Here is a link to photos of my recently acquired boiler:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560593411uCjqhw
It is a vertical fire tube boiler built by the Lookout Boiler and Manufacturing Company of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Nobody knows its age, but it appears to have been built prior to 1915. It was built to burn solid fuels, most likely bituminous coal. The boiler was used at a farm/dairy in Blooming Glen, PA. In the late 1970s an ad was placed in a local paper, offering the boiler “free to a new home.” Don Fenstermacher, now a local steam launch captain, saved the boiler and put it into storage.
Earlier this summer I met steam restoration specialist Mike Tillger, who told me about the boiler which he had been storing for Don. Both had moved on to larger projects and simply wanted to see the boiler go to a good home, so they offered it to me. On Saturday, August 25th, I met them at the storage site and they loaded the boiler into my pickup truck. I made it within a few miles of home when I started seeing steam. It was not coming from the boiler, but the hood of my truck (1979 Dodge). I made it to a local mechanic who replaced the radiator. A couple of weeks ago, the boiler finally made it home. I had a boiler inspector look at it today. He said it is not in good shape, but can probably be made serviceable with new tubes, a new mud ring, and patches to replace worn/corroded metal around the washout holes. The repairs will take a lot of effort and money, but I can still make a nice static display in the meantime. Once assembled, the boiler will look like this one:
http://www.smokstak.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22260&d=1187494413