From Soup to Nuts

Image Gallery Walt's 1949 Allis-Chalmers Model G is at home on the parade circuit or in the field with its harrow mounted. The machine was originally delivered to a California truck farm.

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Nevada man builds old iron collection of anything 'old and interesting'

When it comes to building an old iron collection, the methods to the madness are as varied as the collectors. Some enthusiasts focus on a single class of machine from a single manufacturer. Others chase every variation of an individual model - say, the John Deere A. In many cases students of old iron sort themselves out by paint color, but there is at least one enthusiast in Winnemucca, Nev., who doesn't discriminate. 'I am fascinated by junk of all kinds,' says Walter Curtis Jr., pulling over the big flywheel on his 9 hp Samson engine, which dates to about 1900. 'If it's old and interesting, I have to bring it home.'

Making do with old iron

Walt's interest in old iron germinated in the 1950s while helping his father, Walter Curtis Sr., on the family's sheep and cattle ranch near Craig, Colo. Hands-on experience with old Ford, Caterpillar and Cletrac tractors, and early Allis-Chalmers round balers gave Walt a real appreciation for the value of well-worn machines. 'We never had a new piece of machinery, but that's how it was in those days,' Walt recalls. 'We farmed with junk, but it got the work done.' That work included making enough hay to support 7,000 head of sheep and 1,000 head of cattle when pastures were lean. Walt learned about perseverance and equipment maintenance at the same time.

Fascinated by equipment, Walt started to hang around the local machine shop when chores weren't pressing. 'There was one full-service machine shop in Craig at that time,' Walt says. 'I used to stop in after school and the man who owned it taught me how to operate the lathe and other machines.' At 19, fresh out of high school, Walt bought the shop and went into business. Eight years later wanderlust came knocking. He sold his business and went to work for a contractor who specialized in building convention centers across the U.S. In 1975 Walt and his wife, Sheryl, relocated one last time to Nevada, where they found themselves self-employed once again.

'We started out in construction, installing center-pivot irrigation systems and small subdivisions,' Walt says. 'Then we specialized in communications work.' Among other things, that included installing underground fiber optic cable from Denver to Rapid City, S.D., to Billings, Mont., to Seattle. 'We wore out several big D-8 cable-laying Caterpillars in the process,' Walt says with a chuckle. 'We came across a lot of interesting old iron too.'

Gathering the goods

Walt blames the cable-laying business and even a few microwave tower installations for the bulk of his collection, most of which was obtained using the barter system. 'Back in those days, folks didn't think much of easements and heavy equipment running across their land,' Walt explains. 'We tried to overcome that by offering to do a little dirt work for the landowner as a goodwill gesture.' When the landowner happened to have something interesting sitting in a fencerow, Walt offered additional work in exchange for the iron. But how do you get all that heavy stuff back home?

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