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Once he transports the monster machine to a show, the work has just begun. Besides loading and unloading the engine, running it also takes a bit of power. The engine burns wood and coal.
"Coal works better than wood," he said, "but it is dirtier."
Lump coal works the best, but is increasingly difficult to find, since most coal is made for use in power plants. Because of that, he generally uses oak sawmill slabs. At the Strawberry Festival the Russell was the power source for the onsite sawmill. This Russell works for its fuel!
"Everybody had a sales ploy," he said "Aultman & Taylor used the starved chicken to show that so little grain was lost, a chicken would starve, and Avery had the bulldog with the motto 'teeth talk'."
Randy's aptly-named Boss was purchased in good condition. In a few years, Randy said, he may pull it all apart, sandblast the parts, and possibly replace the steering wheel or worm gears. "But right now, she runs just fine," he said.
With a machine almost 100 years old, parts are difficult to come by. If one of these steam machines needs a part, what does a collector do? According to Randy, you make your own.
"If I didn't have a machine shop," he said, "I would be lost."
For Randy, much of the lure of the steam engine is in its size. Bigger is definitely better.
"I've got other tractors, but something big and oversized is intriguing," he said. "Half the fun is in maintaining. The life expectancy of these originally was only about five years. You just couldn't keep them clean. These things just ate themselves up.