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Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Daboll trumpet at Pilot Island

In 1862, a Daboll patent trumpet fog signal was installed at the Port du Mort light station on Pilot Island off the northern tip of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula shown here.

Photo: In 1862, a Daboll patent trumpet fog signal was installed at the Port du Mort light station on Pilot Island off the northern tip of Wisconsin's Door Peninsula shown here. 
The Port du Mort lighthouse on Wisconsin's Pilot Island

The trumpet at Port du Morts received its supply of compressed air from one of John Ericsson's unique caloric engines, one of which is shown in the illustration below.

Photo: The trumpet at Port du Morts received its supply of compressed air from one of John Ericsson's unique caloric engines, one of which is shown in the accompanying illustration. 
One of Ericsson's groundbreaking Caloric engines

While there were a number of Daboll trumpets installed at lighthouses throughout the USA, perhaps the most unique installation was this single horsepower engine installed at the Beavertail light station in Narragansett Bay. Built in 1851, it was fueled by a combination of hay, oats and water.

 
Daboll's unique "oats and water" powered air compressor.