Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-03
Western
Gas Engine
Company

| This unusually prosperous concern
was organized about seven years ago
| under the title OF the Western Iron
| Works to manufacture, repair and
| sell gas and gasoline engines, irri-
i eating and mining machinery and to
install complete power plants of all
descriptions, where gas or gasoline
engines are used. AS a result of their
wide and varied experience of seven
years, building many types OF en-
gines and repairing nearly every make
In the market, they brought out about
year ago their present improved
Western Gas Engine.
The demand for this particular type
of engine has become so great that
the factory has been running under
great press of orders through the
winter and for the last three months
ha-; been compelled to work two shifts
of men, altogether 100 hands, the fac
tory being never closed except Sun.
day. Although they have operated
almost altogether in the home field
they find a large demand for their en-
gine from all sections and have been
compelled to arrange for larger man.
ufacturing facilities.
They have already purchased eight
acres OI RIOuUu WHICH Will Dc OCCu-
pied by a modern and up-to-date gas
engine plant of considerable size,
three or four times the size of the
present large plant. The great in
crease of business has come about
4 under the administration of the pres
ent board of officers. The president
4 and general manager, e. A. Guthrie,
came into the concern in December,
purchasing a controlling interest in the
stock and since January has been in
complete charge of all its affairs. He
is an experienced and able business
man, formerly with the American
Steel and Wire company, and his per-
feet familiarity with the iron and
steel business has proven of great
value to the Western Gas Engine
company. With him are associated
s. Byron Welcome, vice president; w.
| H. Frost, secretary; Force Parker,
l legal adviser, and G. M. Smith. The
company has an able superintendent
/ in A. c. Muff.
| While in former years the company
l was somewhat handicapped for want
| of capital, the present capital of $780,
i 900 is fully paid and they have taken
| steps to increase to $150000, most of
1 the stock remaining in the hands of
l the present stockholders, who will
4 put III LnO 1dulllOIldl CeSA ncCCS1dTy.
The present works occupy a consid-
erable area of ground at the junction
| of Main and Alhambra streets, 9os to
932 North Main street. on the electric
car lines of Maple avenue and East
l lake park and Grand and Downey
/ avenues. Their telephones are Main
| 1910 and Home 1240. The plant occu-
1 pies a number of substantial build
i ings, covering an area of some two
acres and is fully equipped with the
L most modern and up-to-date tools, in
1 cluding special tools and full as
sortment of templets and jigs gotten
out to manufacture the engine in in
terchangeable parts. They manufac-
ture everything complete, including
castings, having a foundry of con-
siderable size in connection with their
| works.
With the exception of the cost of
the raw materials, pig iron, coke and
steel, all the money received for
/ Western Engines and for the many
1 irrigating plants and power plants
that they install. is distributed
amongst their worhingmen, so that
| they aid materially in the building up
/ of Southern California. The shop is
l run in a modern and systematic man
1 ner and the engines are turned out
they send out nothing but thoroughly
1 tried and tested out engines. An impor-
/ tant feature of the construction Is the
long test which every engine must
1 undergo. In the testing department 1t
1 is mounted upon the block and run
| for several days under varying loads,
4 during which time every mechanical
| inaccuracy is carefully and completely
1 corrected, so that when the engine
leaves the shop 1t Is fully perfected
| and starts off at once carrying its full
| load smoothly and easily without re-
4 adjustment or the annoyances of con-
stant shutdowns. AS an illustration
i of the ease with which the Western
] engines may be started, the writer
saw one man start off a sixty-ho
| power engine without starting device
/ or any mechanical contrivance simply
L by stepping on the wheel and turning
/ 1t over. This has been considered
/ quite impossible with large gasoline
l engines heretofore.
Perhaps one of the most interesting
features of the engine Is its adapta-
\ bility to varying fuels. Alcohol, kero-
sene, gasoline, benzine, naptha and
| distillates have been used with sue
cess and the cheap No. Q California
i distillate is especially adapted to it.
l contracts to produce a given amount
/ Of power with an extremely small
amount of fuel and so confident are
/ they of the ability of the engine to
1 do this that they make this feature
| of the contract. The indicator cards
/ are very interesting, showing that the
explosion of the charge within the
cylinder is different from the explosion
in any gas or gasoline engine hitherto
devised. 1t does away with the shocks
| of explosion and produces most con-
/ slant and even pressure.
The company expects to make a spe-
cialty of electric generating plants
and will put out mining hoists espe-
clally adapted to the use of western
miners and built in all sizes from five
L to 100-horse power.
They expect to soon put out single
cylinder engines as large as 150-horse
L power.
Altogether, this concern is a good
/ illustration of the rapid and successful
i development of well organized and
well managed California manufactur-