Home to four of the world's largest steam engines and an ASCE National Landmark and AWWA Landmark
Documents & Publications

Steam powered machinery expands into many common areas and we have included publications and information by steam authors from the Greater Cincinnati area and beyond. Authors along with the editors for Engineers & Engines Magazine, Steam Traction Magazine, Old Glory Magazine and the Journal of Kentucky Studies have graciously provided permission for reprint on CincinnatiTripleSteam.org.

If you visit Cincinnati be sure to download the comprehensive Cincinnati Museum's Directory, Museum Directory Cincinnati, OH

Engineers & Engines Magazine

Steam Traction Magazine

An amazing model builder, Chris Rueby, has built a working model for the engines used at our Main Station, the Buffalo Waterworks, and other locations. Watch the video HERE.

See the NEW full size animation of the R.D. Wood Engines at Old River Station by: Chris Rueby

There's A Limelight Mystery Afoot

 
Leland L. Hite of Cincinnati Triple Steam based in Cincinnati, Ohio, tells the story of a capricious river that dictated the need for a pumping engine of gigantic proportions.

 

 

American version published in the
 
Engineers & Engines Magazine 

From the organization Cincinnati Triple Steam based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Leland L. Hite tells of the extreme difficulties associated with the installation for a system of steam-powered  pumping engines of gigantic proportions on a capricious river that dictated its need.

 

 

British version published in the Old Glory Magazine.

 

A Pocket Guide to Old River Station   6 Meg, PDF
By: Leland L. Hite

Docent for Cincinnati Triple Steam, Leland L. Hite, describes amazing details regarding four of the world's largest steam engines. In addition,  learn how the pump house was built at ground level and lowered by sand hogs.


Greater Cincinnati Water Works Timeline 18172017

A Chronology of R. D. Wood & Company  5 Meg, PDF
By Paul M. McConnell, 2017

A chronological history for the R. D. Wood & Company by tour guest Paul M. McConnell.


R.D. Wood & Co. was the builder of four the world's largest crank and flywheel water pumping steam engines housed at Old River Station, Greater Cincinnati Water Works.


Big Iron MuseumsUSA  2 Meg, PDF 

A listing of over 27 Big Iron Museums in the USA that provide public tours for either walk-in or pre-scheduled tour guest.

Text Only version Here


Made In Ohio – Steam Powered Machinery Index  (With pictures) 9.5 Meg, PDF

A linked Index, alphabetical and by city, for manufactures of steam engines and steam powered machinery made in Ohio.


The Engine Indicator, by John Walter,  2.4 Meg, PDF

Experience of the Restoration and Operation of Large Stationary Steam Engines and the Implications for the Professional Engineer. by: John S. Porter

Preservation by Operation: 36K, PDF
by: John S. Porter B.Sc., C. Eng., F.I. MarEST. Formerly Trustee, Kew Bridge Steam Museum, London

Experience of the Restoration and Operation of Large Stationary Steam Engines and the Implications for the Professional Engineer.

This is a must read for anyone considering the restoration
of a large stationary steam engine.

"Restoring a superseded large stationary steam engine to an operational condition for educational and entertainment reasons is an attractive proposition to many, including professional engineers. Yet there are many problems in adapting such machines to work under off-design conditions in the context of a voluntary group in the culture of 21
st century safety and responsibility. This paper discusses the experience gained over thirty five years at three such museums in London. In particular, the need for careful appraisal of how the engine will behave in its new role, the requirement to carry out the work within conservation guidelines, and the problems of maintaining and operating the engine after restoration is complete are reviewed."

^Top^


Cincinnati’s Richard Miller Treatment Plant:
Setting the Foundations for the Future
10.5 Meg, PDF

By: Jeff Swertfeger, Lawrence Moster, Leland L. Hite, and Bruce L. Whitteberry

Very possibly no other department of the City of Cincinnati possesses a more interesting history than the Water Works: not only from its special record, but because it is more closely connected with the development of the city, and illustrates its progress to a better advantage.

