Brownington / May 2026 Newsletter
Vermont Gas & Steam Engine Assoc. Our 52nd Year!!
This newsletter mainly covers the Brownington Show. Please attend if you possibly can!
It was decided at the last board meeting to feature the McVicker Automatic engine on our show button. We are fortunate to have one of those very rare engines in our club, and you may remember, it has shown up on a couple of occasions in past newsletters. As it is our present featured engine so to speak, I am including at the bottom of this newsletter, a bit of history on these old, rare, and remarkable engines.
IMPORTANT: As show times approach, this is a reminder to all exhibitors and club members. You MUST CHECK IN with me at the office when you arrive, before you start your engines. I’ve found in the past that some (with good intentions and possibly poor memories 😊) have slipped through the cracks without me knowing. It is required that you check in on arrival, as we need to verify that that you are current, and to pass out any information that you may need for the show, all in the interest of good record keeping and safety. Also, it is a requirement to comply with the bylaws of our organization, and for insurance purposes. Thank you!
DUES AND FINANCES; The new year of course brings in a new dues cycle! Dues are still $20 per family membership, and are payable anytime, either at a show or by mail. If you forgot to pay your 2025 dues, please do. You MUST be paid up in order to vote in any meeting or exhibit at any of our shows. We are all very grateful for all of your contributions, and the dues are the life blood of our organization. If you do not pay your dues for two years in a row, you will be dropped from the roster. However, if this happens, you may rejoin at any time with no questions asked. The checkbook stands at $3390.59 and all debts are paid including the insurance.
MEMBERSHIP: As of 19 April, we have 29 paid up regular members We have 6 life members and 6 honorary members, 4 of which are our show site contacts. We don’t like to hound people to pay their dues, but we mention it each newsletter so that you will be reminded. Regardless, we are thankful for all who do support and stay interested, which is what keeps our little club hitting, and missing, and functioning pretty well!!
If you know of anyone that has an engine that would be interested in joining us, please put them in contact with me so that I can get them signed up. We are all recruiters after all! You do not have to have an engine actually, any old tractors, doodlebugs, Model T’s and A’s, or other old cars of similar vintage, and old tool displays are all welcomed and encouraged! You can join us even if you have none of the above, we have members who buy and sell engines on a regular basis, and sometimes some sweet deals can be made for a new member wanting to get started.
NEW!! We have a new website which is now live!! Kristin Williams of Upper Valley Web Design has been diligent (and I might add, very patient) getting us going on this, and though we are still tweaking it a bit, we are on the web!! Our website domain name is VGSEA.com! She did a great job, and if you need a website, she’s the one to get you set up!
SHOW DATES FOR 2026
BROWNINGTON, 20-21 JUNE; This is our first show of the season, and is a two-day show, with folks coming in for setup on the 19th. Rough camping is allowed and encouraged on site, and we are planning a pot luck and music event Saturday evening. The board meeting (I expect it will be a short one) will be on Sunday forenoon at 10AM so as to get the potluck going earlier on Saturday afternoon for those that wish to be home before dark. We are hoping for some of the “Cars of Yesteryear” to come to our show. Recent communication with their club President, Steven Carpenter, sounds promising. They do have another event on Saturday, but he expects that a few, will come. That will be great, any of their folks are invited to join us for our potluck! Regarding the potluck, this will depend on you, the membership, as to whether it succeeds or not. We intend to keep it simple, and with the work spread over many hands, it will be. I will have two Coleman 2 burner stoves available and ready if you need to heat something. If you have a table, bring it, though I wouldn’t think we would need more than three or four. Most of you probably have chairs, and I have a couple extra for those that don’t. Trash, as with all shows, is carry in carry out, so with that in mind, bring your own plates and utensils, and this will lessen the trash flow immensely. The club’s new EZ up canopy will be set up for the occasion, and any folks present may participate. A special invite goes out to the Cars of Yesteryear club! Bring a dish to share, visit, tell stories, and have fun, and a group of us will make music after the supper! One more note on this show, Sunday is often sparse in regard to exhibitors, and often we’ll have more of the public show up on Sunday than Saturday. Perhaps some of you who can only come one day would consider coming on Sunday instead of Saturday?? Just a thought.
Quechee Gorge: 1-2 Aug; Rough camping allowed on site, and there is a well-attended flea market that operates on Sunday throughout the day. Our annual members meeting will be held at 4PM on Saturday afternoon.
St Johnsbury Fall Festival show: 26 Sept*: Part of a town wide celebration, and very well attended by public, no camping or large campers larger than a pickup truck (with trailer) due to space limitation, with one exception. Also, the show area is paved.
Marshfield Fall Festival show; 27 Sept*: Officially there is no camping allowed on the site, but those with exhibits are allowed to “sleep with your engines”! this show is held in Marshfield’s ball field from 10AM to 4PM, and in the last two years it has been hugely attended by the public. There are food concessions on site throughout the day, and there generally is a band along with many other activities throughout the afternoon. There will be a board meeting at 10AM, just before the show starts.
