Clansman
Stan Rankin’s
Unique Hobbies
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Clansman Stan Rankin’s Unique Hobbies
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Long time member of the Clan MacLeod, Stan Rankin, whose mother was Dorothy MacLeod from Mattoon, Illinois, has several unique hobbies. Stan volunteers at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois as a Tour Guide and Electric Car Motorman. Stan collects and restores antique gasoline engines. He has a collection of over 40 engines, including two restored and functional “MacLeod Engines” built in Winnipeg, Canada in the early 1900’s. For over 40 years Stan has been associated with a Boy Scout Troop, producing about 300 Eagle Scouts. Part of the time he served as Scoutmaster.
The Illinois Railway Museum (www.irm.org)
The Museum is located about 50 miles west of Chicago and is the largest Railway Museum in North America with 160 acres and over ten miles of track. In the last 50 years the Museum has collected over 400 pieces of equipment. The Museum is a great place to spend the day and is the results of decades of hard work by a dynamic group of dedicated volunteers (for more information about the Museum go to their web site www.irm.org).
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The Railway Museum has hundreds of static displays of the history of railroading in the USA. The pieces of equipment range from steam, electric, diesel and related equipment. All displays are labeled with a complete history of the pieces. Many are stored in barns to keep them out of the weather. They are still accessible to the public with ramps to allow you to view inside of all equipment on display |
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The first building you view as you enter the museum grounds is the
East Union Depot built in 1851. The Depot served nearby Marengo, IL and was moved to
the Railway Museum in 1967. This is the oldest Railroad Depot west of
Pittsburgh still in use. The Depot was the departing point for
soldiers leaving for the Civil War. |
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The highlight of my visit was the tour given by Stan on the Electric Train cars. There are two parts to the tour. Stan operates the 1923 Chicago Surface line # 3142 and travels the Museum grounds stopping to show points of interest and variety of equipment. The second part of the tour is the Illinois Terminal Railroad 415 Inter-urban Electric Car. Out on the main line, Stan pushed the electric powered car up to 40 MPH on the Museums six miles of track. The kids in the car were given a chance to blow the train whistle which caused them to "beam" from ear to ear. |
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Once a week for 14 years, Stan has gotten up at 4:00 am and made the 204
mile trip to Union, Illinois. He can be seen on Tuesdays, giving his
informative and interesting tours. The Museum is operated as a Class One
Railroad, so Stan needs the same qualifications as a Class One
Engineer. That requires taking a yearly Safety Test and a Mechanics Test
every two years. This is in addition to the knowledge he has of the
museum, trains and railroading in general. We appreciate Stan’s time,
energy and knowledge to preserve a part of American history. Please
check out Stan and the Illinois Railway Museum “Photo Gallery” by
clicking here. |
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Stan's Antique Gas Engines Collection (click Here to view collection Photo Gallery)
For 25 years, Stan Rankin, has been collecting and restoring antique Gasoline Engines. His collection of over 40 engines is kept in a two- level attached garage, which also has a heated workshop. The smaller/lighter engines are kept on the second levels. Stan also has a 20x32 two level back garage for storage. This arrangement is perfect for Stan’s engine collection and rebuilding efforts. ( click here to view an inventory of Stan’s collection)
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The Engines are gasoline fueled stationary engines used on the farm for a variety of jobs. Most of the collection is “Early 20th Century” vintage. About two thirds of the engines are what are called “hit and miss” engines and the other third are throttle governed engines similar to a car. The “hit and miss” engines controls the engine predetermined speed by cutting off the engines ignition system when it runs too fast. This is the “miss” part. When the engine slows too much, it allows it to “hit” again and pick speed back up. This type of engine is very gas efficient that gives you high torque and low speed (around 600 to 750 RPM). |
