The Croton Engineerium
In the early 1980’s Gerry Weinstein and Tom Rick (SIA) began saving steam engines in the New York area. Mr. Rick proprietor of Manitou Machine Works in Cold Spring, NY installed small hydroelectric plants around the region. He also built exhibits for the famous Smithsonian Bi-Centennial “1876” exhibition. In 2000 the Croton Engineerium (Rene Mueller, AIA) was created to house engines Gerry and Tom saved from the scrap heap. In many ways it reflects the architectural and engineering elegance of the historic Trenton Falls Hydro-Electric Station built by Utica Electric and Power in 1901 which Gerry documented for the National Park Service.
Steam Engine Museum
In 1984 the 1894 crane barge Monarch was retired by the Port Authority of NY and NJ. Alerted to its’ reciprocating engine hoisting machinery, Gerry hired Tom to rig and haul two of the engines and hoisting gear up to Croton for outside storage. The Monarch, once the nations’ largest floating crane (275 tons) was built for the Chapman Derrick Company – later to be Merritt, Chapman, and Scott. The crane salvaged many sunken ships including the General Slocum the ordnance of the sunken battleship Maine after the Spanish American War. The hoisting engine in the Engineerium was built by the De Lavergne Refrigerating Machine Co. in NYC during a fall off in the Brewery refrigeration business. One engine is on display in the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY.
In 1985 a developer contacted Tom about an abandoned power house with engine generators for the taking. The facility provided power to a WW1 hospital for orthopedic cases in White Plains, NY. In 1946 it became the Cardinal Mc Loskey School and Orphanage and then was sold for Condo development in 1980. It is well known among steam historians that prisons and hospitals were some of the last users of steam engine generators – they both needed reliable off the grid back up power. Tom and Gerry pulled out two 25 KW and one 50 KW American Ball high speed units from the power house. One was donated to the Bergen (NJ) Technical High School training program and the other two installed in the Engineerium after 15 years of outside storage. The other major users of steam power in the waning years of the 20th century were large commercial laundries – who generated lots of steam for cleaning and then ran it though engine generators to provide electricity. The Cascade Laundry of Brooklyn generously donated a set of beautiful pink marble switch boards to go with the generators.
Steam railroad fans flocked for many years to the collection at Steam Town in Bellows Falls Vermont. When the collection was moved to Scranton, PA., the museum decided to de-accession excess artifacts. Less well known was their extensive collection of stationary engines. From which a very rare Hewes and Phillips (Newark, NJ) circa 1900 Corliss Engine was acquired for display. This engine served for many years in the University of Massachusetts engineering building as a teaching aid in power mechanics before being donated to Steamtown. In its’ many moves the H&P was severely damaged. Gerry retained Robert Vogel, former Curator, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Smithsonian Inst. to repair and replicate many broken structural and mechanical elements of the engine which is now undergoing assembly.
During a recent tour of the Croton Engineerium by the Mayor and town trustees, Gerry suggested that local school groups would benefit from seeing what technology looked like before computers and the they heartily endorsed the idea. Historically accurate hand rails around the moving parts of the engines will enable students to safely view and learn about the prime movers of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Read More:
http://www.afsinc.org/
http://www.castmetals.com/
http://www.sfsa.org/
http://www.eaiainfo.org/