups and individuals adopt engines, taking responsibility for their care."We have found that, with museum-owned equipment, everybody wants to play with it. Nobody wants to maintain it," Harvey said.Maintaining a roster of about 450 museum friends, Harvey said about 10 percent are active volunteers. The volunteers hail from all walks of life and varying distances from Coolspring."One hundred miles is not unusual," Harvey said of the volunteers' weekend travel distances.Tom Rapp of Gibsonia is one such volunteer, whose hour-plus drive is minimal compared to others, who commute from New York and Ohio."I had to work before I came to play," Rapp said recently, having arrived from his job as a mechanic in Allison Park."This is different. This is fun," he said.As well as serving on the 13-member board, Rapp built a shed to house an 8-horsepower Evans on a single-well pumping jack.
Built to replicate the original shed in Greece City, the engine now pumps water instead of oil to demonstrate its purpose.Nearby, a pumping station from the Windy City Air Plant has been reconstructed after being disassembled in the late 1980s, when the U.S. Forest Service reclaimed the property near the border of McKean and Elk counties where it had been located.Inside the building are original work benches and tools — even the rocking chair where the pumper would sit and watch the engine, Harvey noted.In addition to the building and contents, memorable gifts included a visit from the retired engineer who once worked in the shed."The engineer helped recreate the layout," Harvey said, noting the assortment of tools and everyday items were placed according the 88-year-old visitor's recollections.Harvey also recalls a visit from Don McBeth, a white-haired gentleman whose father built the circa 1906 90-horsepower Bruce-McBeth engine once used to power a glass blowing compressor in Smethport, McKean County."It was just fascinating to spend a couple hours with the family member that could tie so closely to the equipment," Harvey recalled, adding the visitor provided tips and tricks to making the engine run smoothly."That thing just runs like a typewriter," he said.In doing the twice-yearly shows, Harvey hopes to attract more people who will share their firsthand knowledge of engines and builders."It's one of the special rewards," Harvey said.
<B>WHAT:</B> "Those Magnificent Butler County Engines" expo, flea market, food court and gift shop, with all Butler County-made engine owners invited to host a display<B>WHEN: </B>7 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 14 through 16. Expo grounds open for setup at noon June 12. WHERE: Coolspring Power Museum, located off Route 36 between Brookville and Punxsutawney in Jefferson County.<B>COST:</B> Visitor admission is $5 per day or $10 for unlimited entry, with museum members and children under 12 admitted for free. Fee for vendors is $25.<B>INFO:</B> A special Butler County edition of the museum publication Bores and Strokes will be available in the gift shop. For information, call 814-849-6883, log on to www.coolspringpowermuseum.org or send an e-mail to coolspring@penn.com.
