More Power

Spent some time at The Henry Ford Today. Every time I am there, this early Ford Generator blows me away. The sheer size of it is unreal and awe inspiring. (unless of course you happen to be blip contributor powerplanter)

I have posted a few more pics on the flickr page if you're interested.

From the exhibit:

Henry Ford built nine of these great engine-generators in the powerhouse of his mighty Highland Park Plant. They produced the electricity that powered the machinery for making Model Ts. Driven by coal-gas and steam, these engines represented for Mr. Ford the pinnacle of power, efficiency and beauty. Years later, he had one engine moved a few miles to this spot and built his museum around it.
Today this engine represents something more. It symbolizes the place where the mainspring of the Twentieth Century was wound.
The automobiles, the production methods, and the philosophy of labor that came out of the Highland Park Plant changed the world. Still today we feel their effects even as the century turns and our circumstances and the way we work, change once again.

SPECS:
Built in 1912 and used at the Ford Highland Park Plant from 1912-1930

Generator: 4000 kilowatts, 250 volts DC
Manufactured by Crocker-Wheeler Electric Motor Company, Ampere, NJ
Engine: 6000 horsepower, 80 RPM
Manufactured by Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Company, Hamilton, OH
Steam Side:Tandem compound
High pressure cylinder bore - 36"
Low pressure cylinder bore - 72"
Stroke 72"
Gas Side: Cylinder bore - 42"
Stroke - 72"