The Chase & District Museum & Archives is now housed in what was originally Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. On the grounds of the museum are some quite interesting historical items. Among the large artefacts to be found around the museum/church building are a 1923 Franklin Touring Sedan, housed in a garage with one glassed side for viewing, a heritage homestead cabin, a large stone cairn topped with a bell from a Canadian Pacific Railway engine and this stationary gasoline engine beside a water pump in a small pavilion,.
This particular example is an International Harvester
Type LB. Contrary to popular misconception, this was not a
hit and miss engine which, when idling, will hold the exhaust valve open and only fire when the flywheel slows past a certain point. The 3-5 horsepower rating comes from ratings of 3 HP at 600 RPM and 5 HP at 1000 RPM. Note that the pulley is geared at a 1/2 ratio to the crankshaft, yielding pulley speeds of 300 to 500 RPM. The engine is cooled by 4 gallons of water in a hopper surrounding the cylinder.
Though it was partially hidden behind the spark cable, the serial number appears to be LBB 57240, indicating the engine to have been manufactured in 1947. The LB was manufactured from 1941 to 1948, with something over 50,000 being made. We turned the flywheel and found that this unit is still free, not frozen.
The spec sheet below was taken from the
Owner's Manual, which has been published online.