Western Engine History Project

The Western Engine History Books

Update Notice and Request for Additional Information

In the spirit of preserving and continuing to make available the colorful history of the Western Engine Companies, the book A "Western" History -- A Capsule History of the "Western Engine Companies AND its companion book The Western Engine Lists are currently being extensively updated with new textual and graphic content being added. I authored and then self-published these two books in 1989, with the intention that the major distribution channel would be through the Hathaway Ranch Museum). But while the Hathaway Ranch Museum did assist in the early distribution of the books, on May 21, 1990, the museum's founder and director, Nadine Hathaway, decided that she did not want to continue dealing with sales issues and the collection of sales taxes. Therefore, as of the aforementioned date, the books were no longer associated with the Hathaway Ranch Museum, although I still continue to work closely with the Hathaway Ranch Museum on other projects.

A "Western" History A Capsule History of the "Western Engine Companies"	The Western Engine Lists A Compilation from the Western Engine Factory Test Cards
A "Western" History, 61 pages, delved into the history of the Western Iron Works and its evolution into the Western Engine Company; the Western Gas Engine Company; the Western Enterprise Engine Company; and finally its bankruptcy and buy-out of assets by the Vernon Tool Company.	The Western Engine Lists book, 260 pages, was compiled from the surviving Western Engine Company's engine test cards, which were inscribed for each engine manufactured. The book pages show statistics and details about ownership, location and other technical information regarding Western engines.
The above illustrated volumes are of the two books as originally published in 1989. The revised volumes will have a significantly larger page count, as well as feature a newly designed cover.

Please note that, as of 1989, I gave up being an active collector of historic engines and associated machinery, by that time having adequately done my heartfelt duty in regards to the physical preservation of certain historic engines and/or machinery. Moreover, I am not, nor have I been, in the business of buying and selling historic engines, parts and/or supplies. My sole engine related interest at this time is updating and completing the revision of the two Western Engine History books. As such, be assured that personal contact or engine information made available for this project will not be used by me for any purpose other than for updating the Western Engine List ownership and engine information.

There is currently no date set for publication of the revised Western engine related book editions. This is because of the painstaking effort by myself and several friends to (1) acquire additional historic details regarding the Western Engine Company, (2) meticulously re-validate and proof not only the current engine list entries (checking questionable items against the original Western factory test cards), but to (3) additionally locate surviving Western engines and then (4) add, validate and proof any new ownership and engine information. Although time is of the essence, publication of the books will be reasonably delayed to provide whatever time is necessary to adequately and accurately complete the history project.

The book A "Western" History is currently the main focus, and it is being substantially revised, especially the first chapter, which details the history of the Western engine. The story begins with the Western Iron Works, who devised the first Western engine, the Model 1900 "Ratchet" type engine, an odd four-cycle engine that could run in either direction. The interim Model 1903 "Eccentric" type engine soon followed and quickly evolved into the highly durable Model 1905 "Geared" type engine that became the standard design that was to make Western into a formidable competitor and supplier of high quality engines. Success brought about numerous reorganizations, which, in turn, carried on the Western engine. After the Western Iron Works (1887) came the Western Gas Engine Company (1905), Western Gas Engine Corporation (1912), Western Machinery Company (1917), Western-Enterprise Engine Company (1924), Western Engine Company as a division of Vernon Tool Company (1939) and Western States Engine Service (1945 -- acquired Western engine assets in 1961). The book covers all of these companies up to the end of the line in 1979, plus more, and it contains many photographs, illustrations and tables to help demonstrate the history of the "chain of Western companies."

The Western Engine Lists book is now basically complete, although some of the 3,048 engine listings are still being checked for accuracy when new information becomes available. Moreover, I am still actively searching out and welcoming additional notations and up-to-date engine ownership information, which is being added whenever any such information is made available. If you own or know about a surviving Western Engine your input and/or updated ownership information is cordially invited -- and soon, before a cut-off and publication date is set. To make this process easy, please download and print the Current Western Engine Ownership Update Information form by clicking on this link. Mailing and submittal instructions are included on the the Instruction (2nd) page.

The Western Engine Ownership Update Form is in PDF format. To open and read and/or print this document requires that Adobe Acrobat Reader be installed on your computer, which can be downloaded FREE by clicking here or on the Get Adobe Reader icon at right.

Western Stationary Model "1905 Geared" Engine with mechanical ignition, circa 1907.

Please note that the act of submitting any textual or photographic information (in any format—electronic, facsimile, written or other) does, in and of itself, thereby explicitly constitute and give unrestricted permission and authorization for the author to use any such submitted material in the Western History Project and/or revised Western History Books, and do so as the author deems appropriate. Submission, in and of itself, however, does not guarantee the use or publication of any material.

Copyright © 2007-2008 by Terry Hathaway - All Rights Reserved