In 2010 Basic Marine and Basic Towing donated a Fairbanks-Morse diesel engine to the U.P. Steam and Gas Engine Association.
This massive marine diesel engine is 24 feet long, nine feet tall and seven feet wide. It weighs 80 tons and, it in heyday, was capable of producing 3,000 horsepower at 200 revolutions per minute.
On Saturday, January 14, 2012, the engine was moved to its permanent location in Heritage Village. This was a major undertaking requiring two large cranes, courtesy of Roy Ness Contracting and Northern Machine and Engineering. Personnel and equipment from Basic Marine and Basic Towing also assisted.
It took a little over three hours to load the engine onto a flatbed truck and move it to a specially constructed base composed of approximately 20 cubic yards of reinforced concrete.
This amazing engine is a wonderful addition to Heritage Village. Its size and uniqueness will undoubtedly command attention for many years to come.
The Association plans to build a protective roof over the display and to clean and paint the engine. Eventually, we hope to restore it to operating condition.
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