Art Raffle Benefits Steamer Project

An art raffle benefitting Owego Hose Team, Inc.’s Steamer Project is currently underway in downtown Owego. Through a partnership with local artist Michelle McLaren, Susquehanna Printers, The Thomas Bronk Team with Howard Hanna and Gallery 41, an original framed painting of the Owego Fire Department’s 1866 Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine (Steamer) valued at $500 will be raffled, benefitting the Steamer’s restoration and proposed Steamer House on North Avenue.  

Tickets for $10 are available at Susquehanna Printers, Early Owego Antique Center, and Gallery 41 on Lake Street, and the Community Shop on North Avenue. Limited edition Steamer prints and cards are also available at Gallery 41.

The painting depicts the Steamer in front of Owego Central Fire Station on North Avenue and includes the “Fireman’s Creed” imbedded in the work. The original sketch of the Steamer by Ms. McLaren was completed and water colored last month, and can be viewed at Gallery 41’s storefront window. The raffle drawing will take place prior to Christmas on Facebook Live, from Gallery 41, on Dec. 23.    

Owego Hose Team members transported the Steamer to Firefly Restorations in Hope, Maine last month. The 153-year-old steamer has not been operational since the late 1980s, at which time it was the oldest operating licensed steam fire engine in the United States. Now under the care, custody and control of the Owego Hose Teams, the steamer will undergo a complete restoration allowing it to reclaim the “oldest operating” title.

Andy Swift with Firefly Restorations and Brian Fanslau with Maine Locomotive and Machine Works have been hard at work on the restoration. Owego’s Steamer is of “harp” frame because the frame is in the shape of a harp instrument. Of the 853 steamers manufactured by Amoskeag only 80 were of harp frame design, a third of the first 240 they made. Only a handful, including Owego’s, are in existence today. Harp and “crane neck” frames were invented to allow for a better turning radius for the fire engine, contrary to the original “straight neck” frames. 

Swift and Fanslau recently removed the Steamer’s boiler and transported to Fanslau’s Maine Locomotive and Machine Works to replicate. The original boiler will be retained for display purposes at the proposed Steamer House on North Avenue. 

Owego’s boiler is a “Fire Tube Boiler” design much like a hot water heater in a house. The boiler gets water in or around its tubes and coils so hot it produces steam, which drives the fire pump. Owego’s pump on the Steamer is of single piston design. The pump in turn flows water from a water source (fire hydrant, pond, river) through the pump to fire hoses to extinguish the fire. 

The new boiler will be ASME certified and must pass a New York State boiler inspection each year with a maximum allowable working pressure of 125 psi. 

Individuals can donate to the project by becoming a “Steam Booster” on the hose team’s website at www.OwegoHoseTeams.com. Steamer apparel through All Star Sports, including hats and shirts, is available at https://owegosteamteam.itemorder.com/sale through Dec. 6. 

An account at Neighborhood Redemption Center on Fifth Avenue in Owego has also been set up to aid the project. Individuals can return their bottles and cans at the redemption center and apply their return funds to the Owego Hose Team account there. 

The total project cost of the Steamer restoration and “Steamer House” is expected to be upwards of $100,000.