NEW WAY - NEW FACTORY PRODUCTION CELEBRATED?

NEW WAY AIR COOLED ENGINES
The New Way Motor Company started production in a 100 ft shed in Michigan. Early production was blighted by fire but this among other things of course ensured the company moved with an eye to expansion.

WORKERS and PRODUCTION
It is obvious from the following photo and the New Way Motor Company Mutual Benefit Association that there was great respect for New Way workers both on the production line and also to ensure their care outside the factory workshop. The Benefit Association booklet makes a great read for a company early in the 20th century already mindful of it's social obligations. Click the link and have a read.

PHOTO ANALYSIS
Engine: Inspection of the photo reveals a Vertical Model "A" Type "C" engine holding center stage with apparent workers and staff of the New Way Motor Company.
Workers: The left side of the photos shows a group of well dressed men in ties, likely office staff or factory management with the remainder giving the appearance of  engineering factory workers.
Location: It is obvious from inspection of the building that it has not been taken at the original factory facility but rather because of building construction, is at their New Factory Facility in the very early days, since the landscaping is very rudimentary and nothing like illustrations when the factory was serviced by rail and well landscaped like a prosperous factory facility.
Characteristics of the building in the photo greatly resemble the building construction of the factory c1910. indicating it was just after initial construction. See the illustration below.
It is reasonable therefore to assert that the photo was taken likely to celebrate the commencement of production at the new factory using their flagship "3 1/2 HP Air Cooled" motor.

ENJOY
George

LAY Farm Light - New Way Engine Driven

NEW WAY POWERED - Proprietary Equipment
New Way produced engines that in their day were ideally suited for driving various types of plant.
One such company recently brought to our  notice is L.A. Young Industries of Detroit Michigan. The company generally specialized in springs and wire but were also involved in other mechanical machinery and development of golfing equipment.

RESEARCH - Investigation reveals that L.A. Young had multiple U.S. patents issued for many of the fields represented above but to this point we have found nothing related to electricity generation or lighting that would indicate that the "FARM LIGHT" plant might be of their development or have particular developments in accordance with their patents. Consequently the generator / alternator /regulator is probably a rebadged outfit from another recognized manufacturer. Likely L. A. Young was taking advantage of a burgeoning market for domestic farm power and teamed the New Way Engine with a reliable electric company's plant.

ENGINE - NEW WAY Series "F" - 4 H.P. (c Mid 1900 teens) - Carburetor, throttle governed engines

ELECTRICS - No electrics were found with the engine but given the era of production it is likely it was used to charge a farm battery bank and expected to be regulated 32 Volt D.C. The ID tag gives no indication of these pertinent facts. The engine is fitted with a wide pully to take a wide flat belt indicating the generator was belt driven as against a chain drive.

PHOTOS - Engine and ID Tag. The tag only mentions L.A. Young being completely devoid of mention of "New Way" but a check of patent dates on the tag clearly declares that the engine is indeed a re-badged New Way engine.

INFO- Has anyone seen one of these and/or has further information they can supply us with it would be much appreciated. Just contact me on my email geo.covey@gmail.com 

George

New Way M Series Engines

MODEL OVERVIEW
The M Series New Way Engines have always presented a quandary when trying to identify a particular model within the range.

New Way Engines are generally readily identified by looking at the size of the cylinder. Further, often the cylinder part number also tells you the not only the model but also the type of the engine. The raised casting number is generally found on the cylinder close to the crankcase join.

By referencing the cylinder in parts tables for a particular series engine it is then very easy to determine the H.P. of your New Way Engine. This means even if the ID plate is missing or it wasn't fitted to your model engine as is the case from factory for some models, you can still tell exactly what model engine you have.
Problem? - New Way Motor Company like many companies used interchangeable parts not only within engine series but also across engine series. For the later series engines, using the same cylinder part, the cylinder part number will give you the H.P. but it will obviously not give you the Model.

No ID Plates or missing shroud? -  New Way Motor Company did not fit ID plates to some series engines including to the J Series and M Series. In some cases the shroud was designated with H.P., model and type but often over the years shrouds were removed. Obviously, identification problems are compounded when the shroud is missing or text is no longer legible.

