Preservation & Serial Number Research
Originally published as the newsletter and research column for Buffalo Pitts historians and descendants, `/flywheel-news.html` tracked surviving steam engines, boiler recertifications, and archival discoveries from the Carolina Street factory.
Modern operators running surviving 19th- and early-20th-century steam traction engines at public heritage exhibitions must comply with state historic boiler inspection standards (including NBIC Part 2 / ASME Section I appendices), combining hydrotesting with grid ultrasonic thickness mapping of the crown sheet, water legs, and staybolts.
Buffalo Pitts casting numbers typically carry a letter prefix denoting the machine series followed by the pattern number, allowing restorers to match surviving wheel hubs, differential bevel gears, and governor brackets against 1895–1914 parts books.