Saturday, August 21, 2010

Heritage Farm Show

Today I went to a heritage farm show. One of my brothers and his family have been involved with this for over 20 years. It is held at a farmstead that has been turned into a working museum.



You can see farm things from the horse and buggy age



and tractors as new as the 1950s and 1960s - such as my all time favorite tractor, an International Harvester 560.



This monster tractor is from the 1920s. Notice the steel wheels. It is hard to comprehend the size of this machine from this photo. The wheels in back are over 10 feet high. You see a man on an ATV in the background. Believe me, this tractor is HUGE.



But before that 1920s tractor, there were steam traction tractors - called steam engines. This is the one my brother and his family run. These machines are much larger than they appear in photographs. However, this particular one is a moderate size engine.



The long belt is connected to a sawmill. You can see it here.



The steam engine powers the sawmill. Be careful there!



Here's another view of that blade.



Oh - for people who think wind power is something new, take a look at this. Every farm and ranch had one of these for pumping water.



I confess. I sure like this steam engine. The smell of it is quite nice - a mixture of wood and steam.



And I like the way it looks - the red and yellow and black go together well.



But maybe this is the BEST part! And, yes, there really was a Russell steam tractor engine company!



Thanks for stopping by.

3 comments:

L. D. said...

What a marvelous show. I really liked seeing the different items, all related to power. My dad had a 560 buying in just a few years before he sold he farm. He had International tractors before then and the equipment was all old to fit them. I really appreciate that windmill. It is a perfect scene.

Small City Scenes said...

I love going to farm events. You took some awesome pictures. I love the old tractors. We used to have an olf farmall I don't know what size--not huge but it sure was a work horse. I have a Kabota now---well my son in law has it--I can't believe it is 40 years old already. Time flies and I guess I an having fun.

I like the big ole one with your name on it. LOL
Those old timers were really huge. MB

Anonymous said...

Interesting! I didn't grow up on a farm, so I don't know much about tractors. But I love the pic of that big one from the 20s...and I didn't know there were steam engine tractors. How neat to see your name on one! Must admit, it's the buggy in the second photo that I really really love!