Nichols and Langworthy manufactured engines in Hope Valley, RI and sold them under the New York Safety Steam Power name. They produced engines in many sizes of which we have three. Two of these engines are commonly refered to as "bottle" engines because of their bottle look from the side. They were fitted with reversing gear when used on steam launches as shown in the prints. The small engine was a gift of Louisa Fay in memory of "Grandfather Steam" Dan Fay. The large engine came from a Westerly, RI granite quarry. It was used as an air compressor and was driven by an electric motor. This engine was a gift of Charles Arthur Moore-III.

Large NYSSE Engine

Small NYSSE Engine

25 HP Horizontal

The engine shown above was originally installed the cellar of Lippitt Hall at the Rhode Island Agricultural School (now the University of Rhode Island) and was purchased when the building was built. It generated all of the electricity for the campus. The engine above is at the left center in the photograph below.

The cellar of Lippitt Hall at the University of Rhode Island. Photo courtesy of URI Archives.

This photo was taken in 1900, just 5 or 6 years after the Lippit Hall was built. The generator in this photograph is nearly identical to the one that it is connected to now. The engine at the right is the same as the museum's Armington & Sims engine.

In 1929 the engine was moved to the cellar of Bliss Hall, the first engineering building on campus. There it was used only for instructional purposes in the Mechanical Engineering Department.

The department and all of its equipment was moved to Wales Hall in 1960. During that move the generator, the control panel, and the resistor banks which were used for a load were, unfortunately, scrapped. A few years later this engine was donated to the NEWSM, and two other steam engines and a small deLaval turbine were scrapped. Two of the other engine's flywheels were used as moorings for an ocean engineering student's thesis project, which are probably still at the bottom of the bay.

Lippitt Hall at the University of Rhode Island, Photo courtesy of URI Archives