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For over two years letters were written and finally the representative of the our Museum, Larry Thompson, convinced the owners of the equipment at the Brookside Winery in Guasti California to part with their Vilter Corliss steam engine and refrigeration compressor. This unit was to be on loan to our Museum for a period of years, then if the basic requirements were met, ownership would transfer to our Museum.

These two units sit side by side with a common crankshaft and a ten foot diameter flywheel between them. This unit was built in Milwaukee Wisconsin in 1909 and shipped by rail to the Italian Vineyard Company. The steam cylinder has a 12 inches -- 304.8mm bore and 30 inches -- 762mm stroke, and it drives one end of the crankshaft in the center of which is mounted a 10 foot diameter flywheel. At the opposite end of the crankshaft is the crank that operates the compressor. The compressor has a cylinder bore of 10 inches -- 254mm and a 24 inches -- 609.6mm stroke.

A crew was called together and the engine and compressor were removed in 5 working days, spread over several weeks time. The crew consisted of Virgil White, Bill Rohr, Paul Freiling, Rudy Dremely Sr., Rudy L. Dremely, Bob Campbell, David Denny, Gary Mills, Al Holton, and Charley Pfunder. All the crew did not work all the time, some came just for a day, some for just a short time, but all contributed to the removal, and were appreciated. On Friday March 13, 1987 Virgil and Bill went to Vista and took a load of timbers and cribbing material, 2x4’s and blocks, to the winery. Saturday, as with all working days there, breakfast at Homestyle Café was the first order of business.

The building was quite dark as all the windows were covered with plywood and the lights did not work. A panel was removed from a window so light and fresh air was admitted. A ½ inch coat of dust covered everything. First all machinery guards were removed from around and over everything. Next all small parts were removed, rods, shafts, valves, pipe, valve eccentric shaft and governor control shaft. Next came the ammonia service valves (they are heavy) and a large tank on top of the compressor. To lower things like this, Bill Rohr constructed his famous one legged “A” frame. An 8x8 timber was chained to the compressor frame and a chain fall chained to the top of the timber. Pieces were lowered to the deck very easy. The engine governor was lowered the same way.

Virgil White and David Denny then started on the flywheel while the governor was being removed. The wheel rim is locked together with a ring in a hollow box cast into the rim of the wheel. Tapered wedges are driven in to tighten the ring, pulling the wheel together. David held the removal tool with a large pair of channel lock pliers, while Virgil smacked it with a sledge hammer, and the wedges came out. The hub bolts came next. We had previously turned the flywheel so the separation was horizontal. A 36 inch wrench was used on the bolts. No luck. Apply cheater pipe to wrench handle. No luck. Borrowed a 48 inch wrench from the local maintenance department. No luck. Again the cheater pipe. No luck. Finally a 3 ton come along was hooked to the cheater pipe, and the nuts slowly turned, and the bolts were removed. The bottom half of the flywheel was lowered to the flywheel pit.

The top half was held erect by a series of ropes and chains. The crankshaft had been chained to keep it from rotating. A 3 ton come along was hooked to the top arc, and chained to the engine frame. We were going to tip it over onto planks and use pipe rollers to move it over to the door. It would not tip. It was hung on the key set in the keyway on the crankshaft. We ran a rope out the window from the wheel rim to a one ton pickup to give it a quick jerk in hopes of starting it to move. The truck wheels just spun, too much loose gravel. Finally a come along was placed in the line, the truck parked and brakes set, and the top of the wheel moved. The wheel was then lowered to a horizontal position safely, and headed towards the door. This ended the first days work.

Sunday we returned to move the wheel out to the “Club Trailer”. The wheel half was moved by rollers, planks and levers. Armstrong power was applied. Out to the door, rotating it slightly to clear the narrow door opening, turn it to the right to head onto the trailer. This was just about enough for one weekend. We loaded governor and connecting rods on the trailer and in Virgil’s pickup, and he headed to Vista with the first load, followed by Bob Campbell and Rudy Dremely. (Just in case.) Paul Freiling took small parts in his pickup, a full load, and David took the compressor manifolds and engine dash pots. These we took to Vista the following weekend, which was board meeting weekend. We did not work on the engine this weekend.

We next returned on a Saturday. We decided to remove the crankshaft next. We jacked and cribbed it up, and skidded it down a ramp and over to the end of the building. It does not roll due to crank throws on each end. Next the compressor. It was jacked up and moved sideways to clear the pit and the bolts in the concrete floor. It was then rolled towards the door. The next part was the hardest of all. We had to lift the bottom half of the flywheel out of the pit, and lay it over, carefully, we wanted no accidents.

Cribbing was built up and jacks were placed on this and the engine frame. A long timber was chained down to the wheel half and jacking and cribbing continued until it came out of the pit. As it was beginning to get unstable two timbers were chained together on the deck, on the outside of the wheel edge. As the timbers were drawn together that raised the wheel from the pit more and more and we were able to lay the wheel over, with ropes and chains powered by come alongs. As we were getting tired we finished the day and departed.

We returned the following Friday. The compressor half was rolled to the door on timber tracks on rollers. The flywheel half followed the compressor out the door by the same means, pipe rollers and Armstrong power. While the wheel was being moved we jacked and timbered the engine half, rollered it to the side and headed it towards the door and called it a day. We left the compressor and wheel half outside as they were too heavy to be taken to the scrap yard by thieves. Saturday morning Virgil arrived from George Gunthers Long Beach yard, with an International semi-tractor and Jim Skifters’ lowboy trailer.

We went back to pulling on the engine frame and as it emerged from the door Virgil White and Paul Freiling went to a rental yard to get a large, 10,000 pound capacity fork lift. The loading commenced. The flywheel half went to the deck over the fifth wheel. Next was the compressor and then the engine frame was lifted to the trailer bed. We chained a heavy timber to the forks and mast of the fork lift, making a long boom, this was run in the doorway and fished the crankshaft out of the building. This was lifted to the deck, in front of the two main parts. The timbering was placed between the engine and compressor frames. The fork lift was returned to the rental yard just in time for the 12 noon deadline. The trailer and load was taken to George Gunthers Long Beach yard to await the arrival of Jim Skifters’ restored Autocar semi-tractor for the trip to Vista. Several years passed before we were able to complete the concrete base and get the engine up and running, but that is another story.

Above far left: left to right: Rudy Dremely Jr, Bob Campbell, Bill Rohr, David Denny, Virgil White and Paul E Freiling. Above left: Rudy Dremely Sr, Rudy Dremely Jr, Bob Campbell, Bill Rohr and David Denny. Above right and far right: Greg Hayden photos operating during our October 22, 2005 Show. Below far left, left and right: Greg Hayden March 17, 2007 photos. Below far right: Ralph Paterson picture swiped from Ron Foo's site

Events:   Consignment Auctions   Carlsbad Flower Fields  Civil War Re-enactment  Harvest Fair   Hot Blues Engines Festival  School Days   Summergrass San Diego   Visitors  Weddings
Exhibits:  Blacksmith Shop    City of Guajome Gulch    Farmhouse   Gas Engine Row  Gas Tractors   Short Track Model Railroad   Steam Engine Row   Steam Tractors   Weavers    Tree and Garden Club   Missouri Sorghum Company   Indian River Grist Mill