*The St Johnsbury and Marshfield show dates are officially unconfirmed, but as our show contacts from both St J and Marshfield told me, the hosting events have always been held at this time, so we went with it!); All have been registered in the Farm Collector directory for 2026. Should there be a change in dates, we will make every effort to let everyone know as early as possible.
LEFFEL ENGINE STEAMIFICATION PROJECT: John installed the reinforcement plates under the boiler trailer, and did a thorough cleaning of the tubes within. He and Matt worked together inspecting it, and it was found to have a tube in the very bottom with a leak. Matt will install plugs in each end to isolate the tube, and eventually it may have to be replaced. Otherwise the boiler appears to be in fine shape.
OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST AND WORTH ATTENDING:
Alton Whipple Show; This show will be held at 3836 Hinman Settler Road, Newport Vt on 13 June, a one-day show. Alton has offered to anyone who brings an exhibit the opportunity to leave their exhibits at his place, and then pick them up before Brownington which is the very next weekend, and just a few miles down the road. There will be a yard sale, engines to buy or trade, and ‘tis rumored that there are Amish made doughnuts and coffee available!
Cars of Yesterday’s 42nd annual car show. This takes place at the Elks Club, 3736 US Rt 5, Derby VT. On 2 August. Their flyer advertises antique engines, and they invited us. Their show falls on one of the days of our Quechee show, which I advised them of already. If, however, you are not planning to attend Quechee, they would be mighty appreciative if you could attend. It sounds like a good time. Check out their website at carsofyesteryear.org for details.
Dublin Gas Engine Meet; This wonderful show takes place at Cricket Hill Farm, 1716 Main St, (Rt 101), Dublin NH, 03444. If you have never been, and are thinking about it, it is unlike any other, and is a must see. Dates are 11-13 September. Their website is https://dublinnhgasenginemeet.com/
North Haverhill Fair; This fair is at the fairgrounds at 1299 Dartmouth College Highway, North Haverhill NH, from 22 July to 26 July. For those who like fairs, this is a good one. They welcome and greatly encourage antique engines and equipment, and any of our folks that come will be co-located with the Two Cylinder club, which features mostly two-cylinder John Deeres, but also engines like ours, as well as old tractors of all description. There is also an ag-museum on the fairgrounds that you don’t want to miss!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS; For those that like local history and sugaring the old-fashioned way, Hale Mattoon has a new book out, which compliments his previous books about sap spouts very nicely. Not only is it about sap spouts, it includes syrup containers, labels and more! It is a must read!
Exhibit information cards: We have re-stocked our supply of blank exhibit info cards which will be passed out to all exhibitors at all of the shows. These are to be filled out with a description of the exhibit, and posted at the exhibit. You may have seen some of these on some of our older exhibits. This helps to educate the public on what you are exhibiting, and may reduce the number of questions that you are likely asked repeatedly at each show. After all, educating the public is what we are all about! There is a possibility that there may be some nice wooden frames available for sale for these, however that is still in the planning stage.
Farm Collector Show Directory: I have a copy of the 2026 show directory which will be at the secretary’s desk during the shows. All are welcome to come check it out so you will know where your next show is that you want to attend! I also bring past issues of Farm Collector magazines which you can borrow if you wish.
If You See this long shot, let me know: This was sent to me by email by a fellow named Luke, (no last name listed); Hello Paul! I am on a sentimental hunt to find my grandpa’s 1958 International Utility tractor. It had a very distinctive white steering wheel (not the factory black 3 rung) see all photos for wheel. It was last sold at auction at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds in Maine by Paul Arsenault, but he is not well, and no longer has records. I had a fellow from Massachusetts reach out and tell me that he bid on it. So, I am extending my search outside the state to all the tractor related clubs in New England in hopes that someone can help. I will pay cash to buy it and will travel! Thank you 😊 🙏 Luke Unfortunately I can’t include the pictures that he posted, but the white steering wheel he writes about came out of an International Harvester pickup from what looks like the early ‘60s. If any of you know of this, or who may have it, let me know, and I will forward it to him. Thanks.
We are still looking for engine stories to publish. These seem to go over well according to the feedback I’ve received on them. I have another story on an engine that I have, but it will wait for another newsletter, as there is no room in this issue. Also, I am nearing the end of my inventory! Hopefully some more of you will come forth with some of your stories! They don’t have to be just on engines. Any piece of old equipment that you have that has a story is worth recording! This month we will share the story of the McVicker Automatic, which I happen to be the present steward of, which thanks to the work done to it by Wayne Griffin many years ago, runs like new!
SHOW SAFETY: We can’t be too careful these days regarding show safety. So far, we have never had a reportable incident, and that is a testament to everyone’s attention to it over the years. We have however, had one fire which could have been a disaster had there not been a fire extinguisher on site. This was a backfire which ignited gas which had leaked out of the mixer. It can happen in spite of the best preparations. Safety Highlights are below, and we have safety cards to hand out when you register.
