The Koehring Waterous Co. of Brantford, (formerly Waterous Engine Works. Ltd.), had been a major manufacturer of sawmill and wood processing equipment since the mid 1800’s, with such products as de-barkers, shredders and grinders for wood pulping, From the mid 1960’s, they remade the company into a manufacturer of large self-propelled wood harvesters, introducing the Read More
When Peter Adams started his wagon building company in Paris, Ontario in 1863, designs were very basic and relatively simple from an engineering point of view. Demand was such that hundreds were shipped from Paris to Winnipeg in a season and soon Adams was building a new factory to increase production. His wagons Read More
In 1847, after working in a wagon shop in Woodbridge for a couple of years, young English immigrant, John Abell was keen to have his own business. After building his own shop from logs, making his own lathe and tools, he then made himself a steam engine for power and was in business. With Read More
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Southworks factory store outlet mall in Cambridge, Ontario. These fine old stone buildings stand out among many in the old part of Cambridge, formerly known as Galt, around the banks of the Grand River which flows majestically through the city. On the north side of the Read More
As a boy growing up during World War Two in the east of England, we saw many things that at the time we did not consider important, but looking back to that time, we now realise would never be repeated. The British government, during the first years of the war, saw the need for bomber Read More
Canadian Plowing Engines As the far western part of Canada began to be settled by immigrant farmers, the task of opening up the land to arable condition was a huge challenge. The smallest property sold for this purpose consisted of a quarter section, about one half mile square, approximately 160 acres. The hard ground, Read More
Like many, I love to wander around the steam shows looking over the frequent displays of venerable old Ruston and Hornsby horizontal diesel engines, many thousands of which were built and shipped to all corners of the world in the first half of the twentieth century. I ‘m always fascinated by the smoothness with which they Read More
Over the last century, great steps forward have been made in the working conditions in factories. In the latter part of the 1800’s, safety concerns were virtually non existent with hazards like high speed belts and pulleys all over the place, no ear, hand or eye protection and poor heating in winter. In one of Read More
At the front entrance to a modern factory in New Jersey stand three statues. These are unusual in that they are made of a special steel that forms a rust colored coating that protects them with no further treatment. These were cut by a computer controlled plasma cutter with the images downloaded from photos Read More
As a kid growing up on a farm in England in the early 1940’s, one of our chores before leaving for school each morning was to fill a 100 gallon tank with water using a hand pump that drew water from a well. You know how many pumps that took? My father would then Read More