Other Lansing Companies that contributed to winning World War Two
Hill Diesel Company in World War Two
Recognizing a Company from my Hometown that contributed to winning World War Two
Lansing, MI
1899-1924 as Bates and Edwards Motor Company
Hill Diesel Company
1924-1942 Owner:  R.E. Olds
April 1942-August 1942 Owner:  Edwards Company
August 1942-1948 Owner:  Rogers Diesel and Aircraft Company
1948-1952 Owner:  Drake America Corporation 

This page updated 4-2-2022.

I was totally surprised to find that Lansing had a diesel engine manufacturer that provided engines for the effort to win World War Two.  Actually, I was surprised there was a diesel manufacturer in town at all.  The Hill Diesel Company of Lansing was totally unknown to me when I started researching Lansing companies' contributions to winning World War Two.  Worse yet, its address of 238 Mill Street in Lansing was a total mystery.  There is no Mill Street in Lansing.  After searching map by map through the Lansing Sanborn Maps, I found it.  This resulted in another surprise.  Mill Street is now Museum Drive, and the home of the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum is in the former Hill Diesel Factory.  I have visited the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum several times over the years without having any thoughts as to the building's former tenants.

This view of the Sanborn fire map from 1951 shows Hill Diesel in the lower left hand corner.  To the east is the Lansing Board of Water and Light's water treatment plant.  Note the two circular tanks at the bottom of the photo.  With Cedar Street on the east side of the map and Michigan Avenue to the north, I recognized this as being the current home of the R.E. Olds Museum. 

The Google Maps satellite view shows the current R.E. Olds Museum with the circular tanks to the east of it.  The railroad tracks are long gone.  Sections of the former Hill Diesel plant have been removed, but the current building has most of the structure from the 1951 Sanborn map.

The Hill Diesel Company originally started in 1899 as the Bates & Edmonds Motor Factory.  Mr. Bates and Edmonds were former employees of R.E. Olds who started their own engine company.  The two story building identified as the current conference room and the building next to it still exist.  The empty courtyard in the center of the complex was later made into factory space.  There were a number of railroad tracks in front of the factory in 1912.  Of interest are all of the buildings on the opposite side of the Grand River at the time.  Those are all long gone.  Author's photo of an R.E. Olds Transportation Museum photo. 

This undated photo is from a later time period.  The large two story building and the square building in the foreground have been added.  The square building is now gone.   Currently, the museum is all one story with the exception of the conference room building.  Author's photo of an R.E. Olds Transportation Museum photo.

Hill Diesel Company Word War Two Production:  Table 1 shows that Hill Diesel had $16,143,000 in major contracts during World War Two.  Table 1 also shows the majority of the company's contracts were for generator sets, diesel engines, and parts to the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.  However, the first three contracts in early 1942 were from the Treasury Department for pumps.  While Table 1 does not specify the particular types of generators it produced, Hill Diesel has been identified as building an unknown number of PE-85-L, PE-205-A, and PE-207-A generators for the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War Two.  These generators were used for fixed base operation of radio communication equipment. 

After World War Two, the number of employees was normally 70 people.  However, during World War Two the company employed 550.  Production was conducted in two other plants besides the one at 238 Mill Street.  

Hill Diesel began marketing 2R, 4R, and 6R in 1940.  These were the engines it supplied during the war to power electric generators.  The number in front of the R designates the number of cylinders.  The cylinders on the R series engines had a stroke of 5.5 inches and a bore of 3.5 inches.  The 4R engine produced 34 hp at 1,200rpm and the 6R produced 44hp at 1,200 rpms. 

The Signal Corps PE-85-L utilized a Hill 6R engine and a Rogers Diesel and Aircraft Model S110 230 VAC 75 KW generator. 

The Signal Corps PE-205-A utilized the Hill 4R and a GE Model 21G342 230/240 VAC 13 KW generator.

The Signal Corps PE-207-A utilized a Hill 4R engine and a GE 12G342 120/208 VAC 15 KW generator.

The former Hill Diesel Factory now as the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum:  The Drake Corporation closed Hill Diesel in 1952.  The equipment and spare parts were auctioned off and the company faded into the past.  The reason I was totally unaware of Hill Diesel until July 2021 is that I was not yet old enough for kindergarten when it closed.  In 1977 the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum was formed and in 1981 it opened its doors in the former Hill Diesel Company factory.  Below are a series of photos of the current exterior and interior of the building.

This photo shows the north-side entrance to the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum at 240 Museum Drive in Lansing, MI.  The museum has added a section of new red brick to the entrance area of the building.  The rest of the building is constructed of either blocks or original brick.  These blocks and bricks have been painted gray.  Author's photo.

This photo of the north end of the east wall has the "Body by Fisher" sign displayed that was on the east end of the south wall of the former Fisher Body plant in Lansing.  This sign faced Michigan Avenue near the corner of Verlinden Avenue.  It was good to see this again.   Author's photo.

 The sign is in excellent condition.  The Reo Museum is taking excellent care of this historic artifact.  It may be the only one left from all of the former Fisher Body plants.  Author's photo.

The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum board room is inside the two story building.  Author's photo.

On my visit to the Olds Museum in September 2021, Mr. Rick Kaiser, Operations Manager of the Museum, allowed me in to the museum's conference room.  Wow!!  How cool is this?  Now this is a conference room!!  The windows on the right (south side) of the room indicate that originally there was open space to the south, which over the years became inside factory space.  Author's photo.

This may have been the original factory building with a high bay ceiling.  Author's photo.

Although the original brick has been painted over, some of the paint has come off, revealing the building was constructed of red brick.  Author's photo.

This view shows the entire east wall from the south end of the building.  Over the years several doors have been blocked over.  Author's photo.

This photo shows the south side of the building.  Note the overhead door in the photo.  It will be shown in a later photo from the inside of the building.  Author's photo.

The south side of the building has had steel panels installed on it.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.

This corner section of the building was constructed of brick.  Author's photo.

This is the north end of the west wall.  Author's photo.

Considering the structure is over 100 years old, it is in very good shape.  The museum has done an excellent job of maintaining it.  Author's photo.

The Olds Museum has 65 vehicles built in Lansing, in addition to displays on the history of several different companies in Lansing.  It is well worth the effort to visit it.  Author's photo.

This is the south end of the building.  The red brick in the left hand section of the photo is the south side of the conference room.  Note that the original wooden beams still hold up the roof.  The south side of the building is lower than the north side and there is a ramp that one walks down to view the cars at the back of the museum.  Author's photo.

This shows the overhead door and the ramp leading up to it from the inside.  The south end of the building displays non-Oldsmobile cars and trucks.  This includes Reo, Starr, and Diamond Reo vehicles.  It also has several non-vehicle displays for such companies as Motor Wheel.  Author's photo.

The green dump truck is a 1925 Reo Speedwagon which is in pristine condition.  In the Motor Wheel display on the right wall are many of the lawnmowers built by Reo and Motor Wheel.  Motor Wheel bought the business from Reo in 1954 and then sold it to Wheelhorse in 1963.  Author's photo.

The north end of the museum has a section of early vehicles and engines made in Lansing.  Author's photo.

The firewall that separates the north and south sides of the building is on the left side of the photo.  There are lots of classic Oldsmobiles in this section.  Author's photo.

This section of the museum has a self supporting roof.  The Oldsmobile Army-Navy "E" flag is on display in the corner.  Author's photo. 

Also in the corner are several displays on World War Two products from Lansing and an Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation display.  Author's photo.

Other Lansing Companies that contributed to winning World War Two