Serviceable Fire extinguishers are required to be out and visible for all running exhibits. (I always bring a few extras if you forget)
Riders are not permitted on any moving exhibit unless there is a seat for that purpose.
No alcohol during show hours.
Gas must be stored in approved containers.
Running exhibits must be attended at all times.
Every effort must be employed to protect the public from running machinery, this includes using roped off areas by the club or using your own barrier if you have one.
The McVicker Automatic: As noted above, this is featured this year on our show button. There is not much information available on it, not that I’ve found anyway, but here is some for starters! The items quoted below were reprinted from Gas Engine Magazine
“In the early days of gas engine manufacturing, engineers were constantly testing ideas to make gas engines easier and more reliable to operate. Working for Alma Mfg. Co., Alma, Michigan, engineer Walter J. McVicker (from Nebraska) came up with a novel means of controlling exhaust valve and ignition operation for what became known as the McVicker Automatic Gas & Gasoline Engine, which was produced by Alma for about 10 years starting in 1903.
Instead of gears timing the crankshaft and valve operation, McVicker developed a ported system that used pressure created by the moving piston to charge an auxiliary valve that actuated the exhaust valve. In the McVicker Automatic, as the piston moved rearward following combustion it uncovered a port in the cylinder. Pressurized gas from combustion pushed into the port where it was channeled to open a small, spring-loaded valve. As the valve opened the pressurized gas fed into a second channel, where it pushed against a small auxiliary piston. The piston’s stem rested against the exhaust rocker arm. As pressure moved the piston, the piston pushed the rocker arm, holding the exhaust valve open until the combustion piston reached the end of its stroke, at which point it uncovered a second port to release the pressure acting on the valve actuating piston.
Ignition voltage (originally from dry cell batteries) was controlled by a swipe on the crankshaft. A collar on the crankshaft had a contact face, with the circuit completed by a secondary contact that was fixed to the flywheel, rotating around and outside the collar on the crankshaft. As that contact brushed past the contact face on the collar, the ignition circuit was completed. Governing was by an adjustable weight on the flywheel contact, pulling the contact away and interrupting ignition at engine speeds above a desired setting. The exhaust valve stayed closed on the over-run, the piston recompressing the charge. Timing could be adjusted by rotating the collar on the crankshaft.
Contemporary Alma ads trumpeted the McVicker Automatic for having “one third the number of parts” compared to a standard engine and for being “the only four-cycle engine that will run either way,” which, in fact, it could, thanks to its gearless operation and simplified governing. Early tank-cooled engines followed the original design as spelled out here, with later hopper-cooled engines following an updated design specified in patent number 887,502, granted in 1908. This new design shifted the role of the auxiliary “automatic” valve actuating piston. Instead of pushing against the exhaust rocker arm, it now controlled an eccentric-driven pushrod, lifting the pushrod up and in line with the exhaust valve stem during regular operation and dropping the pushrod out during the over-run. When running, the engine’s governor controls the ignition, so it’s always running on the intake and compression strokes until the governor calls for power. The mixer has a constant level of fuel, (fed) by a fuel pump. The McVicker has a round connecting rod, a cast iron water hopper cover, and cast-iron fuel tank in the base. The grease cups, priming cups, connecting rod pressurized grease cup, and cylinder oiler are brass, were made by the American Injector Company.” (edited)
There were several types and sizes of these engines, with 4, 5, 6, 8,10, HP models, maybe more. (I’ve since read that there is a 30hp located in Ohio, and this was the biggest that was made). The early ones were screened cooled, or tank cooled with a belt driven pump, later ones were hopper types. It appears that the hopper versions were only made for about 5 years. There is a Smokestack Antique engine community page on the McVicker Automatic, but there is very little information on it, as the person who had most of the links and registries on them may no longer be with us.
The engine that I have, a 6 HP hopper cooled, model BEE, SN-6706, came from the Walter Wood manufacturing company in Hoosic Falls NY. The source that I found does not state that the Wood company manufactured these engines, but they certainly sold them. One of their apparently priceless 40-page catalogues still exists. The description in the ad for the catalogue (already sold) includes this: “What is special is that there (are) 2 pages advertising the rare McVicker hit and miss gasoline engine that they sold. These were only made by Alma for a few years, so a safe date for this publication would be around the 1905 era”.
Another interesting tidbit from Vintage Machinery.org, states this in regard to the Alma Manufacturing Co: “Walter J. McVicker was the engine designer for Alma Mfg. Co. and he received a number of patents for both gas engines and gas tractors. In 1913 the firm was reorganized as the Alma Motor Truck Co. and again in 1914 as the Republic Motor Truck Co. The company acquired the Linn Mfg. Corp. in 1928 and finally merged with the American-LaFrance Co. in 1929 to form the LaFrance-Republic Corp.
FINAL REMINDER! Never place all of your engines in a row, or your wife will know how many you have!
That’s all!! See you at the show!!
-Paul R Amey, Secretary-