WHEN STEAM WAS KING

[Music] [Music] clamp how come you always look at that old picture whoa kinda reminds me of my younger days I guess sure brings back fond memories just like life I can almost smell Ricki and smoke what are they doing what's taping the ship smoke coming on wait a minute Jim one question at a time that's a big steam traction engine running a thresher a threshing wheat that's the way we did it when I was the size of those boys your age and bigger is that what to do with those old times what your culture is going to know the old steam treasure man's reunions yeah that's part of what they do you sure go to the laboratory unions yes I guess I do with that those old steamer is getting your blood can't get them out like a hobby I guess is that why you quit all those a little time can box keep them around yeah I guess my harvest collect memories memories are the good old steam threshing day is just exactly what was fresh in you Grampa well that was the last job in harvesting grain after was cut when you knocked the kernels of grain out of the heads threshing machine combed out the kernels shook the grain out of a straw and blow away a straw and chaff bought the clean grain out into sacks or a wagon box is that local thanks Tom buying those Gramp yeah what it reaps the grain to cut see trash is it separates it cleans it and holds it for dumping into a truck when the beam is full well why did they use carbine for you a boy growing up oh that was before the days of the combine son he knows day is they used to cut the grain with a binder shocked it and later haul it away to the threshing machine what did you call that big machine you this book stick that steam traction engine there's some folks call them steamers the engine boils water to make steam and turns the steam pressure into power most of them burn coal but some burn strong award anyway the steam power turns the pulley that drives the long bill I know like the funks new tread when he puts a belt on it to run the mill when he grows fee for the piece that's right course the old steamers would never match the convenience and economy of your uncle's tractor for your dad's new diesel for belt work or pullin that's why our modern gas and diesel tractors replace the steamers the early steamers were built mainly for belt work the threshing grain and shelling coal shredding fodder and filling silos running sawmills to make lumber from logs you know I I recall they had a big case traction engine running a sawmill one of the Thresher man's reunions I went to some time back steamer on a sawmill ensure a sweet site to an old steam engine man and this is one job where the steamer still holds at home in some places or there's still a lot of steam outfits sawing logs and farms and wood lands throughout the country even today say you wait a minute I think I've got something here it'll give you a better picture of it them all the words I can use here go over there sit down there now here's what a steam saw me to look like in my dad's day they use what they call a portable engine it does man your wheel no was mounted on skids pulled around like a sled by horses now I hear here's another one these old wood cut engravings of farm equipment catalogs came out before I was born it sure makes them pretty old amp yeah yes it doesn't that now here's a real old-timer the old case number one the granddaddy of all steamers built in 1869 and still in working order to this day this old portable engine had to be pulling a wagon but it freed our horses from any killing tasks signaled the opening of the great heyday of steaming power on American farms back in 1948 in the pageant of progress at the Wisconsin Centennial State Fair I sought an operation running a threshing machine the old case number one is probably the most famous steamer of all time it started the marvelous change from horse power to machine power the real beginning of mechanization in America after the portable steamers as the years went by came a great line of steam traction engines that moved by their own power the man who built them and operated them engineer the crucial turning point in the settling in the development of our country mainly they saw the threshing problem made it possible for farmers to thresh all the grain that they could grow so steam power played a tremendous part in opening up the grain lands the Midwest the Great Plains the northwest the spirit that moves the old steam fresher man to get together at their reunions from time to time he's more than just an urge to paint hmm tinker up and show off their engines it's more than a tribute to a great tradition in our farm heritage more than a salute to the historic days when our countries would have been stunted without steam power it's the desire to revive and keep alive and enjoy again and again the jolly neighboring and good times of the old steam threshing days neighboring of an extra-special kind they centered around the threshing rate come harvest time the neighbors worked long and hard together move from farm to farm till all the grain was in from sunup to sundown and sometimes longer the machinery hummed and as the threshing crew move from farm to farm the women folks worked long hard hours to fixing the meals to satisfy the hungry Thresh Sherman how the gals used to compete against each other in setting the finest and biggest bread on the table Oh everybody worked like the dickens all right but when the job was done they played hard to all the neighbors had a fine time together I can tell you those were good days boy all this is part of what that picture means to me the door kind of teal is purple if I get straight to God looks big enough to pull a house yeah sometimes they they pulled buildings that is after the building's raised