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Clarkson donates steam turbine and three dynamometers to St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum in Madrid

Posted 3/8/16

Former St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum Board Members Paul Moore, left, and Ken Tupper assist with Clarkson University's donation of a steam turbine and three dynamometers to the museum. …

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Clarkson donates steam turbine and three dynamometers to St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum in Madrid

Posted

Former St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum Board Members Paul Moore, left, and Ken Tupper assist with Clarkson University's donation of a steam turbine and three dynamometers to the museum.

MADRID -- Clarkson University has donated a steam turbine and three dynamometers to the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum in Madrid.

Renovation of the Old Main building on Clarkson's downtown campus required the removal of the long-idled equipment from a steam power lab there in the mid-20th century.

Museum Trustee Gary Hargrave worked with James Bonner, chief research officer at Clarkson's Beacon Institute, and Research Assistant Professor Chris Fuller to coordinate the donation of the machines.

The steam turbine was manufactured by the Terry Steam Turbine Company and the dynamometers were manufactured by General Electric.

St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum Secretary Roger Austin said steam turbines and steam engines both use heat to generate steam energy, which is converted to mechanical energy to do work. Dynamometers measure the mechanical power of a machine’s rotating shaft.

Classic piston steam engines like the Corliss steam engine that remains at Clarkson were used in engineering labs and became obsolete around the 1950s, Austin said. The steam turbine lives on, but is only used in relatively limited, though important, applications.

Austin said the museum sees the machines as important components in a major exhibit on power -- how it is generated, measured and used. The machines will join a collection of several antique one-cylinder kerosene and gas engines, and several early gas and diesel power units.

"We hope that Clarkson faculty and alumni who remember the machines will help provide history and technical knowledge," he said. "As with all our projects, knowledgeable leadership and funding will be essential. We will welcome anyone interested in participating."

The St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum preserves the rural history and heritage of the North Country and demonstrates how new technologies helped shape life in the community.

Learn more about the museum at www.slpowermuseum.com .