P.O. Box 44, Paragon, Indiana 46166
It takes persistence and determination to put these engines
together, and that is just what Bob Hughes of Bloomington, Indiana,
has. He worked for five years finding the parts for his Russell
engine, serial #3184, which was 100 years old in 1981, and was
featured then at the Pioneer Engineers Club at Rushville, Indiana.
of Mahalasville, Indiana; the wheels and boiler were found by John
Hall in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; the throttle and levers Bob got
from John Holp of Lewisburg, Ohio; and Sherman Bird, Perryville,
Illinois; and the front boiler door which he finished putting on
the engine just this past September, was being used as a cistern
cover and was found by Norman Skinner of Perryville, Illinois. Part
of the gearing he obtained from Charles Geisler, of Madison,
Indiana, and other parts which he couldn’t find he made in his
machine shop at home. After $1,500 and nearly two years of putting
the pieces together, this is the beautiful engine it used to be and
it’s hard to believe that the parts were scattered all over the
United States, and how hard and dedicated Mr. Hughes worked to find
the original Russell parts.
Bob worked with his dad, William Hughes, when they did threshing
all around this area and finally he left that and went to work as a
machinist for the Bloomington Limestone Company for 31 years.
Having worked with the engines when he was a kid, he kind of got
fed up with them, but then he began attending the Rushville Show
and the bug bit again. One thing about it, when the ‘steam
bug’ bites, and you get that coal soot on you and the steam in
your eyes, you have to get busy–and besides, he didn’t like
sitting on the sidelines. He is now a director of the Pioneer
Engineers Club of Rushville, and they depend on his expertise,
along with nine other directors, for decisions concerning the
show.
Bob is presently working on a 22 HP Advance Rumely engine which
belongs to a friend, Earl Walker of Paragon, Indiana, and is
helping put in new piston rings, make new water tanks, put on a new
roof, etc. He has been accused of running a steam engine hospital
and has even been known to make house calls. He is free with his
advice and loves to talk about steam. On a couple of city lots on
South Maxwell Street in Bloomington, Bob maintains a variety of
early farm machinery. His first love is a Keck-Gonnerman engine,
serial number 1754, that was made in Mount Vernon about the turn of
the century, and he has the engine, tractor, grain separator, and
water wagon that all go together, but then he wouldn’t part
with the 100-year-old Russell that he has just finished either. In
fact, he wouldn’t put a price on the Hart Parr tractor that
began his collection in 1965, or the Avery ‘bulldog’
tractor, or the 1935 John Deere, or the unrestored Frick steam
engine, serial #16547, or the Oil Pull tractor which was another
restoration which tried his patience in finding all the parts and
having to make several of them. He made the heavy-duty front end
complete for this tractor.
When Bob and his wife, Margie, bought their house in 1941, Bob
built a machine shop in the garage, and this is his pride and joy
and he spends many hours there. Bob says he couldn’t afford
this hobby if he didn’t have his machine shop and couldn’t
make his own parts. In 1965 and 1966 he built a one-half scale
steam engine from scratch, using salvaged pieces and making most of
it in his shop. Then he obtained the Oil Pull and has been looking
for parts for it ever since. Bob says he has had a lot of things
given to him by other collectors and has traded for other pieces.
He is generous with his time and knowledge, and is a consultant for
anyone who needs his help.
You have to know this man to appreciate that there are still
people like this in the world who love to help their fellow man and
share in their knowledge of these antique farm machinery. Bob and
his wife want all their many friends who have helped him collect
the parts and pieces of the different machines to know how much
they appreciate their help. These friends are in Ohio, Missouri,
Illinois and Indiana, and it certainly would be worth your time to
look him up sometime and spend a day going over his
‘museum’ of farm machinery. There is a certain twinkle in
his eye when he talks about the ‘steam days’; it was a lot
of hard work, but it brings back memories.
He is hoping to take his shingle mill to the 1982 Rushville
Show. His last show of 1981 was the Boonville, Indiana show at
Thresherman’s Park where he showed off the Russell with its new
front door and used it on the corn shredder of which he is very
proud, and to pull the old sorghum mill. He also has a miniature
sawmill; and, who knows, he may find another item to add to his
collection, which will start him looking for parts and pieces all
over again.
