Western Malleable & Grey Iron Mfg. Co.

As noted under the Turner Manufacturing Company heading, Western malleable began operating a foundry at Milwaukee in 1872. During 1900 the company entered the gas engine business, although this advertisement from the June, 1903 issue of Gas Power is the earliest version located thus far. Rated at 4 1/2 horsepower, the “Simplicity” vertical governing plus make-and-break ignition. Prior models may have used hot tube ignition but none of these engines have surfaced if in fact, Simplicity ever used this style. The totaly enclosed design was certainly a progressive feature that heralded the beginning of this design form. The neatly carved handholds on the engine skids apparently allowed one man on each corner. Considering the weight of these engines, there probably should have been several more handles.

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A 1904 Western Malleable advertisement noted that “we are still working 22 out of every 24 hours”. The implication was that sales were so good it was nearly impossible to meet the demans, thus reuiring the work force to go on shifts to keep up. This little 1 1/2 engine was available in a regular style, or in the special pumping design shown here. The engine itself varied but little regardless of the application, but Western mounted the entire setup on heavy wooden timbers at the factory for this package unit. Chances are that farmer-assembled units such as this ran into all sorts of trouble due to misaligned gears and other problems. A 2 1/2 horsepower vertical was also available by 1902.

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