For engines that have no ID plate, New Way Motor Company also resorted to stamping the serial number, often on a machined section at the join on the Cylinder and Crankcase on a general alignment with the oiler. In cases where the number is prefixed by a letter the letter indicates the Model and therefore the H.P.. eg U884
NOTE: The engine serial number is stamped. It is not the raised casting number you will probably see on the cylinder. Raised numbers are the generic part number. eg FC39 for a certain size cylinder.

"M" SERIES ENGINES - SAME SERIES DIFFERENT TYPE
Series M engines spanned key progressions in engineering and technology so that they were classified both as Type C and with progression to throttle governing, as Type F.

• EARLY Series M engines were fitted out and defined as Type "C" engines using the same cylinder parts as the "J" Series engines.
• Gasoline engines were all literally Type "C" as they had no Throttle governing but remained a Hit- Miss engine
• Kerosene engines were initially called Type "C" but were later called the standard designation of Type "F" as they were literally throttle governed engines.
• LATER Kerosene Series M Engines were fitted out as and defined as Type "F" engines
• Engineering also progressed from a bolt on inlet port to an inlet port casting that was integral part of the cylinder casting. 
• ie. "J" series cylinders were not used 

PARTS INTERCHANGEABILITY APPLICATION

Applicable to "J" SERIES engines and the early "M" Series Type C Engines.

1. "J" Series and "M" Series engines had the same H.P. range
2. "J" Series Horizontal Engines were in production first so Cylinder Casting numbers of early M Series engines literally apply to the "J" Series.
3. "M" Series Engines - Consequently, Cylinder Part number only indicates H.P not the Model
1. Raised Casting Number on Cylinder
1. 2 letters prefix 39 in all cases eg. FC39 for a 3 H.P. engine
2. Use this to determine H.P. of Type "C" engines and earlier kerosene Type "F".

RESEARCHING and DETERMINING A SERIES "M" MODEL

Source of information used in research to determine "M" series models includes:

• Engine Instruction Manuals
• New Way Sales Catalogs
• Original designated shrouds from registered engines.
• Following established New Way protocols for engine identification. 

EARLY M SERIES ENGINES -
DETERMINING MODEL of a Type C Engine

• With "M" Series engines fitted with "J" Series cylinders, the cylinder casting number defines the H.P. of the engine as shown in the manual parts tables.
• Additionally some stamped serial numbers are prefixed with the Model alpha code eg "U2431 for a 3.5 H.P. engine.
• Shrouds are specific to M Series engines so their part number code reflects the actual Model and Type. [Refer Table]
• Both Kerosene and Gasoline engines were initially designated Type "C". 

LATER M SERIES ENGINES
DETERMINING "M" SERIES MODEL of a Type F Engine

•  Serial Number may be prefixed by the letter dictating the model eg P1245
• Later Kerosene engines used standard throttle governed typing of Type "F"
• Cylinder / inlet Casting Number may not be a standard xx39 but use a generic New Way code of LFC .
• "LFC" was used by New Way Motor Company on other early engines. (possibly a prototype designation until the casting was accepted by engineering)    
• Cooling Hood (shroud) that surrounds the cylinder is individual to each model of "M" Series engine. The Cooling Hood part numbers, being model specific, therefore reflect the model but not necessarily the type if it is a late kerosene engine.   

IDENTIFICATION TABLE
NOTE:- The Cooling Hood part number [3rd column] being model specific, reflects the model and type of the engine except for later throttle governed, kerosene Type "F engines.

CYL. CASTING NUMBER	HORSE POWER	COOLING HOOD Part No.	SERIES	MODEL	TYPE Note 1	VARIANT Note 2
NC39	1.5 H.P.	SC80	M	S	C
DC39	2.0 H.P.	KC80	M	K	C	K - Kerosene
OC39	2.5 H.P.	PC80	M	P	C	K - Kerosene
FC39	3.0 H.P.	MC80	M	M	C	K - Kerosene
TC39	3.5 H.P.	UC80	M	U	C	K - Kerosene
GC39	4.0 H.P.	RC80	M	R	C	K - Kerosene
??	4.5 H.P.		M	R	C	K - Kerosene
VC39	6.0 H.P.	WC80	M	W	C	K - Kerosene

TABLE NOTE 1:- Engines that are Type "F" will be designated as an "F" in the type column. Applies to some "later" Throttle Governed Kero engines only.

