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The Winton Engine Company Model 129-6
was a four-stroke cycle airless injection six-cylinder marine diesel
engine with 12-1/2 inch bore and 16 inch stroke. The 129-6 was constructed
of chrome nickel iron, and weighed about 60,000 lbs. Unlike many
Winton engines of the period, this type was only built as an inline
six cylinder, there were no four cylinder or eight cylinder versions.
This engine series was introduced around 1927 and continued in production
to the early 1930s. The rating of the engine was revised several
times during the period of its manufacture, commonly applied ratings
include 330 BHP at 300 RPM, 400 BHP at 375 RPM, and 450 BHP at 375
RPM. The installation of this engine on the preserved historic tugboat
LUNA was typical of the applications of the Model 129-6, with a
pair of the engines rated 330 BHP each driving 213 kW generators
that supplied power to a double armature main propulsion motor rated
at 516 H.P. at 125 R.P.M.
Total production of this type of
diesel engine was probably less than 100 engines. Today only two
are known to still exist, on the tug LUNA, based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Unfortunately these engines were damaged when the tug's engine room
was partially flooded prior to the current restoration project.
The Winton Engine Company was formed
by Alexander Winton, the builder of Winton Automobiles, and was
located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was acquired in 1930 by General Motors
along with one of its primary engine customers, the Electro-Motive
Company. Winton Engine subsequently became the Cleveland Diesel
Division of General Motors in 1937, and was disbanded around 1960.
The rights for the Winton and Cleveland Diesel engines were acquired
by Hatch & Kirk Company of Seattle, Washington in 1977. They
still build parts for some of the engines. The Electro-Motive Company
became the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD), a major
builder of diesel locomotives and marine engines. It still operates
as Electro-Motive Diesel, a locomotive and engine building subsidiary
of Progress Rail (Caterpillar) with facilities in La Grange, Illinois,
Muncie, Indiana, and other locations.
Article and page design by Preston Cook, ©2009
by T.E.S.
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Here is a link to the tugboat Luna website:
http://www.tugboatluna.org/
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