Feature Truck for Summer 2003

1916 BREEDING STEAM TRUCK

by Terry Klenske and Don Hays

A. W. Hays, museum founder, purchased a 1916 Breeding steam truck from Jim Miller in Ohio and the original engine from Bill Breeding in Kentucky. The purchases, in about 1989, brought together the long separated components of a remarkable, one-of–a-kind, relic of American truck history.

Breeding Oil Burner Corporation built automatic coal burners or stokers. Their biggest market, however, was their development of an oil burner. To expand their business base, they felt that steam trucks would create a larger market for their product. A pilot model of the steam truck was built about 1910 but was not considered a success. It was dismantled. The truck the museum purchased was built about 1916 as a promotional vehicle. According to Bill Breeding, the truck has not run over 200 miles.

Bill Breeding’s father, R. G. Breeding, was the founder and the president of Breeding Engineering Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bill was able to provide the museum with information and photographs of the truck. He reported that this truck was completely assembled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was brought back to Monticello, Kentucky, where his father had moved in 1930.

Bill said in his letter, “The reason that the engine was in one state and the chassis in another was that my Dad gave me the engine. I dismantled the engine from the truck and stored it in the warehouse to preserve it. When the family estate was settled by public auction, a young man from Ohio purchased the chassis and took it to Ohio. I kept the engine here in Monticello because it belonged to me.”

The rusty hulk of the Breeding truck was delivered to its new home at the museum where it sat in the outdoor storage yard and was subject to further disintegration from the affects of the weather. The steam engine, stored inside the warehouse in its original crate, was well preserved.

Then along came Dan Pacheco. He wandered into the museum one day and spent hours talking to Pop Hays about restoring the steam truck. With his ambition and knowledge, eighty-year-old Dan was determined to take on the restoration project. He was born and raised in Hawaii and always joked about being a Hawaiian with the name Pacheco. Dan, like the Breeding steam truck, was a one of a kind individual and a fine example of American ingenuity. He was familiar with the workings of steam engines. He was a plumber by trade and had specialized in steam. He worked a lot around Pearl Harbor and told of watching from his house on the hill as swarms of Japanese planes attached the military base. He was convinced the first explosions were from torpedoes.

During the first part of 1992, Don Hays and Al Garcia moved the Breeding truck from the storage yard into the shop to evaluate its worth for restoration. The biggest problem was the boiler which was lined with asbestos. Deterioration had caused the extremely dangerous asbestos (according to some government sources) to slither from the inside of the boiler. Pop Hays, using his common sense approach, wanted to remove the asbestos and install new material. The need to build an air tight tent over the truck and the need for breathing devices along with special suits caused us to re-evaluate the restoration project. The decision was made to remove the demon boiler and send this piece of American history to a special disposal site. The cost of disposal was $2,500. Don and Al removed the boiler, crated it, wrapped it with plastic and sent it to its final resting-place.

Restoration on the truck began in earnest in 1993. Dan Pacheco had drawn plans, many of which were given to Pop Hays. A boiler replica was made by splitting two oil drums and connecting them to form an oval shape. The drums were covered with aluminum. Dan used his creative genius to add valves, gauges, and other paraphernalia to give the boiler a more realistic appearance. The spigot on the side of the boiler makes it look like a giant coffee pot instead of a boiler. The truck has two large tanks mounted underneath the frame. One tank is for water and the other tank is for fuel oil. On the front of the truck is a condenser unit that looks likes a radiator. The purpose of the condenser is to reduce the spent steam to water and return it to the water storage tank. The original hood for the truck has not been reinstalled in order to allow the viewers to see the simulated boiler. I do hope the original hood will be restored and returned to the truck before it is lost forever.

The cab was built without knowledge or photos of the original truck. Using examples from trucks of the same vintage and type of application, the volunteers came up with a design. When we finally received historical photos with which to compare our truck, we were amazed to note the similarities between the original cab, as seen in a photo, and the cab the volunteers had created.

The restoration project was finally completed in 1996. Many of the volunteers helped with the project under the direction of Pacheco. Compressed air (in lieu of steam) was hooked to the steam engine. Like a new engine, it generated the power to move the truck with ease in the shop area. During the celebration of the trucks rebirth, Dan Pacheco, now 86 years old gave commentary on the truck’s restoration and of his own history. He said “working with asbestos all these years has finally started to affect my sex life.”

A 2-cylinder Stanley 4½"x6½" bore and stroke, 207 cubic inch displacement, steam engine powers the truck. The engine develops 30 hp. The truck’s wheelbase is 177 inches. Advertisements boast of a 5 ton capacity. Tires are solid rubber, 36"x6" on the front and 42"x6" rear. The truck is driven by internal drive gears inside the rear wheels. A valve in the cab controls the direction and speed.

The Breeding Engineering Steam Truck is an exhibit of major interest in the museum. Currently, it is displayed next to the museum’s two electric trucks to provide evidence of the early day ventures into means of powering trucks other than internal-combustion engines.

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