6 JAN 11
My focus for many years has been on the Majestic line of hit and miss gasoline engines. The Majestic line is known to be one of the over sixty names that Waterloo engines were sold under. The Hartman Company of Chicago, Illinois in the U. S. A. sold these engines beginning in 1909. For a brief time from in 1911 thru 1914, Hartman dropped Waterloo as their supplier and sold a “cousin” of the Waterloo produced by the Miller Company. Following is a history of the Miller Company and a comparison of their engine and the Waterloo.
GEORGE B. MILLER / FAULTLESS / NEWARD ENGINES
The George B. Miller Engine Company produced gas engines very similar to the Waterloo gas engines. In the “Majestic” engine line, these are the engines with the “H”, for Hartman Company, prefix before the serial number. Years of production for the Miller-built engines with the Majestic name would be from 8 Feb 11 and ending in 1914.
GEORGE B. MILLER COMPANY HISTORY
George B. Miller was an original organizer and an officer in the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, which began business in 1893. In 1906 Waterloo began production of the “Waterloo Boy’” hopper-cooled open crank engine. Mr. Miller founded the Faultless Engine Company in Kansas City, Missouri. The record of incorporation is dated 8 Feb 11 and was forfeited on 1 Jan 21 because “no annual report” was submitted to the state. Some time after founding the Faultless Company, he founded the George B. Miller Engine Company in Waterloo, Iowa.
From the Kansas City facility, Mr. Miller sold the Neward engine line thru Montgomery Ward. The Faultless line was sold thru the Joliet Manufacturing Company and John M. Smythe Mdse. Company of Chicago. Other companies also sold his Faultless line under their own name. The George B. Miller line may have first came from Kansas City then later from the Waterloo facility but that is unknown. Engine sizes were from 1 HP thru 15 HP.
Whether Mr. Miller left his employ with the Waterloo Engine Company and became a competitor or was maintaining a friendly relationship with the company as another of the many Waterloo contract dealers is not known. What is known is that he did take the Waterloo engine design with him and produced engines with some obvious changes. These design changes might have been made to avoid patent infringement or perhaps Waterloo agreed to make the changes and produce engines for him.
It is not known what went on at the Kansas City facility. The engines may have been cast and assembled there or the Waterloo Gas Engine Company may have produced castings, which were then machined and assembled in Kansas City. It is almost certain that at the facility in Waterloo, the Waterloo Gas Engine Company supplied castings for machining and assembly.
MILLER-BUILT ENGINE CHARACTERISTICS
It is easy to recognize and characteristics of the Miller-built engines and see how they differ from those produced by Waterloo.
1. Mr. Miller assigned his own serial number sequence and a letter preceded the number. The letters used were: B, C, D, S and Y. Majestic engines usually have an “H” prefix, but not always. The lowest serial number found is #B621 on a Neward engine. Some engines with serial numbers thru #9300 have been found with a “Kansas City” ID tag. Some engines produced with a “Waterloo, Iowa” ID tag have been found with serial numbers from #9705 thru #10844 then a jump to #20715 thru #44669.
2. Miller engine igniter studs are 3/8” diameter on 2 ½” centers on the 2, 3, 5 and 9 HP with Waterloo engine studs on 2 1/8” centers.
3. Miller engine igniters have an insert for points tapering from 1 5/8” to 1 ½”. Waterloo igniter have a flat surface with no tapered insert. A #A303M18A igniter bracket is used on the Miller 2 HP engine and a #A303K66A igniter bracket is used on the 3, 5 and 9 HP models.
4. Only the connecting rod on a Miller engine has a casting number. Rods on the 2 HP have an “A46” casting number. Rods on the 3 HP have a “B46” casting number and the 5 HP have a “C46” casting number. The 9 HP has an “E46” casting number.
5. The early Faultless and Neward engines produced by Miller in Kansas City have a raised lip around the end of the cylinder. Later Miller engines produced in Waterloo, Iowa have a smooth cylinder end. All Waterloo engines have a smooth cylinder end.
6. Miller 2 HP engines have a 4” bore. Waterloo 2 HP engines have 3 ½” bore. Miller 3 and 5 HP engines have a 5” bore. Waterloo 3 and 5 HP engines have a 4 ½” bore. Miller 9 HP engines have a 6 ½” bore. Waterloo 9 HP engines have a 6” bore.
7. Miller engines in the 2, 3, 5 and 9 HP sizes have a mixer located on the bottom of the head and the muffler is on the side. Waterloo mixers are on the side and the muffler is on the bottom.
8. Miller 2, 3, 5 and 9 HP engines have a one-piece round flange bolting to the side of the flywheel holding the governor weights as they reach thru the spokes. Waterloo engines use a semi-circle yoke and the weights are larger.
9. Miller flywheels are thinner than Waterloo flywheels.
10.Miller and Waterloo 2, 3 and 5 HP water hopper tops are attached with four bolts but are in different locations. The Miller 9 engines have six bolts.
11.The Miller 10 HP is the same as the 9 HP but it is a throttled-governed
wet head and so can bury kerosene. It has a fuel pump and over-flow
mixer reservoir located on the igniter side of the head. The igniter
studs are on 2 ¾” centers. The governor weights are mounted above
the cam gear. The intake valve is on top instead of on the bottom. It
does have an “E46” connecting rod and six bolt hopper top.
The color of the Miller-built engines sold under the “Majestic” name by the Hartman Company is red (See the Majestic Company History at: www.majesticengine.com. for color matching. The color of the other Miller-built engines is Brewster Green similar to Dupont #24166 and the Rumley Oil Pull according to a 1930 catalog. (See Gas Engine Magazine 33/4/3).
James W. Priestley
523 Courtney Anne
McMinnville, Tn 37110
jimmypriestley@hotmail.com