[Illustration: George H. Corliss
Born in North Easton, Washington County, New York, George H. Corliss
started out to work in a general store. At twenty-one he was the
proprietor of his own store. It was an incident which happened there
that set him forth on a career as an inventor. A customer complained
of a pair of boots which ripped at the seams. Corliss thought there
ought to be a better way to sew and in the process of trying to find
it, invented a sewing machine in 1843, three years before Elias Howe
received his patent. That was his first step as an inventor and it
was followed by many other inventions.]
The Corliss steam engine improvements, at the time of their invention
and for many years thereafter, represented the most effective device
ever designed for economizing in the use of steam and regulating the
steadiness of a steam engine’s power and speed. These were essential
steps if man was to harness the power of steam and turn it to practical
use.
Before the advent of the Corliss engine, those engines which were
available were very wasteful in their use of fuel to produce steam and
its resultant power. They were also unable to maintain even speeds in
driving factory machinery and other units. This uneven flow of power was
a serious handicap to those who wanted to use steam to turn the wheels
of industry.
The secret of the efficiency of the Corliss engine lay in its most
distinctive feature ... the Corliss cut-off valve gear. The cut-off was
automatically controlled by the governor regardless of power variations
and without any slowing in speed. This was fundamentally responsible for
the Corliss’ efficiency and savings in fuel. So efficient was the engine
that the inventor often agreed to sell his product under an agreement
that the saving in fuel cost by the end of a certain period would be its
price. In one case, after the engine had run through the stated period
of two years, the purchaser was glad to pay twice the list price rather
than the much higher amount represented by actual savings.
The Corliss engine has played no small part in the development of Dayton
industry. Two such engines were used by The National Cash Register
Company for almost fifty years. One of these has been placed in Carillon
Park. In the next few pages this faithful worker for industrial progress
tells some of its experiences.
[Illustration: Looking over the top of the Corliss engine as
installed in the miniature power house in Carillon Park.]