Edgerton Compressor Station 1962

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Edgerton Compressor Station, operated by Panhandle Eastern Pipeline Company, is located east of Fort Wayne near the Ohio state line. These photographs were shot hand-held in 1962 with a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex 35mm camera on Kodak Tri-X film using available light at 1200 ASA and developed in Acufine. The Cooper-Bessemer engines have 24 x 36 inch cylinders and run at 125 rpm. If my memory is correct, their rated horspower is 1500 and they were being run at an average load of 1350 horsepower.

I learned of these engines from John Harper, who farmed and ran a sawmill on US 24 east of New Haven. I had just returned from a trip to Pennsylvania with Bruce Maxwell, where I had seen the old Snow engines at Van. I was describing the engines to John, and he said there was a building full of those not far away. He took me out to his front yard and pointed to the light atop the station's communications tower.

Compressor to provide starting air

Ingersoll Rand engine on electrical generator

Cooper-Bessemer Engines

I can't remember any of the details on this inline engine

I think this was the builder plate on a new V-8 engine. As I recall, the crew at the station didn't have a very high opinion of it.

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