 

 


Early Cincinnati Steam Manufacturing: The Lane and Bodley Company, 1850-1920, by Sandra R. Seidman, Northern Kentucky UniversityEarly Cincinnati Steam Manufacturing:
The Lane and Bodley Company, 1850-1920,
4.5 Meg, PDF
by Sandra R. Seidman, Northern Kentucky University

Originally published in Steam Traction, May, 2006.
Revised in 2008, pictures added December, 2011 by L. Hite

"There were three firms which could be considered major agricultural manufacturers for their day: Miles Greenwood’s Eagle Iron Works, Blymyer Manufacturing Co., and Lane and Bodley Co. Both Eagle Iron Works and Blymyer Manufacturing were sold and renamed several times, eventually either going out of business or completely losing their identity. Lane and Bodley was the longest survivor of these early firms, always retaining its original name and a measure of family ownership and remaining in business until 1920." 

^Top^


Alexander Bonner "Moses" Latta, Nineteenth-Century Inventor and Entrepreneur, by Sandra R. Seidman. Alexander B. Latta is given credit for the first workable steam fire engine produced in 1853 for the city of Cincinnati.Alexander Bonner "Moses" Latta, Nineteenth-Century Inventor and Entrepreneur,
by Sandra R. Seidman, Northern Kentucky University, 470K, PDF
"Alexander B. Latta is given credit for the first workable steam fire engine produced in 1853 for the city of Cincinnati."

First published in the Journal of Kentucky Studies, Northern Kentucky University,
Volume Twenty-nine, September 2012


Pictured is a Steam Launch owned by Thomas D. Schiffer, Cincinnati, OhioFirst Steamboat to Descend the Ohio River in 1811  3.7 Meg, PDF (Numerous illustrations and pictures)
by: Thomas D. Schiffer, Northern Kentucky,
  You can contact Mr. Schiffer via email HERE

"Part love story, part drama, part success story, part history, part tragedy, this is the story of innovation of a new form of transportation on western rivers. It is not at all a bad story. Keep in mind that most of us if not all of us reach the heights of our endeavors by standing on the shoulders of those who went before."

Pictured is a Steam Launch owned by Thomas D. Schiffer, Northern Kentucky. See more here

                                                        ^Top^


Steamboat History Timeline (1711-1947) by Ashley L. Ford

Steamboat History Timeline (1711-1947) by Ashley L. FordSteamboat History Timeline
by Ashley L. Ford, Cincinnati, Ohio, 31K, PDF

Mr. Ford is a First Person Interpreter for the Cincinnati History Museum

                                          ^Top^


A Photographic Story of the Flood in the Ohio ValleyA Photographic Story of the Flood in the Ohio Valley, January 1937
By Clem Schutte, Published by O. Middendorf, 33 Meg, PDF

Best Flood Pictures

                                            ^Top^


Murals at the former headquarters for the Cincinnati Fire Department located at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Eden Park pumping stationFirefighting Murals at the former communications headquarters for the Cincinnati Fire Dept.
Located at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Eden Park pumping station. 2.5 Meg, PDF

After the building at Eden Park was discontinued as a pluming station it was used by the Cincinnati Police and Fire Department as the city dispatch for emergency communications. In 1941 Herman Meissner completed a series of murals for the fire department section of the building. The murals depict 12 scenes in a fire fighting evolution that sequence through time.  Pictures by Lee Hite

The Story Behind The Myth of the "Lap Seam Crack"
By Bruce E. Babcock, PhD, 4.5 Meg, PDF

