The April issue of Diesel World Magazine has part 1 of a 2 part article on the history of the Cummins Model H engine.  On newstands now!

We are working on a similar article for the next WoT issue.

We launched the Cummins Inc 100th anniversary celebration today! Check out the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PgZjq454e_k and our new Historical Interactive timeline on our website: https://www.cummins.com/timeline

Happy 100^th birthday Cummins!!!!


On this day, February 3, 1919, Cummins officially became a company under the leadership of founders Clessie Lyle Cummins and William G Irwin.

Over the course of 2019, we will be celebrating our birthday at multiple different events.

-March 7-10: Amelia Island Concours de Elegance – Amelia Island, Florida.  1934 Cummins-powered Indy race car on display with other Indy cars. https://www.ameliaconcours.org/   https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/01/24/the-indy-500s-revolutionary-innovations-honored-at-amelia-island/?refer=news

-March 28-30: Mid-American Truck Show (MATS) – Louisville, Kentucky.  Coordinating with ATHS to have vintage Cummins-powered trucks on display in our booth and around the show floor.  https://www.truckingshow.com/

-April 8-14: Bauma Trade Show - Munich, Germany.  Early Cummins HVID engine on display in booth https://www.bauma.de/index-2.html

-May 24-26: Indianapolis 500 – Indianapolis, Indiana.  All 5 Cummins-powered race cars on display all weekend, and for the first time EVER all 5 cars will do a pre-race victory lap.  https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/indy500

-May 31-June 2: ATHS National Show -- Reno, Nevada.  Oldest known survivng Cummins-powered truck on display (1929 Sterling with fully-documented 1934 Model H upfit).  Cummins history presentations on Thursday and Friday. https://www.aths.org/2019convention

-June 7-8: Cummins 100th Celebration at Jamestown engine plant -- Jamestown, NY.  Home of the X15.  May be employee only??  May have open-to-public time??  TBD

-June 13-15: Turbo Diesel Registry Rally – Columbus, Indiana.  30^th anniversary for Dodge/Cummins!  Bring your Dodge Ram Cummins truck, tour the engine plant, etc.  Sign up soon! https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/next-year%E2%80%99s-tdr-national-rally-update-june-13-15.265369/

-June 15: Employee-only 100th Celebration -- Columbus, Indiana.  Sadly, our main celebration of the year is employee-only.  We are coordinating with ATHS to have some trucks (~5-10) on display, along with as much of our own historical items as possible. 

And many more events yet to be announced!

In the coming days we'll be posted a lot of stuff online that I'll share links to.

Despite our failures in the marine market with the vertical HVID engine, Clessie went right back to the marine market to sell the Model F.  However, the fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico had not forgotten the mishaps and Cummins was not welcomed there.  Clessie had to go to the west coast to escape the tarnish, and indeed the first 29 Model F engines were sold to west coast boats.  Engine #30, however, was sold to Northwest Engineering Co.  Northwest was interesting in repowering their Model 104 steam-powered cable shovel with a diesel engine.  This would be the first time a Cummins engine would operate in a truly dirty environment, and the Model F with its exposed valves, no air filtration, and minimal lubrication struggled to survive.  Engines were being swung frequently.  Cummins began a series of rapid engine redesigns and improvements to address the issues.

The Model N: Bored and Stroked Model F, gave it 10 more HP.  The Model P: New single piece crankcase with camshaft inside to protect it from dirt. All other parts common with the Model F.  Only one of these engines known to survive.  The Model W: Bored and stroked Model P

Another interesting attempt to solve the issues with the Model F was the development of a two-cycle engine.  According to Clessie, he and Hans had actually attempted to develop a two-cycle engine (supposedly called the Model T) before the Model F, but were never satisfied with it and gave up for the Model F.  Now, with all the valve wear issues we were having with Northwest, the idea of trying two-cycle came back because it doesn’t have any valves.  Issue solved!...right?  According to Clessie they right at least 20 different engine designs, ranging from simple to complex.  But still Clessie couldn’t find a design that was satisfactory.  But had they, Cummins may have been a two-cycle-based diesel engine company!

