"Railway Horse Power," circa 1885
date: label: Date made
content: ca 1885
notes: label: Description
content: This treadmill powered belt-driven machines such as threshers and fanning mills. A horse would be put in the pen, and the animal's weight would make the track roll. The horse's motion and weight were both harnessed to drive the belting wheel. The angle of the track was adjusted based on the weight of the horse, and the amount of power needed.
label: Description
content: Railway treadmills and two-horse portable treadmills (the latter less effective than the single-track machines) powered the popular Ground Hog Threshers. This "Railway Horse Power" was made in St. Johnsville, Vermont, and is constructed of metal-reinforced wood. Eleven feet long and four feet wide, it would have been used to power something small, perhaps a thresher or a circular saw.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Agriculture
label: See more items in
content: Agriculture
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of New York Historical Association, Cooperstown, New York
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.58A05.12
label: catalog number
content: 58A05.12
label: catalog number
content: F1208
label: accession number
content: 213356
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Horsepower, Railway, Treadmill
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal-reinforced wood (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 11 ft x 4 ft; 3.3528 m x 1.2192 m