Advance Thresher Company had no monopoly on trouble. Companies
that sold engines to plow buffalo grass sod, shared the trouble.
That Advance was not the only engine that cracked its boiler. Flues
leaked, side sheets of fire-boxes buckled, hubs were twisted from
drive wheels, crankshafts were broken and brackets ripped from
boilers. Engines having plowed but little, were returned to
were out.
Mike Jensen and Advance Thresher Company were losers because of
that engine trouble but good resulted from it. A combination
bracket of the pillow block and intermediate brackets was made and
contained the strain, and not the boiler. The intermediate gear
bearing bracket was studded to the combination bracket and could be
removed without loosening cap screws in the boiler. Later engines
were equipped with combination brackets, an improvement over-due
and Advance were better engines.
The old engine was returned to the factory, rebuilt, equipped
with gearing an inch wider than the original and sold in the
northwest. The Home Office wrote Kansas City, ‘The engine fully
satisfied the customer.’ Kansas City graciously sent me a copy
of the letter.
Later, the service man was assigned the Kinsley Block and since
has lived in Kinsley. He was successful on sales and remained with
Advance Thresher Company until that firm closed its doors in
December, 1911.
Colby, now is a city of 3,862 population, with many blocks of
paved streets and remains the highly advertised city of
northwestern Kansas.
The O’Pelt was enlarged in 1931 and the capacity doubled. A
large heating plant was installed and consisted of three boilers
from 35 hp. Advance engines. Guests, since 1931, on cold stormy
days, have enjoyed the comfort of steam heated rooms with steam
generated from Advance Thresher Company boilers, one of which was
the La Fever type of boiler.
