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 Coolspring Power Museum

ATTENTION - 300 HP Miller Materials Needed

We need the following list of materials to complete the compressor display.  Can you help by donating these materials to the project?

Note that butt weld fittings will work, but we'd prefer threaded to make the display more authentic.

If you can help, please e-mail us at :

webmaster@coolspringpowermuseum.org

Our Museum

Stationary gas hit and miss engines, throttle governed engines, flame ignition engines, hot tube ignition engines, and hot air engines ranging in size from a fractional HP up to 600 HP.  All are among the permanent exhibits at the Coolspring Power Museum in Coolspring, Pennsylvania.  Founded in 1985, the museum collection presents an illuminating history of the evolution of internal combustion engine technology that put an end to the steam powered era.  Over 250 stationary engines are housed in 20 display buildings.  See Events for open times.

Our Vision

To be the foremost collection of early internal combustion technology presented in an educational and visitor-oriented manner.  Provide an organized and functional operation, that will gain broad based support and generate substantial growth.

Our Mission

To collect, preserve, and interpret historically significant and mechanically interesting early stationary internal combustion engines for the education and enjoyment of everyone.

The Coolspring Collection

Internal combustion engines revolutionized the world around the turn of the 20th century in much the same way that steam engines did a century before.  One has only to imagine a coal-fired, steam-powered, airplane to realize how important internal combustion was to the industrialized world.  While the early stationary gas engines were more expensive than the equivalent steam engines, they did not require a boiler and were cheaper to operate.

The Coolspring Power Museum collection documents the early history of the internal combustion revolution.  Almost all of the critical components of today's engines have their origins in the period represented by the collection (as well as hundreds of innovations that are no longer used).  Some of the engines represent real engineering progress; others are more the product of inventive minds avoiding previous patents; but all tell a story.  There are few duplications in the collection and only a couple of manufacturers are represented by more than one or two examples.

The Coolspring Power Museum contains the largest collection of historically significant, early stationary gas engines in the country, if the not the world.  With the exception of a few items in the collection that were driven by the engines, such as compressors, pumps, and generators, and a few steam and hot air engines shown for comparison purposes, the collection contains only stationary internal combustion engines.

The collection consists mainly of stationary gas engines used in industrial applications.  There are only a few marine, automotive, and farm engines in the collection and the Museum does not plan to expand its focus into those areas. Most of the Museum's acquisitioning efforts (those that involve substantial expenditure of funds and volunteer time) have been focused on collecting important large stationary engines that most likely would be scrapped if the Museum did not acquire them.

The Museum's passive collecting efforts are directed at filling technological gaps in the collection by accepting donations from private collectors and occasionally other museums.  The Museum also maintains a substantial library and archive related to the objects in the collection and to the internal combustion engine in general.  The Collection consists primarily of engines built in America because that is what was available to the Museum.  However, the technology on which they are based comes from both sides of the Atlantic.

Everyone is welcome to photograph and film or
video tape at the Coolspring Power Museum for their
own non commercial use.  Any filming, photographing or
video taping for commercial use is prohibited without
permission of Coolspring Power Museum.

Visitors since June 30, 2006

Copyright © 2006 by Coolspring Power Museum

Page last updated on 04/20/2008 09:34:09 AM