SOOT IN THE FLUES

ALFRED H. BORSTAD, #5 Holiday Village, Devils Lake, North Dakota
58301 sends this: ‘I want to write a few words though it is
hard to write since I have become nearly blind the past year. The
Veteran’s Hospital has done a lot of good for me so far.

‘In the Sept/Oct issue of IMA the picture
on the top of page 13 shows a Pioneer tractor. They used to pull
about six or eight plows and were quite well liked in the western
part of the state, together with the Big Four and big Avery and Oil
Pulls for breaking prairie.’

‘Steam engines were not too popular there because of the
lack of water, much of which was full of alkali which was hard on
boiler flues.’

‘I helped in the middle of another harvest this year, but I
find very little in it now to interest me. It’s no longer like
the old days. I’ve run Case, Nichols and Shepard, both wooden
and steel machines and a wooden International and worked with
Aultman-Taylor, Avery steel and wooden Minneapolis machines but
can’t seem to warm up to a combine at all.’

And one of the letters that really is about Christmas, but
I’m sure would thrill you steam fiends comes from JUDY BERGER
who writes:

‘I am the secretary of our club in Northern Kentucky, and I
have been asked by a number of our club members as well as other
clubs to send a copy of my poem to your publication.’

‘I sincerely hope that your readers will have as much fun
and enjoyment out of reading it, as I had in writing it.’ Judy
is Secretary of the Northern Kentucky Gas & Steam Engine
Association in Dry Ridge, Kentucky 41035.

A STEAM ENGINE CHRISTMAS

By Judy Berger

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Park
Not a creature was stirring, and boy, was it dark!
The stockings were hung on the rail fence with care
In hopes that Santa soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Avery drove in their heads,
And Dad in his Levi’s and I in my cap
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the road there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my camper to see what was the matter.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a string of steam engines all in high gear.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his engines they came,
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.
On Huber, now Avery, on Frick and on Scott!
On Keck Gonnerman, now Case, Advance Rumely and Gaar Scott.

To the top of the hill, to the top of the rise,
They were belching smoke to the skies.
So up the steep grade they all roared with power’
Their smoke stacks puffing! Twas a great hour.

With fire boxes blazing and boilers full of steam,
Twas the perfect answer to an engine man’s dream!
All the injectors were working, they were doing their thing,
The flywheels were turning, while the governors sang.

And just then as the smoke and steam began to part
From deep in the mist, I saw a plump, round, red figure
dart.
He filled all the stockings which were hung in a row,
He turned with a twinkle and started to go.

He sprang to his engine and fired up his boiler
He oiled up his pistons and took on more water
As the sweat ran down the back of his collar,
I heard his laugh and I heard him holler!

I heard the steam hissing and the great whistle blast;
His chore was almost finished, completed at last!
I heard him exclaim ere he drove out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

CALVIN HARMAN, R.R. 2, Box 227, Claypool, Indiana 46510 would
like to know the whereabouts of the 19-65 Port Huron engine, No.
7312.

An item you may be interested in comes from CLIFF B. SHIRLEY,
2009 West 71st Street, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208: ‘The item
in the Sept/Oct issue of IMA about the
‘Smallest Engine in the World’ was interesting. However, my
guess is that the claim will be challenged by somebody.

There is another extremely small stationary engine model in the
Franklin Institute. I was told there that it will run on five drops
of water, with heat produced by the burning of three drops of
alcohol on a bit of cotton. If true, the story of this engine
should be of interest to many readers of your fine magazine.

I’d also like to suggest more about what I call ‘city
steam’. Some of us didn’t see steam on the farm. We lived
in the city and saw steam shovels, cranes and rollers. We usually
didn’t have the opportunity to get as close to these machines
as did the farm boy who watched or did lesser jobs near the
threshing rig. So, I’m always pleased to read about the steam
engines used in the cities.

Thank you for a fine magazine.

I think you will enjoy the following writing which comes from
DON NAISH, 3854 Crawford Road, Dryden, Michigan 48428: ‘In the
Sept/Oct issue, Soot in the Flues, there is a picture and letter
from Wayne L. Mc Clellan. As a reader of IMA for
the past several years, I have some comments and pictures that may
be of interest.

‘The pump in Wayne’s picture was used for boiler feeding
and was known as a ‘doctor’. On most boats they pumped
river water and were single stage. On some towboats that were
condensing, they pumped condensed exhaust steam back to the boilers
and were two stage.’

‘The two pictures I enclose are of the ‘Gordon C.
Greene’ on which I was an engineer in 1940, and her doctor or
feed pump. I also was an engineer on the ‘Patricia Barrett’
which had this type of feed pump. They were very reliable.’

‘I have held chief engineer’s license for many years and
retired five years ago as, among other things, superintendent of
the power house at Buick Motor Division. I would be interested in
exchanging reminiscences with others interested in steam or most
any kind of mechanical equipment.’

‘I enjoy reading your magazine and the tales it contains.
Hope this information is of interest to someone.’

