This 20 hp. return flue Avery engine had this mishap in 1909
during the threshing season, when trying to cross the bridge across
Rock Creek, four miles south of La Porte City, Iowa. This threshing
rig was owned by 20 farmers of this community. The engine was
unhooked from the separator as the bridge was not considered safe
for the rig together. Just as the cable tightened which was hooked
slid side-ways The engine was not damaged very much as it was mud
bottom at this place. one was hurt in the mishap. The next day the
neighborhood gathered and a house-mover power winch was used to
right the engine on its wheels, towed it out on the creek band and
eight horses were used to take it to the nearest farm the next
place to thresh. The engine suffered only dans age to the smoke
stack, the governor and the cab, and a few pipes. The bearings,
piston and valve all had to be removed and the mud and sand washed
out. It was ready for threshing again within a week. It was used
the balance of the threshing season without the cab. I was
separator man ‘with the rig mentioned above.
Mrs. F. L. (Ruth) Williams operating her 1918 model John Deere
Dain tractor at the Mt. Pleasant Iowa 1958 Reunion. Deere and
Company built 100 of these tractors in 1918-19. They went to the
Dakotas and there is no record of their performance. We believe
this is the only one in existence. They are three-wheeled and all
wheels are driven. The 4 cylinder engine was designed by Deere and
Company. It has three speeds forward and the reverse the same. Low
2 M. per H. High 25/4 per hour. 12 hp. on the draw bar and 25 on
the belt. The radiator is from a Mack truck and we don’t have
the hood. Otherwise, it is in near mint condition. F. L. Williams,
Box 42, The Oaks, Cordova, Illinois
30 hp. Huber and an Avery separator threshing: in North Dakota.
Mr. Huntsperger says, ‘The picture of the double cylinder on
the back page of the July-August 1958 issue took me back to the
year 1909 and at the Fargo Branch of the Huber Company. There We
used one of these oddities as a ‘shunt’ or switching engine
for loading new outfits on the flat cars for shipment to various
parts of the Northwest.
‘I didn’t like the thing and don’t think you would
either. It didn’t sound like a double should. The cylinder next
to the found in Iron of the driver wheel had such a long exhaust
passage it didn’t sound nearly as sharp as the horizontal one
next to the smoke stack. It was slow in heating up as compared to
the horizontal one. Cylinder cocks had to be kept open much longer
than the other. Dirt from the drive wheel got on the guides and was
hard to lubricate. Wish I had taken some snaps but did not think it
worth while then
