Steam show pics

[Shep]

Finally got around to uploading a few pics to photo bucket that I took at a steam show back in Sept.

A little Kitten traction engine



A big Reeves plow engine



My dad`s little 5/8th scale Wood Brothers engine being tended by Kim Nickols



A little Case 13/40 Road Roller



A Brit made Kelly Springfield roller





A couple of companies used to convert Model T Fords into small farm tractors











A 1/4 scale model of a Case engine







An Edsel







A few other cars and trucks

[woolleyworm]

Great shots Shep; I love when they fire up the steam engines; nothing else like them!

[BETH]

wow thanks for the pictures, what is that little black and yellow car?

[geds]

VERY COOL! My father-in-law was raised on the plains of NE Colorado and would've loved to go to this show! Thanks for sharing!

[JLA]

Im thinkin steam engine tractor pull would be cool.

How do you upload so many photos to one post?

[Shep]

Originally Posted by JLA

Im thinkin steam engine tractor pull would be cool.

How do you upload so many photos to one post?

A traction engine pull would probably not be a good idea. You can`t stall out a steam engine. If you try to pull too much either the wheels will spin or the drive gears will break. And these things are so heavy with so much traction it`s probably even money which will happen first.
These things are nearly all pre 1920. Cast iron gears are the weak points in the big engines. If you want to pull to the point of actually stopping one of these old beast it would be a good idea to replace the gears with steel ones.
As is one of these engines will pull more than most modern bulldozers, but they do have limits. And if you pull too much you are looking for trouble.
I`ve seen it happen. 4 years ago a couple of young guys were operating their Grandfather-in-law`s 30/90 Wood Brothers plow engine. Having the 3rd largest engine at that show, and being young and dumb, they wanted to show off and pushed too far. Cracked a chunk out of the right hand drive gear.
It must have cost them a bundle to replace that gear. On an engine that big the drive gears are over 5 feet in diameter. And it would have to be cast using the old one as a pattern and then machined. I never did hear what the new gear cost. My best guess is north of $6,000.
Needless to say I`ve never seen those boys operate that engine again.


As for the photos, I don`t upload any photos at all. I just put in the image codes and you are drawing them straight from the photo bucket site when you look at the post.

[Gabob]

I used to enjoy taking my John Deere 40 and 8 N Ford to tractor shows. Usually had a few steamers there .

[Shep]

Originally Posted by BETH

wow thanks for the pictures, what is that little black and yellow car?

Not sure. Might be an Austin.

[Gabob]

Austin was my guess also

[Nighthawk]

Nice - Thanks

[Shep]

Originally Posted by Gabob

I used to enjoy taking my John Deere 40 and 8 N Ford to tractor shows. Usually had a few steamers there .

The Mt. Pleasent Iowa show is a large one. About 100 steam traction engines and I would bet well over 1,000 tractors.
Here are a few more.

A Baker engine. Not sure of the size. Maybe a 20/60.



A 25/75 Case



22/70 Wood Brothers This is the engine my dad`s 5/8th model is based on



A little Russell engine Maybe a 15/45. Can`t tell from the pic

[JLA]

Photobucket.. thats it..

[Trevor1837]

Thanks for the pics! They are cool

[hardball1962]

Neat pic's Thanks for posting.

[ponycar17]

Maybe it's because I've never seen one working but it's just odd to me that some of these contraptions were ever considered viable pieces of equipment. Yep, I'm pretty ignorant of steam engines. Those solid wheeled tractors just look PAINFUL to drive. Ughhhhhh!!!!! :eek2:

And the front of that Edsel... Hmm, that looks familiar?....

[HunterAlpha1]

i bet a steam tractor would be an AWESOME thing to have when the SHTF! as long as you've got wood or coal you've got power!

[Shep]

Originally Posted by ponycar17

Maybe it's because I've never seen one working but it's just odd to me that some of these contraptions were ever considered viable pieces of equipment. Yep, I'm pretty ignorant of steam engines. Those solid wheeled tractors just look PAINFUL to drive. Ughhhhhh!!!!! :eek2:

And the front of that Edsel... Hmm, that looks familiar?....

They are extremely low geared, part of what makes them so powerful.
Top speed is about 3 miles per hour. No need to worry about getting bounced around.
They were not designed to move fast. Designed for pure brute force when pulling something. These things can out pull most modern bulldozers.
They were also used to power other pieces of equipment by use of a belt off of the flywheel. Sawmill, threashing machine, ect.
Most pieces of farm equipment back then didn`t have their own power source.
Small stationary gas engines with a belt were used for the little stuff. Or with a belt off the flywheel of a gas tractor. But Sawmills and other power hungry equipment required more power than gas tractors of the time could deliver.
The advantage of the traction engine was that it could be used for just about anything from sheeling corn to pulling a road grader and needed nothing to run on but water and wood.

[Popgunner]

I've got a 1947 Case SC tractor that runs good. Has a PTO in the back & a wheel for a belt on the side. I've never found any implements that'll work on it. I just drive it around my back field for fun.

[Shep]

Originally Posted by HunterAlpha1

i bet a steam tractor would be an AWESOME thing to have when the SHTF! as long as you've got wood or coal you've got power!

If you just wanted to run a generator when the world went to hell, a little stationary engine would be a lot easier. Even the smallest in the pic below would be serious overkill to run a good size generator.



Or you could go with this big old beast. It could, and at one time did, generate power for a small town.

[Dennis C]

I think that Edsel is really cool...

My Grandfather used to work at Sun Ship in Chester, Pa.

I believe that this is him next to a ship size engine. They sure don't make em like that anymore!

[Buckshot]

Love tractors. Love steam engines even more. Watched a really interesting show on them. It may have been an episode of Modern Marvels on the History Channel. Jay Leno was featured in a long segment because he's a big steam buff. He has some beautifully restored stationary engines as well as some steam powered cars. They are some of his favorites. He took a couple of them out for a drive. He pointed out that the old Stanley generated in excess of 700 ft.lbs. of torque and if you weren't careful it would spin the wheels INSIDE the tires. You might be thinking that 700 ft.lbs. is Super Duty Diesel territory, but the steam engine would produce that starting at ZERO rpms. Absolutely flat torque curve. If you could find the traction you could drag an F-350 away kicking and screaming.

[HunterAlpha1]

Originally Posted by HunterAlpha1

i bet a steam tractor would be an AWESOME thing to have when the SHTF! as long as you've got wood or coal you've got power!

Originally Posted by Shep

If you just wanted to run a generator when the world went to hell, a little stationary engine would be a lot easier. Even the smallest in the pic below would be serious overkill to run a good size generator.



Or you could go with this big old beast. It could, and at one time did, generate power for a small town.

the thing about a tractor is, you can plow and harvest a field, bury bodies, dig defensive positions, and many, many more uses.

[Rhuga]

Steam driven vehicles are a bit bulky but do not relay on gasoline. I like that.

[Shep]

Minneapolis



Case



New Giant





Advance Rumley



Frick Eclipse



Case plow engine and an under mounted Avery

[Shep]

The Sears sawmill with an Advance on the belt