from their foundation mounted on big beams and rollers clamp if steam engines were so strong why didn't the news on the port bow I bet this engine could pull a great big plow you were right again Jim steamers were used for ploughing last time I actually saw steamer hauling a plow was up in Wisconsin the time when I went to the Centennial State Fair up there Marty just a field demonstration the engine was pulling for bottoms like nothing at all quarter pulling lot more I've heard my dad that's your great granddad tell how they used steamers to break open the Virgin lambs the Great Plains and some of the northern prairies those lambs had been in native grass for thousands of years and the SOG was mighty tough harder to prowled in any soil will you'll ever see again say here's a an old photo of a really big outfit taken back in 1910 some of those big plows had 12 14-inch bottoms each with its own control lever now there was a platform for the plow man to walk on as he tended all the levers why didn't think you said to all the controls work and a new diesel tractor that was about 50 years before hydraulic controls but some flowers did have steam lift a cylinder on the plow was worked by steam pressure from the engine boiler much like the portable cylinder of a modern hydraulic system gee I bet it was fun to learn a steam engine Graham oh mighty excitement I can edit okay damn it hard were too hasty in my way up well no isn't like handling a modern tractor I think I my new diesel tractor even if they had those who are metal gonna to drive it by myself and why not you just push a little button and it starts running sweet knees easy please [Music] you move a little hydraulic lever and the mounted implement responds instantly you nudge another lever to set it for any depth adjustment you want so simple and easy that well just like you say a youngster could do it and you whisk the outfit around a turn with hydraulic power steering as easy as rolling off the log polisher is one thing they sure didn't have back in the old steam engine days they grabbed oh no that's where you're wrong boy some of the big Road rollers had steam operated power steering way back around 1910 you see power steering's not so new which some people think I imagine if you made it a point to check all the engines that show up at the various steam freshman's reunions you probably find some roll growers equipped with steam power steering still in good working order but I don't think the steamer fans gather around care much one way or the other those old steamers are such a sight to see warm your heart and stir your imagination with thoughts of how it used to be in the long-gone days of farming when steam was king that you don't pay much attention to little things like power steering and such there have to be an old-time thrush from underwater those unions boy/girl cultural anybody can go Jim lots of men and women and young folks who've never seen an engine on the farm caught a steamer Bob G Gramp I want to see some of those old steamers well I was really Ronnie can I go with you next time please maybe I'll get the right anyone huh could I grab coffee boy you're not there yet in the meantime how would you like to see some of my favorite reunion pictures and thats how steam enthusiasts are born like crap says you don't have to be an old-time thresher minh to get bitten by the steamer bug young jim has caught the excitement and fascination of an historic hobby shared by a growing host of spectators and participants alike all times steam pressure men's reunions are becoming more and more popular all the time like Brett said there's something about the grand old steamers that gets in your blood and you can't get it out so let's take a look around and see a bit of what it is that's making the Thresher moons reunions of growing attraction in our land of course the fancy stunts and power demonstrations are always great crowd pleasers the engineers get a big kick out of showing off their engines and their driving skill the competitive spirit and pride in the performance well done lives as keenly today as it did in those fabulous days when these same engines helped to forge a new era of power on the american farm the object of this pyramid act is to show the drivers hair-trigger accuracy and split-second control and the instantaneous response of steam power as he inches the huge engine up and down or holds it motionless in any position he uses only the throttle and reverse lever no brakes no clutch no gearshift even if you tried this with a modern tractor you grow too far before you could stop the brake the instant power of steam is more like the precision control of the modern tractors hydraulic system for example this inching up and down is a lot like the action of the hydraulic control of the header on a combine the wrapped demonstration is a traditional stunt that dates back more than half a century case first stage did a feel in our State Fair in 1930 then ran it as a standout attraction during the World's Fair Louisiana Purchase exposition in Louis in 19 for the incline is about a 50% grade the engines weigh anywhere from 6 to 10 tonnes and up the purpose of this practical stunt is to show not only the engines amazing power but its immediate response to the drivers will and its safety and stability due to complete and positive control again it's done without brakes without shifting gears without using the clutch it's all done with the astonishing instant power of steam and the quick skill of the engineer he uses only the throttle and reverse lever to start and stop to regulate speed and to hold the engine motionless on a steep grade besides the throttle and the reverse lever and the steering wheel of course there's plenty more to keep the engineer