R.R. 1, Box 75 Kirkman, Iowa 51447
Pictured here is a little one-half size engine I have been
working on for the last three years. I call it a Rumely, after the
20 horsepower 1915 Model as shown in Jack Nor-beck’s book
Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines on page 228. That
engine is owned by Dennis Salley of Mason, Michigan, where it has
Mason. I have never met Dennis, but plan to contact him
sometime.
The reason I call it a 1915 Rumely is because, after I located
an engine, it had a link reverse and so I had to set the steam dome
ahead to make room for the valve gear. The only boiler spec I had
to go by was a 65 Case which is quite similar except for a higher
dome and set farther ahead.
The engine is a Hyde windless engine made in Bath, Maine, with a
4 inch bore and a 6′ stroke. That, too, would be more like
Rumely, as Case seemed to keep their bore and stroke in some
engines the same measurement or within an inch.
The front wheels are made-over wheels from a manure spreader,
the rear wheels from a McCormick grain binder. The front door is a
flywheel from a 1957 Ford with automatic transmission. The front
mounting and axle, also smoke stack, I made out of material I could
find out of a junk pile.
I knew I was facing a challenge when I started. Also, my friends
wondered if I could really come up with something that would
resemble a steam traction engine. I think I surprised myself as to
the way it shaped up it just seemed that everything I needed became
available when the time came. I still have the steering gear to
install, as well as the drive train.
I have steamed it a dozen times or more and have most of the
bugs out of it, such as getting the valve set and the injector
working good. The boiler has eleven 2′ flues and steams good.
The best part is the sound. It really sounds like an Advance Rumely
with a sharp exhaust that sure puts smiles on the face of a steam
buff. Even the ladies call my engine a ‘Cutie’ imagine
that!
Howard Mickelson participates every year in the Greenridge Steam
and Gas Show, held the third week in September, which features
steam threshing, saw milling, corn shelling, sorghum making, lots
of old tractors and gas engines, and a horse treadmill, and more.
This year will mark their 10th anniversary and they are planning a
10-year catalog. The Club has a 65 Case traction engine (#33383)
and a 50 HP Case portable (#32807) which Howard bought and
restored.
