All,

The petrochemical plant I work for is releasing three steam pumps, and is willing to give them to a museum or tourist railroad.

The first one is a Worthington Duplex. I tried to link to the picture in my "Surviving World Steam Lizard" photo gallery; if it doesn't work, just follow the link below it.

It is 4 1/2 feet long, and three feet tall (including lubricator and it's existing exhaust pipe.) It has steam cylinders 7 1/2" in diameter and 10 inches in stroke. It has pump cylinders 6 inches in diameter, and 10 inches in stroke.

It was installed as a backup fire pump for the plant during WWII. It was indoors, but hardly ran at all until it was removed and placed in the plant's boneyard in 2000. This pump has probably never been painted since it was installed; and the paint has failed rapidly since being placed outdoors. But it should be a good restoration candidate.

It can easily pump 50 gallons or more per minute, making it too big for use as a feedwater pump for anything but a very large boiler. But it would make a good fuel or water transfer pump; mount it on top of your tender as the FEGUA in Guatamala does, and it will fill your tank fairly fast. :)

It was moved to the front of the plant today, and is ready to be removed. I now have a pickup truck, and am buying a bed mat so I can transport it. I am willing to deliver it a reasonable distance to your location. It weights between 500 and 800 pounds, so you will need to have a forklift or engine hoist available to unload it.

If you are interested, please let me know.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Worthington Duplex free to a good home

james@survivingworldsteam.com

The second one is a Gardner-Denver Duplex. I
once again linked to the picture in my
"Surviving World Steam Lizard" photo gallery. If you click on the link below it, and click on the next arrow, you can see two more pictures of it.

This one is 3 1/2 feet long, and 1 1/2 feet tall
It has steam cylinders 6" in diameter and 4 inches in stroke. It has pump cylinders 6 inches in diameter, and 4 inches in stroke.

It has been stored in the plant's warehouse for quite some time. It is not known what it was once used for; so I have no idea what condition the pump end is in. The paint is flaking on it; and it has surface rust on top.

Gardner-Denver still manufactures steam pumps, so parts for this one should still be available. (Parts for the Worthington pump may also still be available through Flowserve.) Gardiner-Denver rates it at 57 gallons per minute at 45 strokes per minute, with a maximum rate of 114 GPM (!) at 90 stokes per minute (!!) It would also make a good fuel or water transfer pump; logging locomotives often had pump this size mounted on the running board or tender as a fire pump.

It also weighs roughly 500 pounds. Once again, I can transport it in my truck. If interested, please let me know.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a


Gardner-Denver Duplex free to a good home

james@survivingworldsteam.com

The third one is a National Transit simplex. I
once again linked to the picture in my "Surviving World Steam Lizard" photo gallery. If you click on the link below it, and click on the BACK arrow, you can see three more pictures of it.

This is a big one: 7 feet long, and 3 feet tall.
It has a steam cylinder 8" in diameter and 8 inches in stroke. It has a pump cylinder 6 inches in diameter, and 8 inches in stroke.

This one was used for unloading sytrene, and has spent it's entire life outdoors, so it is a bit rough. I am also not sure if replacement parts are available; this one is probably best treated as a static display. It does have a three-pump lubricator mounted on it.

This one needs to be unbolted before it can be removed. I forgot to mention that the Gardner Denver duplex will be replaced as a reserve pump by two others currently in the field. Those two need to be removed and brought to the warehouse before they will let this one go.

I am guessing it also weighs 500-800 pounds. It will take greater care in transporting and storage because it is not stable in the upright state like a duplex pump. It could be knocked over, and do serious damage to something or someone.

Once again, if interested, please let me know.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a


National Transit simplex free to a good home

james@survivingworldsteam.com

There are no fewer than two dozen steam pumps still at the plant; of which only maybe 5-6 are still needed. Most of the rest are in areas that will be demolished soon; if the opportunity presents itself, I will try to get ahold of some more.

I am currently living in a rented home; but we are looking to buy one. Would love to find one with a building large enough for a "Steam Lizard Museum". :) Until we purchase a home, I have no place to store them, and an counting on the grace of the plant to hold them for me. (Typical preservation story, isn't it.)

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

Surviving World Steam - Lizards

james@survivingworldsteam.com

Out of curiosity, what part of the world are these located?

tnold@northtexastransport.org

The plant is located in Port Neches, Texas. Port Neches is just outside of Beaumont, which is itself about 100 miles east of Houston.

On a map of Texas, Port Neches is in the extreme SE corner of the state, just above and to the left of Sabine Lake.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> Out of curiosity, what part of the world are
> these located?

Surviving World Steam Project
james@survivingworldsteam.com

To the 1980's and 90's. I was a boiler attendant at the time, and we used to use two similar pumps for feedwater. Best guess is they were made around 1905. They used to require new piston rings all the time.

When the first one was taken out of service, we kept some of it for parts and scrapped the rest of it. The second one, however, I arranged to have donated to the Rough and Tumble engineer's museum in Kinzer, Pa., not far for Strasburg. Just head east on route 30. They were pelased to get it, but even more pleased to get thirty gallons of cylinder oil with drum and pump to keep it in, along with spare parts and some original paperwork. They asked me if the donation was conditional, and I said no. Maybe they sold it by now, but I at least saved it from scrapping.

wtl1959@aol.com