busy he keeps an eye on the steam gauge and manages the fire to hold the steam pressure at the right point and he watches the gauge blast that shows water level in the boiler and runs the injector to put in water as needed otherwise he doesn't have much to do the teeter totter platform balancing show is another real tricky one it's easy to run the engine up the incline until a heavy machine goes beyond the balance point the timber on which the teeter totter platform pivots then it takes mighty fancy maneuvering to keep the engine from pitching forward and rolling down the other side one instant stop is not enough the driver must reverse the engine slightly and stop instantly again it takes every trick of the trade to cease all the engine until it's heavy tonnage is perfectly poised over the balance beam there's a lot of sheer artistry mixed with mechanical savvy when an old pro lays his practiced hands on a fine engine and puts it through its paces all these priming and balancing stunts call for some special tricks with the throttle and reverse lever when dried a single crank engine and most all the engines are the single crank type it takes a neat touch to started climbing smoothly under heavy load and a fine feel for the engines beat and rhythm to keep it from stopping on dead-center dead center is when the flywheel crank is in a straight line with the piston the connecting rod and the center of the flywheel if the engine is stopped on dead center the only way to get it going again is to turn the flywheel by hand until the crank is off-center again but that rarely ever happens to an experienced engineer a dead center stop would be a mighty embarrassing blow to his professional pride the tug of war between man power and steam power always attracts a crowd of spectators and fun-loving participants whose good sense is overwhelmed by their sporting blood everybody knows how this exuberant romp is going to turn out so they take it high-spirited Lee is a big entertaining joke because it's certainly a lopsided contest if there ever was one when no steam is applied and the engine is freewheeling the man can haul it back but the instant the engineer opens the throttle just a touch beads the engine a little steam it's goodbye boys puny manpower doesn't stand a chance scale model displays and demonstrations are always another outstanding attraction at the Thresher Minh reunions among steamer fans the building and operation of working scale models our activities outranked only by the greater interest in the actual engines themselves the model builders and their superb miniatures attract a lot of attention theirs is definitely a labor of love each model represents months upon months of intense concentration patience and skill in its free the remarkably authentic detail and realistic operation of these marshals attest the painstaking craftsmanship and enterprise of their builders [Music] quite naturally the proud model builders like to show off their powerful little machines by putting them through their paces on some of the same stunts the big engines do here's a working scale model alright a scale model engine running a full-size groundhog pressure the forerunner of the apron pressure the groundhog contains a toothed cylinder turning in a toothed concave working on the same principle as the spike toothed combines of today the spike teeth comb the kernels out of the heads they say that this particular groundhog thresher is one that ji case himself personally sold shortly after he started in business back in 1842 of course the power demonstrations of the big engines are top features and draw big crowds at every reunion the traditional device for measuring steamer horsepower is a pony break almost completely hidden here but the crowd pressed around it the pony break is a large friction from that gauges horsepower in a manner somewhat similar to the electric dynamometer used to test modern gas and diesel engine another popular steamer demonstration is to lean the engine back in a long belt attached to a big fan and see how fast she'll go as the engine air pours on the steam the fan whips the air in a churning blur of speed the revolutions per minute are registered and recorded on a tachometer today the steam traction engine is a charming relic that has outlived its once vital usefulness the steamer cannot compare in speed convenience and economy with our modern gas and diesel tractors but that does not dim the glory nor dull a fascination that went with a sharp smell of smoldering coal the faint aroma of cylinder oil the steady hypnotic beats of a steam engine leaning back in a long canvas belt this bill of memory has kept very much alive by many ardent enthusiasts in a growing number of steam pressure menteur ghen ization all across our land they zealously preserve the lore and lore of steam at their reunions they revived the romance of an era that is becoming legendary and preserved for younger generations for the story and significance of the time when steam was king the 50 years that saw steam-powered plows break open the tough stubborn sod of virgin Plains and prairies for the sowing of grain to nurture a growing nation that's some mighty steam engines smoothly driving the threshing machines to bring forth incredible floods of grain to feed mankind of all the builders of steam traction engines and there were some mighty names among them only a few survived to this day under their original name the famous Eagle trademark appeared on a lot of engines that's why our company now busy building gas and diesel tractors self-propelled combines and every kind of farm implement has found it fitting to present this pictorial tribute to that historic half-century of farming when steam was king [Music] [Applause] [Music]