Engine Start Up

Sunday, May 4, 2025

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., regular admission.

Speaker presentation begins at 1:00 p.m.

Spring is here, and that means it is time to start our engines! Join us as we bring our outdoor exhibits out of winter hibernation, including our replica of Drake Well with its steam engine and our Central Power exhibit featuring a working Olin gas engine with Simplex power. Volunteers and staff will be on hand to interpret the engines, Drake Well replica, and our Standard Rig exhibit. The day will also feature a special presentation by W. Norm Shade on “The Bessemer Gas Engine Company – from Half-Breeds to Diesels.” The Bessemer Company began in 1899 in nearby Grove City, PA, as a manufacturer of half-breed engines that converted steam-powered oil pumper engines into gas engines that used the natural gas escaping from oil wells. Over a span of less than 30 years, Bessemer grew rapidly, becoming a leader in the production of horizontal natural gas engines for wellhead and industrial uses and becoming a U.S. pioneer in the development of large diesel engines. This talk will cover Bessemer’s exciting 30-year history prior to its 1929 merger with the C.&G. Cooper Company to form the legendary Cooper-Bessemer Corporation.

More about the speaker, W. Norm Shade…

W. Norm Shade is Sr. Consultant and President-Emeritus of ACI Services Inc. and President of WiNS Consulting Services Inc. He graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1970 with BME and MSME degrees from The Ohio State University and continued with post-graduate studies at Dartmouth and Columbia Universities. Prior to leading ACI, Shade spent 32 years with Cooper Bessemer Corporation and Cooper Cameron Corporation in design, development and executive management positions involving reciprocating and centrifugal compressors, reciprocating engines, and gas turbines.

In 2003, he started WiNS, a consulting company that continues to provide market research and technical services.

Norm has authored hundreds of technical papers and articles related to the gas compression industry. His long-running Cornerstones of Compression series in CompressorTech^Two magazine chronicles the history of notable products and companies in the gas engine and compressor space. This spawned his newest book, Cornerstones of Compression – The Companies and Machines That Have Driven 150 Years of Industrial Compressor Progress published in 2024. His book Gas Compression: A Primer on Compression Equipment & Technology was published in 2022 and quickly became a staple for college and company compression equipment training programs. Shade serves on the Board of Directors of the Coolspring Power Museum and has authored four historical booklets published by the museum. He has taught numerous short courses, holds three patents, and has been actively involved in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC), the Gas Compressor Association (GCA), the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Shade is a registered professional engineer in Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to being honored as an ASME Fellow in 1999, other notable awards include the Ohio State University’s Career Achievement, Stillman Robinson (for lifetime achievement), and E.G. Bailey Entrepreneurship Awards, the GMRC’s Edward N. Henderson Award (for outstanding contribution to the GMRC and the industry), the Zane State College Honorary Associate of Public Service Degree, the GCA’s Significant Achievement Award, and the ASME Dedicated Service Award.