Westinghouse Farm Engine

The Westinghouse Farm Engine was a small, vertical-boilered steam engine built by the Westinghouse Company that emerged in the late nineteenth century. In the transition from horses to machinery, small portable engines were hauled by horses from farm to farm to give power where it was needed. Particularly, it provided power to agricultural machinery such as sawmills, threshing machines, and corn shellers.[1] Many small workshops used them as well.

A Westinghouse Farm Engine from 1890

The farm engine was invented by George Westinghouse after he built the rotary steam engine when he was 19 years old.[2] As a side line to the airbrake products, Westinghouse made these horse-drawn, vertical-boilered and horizontal-cylinder engines which looked like a coffee pot on wheels. The contraption helped American farms transition from horse to machines.[3] It came in 6, 10 and 15 horsepower sizes. The engines were produced from 1886 to 1917 when they were superseded by larger, standard farm engines. Many engines of this make were sent to South America where they were popular.

For a time Henry Ford worked for the Westinghouse Company as a mechanic for their farm engines and used one on his farm. Now one is featured at his museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

References
  1. "Westinghouse Portable Steam Engine Powering Thresher at Gleason Farm, Redford Township, Michigan, October 3, 1923 - The Henry Ford". www.thehenryford.org. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  2. Head, Lisa (2017). Got Inspiration? 365 Days of Inspiration for You!. New York: Page Publishing Inc. p. 262. ISBN 9781640828162.
  3. McClanahan, Brion (2012). The Politically Incorrect Guide to Real American Heroes. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 9781596983205.


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