600 Hp Snow Pipeline Compressor - Full Speed - Coolspring Power Museum

Engines like this were used to pressurize natural gas transmission pipelines. Pumping stations were located at intervals along each gas pipeline. Each station might have half a dozen of these engines, with extra capacity to shut down individual engines for maintenance. Normally, each engine would run continuously for months at a time.

This engine has 2 double acting cylinders, thus effectively a 4 cylinder engine. Watching the camshaft, you can see the firing order. Go to 4:37, and step forward frame by frame using the period key. The lower rocker is exhaust, the upper rocker is intake. Exhaust is open for the exhaust stroke, then closes at BDC, and the upper Intake valve opens immediately for the intake stroke. Both valves are closed for the compression and power strokes.

Speed of these big engines is limited by dynamic mass of the pistons and centripetal force on the flywheel. Thus this 600 Hp Snow with the bigger flywheel runs slightly slower than the 400. Similarly, the later 2 row engines can get by with a much smaller flywheel, thus run faster. My recollection is that the 600 runs approximately 90 RPM.

Something to think about, the Worthington Snow-Holly works must have had a lathe (VTM = vertical turning machine) big enough to turn these flywheels. The flywheel is in 2 halves, held together by "dogbones".

For a video showing some 400 Hp Snows, look for "(6) 400 HP Snow pumping engines Heath Pa". They ran considerably faster than this 600 Hp engine, about 120 RPM, due to smaller flywheels.

Coolspring Power Museum
Coolspring PA
October, 2021

[750]

Panasonic FZ-1000

NOTE: My videos are not monetized! Most of my videos are to help multiple nonprofits, thus allocating any income would be a nightmare. YT is throwing ads where they shouldn't be! Worse, many of the ads are obnoxious or offensive.

211015f Snow Full Speed

stationary engine, gas engine, big engine, Coolspring Power Museum, pipeline, gas well, oil well, snow engine