TABLE NOTE 2:- Kerosene engines are recorded for all sizes except the 2 H.P. engine. The Serial Number often carries a suffix of "K" to indicate that fact.

•  eg for a 6 H.P. it may show W4012K

Sales brochures supported this with an additional Typing of "K" for kerosene engines. 

• Example - A 6 H.P. kero engine fully described would be either:
• Series M Model W Type CK  
• Series M Model W Type FK

Bolt-on Intake Port Casting

Intake Port cast as part of Cylinder Casting

 M Series Intakes

Early versions were the same as the "J" Series engines as shown in the left photo. [Bolt On]

Later version engines had the intake port cast as part of the cylinder casting as shown in the right photo.  [Early "Standard" engine design principle but using parallel top fins in lieu of radial top fins]



IN A NUT SHELL:
The M Series Model and Type for a particular HP engine can generally be determined by looking at your engine's cylinder casting number eg FC39. By looking at the Instruction Manual parts list, this will tell you it's HP and also what the Shroud Part Number is in this case is MC80.

• So with FC39 we know it is 3 H.P.
• With MC80 we know it is Model "M" Type "C"
• the only exception is if it is a late model Kero engine in which case it is a Type "F"  - so Model "M" Type "F

It is only the Type that changes with advances in technology and then only for the Kerosene Throttle Governed Engine as standard type "F" is adopted. 

OUR APPEAL:
All of the "M" Series Instruction Manuals we own, seen or inquired about only have the Bolt-on intake setup illustrations and so only list "J" Series cylinder parts (as shown in column 1 of the table.)

I would be very keen to hear from anyone who might have an Instruction Manual that shows the fully cast combined Cylinder/Intake casting and lists the part numbers for this new part. 

By example, younger Instruction Manuals for very early Standard Engines listed parts and showed changes generally by specifying year of production. The first manuals for these engines are obviously devoid of this detail.

It may well be that New Way never produced an instruction manual for their later engine given that it operated exactly the same as the one using the "J" Series cylinders.  

Can you help by checking your Series M manual? If you find what we are chasing please send us an email.

Cheers
George

ENGINE DEVELOPMENT - NEW WAY MOTOR COMPANY

HISTORY:
New Way Motor Company engine development, really sits on the inventive genius of C.H.Way and this is displayed as early as 1903 in his Engine patent US 776,708. While this engine appears not to have reached commercial production it does represent the genius of the man who was to go on to ensure the pioneering of Air Cooled engines for use on the farm and industry was highly successful.

ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT 

 The New Way Motor Company commenced production in a 100 ft long shed. Humble beginings!

Their first engines were called their "Standard" engine or the "S" Series. Over time this "S" series came to encompass vertical, horizontal and twin cylinder engines. These can be regarded as their heavy duty or industrial series of engines. 

This can be contrasted with their lighter duty horizontal single cylinder "Jewel" or J series engines and their Series F vertical cylinder engines tuoted because of light weight for binder engines. 

The Company used a THREE TIER STRUCTURE in the engineering classification of their engines. 

The overarching classification being "Series" followed by "Model" and finally "Type"

•  SERIES
• Series – A grouping of engines forming the "top tier" / level and may incorporate many “Models” and more than one “Type” of engine.  Different formats such as Vertical, Horizontal or Twin Cylinder may all be included within the one series.  
• MODEL
• Model – A Sub level of  series and related to the Horse Power of the engine.
• Research indicates that in earlier years of production New Way used sequential “ALPHA” Model coding to indicate when it’s development started. [Refer TABLE – Model Column]
• Applies to all different series engines until Hit Miss engines ceased to be included within the new model ranges.
• Model “A” through to Model “Z”. Each used only once across all series of engines. [Refer Table]
• With the LATER SERIES ENGINES [throttle governed engines], this all changed, with the same model identifier used in all series engines. (eg Series F Model “D” and Series A Model “D” etc.) 
•  TYPE
• Type – As used by New Way related to the Technology and Engineering development employed in an engine.
• Technological and engineering advancement meant a model over time was built as different versions, defined by type.  Eg Type “C” to Type “F”
• Model [H.P.] did not change but the type did.
• Example - Some Series M engines were Type C (Hit Miss governed) and later Series M engines being throttle governed were Type F.
• TYPE A and B – Likely pre-commercial production engines such as patented by C.H. Way where valves were on opposite sides of cylinder. ( U.S. Patent 776708 applies) Refer Patent Drawing at start of article
• TYPE C - Intake and Exhaust valves - top and bottom of port in line on all Type “C” engines whether horizontal or vertical.
• TYPE D –Intake & Exhaust valves - both on top of cylinder –(linked to Exhaust Rocker?)
• TYPE E – Unclear defining development – (linked to Exhaust Rocker?)
• TYPE F – Flywheel Governor - Throttle governed engines
• TYPE H – Gear Driven Governor - Throttle governed engines 

