Betcha too young to remember this.
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You're rght. Before my time!
shadowriders600
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I remember them used as prime movers for thrashing machines in the 50's! I'm 71!
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I have seen steel-wheeled steam tractors at North Carolina tractor pulls in the 70's.
pinduck
US Veteran
I worked on a threshing crew in the early 50s with one. I am 84. lived on the farm first 23 years of my life.
muddocktor
Member
Pretty cool old tractor, Kiwi cop!
Andy Lowry
Member
I used to see those at the Ohio State Fair when I lived in Columbus. The coolest ones were the hit-and-miss engines-- they'd go BANG chunkachunkachuuunka chuuuunka chunnn ka... BANG and so on. They had a huge pulley wheel as the power take-off. I have no idea what they were used for, since they continually sped up and slowed down.
I seen a bunch awhile back but hey don't see any road time...
The National Threshers Association and the Wauseon Steam Engine Show have a yearly reunion here in NW Ohio at the Fulton County Fairgrounds north of Wauseon. They sure spew a lot of smoke.
National Threshers Association, Annual Steam Traction Engine Show
Didn't go this year due to monsoons. Here are some photos from a few years ago.
National Threshers Association, Annual Steam Traction Engine Show
Didn't go this year due to monsoons. Here are some photos from a few years ago.
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snowman
Member
Quite a few(relatively speaking) have been restored here in the midwest and are seen operating at shows, especially when a thresher is there also. As indicated previously, that was a major reason for their existence prior to the advent of the combine.
Regards,
Andy
rock doc posted before I finished -thanks for the pictures, rock doc
Regards,
Andy
rock doc posted before I finished -thanks for the pictures, rock doc
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Yeah, that's just a bit before my time.
When I was a kid the farmer down the road had one but it had steel wheels and belched voluminous clouds of black smoke. Only saw him use it to pull things like stumps. The contraption seemed huge to an 8 year old, and probably was. Certainly bigger then his regular tractor. That was 65 years ago.
Dagnabitjim
US Veteran
Enjoyed watching that long belt between the engine and thresher.
Albert City, IA has a big Threshermens event every year, so, yes, I've seen them in action.
Albert City Threshermen and Collectors Show
Albert City Threshermen and Collectors Show
bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
The Amish neighbors kid in New Holland PA was an old-fashioned horsepower farmer, but they brought in some big steam powered equipment on occasion.
UncleEd
Member
August 9-12 this year the Sycamore, Illinois, annual
steam tractor show will be held. Sycamore's
not too far west of Chicago.
steam tractor show will be held. Sycamore's
not too far west of Chicago.
We see a lot of them at tractor and farm shows around here, too.
For years, there was an old farmyard just outside Montgomery, MN that was a graveyard/parking lot for maybe as many as forty or fifty old steam tractor, many of them probably restorable. I used to make a point of stopping by there for photo ops whenever my motorbike rides took me down to that quadrant of the state.
The story was that these machines were tied up in an estate for years. One day about 25 years ago, I went by there and they were gone. The farmhouse and all the outbuildings had been leveled.i didn't have any contacts in that part of the state, and never did find out what the deal was, although it must have made some news down there at the time.
I hope that at least some of those old locomotives will show up at farm shows from time to time. I remain skeptical, however. The Xers and millenials do not seem to have the affinity for old machinery that we and our grandfathers did.
For years, there was an old farmyard just outside Montgomery, MN that was a graveyard/parking lot for maybe as many as forty or fifty old steam tractor, many of them probably restorable. I used to make a point of stopping by there for photo ops whenever my motorbike rides took me down to that quadrant of the state.
The story was that these machines were tied up in an estate for years. One day about 25 years ago, I went by there and they were gone. The farmhouse and all the outbuildings had been leveled.i didn't have any contacts in that part of the state, and never did find out what the deal was, although it must have made some news down there at the time.
I hope that at least some of those old locomotives will show up at farm shows from time to time. I remain skeptical, however. The Xers and millenials do not seem to have the affinity for old machinery that we and our grandfathers did.
deadin
US Veteran
I can remember the county fair would have steam tractor races every year. I think the top speed was around 5 mph so it took awhile to determine a winner....
carpriver
US Veteran
I use to watch my Dad and grand father operate one, thrashed wheat, oats, rye and some barley. would burn a lot of the straw. Use watch them fill it up with water. I am 70. they used it to saw some lumber too.
There are some pasture parties around here, and the biggest traction engine (steam tractor) I've seen was a "40-140" Rumely (I think) with the 40-140 painted on the wood box for 40 HP to the wheels, 140 HP to the belt pulley. It didn't seem like very much power for such a big machine, but oh my goodness, what torque it had! They'd have two of the big traction engines in a tug of war. They had a car chained between them, and they'd pull the car into two pieces.
One of them also gave a plowing demonstration and pulled a 20 bottom plow. It was so wide, it had a platform on the plow bigger than many folks' decks. When the engine came to the end of the row, the plows had to be raised so it could make the turn, so the plowmen would run across the deck, pulling a lever to raise each bottom, the repeat the process to drop them once the rig was going in the opposite direction.
rumely 40-140 steam tractor - Bing video
One of them also gave a plowing demonstration and pulled a 20 bottom plow. It was so wide, it had a platform on the plow bigger than many folks' decks. When the engine came to the end of the row, the plows had to be raised so it could make the turn, so the plowmen would run across the deck, pulling a lever to raise each bottom, the repeat the process to drop them once the rig was going in the opposite direction.
rumely 40-140 steam tractor - Bing video
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
As a kid (I'm eighty) I saw a couple in use, but saw more horse and mule teams. I've never seen one of the steamers on the highway. For many years here the interstate highways and some other roads had signs forbidding, among other things, steel-wheeled vehicles.
islandguy
Member
When I was a youngster (I'm 71 now), our local roads department employed a real "steam roller" to roll out and compress the Macadam paving that served as the hard surfacing of our local country roads. They also used a manually operated "grader", towed by a steam traction engine, to grade the gravel roads. Wow, I must be REALLY old!!!
Around these parts, I've seen 'em used to make ice cream and it sho is good! I believe one of the uses was to power a small grist mill.
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Frank46
US Veteran
Once attended a fair in New Foundland Pa and a gent there had one of the traction engines and a bunch of hit a miss engines. You tube has some videos of the old steamers working. Like one poster mentioned not much horsepower but ungodly torque. Frank
DeathGrip
US Veteran
Just for my calculations. Are we talking Kiwi time?
ParadiseRoad
Member
...once you put a load on them...the governor would allow a spark every power stroke and they quit missing and started hitting on every power stroke...and ran like any other engine under load...
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THE PILGRIM
Member
Never saw any Down South.
Recently Was up at Chama, train necking.
Was talking to a woman from Iowa.
She and her family still have several operational steam tractors and attend some of the events mentioned.
Yes, she had pictures.
A whole phone full!
Threshing - I get it.
Plowing? Really?
You need a really big flat field.
Reminds me of an old Country Song.
GIVE ME 40 ACRES by THE WILLIS BROTHERS - YouTube
Recently Was up at Chama, train necking.
Was talking to a woman from Iowa.
She and her family still have several operational steam tractors and attend some of the events mentioned.
Yes, she had pictures.
A whole phone full!
Threshing - I get it.
Plowing? Really?
You need a really big flat field.
Reminds me of an old Country Song.
GIVE ME 40 ACRES by THE WILLIS BROTHERS - YouTube
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