Cool Stuff For Antique Equipment Fans

Hey farmatt, what's the tank in you avatar pic?

It looks like one that Aberdeen Proving Ground has in their Ordinance Museum, only theirs is painted in camouflage.

btw, APG's Ordinance Museum is a must see if you are traveling nearby. It's up I-95 just north of Baltimore. Lots of tanks from WWI to present day.

It is a WWI Reynault they have at the National WWI Museum in Kansas City.

very cool.

The Ag Expo claims to be the biggest show of its type in the world

the JD does look like a custom, maybe a low rider

there was a large section of antique steam engines, the event is so large it takes a couple of days to see it all

at the tractor pull there was a diesel JD with 2 turbos in series, the wail was indescribable.

I remember the tractor pulls would start with the antiques and progress up to the factory works JD's with a chrome stack that looked like it was at least 10" diameter. Under full load the pure black smoke shot 50 ft in the air. The last attraction was a then new Kubota that everybody booed because it was Japanese and represented the future. This machine could stop in the middle of the pull and then take off again like there was nothing behind it.

It was called the Thresherman's Convention, and it had the most amazing collection of equipment used to work the land, from animal powered through modern inter-cooled turbo-diesel monsters. Knowing how difficult it was to get a flat belt to run in the center of a flat pulley, I watched the engineer of a massive steam tractor maneuver his machine (with a chain linked steering) so that it lined up with the load (in this case a huge squirrel cage blower) when the engine came up to speed, the belt, in a figure 8 to correct rotation, was dead center on the pulleys, with 40 feet between the engine and load. The blower discharge, 6ft x 12ft, was pointed up into some large oak trees which shook from the force.

The hand built 1/8th scale locomotives with their tiny fire boxes so bright it hurt your eyes to look.

Collections of Maytag gasoline washing machine engines, popping johnny's, walking beam pumps,fly-ball governors, on and on, everything running at once, like a symphony of mechanical wonder.

There are so many fond memories I took away from that convention, so many things I learned, best of all, I shared them with my Father.

Hi Guys,

I happened across some helpful old engine folk when chasing some information for an old Ransomes reel mower refurbishment I am doing. You may find these interesting for some info and pics on some old engines.

Cheers, Bob

http://www.stationary-engine.net/Forum/

http://www.oldengine.org/members/diesel/front.htm

Bob,

Thanks for the links.

Now for a bit of trivia....

Did you know Evinrude made reel mowers?

No, I did not. Did you know that at one time Onan Generators were a division of Studebaker.

I did not know that.

Did you know Kohler marketed gen-sets to promote indoor plumbing before rural electrification?

Why, they could not have plumbing without electricity? I have an Onan fron 1965 +- and it has that tag on it.

Diesel powered vents , where very unreliable then

Deere vents?

Now, did he mean John Deere or reindeer ??

Didn't know about that little gem. Thanks.

Couple more for your nostalgia machinery moments

http://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/

http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/

More great stuff!

I think the complaining neighbour (Mrs. Invention) must have been the inspiration for the first mechanical lawn mower.

By the way, is there anything they didn't put a Villiers engine on over there?