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Gail Bauer, 724 Prospect St., Clay Center, KS 67432; (785) 632-2387
Corn picker needs work
I have a Moline corn picker, model LD, serial no. 39104038. I want to restore it and am seeking information on who the manufacturer was and how the picker was constructed.
Marion C. Hogge, 3333 Guiena Circle, Hayes, VA 23072; (804)642-4189
Wagon tools revisited
It is labeled as a light buggy jack, but I believe these were made here in Ashland, Ohio, and used in the early days of the automobile as a jack stand to lift the automobile weight off of the tires during the time of the year when roads were impassable. There also were times when people simply jacked up their parked cars to take the weight strain off the tires.
The part to the far left would fit under the wheel hub. Pushing down on the handle would take most of the weight off the tires, but it took four of these jacks for a complete set. Jack stands were much quicker and easier to use than wood blocks. The round ed part that touched the auto hub was fitted with leather so that it would not mar the auto hub.
John M. McNaull, 699 County Road 1775, Ashland, OH 44805
Roundhouse memories
When I was 14 (I'm 87 now), we lived in Bellevue, Iowa, not more than two blocks from the narrow-gauge round house. The little train went from Bellevue to Cascade, a distance of 30 miles, each day. It pulled out of Bellevue about 9 a.m. and returned about 5 p.m.
I spent a lot of time at the roundhouse because I was interested in steam, and finally, one day the boss asked me if I wanted a job. Yes, I said. Our work start ed after the engineer dropped his string of cars on a side track, filled the coal car with coal and water, and brought the engine to the roundhouse, where he parked it over a pit and opened the gate so the live coals fell out.
We then filled the domes with sand and ran the engine on the turntable so it was headed back for Cascade. Then I would carry an armful of wood up to the engine, and get a bucket of oil and a bunch of waste ready for morning. That done, I would go home until the next day.