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Most of the engines were running with some very poorly, when Stan acquired them. The hunt for engines and parts is a big part of the process of bringing an engine back to working order. The hope is to find that rare engine hidden away somewhere. Today, Stan has to make many of the gaskets, heads and carburetors because they are hard to find. The hunt takes Stan to engine shows, hunting on the internet, advertising, chat rooms and the “Gas Engine Magazine” monthly publication. There are about 200 major engine shows in the US every year. The largest is in Portland, Indiana which runs five days. Stan attends regularly, looking for parts, engines and that maybe, that one rare find. |
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The most interesting engines for our Clan MacLeod members are the two “MacLeod” engines in his collection. The MacLeod Company Ltd. is a Winnipeg, Canadian company. The basic engine was manufactured by Nelson Brothers in Michigan and shipped to Canada for completion. The larger of the two MacLeod engines is also the oldest (1913 to 1919) see picture on right. It is a 3.5 HP hit and miss engine. The engine was restored in 2001, Stan said it was a mess when he found it in a small town outside of Huntsville, Alabama. The engine was rusted, the magneto was dead and had to be rebuilt, part of the firing mechanism was missing and there was a large hole in the head. The smaller engine came from North Carolina and Stan bought it at the Portland, Indiana engine show. The other MacLeod is a 1.75 HP hit and miss engine of the 1920’s vintage. Stan added the cart to both engines. |
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The biggest item in Stan’s antique gas engines collection is the "Casey Jones" railcar that was used as a working car on the railroad. The car was built in 1926 by the Northwest Equipment Co. of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. There is only two of these known to exist, the other is in the New York Museum of Transportation and is just for show. The railcar uses a standard Model-T Ford 4 cycle engine rated at 20 hp with a standard Model-T transmission. The “Casey Jones” had not run for 7 years when Stan bought it. He had to overhaul the railcar to get it in working order. Stan has to trailer the railcar to the Illinois Railway Museum (see picture) where he has run it on their track. |
Stan's Work With The Boy Scout of
America (Prairielands
Council, Champaign IL.)
For over 40 years Stan has been associated with a Boy Scout Troop, producing about 300 Eagle Scouts. Part of the time he served as Scoutmaster. Among Stan’s many accomplishments in scouting, I would like to state just a few of them.
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He has been awarded the “Silver Beaver” Award for dedication to scouting. This is the highest award which may be presented by a local Scout Council and is one of the more prestigious awards made by the Boy Scouts of America. He is a member of “The 1910 Society” of the Boy Scouts of America. This Society is named in recognition of the year in which the early leaders founded the Boy Scouts. “The 1910 Society” recognizes endowment gifts of $25,000 or more to the local council endowment fund. Stan has been a member of the Executive Board of the Prairielands Council of Champaign, Illinois since 1972. Stan is also a Trust Officer for the endowment of the Prairielands Council and a Camp Visitation Leader for over 30 years. His function is to review other scout camps for health, safety and other programs. |
As part of is involvement with the BSA Stan has done extensive travel including the following:
These are some of the highlights of 40 years of service Stan has dedicated to the Boy Scouts of America.
Interesting/Inventive MacLeod Family History
Stan gets his interest in engines and railroading from the MacLeod side of his family. The following is two examples of that family history.
Great grandfather John Norman MacLeod invented and developed a fill valve that was used on steam locomotives. To get water into the boiler, it had to be injected because of the high pressure. This involved opening and closing certain valves in the correct order. If done improperly either the engine or the tender would explode. This new valve, referred to as a “side valve” prevented any back steam or water from effecting the tender. The valve was patented by Mueller Brass located in Decatur, Illinois in the late 1800’s.
Stan’s cousin Norman John MacLeod invented the “breakerless ignition system” for small and medium size engines (for example, lawnmowers). Norman John MacLeod graduated from the University of Michigan and went to work in research with Tecumseh Products in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tecumseh made engines under their own name as well as, Lawsom compressors. All engines from 1 to 18 horsepower use the “breakerless ignition system” today.
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If you are interested in learning more you can contact Stan
at stanr@uiuc.edu Picture left Stan Rankin with Chief John MacLeod |
