Twin City Corliss Engine - Kaiser Aluminum - Spokane Valley, WA - Preserved Machines on Public Display on Waymarking.com

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Twin City Corliss Engine - Kaiser Aluminum - Spokane Valley, WA

in Preserved Machines on Public Display

Posted by:  T0SHEA

11T E 485110 N 5281453

Here's an itty bitty steam engine we spied at the Spokane Valley Kaiser Aluminum Plant while visiting.

This is, without a doubt, the BIGGEST steam engine we've yet to lay eyes on. It was made by the Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company in 1902. These are the same people who manufactured Twin City Tractors, some of the BIGGEST tractors we've seen. Their gasoline/oil tractors were every bit as big as the steamers of the same vintage.

At 1800 horsepower, with a 24 foot flywheel and a bore & stroke of 38 X 60 inches, this is BIG. The entire engine weighs 187,000 pounds, the flywheel alone, 86,000 pounds. It hummed along at the scary-fast speed of 60 RPM. That's once around every second!

It was used for 50 years, until 1952, at the Potlatch Sawmill in Potlatch, Idaho, reputed to be the largest in the land at that time. Fitting!