Because Someone On Another Thread Mentioned Tractors

[Blacksmith]

I thought I would remind everyone that the largest Steam and Gas Engine show east of the Mississippi is this week in Kinzer Pennsylvania. The show runs from Wednesday August 14th through Saturday Aug. 17th and there will be lots of tractors both steam and gas on the grounds. Last year I counted 26 working steam tractors. Here is a link to the web site:

http://www.roughandtumble.org/

It has directions, schedule, map of the grounds, etc. If you get there I may be hiding in the blacksmith shop.

[dbosman]

As a kid (early sixties) the guy at the end of the road had dozens of steam engines and tractors, that he drove up and down the gravel road to keep them in working condition. He had the biggest metal barn I'd ever seen and I've not seen too many larger. At every farm auction, if there was a piece of a steam engine, he got it. It was just scrap to everyone else. Not worth moving.
No kid on the road knew that he bought, refinished and sold the darned things. We thought he was just an old coot keeping busy in retirement.
As I approach being a coot now myself, I wish I'd gotten to know him and the other coot across the street.

[Hamish]

:bigsmyl2: Looks like I'm going to have to try to take a trip next year,,,,

[Blacksmith]

:bigsmyl2: Looks like I'm going to have to try to take a trip next year,,,,

What are your interests? I'll look around this week and report to peak your interest even more. There is a campground next door but it books up nearly a year in advance other places to stay nearby also fill early, people come from all over including internationally to see it. Among other highlights are the oldest operating internal combustion engine in North America, the Cooper Engine restoration is now running, real working steam shovel and steam roller, hundreds of antique tractors, thousands of other engines and artifacts,etc. To get the flavor click the Photos and Videos pull down menu on the home page.

If you are traveling a distance plan on several days in the area. You can't see everything at the reunion in one day, more displays are added as the week goes on. There are also other things to see in the area such as Strasburg Rail Road and Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Dutch tourist attractions, the Philadelphia area historic sites, and the Du Pont Black Powder works Hagley Museum in Wilmington DE (about an hour away).

[Iowa Fox]

There is a very large steam gathering coming up in a few weeks at Mt Pleasant, Iowa.

[waksupi]

There is a very large steam gathering coming up in a few weeks at Mt Pleasant, Iowa.

That is usually on Labor Day weekend. Used to be billed as the world's largest steam show, and I can believe it. There is also a big one in Minnesota coming up. There is a small one here in September, but after seeing some of the big shows, it doesn't amount to much.

[portlybowlofpigfat]

i have had a life long fascination with the 2 stroke hot bulb oil engines . if that show was a bit closer i sure would like to check it out .

[mroliver77]

I live close to the grounds where the "National Threshers Reunion" is held in Wauseon OH. What a great weekend!

I grew up on a small farm and was half raised by my grandparents that were born at the turn of the 20th century. They raised a family during the depression and WW2 years. We did most work with primitive tools and two old Oliver tractors. Grain was shoveled in and out of bins, holes dug with a shovel and Grampa dug graves(by hand) and mowed the cemeteries in our township for extra money.

There are a lot of my kind of people at these events! I love old iron and learning about the technology of days gone by. Like, did you know the Rumley Oil Pull engines had a carburetor with dual float bowls? One for gasoline and one for water. When a certain RPM or vacuum came up water was sucked into the venturi to mix with the very low octane gas. The intake was built against the exhaust so that the mix was heated and was gaseous when sucked into the combustion chamber raising the combustion pressure and I assume taming the low octane fuel and giving a long push on the piston.
Other tractors (and maybe the Rumley) ran on "low budget fuel" (heating oil) which the intake superheating helped them run.

[oscarflytyer]

wow... nearly got a tear in my eye reading this... My Grandfather (I am now 50) used to take me the the Old Thresher's Reunion in Portland, IN when I was a kid (7-10 yo?). I can still remember walking around with him and he telling me about the old steam engine tractors he had and farmed with. he was born in 1918, iirc. I have had the Reunion on my bucket list to go back to and take my boys. Don't even know if it still happens. Going to check after posting this...

and btw - there is still an IHC Model H he purchased in 1938, year my dad was born - I THINK it has to be a first year Model H, as 1939 was first year they were made and dad was born in Dec 1938 - which makes it rare/unique... and also an early 1940's IHC Super M - BOTH still in the family!!! Also on my bucket list is getting and restoring the old Model H...

[uscra112]

Used to be (maybe still is) a pretty big show in Butler, PA. a bit north of Pittsburgh. I remember a lot of big make-and-break engines designed for natural gas, of which there was then (and much more so today) an abundance in the area. They used them to drain mines and to run oil well pumps. In my area of Ohio there's still bits and pieces to be seen on back-road farms of the pull-rod system that was used to transmit power from one engine to several wells, sometimes as much as half a mile away. Until electricity came along that was the state of the art.

Can't afford to get into that kind of restoration myself, but when I shopped for a tractor for my retirement farm, there was only one choice, a Ford 8N. 1948, only 3 years younger than I am !

[Alstep]

I plan to be there Thursday, will be looking for you.

[mroliver77]

Grandmother told of riding the rods as a youngster and her pop would get mad about it.
J

[pmer]

Here is the link to the western Minnesota Threshers Reunion

http://rollag.com/

I like these shows too. There are two local ones near my place. Last weekend was the Almelund Threshing Show and this weekend is Nowthen which is just north of Anoka, MN

I grew up on a Farmall Super H. My dad made a hydraulic arm for picking up and throughing small round bales onto the hey rack. It was an Allis Chalmers Roto baler. But you had to be watching for the bale coming on the rack or could hit you!

[fatelk]

We just went to the Great Oregon Steam Up a couple weeks ago. Steam tractors, steam powered sawmill, threshing machines, all kinds of stuff. It was a lot of fun.

[Blacksmith]

Had a face to face with Alstep today at the Rough and Tumble Threashermans Reunion. Very good time talking about old machines and firearms.

[Just Duke]

I was hoping to here something about John Deere's.

[Blacksmith]

Duke

There are rows and rows of yellow and green. I am no tractor expert but they have some really early ones I'll ask one of the tractor guy's tomorrow for some Deere highlights. John Deere was a blacksmith.

There is a big interest in Deere in the area and they have there own special show every year. Here is the link for next years 24th annual John Deere Days show at Rough and tumble:
http://www.roughandtumble.org/viewreference/37/eventschedules/

Here are pictures from 2013 John Deere Days, of course it is a smaller show than the one going on now:
http://www.roughandtumble.org/viewalbum/153/

Go through the photos and video section of the web site and you will find lots of yellow and green tractors at all the shows.

[Just Duke]

Duke

There are rows and rows of yellow and green. I am no tractor expert but they have some really early ones I'll ask one of the tractor guy's tomorrow for some Deere highlights. John Deere was a blacksmith.

There is a big interest in Deere in the area and they have there own special show every year. Here is the link for next years 24th annual John Deere Days show at Rough and tumble:
http://www.roughandtumble.org/viewreference/37/eventschedules/

Here are pictures from 2013 John Deere Days, of course it is a smaller show than the one going on now:
http://www.roughandtumble.org/viewalbum/153/

Go through the photos and video section of the web site and you will find lots of yellow and green tractors at all the shows.

Thanks for the link. The wife and I have been eye oogling 1980's and up 4000 series JD's, haybines. hayrakes and round balers for the last year.