I know some of you may be dis-pleased with me, thinking this belongs on a farm web page or a agricultural web page, but alot of these machines helped build roads still in use today. This is a pic of my fathers pride and joy. I hope you all like looking at this type of machinery as much as I like being around it and learning about it. This was from this years show in the western part of the Upper Peninsula of MI
Not mad at all. The real question is... got anymore pics?
I do, it will take me a few to re-size them, stay tuned
Keep 'em coming, bordercollie, those old steamers opened up agricultural land and worked on farms all around the world. Rn'R.
Nice! I Always wanted a steam engine. The laws are so strict now that running one at a Show in Maine is almost a federal crime. Too many explosions from riveted boilers. We have a collection of gas engines, but no steam. Thanks for the pics.
So true on the regulations. This one was inspected this spring and everything was good. It is certified for 150 psi operating pressure.
I dunno, you'd have to ask Digger....he's Old!
The board now has an automatic re-sizer, which makes posting pics a lot easier. Great pics, by the way...
And I'm about out of steam too, so I dunno either. :beatsme
Is Steam too old?? I think steam is one of our better options for cleaner energy to power transportation, the pressure vessels that can be made today with more advanced materials that do not deteriorate like steel, might be a little more expensive, but would last longer and be more dependable in the long run. Most of our major power is still produced with steam, but of course it is not moving on roadways at 50 To 100 MPH. I'm currently working on a design for a tool trailer power station, that might involve some steam application. Ron
This is a coin commemorating 200 years since my ancestor Richard Trevithick invented the first rail locomotive. He started the industrial revolution when he invented the first high pressure steam engine which powered many new machines , ships , tractors , water pumps , threshing machines etc . He is best known for being the father of the first rail locomotive in 1804 . They say his steam engines were the greatest step in miniaturisation not seen again untill the advent of the Silicone chip . A Google of his name will tell the full and amazing story of his career .
a couple a more for everyone.
There are propulsion system that are older... :cool2
Their Methane powered .
hey digger what was they hitched to? I see a yoke on em....
At the time, they weren't hitched to anything except each other. I don't know whether they were hitched to anything earlier or later in the day, but if they were, I missed it. I have been told though that some of the older grader type implements were actually drawn by them for construction purposes. They're not strictly an agricultural powerplant.
Steam is never too old. This is completely OT but if you like steam traction then you must also like stationary steam. Here is North America's largest stationary steam engine. 4000 HP at 75 rpm, 34" and 68" dia. cylinders, 60" stroke. It drove a rolling mill at a steel plant. Over the past decade I dismantled, moved and reassembled it at a new site. Weighs over 270 tons. some of you may have seen pictures of it on the net. This is the Tod Engine.
Steam may come back around I had read once that railroads were looking at steam again. With the following setup Propane or CNG firing a boiler turning a turbine connected to a electric generator. They were looking at this because of emissions regulations
Real nice Rumely. Love the steamers. Quiet steady power. I notice the 125 lb. on the gage, what is the max pressure you can run and do you run less than max because of a boiler cert. law?
cool
One of the council bosses i worked for last week seen my Iron Horse business logo on the machine and new my name and said are you related to Richard ? I told him i was , and he said he has a beer bottle with a picture of his first locomotive and emailed it to me . I probably should have used his first locomotive as my logo .
If I'm not mistaken the "Stanley Steamer" had the land speed record in the 1920's at 104 or 106 MPH! Steam is the earilest from of power! The first excavators were "steam shovels" and cranes were steam powered, and what about the "steam roller"? All of those machines and many more were the ancesters to the modern equipment of today! If it wasn't for the transoprtation lag in the planes states, and the fact that there wasn't much to burn for fuel, gasoline and diesel might have took longer to catch on here in the US. The only other problem with steam engies were their tendensies to blow up! I guess trying to overrev or get that extra horse power lead to operational no-no's back in the day! Poor or lack of maintenance, and just abusave operations was more the problem then the solution!