1909 Consolidation Coal Co. Contract, 37 Meg, PDF

1911 September Invoice from Cincinnati Gas Coke, Coal & Mining Co., 9 Meg, PDF

1914 October Payment Voucher American Steel & Wire Co., 16 Meg, PDF

^Top^
The only two operating steamboats in the Greater Cincinnati area by owner Thomas D. Schiffer
Mr. Thomas D. Schiffer, owner of the only two operating steamboats in the Greater Cincinnati area
Twenty two foot steamer (MISS BLUE) was built in Clayton, New York in 1910 and rebuilt by Harry Card in 2004. At about 400 RPM. the steamer travels at    5-6 m.p.h. Seats 5 to 6. She will cruise at 60-90 p.s.i.g. with a max of 150 p.s.i.g. Piloted from the front or the engineers station Steamboat (MISSIE) piloted only from the rear and uses a home-built, fore-and-aft compound, condensing engine, with a propane-fired water-tube boiler. MISS BLUE seats five to six, can be piloted from the front (usually by his wife) or from the engineer’s station behind the boiler (two wheels). She will cruise at 60-90 p.s.i.g., 120 p.s.i.g. max at about 400 RPM and 5-6 m.p.h. A home-built, simple engine, single cylinder and a wood-fired water-tube boiler.  The Island Queen (925-1947, by Cincinnati artist and model builder Mr. John I. Fryant As a child, Mr. Schiffer would ride the Island Queen Steamboat, and referred to it as the CONEY ISLAND BOAT, while the crew called her BIG LIZ..
Steamboaters Miss Blue, the Ajax, the Phoenix and the Oliver cruse the Dora Canal in Florida. March 1-5, 2013 The alligators were asleep Steamers Miss Blue and the Oliver at the Crazy Alligator This gentleman lost his boat in a boat-house fire a few years back and this is his replacement PHOENIX (from the ashes). Steamer AJAX under way. The OLIVER is a sister boat to MISS BLUE...both were built by L. E. Fry, Clayton, New York in 1910 Members of the Dora Yacht Club, watching intrepid steamboaters embark in near gale force winds! Miss Blue at  Sunset at the Tavaris Dock. Mr. John I. Fryant with fellow artist Michael Blaser

Mr. Thomas D. Schiffer, is owner of the only two operating steamboats in the Greater Cincinnati area. Mr. Schiffer is also the author for the history of the Frisbie Engine & Machine Co. in Cincinnati (steam engines), and author for the history of the Peters & King Cartridge & Gunpowder Manufacturing Companies located where Kings Island is now.

The 22 foot long steamer (MISS BLUE) with the canopy was built in Clayton, New York in 1910 and rebuilt by Harry Card in 2004. It has a home-built, simple engine, single cylinder and a wood-fired water-tube boiler. She will cruise at 60-90 p.s.i.g. with a max of 150 p.s.i.g. The boat has a three bladed Monel propeller with an 18” diameter and a 23” pitch. At about 400 R.P.M. the steamer travels at 5-6 m.p.h. MISS BLUE seats five to six, can be piloted from the front (usually by his wife) or from the engineer’s station behind the boiler (two wheels).

The second steamboat (MISSIE) can only be piloted from the rear and uses a home-built, fore-and-aft compound, condensing engine, with a propane-fired water-tube boiler. She will cruise at 60-90 p.s.i.g. with a max of 120 p.s.i.g. The keel condenser will typically run about -10 p.s.i.g.  She is built on a twenty-foot fiberglass Rose hull equipped with a three bladed bronze propeller, 18” diameter and a 23” pitch. At about 400 R.P.M. the steamer travels at 5-6 m.p.h.

Cincinnati artist and model builder Mr. John I. Fryant displays the Island Queen (1925-1947), scale 5/16 inch = 1 foot,  with fellow artist Michael Blaser.  As a child, Mr. Schiffer would regularly ride the Island Queen Steamboat, and often referred to it as the CONEY ISLAND BOAT, while the crew called her BIG LIZ.. Rated at 4,100 PAX the steamer used a 600 HP tandem-compound non-condensing engine made by the Charles Barnes Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, holder of patents for the steam-jet pump vices, and more. The steamer blew-up and burned in 1947. 

You can contact Mr. Schiffer via email HERE