The back of the shop was older than 1897 and used as a repair shop for steam locomotives before it was purchased to expand the machine shop. A lot of the equipment is original and still working to this day! A few pieces worked on steam and the pipes are still there, but when they got electricity flowing, they installed Model A transmissions to run the machines. In one of the photos, you can see the shifter bent down so they can change gears. If they want different speeds, they stop the machine and change the gear.
Was hoping to see a overhead line shaft that powered all the machines through big flat belts and stepped pulleys to change spindle speeds.A lot of those old machines were converted to electric motors and run through a Ford truck transmission to change the spindle speed. People use to ask me if I had C&C in my shop. Why yes, I do. We call it Crank and Cut!
ReplyDeleteplenty of history in that shop
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