This White & Middleton
engine came from the Bell Telephone building in Hamilton Ontario Canada.
The engine has two serial #'s. The jug is # 2089, and the rest of
the engine is #2076. Obviously something was wrong with the cylinder
and it had to be replaced. The engine was purchased by a collector
several years ago. When he arrived to get his engine it was gone.
He went to the scrap yard where some of the less valuable metal had been
taken, and asked about the engine. The people at the scrap yard told
him they knew nothing, but after coming so far he looked around anyway.
He found the base and flywheels and walked into a back shop... ...only
to see a man smash the bottom half of one of the main bearings to get the
brass out of it. He kept the base and flywheels outside for several
years and then sold it to Harry Fraser, who also kept the base and flywheels
outside for many years. We acquired the engine from Harry several
years after that, and it went into storage. In the middle of May
in 1999 we found out that White & Middleton would be the feature engine
at Coolspring 1999. We had a lot of work to do, and not a lot of
time.
These Pictures were taken before,
during, and after the restoration:
Mission Impossible - Just parts...
Get The Wheels Turning - Look at all the rust.
Basework - The base was rusty, it got cleaned in a hurry.
The Reassembly Process - Just the beginning.
More Parts - A work in progress.
Still More Parts - Some more progress.
And Even More Parts... - Starting to look like an engine again.
Ready... - Finally coming together.
On Your Marks... - Prepared for final reassembly.
Get Set... - Reassembly complete, and ready to try...
Go!! - A miracle revealed.
Onwards!! - Loaded and ready for the Expo.
A Great Honour - Nothing could compare...
Another Show- The Blyth 1999 show.
The Winter Wait - Waiting inside for warmer weather.