This message comes as a result of inquiry in the column. It is
from JAMES G. STEWART, Minnesota City, Minnesota 55959: ‘The
picture on page 13 of Sept/Oct issue of an early road grading
crewthe tractor is a 30-60 Pioneer which was made in Winona,
Minnesota in the years 1908 to 1921. They came out in 1921 with a
15-30 model and I don’t believe they manufactured very many.
Times were changing and they had to make something lighter. The
30-60 Pioneer and the 30-60 Rumely Oil Pull were considered to be
the best two tractors in their day. I knew a man that ran both of
them, when he was just a kid, in 1915-16. He hauled grain 35 miles
over the prairie roads to the nearest elevator, pulling seven
wagons. It would go four miles an hour, but the Rumely would only
go two miles per hour.

‘I saw the Pioneer pull 22 plows in sandy soil at the County
Fair at Winona about 1910 with two gangs hooked together. The
Pioneer 30-60 played a big part in developing the great northwest,
as did the 30-60 Rumely Oil Pull. There were very few Pioneers sold
locally and the most of them went to Canada, the Dakotas and
Montana. I don’t know why they went out of business but I heard
they had made some money and did not want to reinvest it because
they would have to retool their shop inorder to keep up with the
times. By the way I have always lived in Minnesota City which is
only six miles from Winona.’

‘This will mark by 65th year of threshing since 1919. We
still do our own threshing. I have three threshing machines, a
Woods, Case and Belle City; a Rumely Oil Pull and 66 Minneapolis
Molines. By the way I am 82 years old. I hope this information will
be helpful.’ (I’d say you are 82 years
young and quite an inspirationthanks for
writing.)’

FRANCIS R. SCHLEPPI, 6023 E. Walnut Street, Westerville, Ohio
43081 tells us: ‘I have an article that should be of interest
to the readers. It is from the Ohio Farmer Magazine and I have
secured permission for reprint from Andrew L. Stevens,
Editor.’

‘While attending the Pinckneyville, Illinois Show last year,
I was looking over a Keck-Gonnerman engine that had two kerosene
lamps mounted on the smoke box,’ states WALTER H. PAGE, Box 33,
Monrovia, Indiana 46157.’

He continues: ‘In the course of my conversation with the man
firing up the engine, I wondered if thee were lights mounted
originally on this engine. He remarked that he didn’t know, but
wanted to know if I recognized the engine. No, I didn’t. He
asked if I read Anna Mae’s column in the IMA. I told him Yes.
Well, this is the engine pictured at the head of the column, Engine
No. 1788. He said he didn’t know how it got there. Anna Mae, do
you have an explanation? (The only thing I know, Walter, is that
Roy Glessner drew it, but I’m not sure if he just numbered it,
or was really looking at a photo of one.) ‘Well, anyway the No.
1 picture is of the real Keck 1788 taken at the 1983 Pinckneyville
Show. The picture of Paul Wyatt of Pleasant Plains, Illinois is
after he had just been in the firebox and rolling some leaky
flues.’

Someone said it must be real clean in there after he came out.
The other man is me looking in the smokebox door.

‘By the way, could someone tell me a formula for figuring
the horsepower of an engine turning a Baker Fan? Seems as if there
should be something, area of blades, number of blades and
RPM??’

CHARLES O. HARTLEY, 1629 Robbins, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417 is
a new subscriber who picked up old copies of IMA
at shows. He writes, ‘One of those old ones had the
announcement of Ritzman’s sale in it. I am interested in
knowing the present ownership/location of the Birdsall and Lansing
engines.

‘My hobby is making 35 mm slides of the various engines and
I have attended several shows over the last two yearsthe Michigan
show for many years.’

(These engines were both sold to Paul Russell, Route 1,
Morrisville, North Carolina. I think he may have sold one or both
of them, but don’t know for surecan any of the readers
help?)

Speaking of gifts for any season, the following may make you
think twice, or at least study your motives: An angel was visiting
a city, observing people without being observed. One night he noted
a hungry newsboy fallen asleep. A young lady came along with a male
companion. Seeing the newsboy, she shyly in her pity dropped a
sixpence into his pocket and was coming away when the young man
with her gave another sixpence and an old lady standing by gave
three pence and another young man, though not very heartily, handed
in a shilling. So that, after all had been quietly slipped into the
little sleeper’s pocket, he had received two shillings and
three pence. Delighted, the angel flew away to notify the great
recording angel about the good deed he had just witnessed. ‘I
know, I know,’ said the recording angel, ‘see it is all
written down already, as the Lord told me,’ and he showed him
the book. But there was only nine pence recorded, nine pence
recorded, ‘Because,’ as he went on to explain, ‘that
young maiden gave sixpence out of her love, and the aged lady gave
three pence out of pity, but the young escort gave because he
wanted to be thought well of by the young lady, and the other young
man gave because he did not want to be thought mean. These last two
do not count.’

Wellsprings of Wisdom, Ralph L. Woods

And in ending just a few quips for the New Year… New
Year’s Day starts out by making both ends of the years
meet….Many a man who celebrates the arrival of the new year
should celebrate instead the survival of the old.