Boatnerd Discussion Forum

This thing is sitting in someone's yard. Was in a different place. The guy sanded & primed it before he moved it to it's current location. Can never find anyone home to ask questions. Will try to get a picture from the side. Thanks.

The Smoke stack is interesting as it is tall and the very top the elbo could be turned in differant directions. It is a portable that looks like it hasnt had a fire in it because the paint looks new.A side picture would explain if there was a engine to run the fly wheels.How ever it looks like a static display.The name of it could be a Frick.Although other name brand Engines had the flywheels behind the smoke stack. The Encyclopedia of American Steam Engines shows a picture of a Frick which is close to the one in the post.

from the pictures it appears to be a portable steam engine but not a traction one. i see no steering ropes nor any drive linkages to the rear wheels. traction engines were steam powered tractors while a portable engine was used to power equipment that was either stationary or movable but was only used in a stationary condition. usual use was to power threshing machines, sawmills, balers and the like. the engine was moved by horses between jobs. while an old piece of machinery it is far from one of the first built. the first one in common usage were stationary engines pump mines, power sawmills, or to power jackshaft systems for factories. it was only later that machining metal to closer tolerances allowed a portable machine to have enough power to be useful.

What you have there is a steam traction engine, used for farming and moving heavy freight on roads in the late 1800s up through the early to mid-1900s. The big wheels mounted above the boiler are for power takeoff for running things like saws, external electric generators, threshing machines, and so on. You might want to search on some of the sites focusing on steam traction engines for more information.

I was told this is one of the first steam engines & was wondering what you think. Sorry the picture isn't any better. I will try to get a better photo if need be. It's sitting in someone's yard here in my county. Thanks in advance.