The idea for the two-cycle engine lingered at the company for another 10 years, and in 1934 Clessie let the engineers have another stab at it, resulting in a two-cycle Model H that was tested alongside an identical four-cycle Model H in the Indianapolis 500.  Both cars/engines were supercharged, our first test of supercharging, three years before we would offer it in production.  The four-cycle car dropped out of the race with a failed transmission, and the two-cycle car finished the race.  But after the race the two-cycle engine cooled off and seized and would not start.  Chances are if it had ran another lap or two in the race the engine would’ve failed in operation.  A great story was then put forth that Clessie was so mad at the 2-cycle engine that he dumped it into the White River after the race.  In fact, Clessie was never in favor of the 2-cycle so he was probably very pleased when it seized.  The engine was brought back to the factory and disassembled for inspection after the race.  It was then rebuilt with new parts and was ran again.  We still have the engine today and it could still run, however we do not run it as the engine design was not changed so it will fail again if we run it for too long. 

Youtube videos of other Model Fs running:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_V4F7ImYeA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-GsINYNuf8


Four cylinder Model F on factory base, with generator



The Northwest Engineering Model 104 shovel, Cummins Model F inset


A Cummins Model P - only one known to exist


Picture of the Model T engine


An early prototype two-cycle engine.  Given the parts on the engine, it is likely one of the 20 designs built to resolve field failures of the Model F


The 2-cycle Model H from the 1934 Indy race car (supercharger not shown)


The 1934 Cummins race car with the 2-cycle H.  Clessie behind the car, Stubby in the drivers seat

There is also some Cummins history in tonight's What Am I, courtesy of Diesel Steve.

Jeff

great cummins history!  here is  more for you brick yard fans, 1931 dave evans qualifies an 85 hp cummins diesel powered duesenberg race car 17th in the annual indy 500 mile race. evans finishes 13th  at an average speed of 86.107 mph and drives the first car  ever to finish the 500 without a pit stop ,total cost of 31 gallons of fuel and 1 quart of oil consumed is $1.78. that is 16.1 mpg at 86 mph. !!!! from chiltons complete book of automotive facts.   also enjoyed the connection to st. marys engine co. of st.charles mo. two of our members of our il/mo tractor and engine club have st. marys one 25 hp and a 30 hp that scales out at 12500,lbs both side shaft oil engines.  thanks for all the cummins info!

From 1919-1922, Cummins manufactured four sizes (1.5, 3, 6, and 8HP) of the same engine, which we call the HVID.  The entire engine design was bought from Hercules, so no Cummins design went into the initial engines, but Clessie did improve the design along the way (see below).

We call it the HVID because the fuel system was patented and licensed by Rasmus Martin Hvid.  The HVID fuel system was a derivative of the Brons fuel system and both are essentially the same other than the cup/nozzle design.  Neither Brons nor HVID systems were true diesels.  Diesel is specifically the high-pressure injection of the fuel into the power cylinder, where high-temperature compressed air ignites the fuel.  Brons and HVID used no fuel pressure.  Gravity fed fuel the injector, then the vacuum of the intake stroke pulled the fuel down into the injector cup.  The cup acts as a prechamber, and as the piston compressed the air on the up stroke, the air would enter the cup, atomize and heat the fuel, and initial combustion would occur in the cup.  The explosion forced the rest of the fuel out into the power cylinder, where it would finish combustion. 

Thinking through this always blows my mind.  The design the Brons/HVID system means the fuel ignites whenever flashpoint is reached, making timing a function of fuel quality, compression ratio, and ambient temperature – which adds up to a lot of variation.  Our engines came with a three piece connecting rod with shims that allowed you to lengthen the rod, thus increasing compression ratio and allowing you to time the engine.  Kerosene typically required no shims (lowest compression), but other oils like whale oil required quite a few shims.

Clessie quickly picked up on the shortcomings of the system and set out to address what he could.  His first patent created the first fuel return line, allowing any air or fuel that had entered the injector and leaked past the seals to escape and freely return to the tank.  His next patent created the first water-cooled injector, which reduced timing variation due to ambient temps.  By the end of his life, Clessie would have 33 patents to his credit.

In 1921, Clessie designed his first engine, and upright/vertical piston engine with 1 or 2 cylinder configuration and the HVID fuel system.  This engine was designed specifically for boats and was tested on Clessie’s personal boat the ‘CECO 1’ before being put into production.  According to Clessie, the engine performance died off every 3-5hrs due to injector nozzle coking, but since the injector was easy to remove and clean the boat owners were ok with this task.  What they weren’t ok with was the crankshaft counterweights coming off.  Word quickly spread and our engines were out.

With this, Clessie knew he needed an entirely new engine and fuel system.  We ceased all engine production in 1923, and sold Clessie’s HVID patents back to Mr. Hvid in exchange for ending the contract.  He hired Hans Knudsen away from the St. Mary’s Engine Co and made him our first chief engineer (great hire!).  Together they designed the Model F, our first wholly designed engine which started production in May 1924.

