Nichols and Langworthy manufactured engines in Hope Valley, RI and sold them under the New York Safety Steam Power name.
The New York Safety Steam Power engine represents a marked advance in size reduction, one piece ruggedness, and simplicity of manufacture. It is a vertical, single cylinder engine producing 15 horsepower at 150 RPM on 80 psi. A distinguishing feature of the vertical NYSSP engine is its widely copied bottle shaped frame. The cross head guides are arcs of a cylinder. They are machined by the insertion of a boring bar through the lower end of the frame.
The NYSSP engine was designed by Stephen Wilcox in 1869. Stephen Wilcox and George Babcock shared an office in New York on Cortlandt Street (engine makers row) where they sold Nichols and Langworthy products and began the Babcock and Wilcox boiler manufacturing company.
