This Sawyer Massey 20 – 60 steam traction engine was built in Hamilton in 1915.
The 20 refers to its drawbar horsepower and the 60 refers to the belt horsepower.
That was a very common size of engine.
These engines were used throughout Ontario in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to power threshing machines, sawmills, rock crushers etc.
This particular engine is thought to have spent most of its early years running a private sawmill in Algonquin park. It was subsequently acquired by Wilfred Leslie, of Georgetown, who owned it for quite some time.
In 1995, Gord Tuck, of St. Thomas, bought it from Leslie’s grandson and spent 10 years restoring it to its current condition, including preserving its original riveted boiler.
The boiler is one of the first components to deteriorate and few engines were cared for well enough for the original boiler to be usable. Many steam traction engines now have new replacement welded boilers.
It is now locally owned and cared for by Alex Wilson, Bob Wilson and family.