The following table presents the New Way Motor Company engine classification TIER STRUCTURE in pictorial form.

The second column beige section shows there was only one model descriptor used for all series engines up until the new series engines that no longer included any Hit-Miss option. 

The blue and green shaded cells show how, from that time on, the model descriptor is reused across an engine series.

Series	Model	H.P.	Type	Feature	Tech. Advance	Sales ** Sub/Type
S	A	3.5	C	H.M.Fly
S	B	7.0	C	H.M.Fly
S	B1	7.0	E	H.M.Fly+
S	C	2.5	C	H.M.Fly
S	D	6.0	D	H.M.Fly+
S	E	4.5	C	H.M.Fly
J	F	3.0	C	H.M.Fly
J	G	4.0	C	H.M.Fly
S	H	6.0	C	H.M.Fly
S	J	8.0	C	H.M.Fly
S	J	8.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
M	K	2.0	C	H.M.Fly
M	K	2.0	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	K	2.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
S	L	12.0	C	H.M.Fly
S	L	12.0	D	H.M.Fly+
S	L	12.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
M	M	3.0	C	H.M.Fly
M	M	3.0	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	M	3.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
J	N	1.5	C	H.M.Fly
J	O	2.5	C	H.M.Fly
M	P	2.5	C	H.M.Fly
M	P	2.5	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	P	2.5	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	R	4.0	C	H.M.Fly
M	R	4.0	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	R	4.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	S	1.5	C	H.M.Fly
M	S	1.5	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	S	1.5	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
J	T	3.5	C	H.M.Fly
M	U	3.5	C	H.M.Fly
M	U	3.5	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	U	3.5	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
J	V	6.0	C	H.M.Fly
M	W	6.0	C	H.M.Fly
M	W	6.0	C	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
M	W	6.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle	K
J	Z	1.0	C	H.M.Fly
F	A	6.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
F	C	4.5	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
F	D	4.0	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
F	E	7.5	F	T.G.Fly	Throttle
A	B	3.0	H	T.G.G	Geared Gov.
A	C	5.0	H	T.G.G	Geared Gov.
A	D	8.0	H	T.G.G	Geared Gov.
A	E	8.0	H	T.G.G	Geared Gov.
A	G	10.0	H	T.G.G	Geared Gov.

Feature Column Abbreviations:

H.M.Fly - Hit Miss Engine - Flywheel Governor
T.G.Fly - Throttle Governed Engine - Flywheel Governor
T.G.G - Throttle Governed Engine - Gear driven Governor

TABLE NOTES:

*  New Way J Series 5.5 H.P engines were advertised but do not appear in instruction manuals to define it's model . Consequently, given the era it is probable they were a Model “X or Y” as they are the only legitimate gaps in the model table. (Given I and Q are often not used because of recognition confusion with L and O)

** New Way Sales Brochures give an additional Type for kerosene engines (K) which for the sake of clarity is regarded as a sub type as against standard engineering type classifications. 

Series “M” engines – Early throttle governed Series "M" engines were still designated as Type”C” but later adopted the Type “F” standard designation for throttle governed engines. Instruction manual documentation in essence reflects this with only the early version cylinders with bolt on intakes being shown and not the combined cylinder / intake casting as used on later “M” series engines.

The table shows the 3 "TYPE" possibilities for each Model/HP. These are gasoline Hit Miss, Kero Type "C" and Kero Type "F".

Fathoming the depths.

George