References:
"When Diesel Isn't a Diesel", Paul Harvey, 2010: http://coolspringpowermuseum.org/Publications/Flywheel/Flywheel_201210.htm
"My Days with Diesel", Clessie Cummins, 1967
US Patent 1,557,143: https://patents.google.com/patent/US1557143?oq=1557143


Artist rendering of a 3HP Cummins HVID


6 (or 8?) HP Cummins HVID with a gear driven Barnes Mfg Co water pump


Our recently repainted 3HP HVID engine


Clessie's boat, CECO 1, being put into the Ohio river at Madison, Indiana.  Powered by a Cummins diesel


1921 Advertisement for the upright Cummins HVID engine


One of the two known surviving vertical Cummins HVID engines


4cylinder Model F - only 4cyl known to exist. This particular engine was built for Northwest Mfg to repower a steam shovel

Interesting.  My grandfather was born in 1881 in Pennsylvania and went to some sort of engineering school.  He got a job with Studebaker in South Bend.  He stayed there a couple of years and then went to work with Marmon in Indianapolis.  He then went to Delco Remy in Anderson and retired from there at age 75.

So, where I'm leading - I wonder if he knew Clessie.


Fred Schrope - Upland, IN

Clessie Cummins was born December 27, 1888 on his family’s farm in Henry County, Indiana (east of Indianapolis).  He was the oldest of five children: Irene, Don, Deloss, and Nell.  His father’s business of making barrel hoops from elm trees required the family to move frequently, and by the time Clessie ‘graduated’ from school in 8^th grade, he had attended 13 different schools.  As he moved from town to town, his affinity for engineering brought him under the apprenticeship of local blacksmiths, clockmakers, and steam engine companies.  By the age of 11, the clockmaker taught Clessie how to make his first steam engine using a brass shotgun shell (cylinder), a penny (piston), and a kerosene can (boiler).   About the same time, Clessie got into casting metal, using wood molds and lead. His family made him a lathe using an old foot-powered sewing machine, and with that Clessie’s machining love was born.

The Cummins’ family moved to Columbus, Indiana in 1904.  Clessie quickly found a job at a small machine shop owned by Quentin Noblitt.  The Noblitt family still runs a machine shop in Columbus to this day!  Also in Columbus during this time was the beginning of Arvin Industries (radios, small heaters, etc), the Remy Brother of Delco-Remy, and the Reeves Co. (pulleys, steam engine, hit-miss engines, and some cars), and of course the Irwin family which owned half of Columbus.  Clessie also obtained a job driving a trolley car owned by the Irwin family, beginning his relationship that would eventually lead to Cummins Inc.

Just a year after Clessie moved to Columbus, he built his own car, engine and all (photo below).  He started to get interested in automobiles, and obtained a job with Marmon in Indianapolis as an end-of-line quality inspector.  This job with Marmon led to Clessie being on the pit crew for the Marmon Wasp race car in the 1911 inaugural Indianapolis 500, which the Marmon won!  Clessie’s love of racing and the Indy 500 would be put to good use for Cummins 20yrs later.
World War 1 came in 1914, and the Irwins funding Clessie’s first machine shop where he made parts for the military.  Around the same time, Clessie discovered his love of boating and began taking some wild trips by boat (eg: travelling the length of the Mississippi river, etc).  One such boat trip on the Ohio, Clessie’s boat ran out of gas.  He tried desperately to find someone on the river banks with gasoline, but all he could find was kerosene.  Being chilled to the bone, Clessie still had the wherewithal to wrap a copper pipe around the engine exhaust to heat and vaporize the kerosene, allowing the gasoline engine run on the fuel.  When he finally got back home, he concluded he needed to find (or make) a reliable kerosene engine.  His search led him to the Hercules engine company and their HVID oil engine.  He began to machine injectors for them, and once the war ended in 1918, he began to lay plans to build an entire engine.  With WG Irwin’s backing, Clessie launched the Cummins Engine Co in 1919 and began building and selling the HVID engines.  The first engine built and sold was a 6HP model, and as you saw at Lexington, the oldest surviving Cummins engine is also a 6hp model.


Clessie's first car, all hand built by him, including the engine (probably bought wheel and a few other items)


Clessie in the cockpit of the Marmon wasp


Clessie's machine shop during WWI

Jeff X2!!!

Brocky