Every time I attend the Steam-Up, I am reminded of the innovation, ingenuity, and sheer brawn of America’s beginnings. Early inventors overcame so many obstacles in our underdeveloped country to bring us the machinery of progress. It’s events like these that hone my appreciation for our forebears. So let’s take a tour… This first machine is a 1914 J.I. Case 9×10, which refers to the bore and stroke of the single-cylinder engine. This guy’s boiler is wood-fed and runs at about 150 psi. That wheel is about as tall as me, 5’6″, and this whole contraption tips the scales at over 21,000 lbs. These tractors were made until 1923, and like most in their day, they could function in many ways, from threshing to running a belt or hauling a plow.
The two tractors on the left here were for display only, but the one on the right was steaming away, getting ready to take a turn around the track in the parade. Boxes hold cut wood so owners can feed the beasts throughout the day. The air was filled with the burned-wet-wood smell particular to these engines, along with the mesmerizing sounds of “pop-pop”, whistles, and hissing.
If you are a tractor fan, you’ll faint – there’s so much to see. This group was a fraction of the “vintage garden implements” section. Around the corner, kids sat on their hopped-up garden tractors, getting ready for the tractor pull. Some featured elongated frames and wide tires.
Here are the big-boy tractors, about a tenth of the display, and this doesn’t even count the multiple museums. Caterpillar brought a couple of giant modern tractors with a yellow beam slung between them, and on that steel beam sat Cat’s earliest machines, from Holt and Best. This early Cat was from its “grey days” before it began using yellow paint. It’s a two-ton, introduced in 1921 under the Holt name.
I love Oliver tractors, and here’s a beautifully restored Super 88 diesel. These were made from 1954 through 1958; this one is probably a ’56 or later, when the wheels were painted red (before that, they were green). The engine is a 4.3-liter six-cylinder throwing about 52 hp to the drawbar; the gearbox has six forward speeds and reverse. The “Super” referred to several improvements made over the original 88 launched in 1951, including a heavier frame, stouter axles and hubs, and disc brakes. The PTO is operated via a hand lever by the driver, and it can turn independently of the tractor’s movement, which means you can turn it on or off, whether the tractor is moving or not. Sweet! This was a beefy, reliable tractor with a great reputation, very collectible today.
Trucks, oh sure. Here’s a flock of farm vehicles. Didn’t see a Diamond T, unfortunately, but just about everything else was there.
It’s hard to know where to stop throwing up photos …. Here’s a terrific hit-and-miss engine display, one of dozens. The hit-and-miss engine skips combustion cycles as a way of regulating its speed. If you’ve never heard one – well, you need to put the Steam-Up on your “to do” list for that reason alone. It’s a hypnotic sound. This particular hit-and-miss was busy pumping water. It was perfectly restored and tended by its owner. A few feet away, a guy had three of these set up: one to shuck kernels of corn, one to grind the kernels into poultry feed, and one to shred the cobs into forage for livestock. Another guy was using an engine to saw a 24″ log. Fun!
Ok, just one more photo. This majestic guy is a Model F Rumely Oil Pull made in 1913. The Oil Pull cools its giant single-cylinder engine with oil, not water, allowing the engine to burn kerosene at high temperatures. That big tank on the front of the tractor contains the “radiator”: exhaust from the engine is piped into the tank’s top, and since the exhaust is hot, it rushes up out the stack, creating a draft, which draws air up through the tank’s bottom past the radiator. The engine delivers 15 hp to the drawbar, 30 to the belt, and it produces scads of torque. These tractors weigh about 8.5 tons. The starting procedure involves spinning that flywheel with the operator’s body weight, and leaping back to the cab to adjust the choke – oh, and there’s a lot of fiddling with the fuel too, to coax a start. I’m just as happy to watch the action from the sidelines, and there’s plenty of it at this premier event!
Wow!!! Where to begin. This is great Michelle. And I now have another event I would like to get to one day. Its just fascinating all the early technology, the use of steam, diesel kerosene, the hit and miss engines ( very good on gas usage). That 1914 Case is a monster. And seeing it parked next to a couple other tractors and the gentleman standing there definitely emphasize the size. Thank you Michelle. This is great.
Well, ( anytime it starts with “well”, better settle in), filter permitting. I logged out and in like the boss says to do, but still having issues. But a testament to the Barn Finds sprit, to keep trying. Dave beat me to it, and probably the only other human up at this hour, going to work, I presume, please be careful today.
It’s clear, this event surely put a nickel in the author, HOWEVER( oh, here it comes), where is everybody? I see a couple guys in the 3rd pic( been farmin’ long?), but not many attendees. I’m trying desperately to “stay with the program”, but am inching closer to that recluse in the UP, because, I can still involve myself in this culture. Heck, some of my friends still use some of these tractors. It’s something I could see our own Scotty G camped out at the gate, 1st in line,,no wait, 2nd, behind Ms. Rand. The small town I left in N.Wis. Phillips, had a Case steam tractor much like the 1st pic. This will test the filter, I found out what the term “balls out” meant and not near what I thought. There’s a device on the top of the boiler, that spins and has 2 round shaped objects, that with centrifugal force, spins out and releases steam. So a governor, of sorts. It was on display in a local park, donated by a family that homesteaded the area. Naturally, it had fallen into disrepair. I was told by the city, 2 older fellas kept it looking nice, well, you know where this is going. They died and nobody replaced them.
I certainly don’t mean to be the wet blanket here, we( all 8 of us) yearn for this stuff, but I remember shows like this were PACKED with attendees. The steam ones are incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands, and I’m sorry, most of those “hands” are gone now. Be like me at a computer show, no big deal.
Have fun with the future, folks, generally, the kids of the owners of these machines had something to do with the restorations, and the show, but some kid today, unless otherwise shown, will have no connection. Sound familiar? Thanks again.
Excellent article Michelle. Terrific machinery. I’ll second your observation about the ingenuity it took to develop this machinery… without a computer in sight.
Great stuff Michelle!