SOOT IN THE FLUES

Although mystified by the phrase ‘sleep when the wind
blows,’ the farmer did not press the question, but hired the
young man.

Some nights later a violent storm awoke the farmer. He got up
and tried unsuccessfully to arouse the farm hand, then with
considerable annoyance went out himself to see if all was well. He
found the barn locked, the chicken coop properly closed up, a
wagonload of hay covered with a tarpaulin which was securely
battened down, and all else in a condition of safety from the
elements. Then the farmer realized what his new farm hand meant
when he said: ‘I can sleep when the wind blows.’ (It’s
a good lesson for any of us, don’t you agree? How well do you
sleep when the wind blows?)

W. W. (PETE) PETERKA, 601 Waycross Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45240
has a suggestion and I’d like to hear from our I.M.A. Family as
to their comments on this idea. Says Pete: ‘Many of we
subscribers do not have room in our garages or on small city lots,
to collect and restore full-sized engines. We must be satisfied
looking at, and admiring the beautiful farm engines at various
shows, or, if possible, making our own in the form of miniature
models. I have been doing this for seven years during which time I
have made six of them, both steam and gasoline.

May I ask a favor? We would like to see in your magazines, a
section devoted to miniature engines. This model engineering column
of the magazine would contain names of individuals who are in the
same hobby, various tool suggestions and help in solving problems.
Also people would like to know what different engines are being
built, miniature engine shows and ideas on displaying and running
models. I truly believe this would be a valuable addition to your
magazine.’ (Let’s hear from you Hobby Chum show do you feel
about it? Anna Mae).

Herman Marschel’s threshing rig east of Buffalo in 1920. It
is a 22 HP Advance engine bought new in 1911. Thresher is Aultman
Taylor. My father, Joe Weldele (hatless) is steering the engine.
Leonard Marschel is engineer. My dad is now 79 and both he and
Leonard live nearby and enjoy good health.

ROSALIE R. MARSHALL, 186 S. Vine Valley Road, Middlesex, New
York 14507 writes for assistance: ‘Sometime just recently I
cancelled my husband’s subscription to your magazine because of
his passing away April 3, 1980. Since then I received a letter from
someone connected to your magazine wanting to buy the back copies
of The Iron Men Album Magazine. I was so upset at the time that I
have mislaid the letter. I have been looking for it but must have
left it in Florida. Could you let me know who that person is or is
he where you could relay my message to him. My husband, Robert L.
Marshall, started to subscribe to your magazine in 1956. I have
sorted them out to years and I am pretty sure he has them all since
then right through until 1980.’ (Usually we would not run a
letter as this in the column as this type of thins must be entered
in the classified ads, but we would like to see someone help Mrs.
Marshall with this problem. So here’s hoping the person that
contacted her for the magazines will get in touch with her
again.)

Another person seeking a picture needs help from Engine Land:
DONALD L. LOOSLI, 196 South Lloyd Circle, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401
writes: ‘I grew up on a farm in Marysville, Idaho and my father
had two steam threshers. One was a Case, 2 cylinder and a Reeves 2
cylinder. I have tried for years to find a picture of these two
engines, but to no avail. Maybe someone could help me?

I saw your article in the Americana Magazine and it brought back
many fond memories.’ (Watch the mail, Donald, you’ll
probably get a letter and maybe a picture.)

M. A. TAYLOR, 75 Moon View Road, Woodseats Sheffield 8 England
UK sends this letter and I hope I get it right, if not; sorry M.A.
the writing is hard to decipher. ‘As my copy comes by sea, I
hadn’t read the letter of mine regarding Buffalos you printed
in March-April IMA. Quite how the letter became torn and patched
together, I couldn’t say. I grand my handwriting can fall short
of copperplate like anyone elses. However, the way it reads would
seem that I intimated Mr. McPherson of Ontario as saying Buffalos
are crude, cast iron affairs of Henry Ford style, which opinion is
expressed by many enthusiasts more familiar with the English
engine. It’s not however, the view of Niel McPherson who I
would like it understood has been very helpful to me and I
wouldn’t like him to feel I’m not appreciative. On page 9,
photo 5 stands what certainly appears to be a single cylinder
Buffalo Pitts.’ (Do hope Mr. McPherson reads this, Mr. Taylor,
and my guess is, he probably will.)

A correction is noted from J. J. REIMER, 703-55 Nassau Street,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as follows: ‘Thank you for your
issue of May-June, Vol. 5. It carried a notice under name of
Lesiur? It should be J. J. Reimercan you correct? Our mailman asked
whether we knew anybody like that? We told him we didn’t and we
have never received any letters.

(The letter as written in the May-June issue is as follows, so
you folks will understand what all this is about and we’re
sorry the name was wrongnow the letter: ‘We have a 1904 Reeves
double compound steamer. Currently this is being restored for us by
the Canadian National Railways. If you could put us in touch with
some other Reeves owner, we will appreciate it.’)

JOHN W. HORNSEY, 1060 Waterloo Road, Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312
writes: ‘I recently acquired a Fairmount railroad track section
car. It has a two cycle gas engine and the identification tag reads
Fairmount Class M19, Series E, Group 3. I know very little about
Fairmounts or railroad section cars for that matter, and would like
more information if anyone can help. Is there a group which
restores section cars, and is Fairmount still in business?’ (If
you can answer John, he will be happy to hear from you.’ (This
short note will also go in GEM, but I thought maybe some of you
Iron-men would know about this.)

GARY R. FISHER, 925 Rosewood Avenue, Camarillo, California 93010
has a question: ‘A friend recently purchased an old steam
whistle for me at a swap meet and I would like to know what it was
used on. It was made by Gabriel Horn Mfg. Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
Patent date Oct. 24, 1905. It is brass, 34′ long, 3′
diameter and has four different tones, serial number 18414. I will
appreciate anyone out there that can help me get Gabriel’s horn
working again. I’m sure Gabriel would appreciate it too.’
(Toot-toot hopefully on the way Gary.)

JACK BUCKLY sends this, and the letterhead reads: Established
1881, B. F. CLYDES CIDER MILL, Last of Steam-powered Cider Mills,
Old Mystic, Connecticut. His home address is RFD No. 1, Mystic,
Connecticut 06355. Letter as follows: ‘I thought that some of
you readers might be interested to know that we are open for
business about mid-September and are open every day. We carry steam
around the clock, so that anytime anyone would like to see the
engine in operation, someone here can turn it on, even if we are
not working the mill. Ours is a fulltime business and not just a
showpiece. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are usually very busy,
but I can always find time to talk Steam.

We are also operating our grist mill for the first time about
September 1. This is a new venture for us and is housed in a
separate building. The corn is a very old type known as Rhode
Island White Flint. We have about 6-8 tons that was grown last
year. It takes several months to dry. This year’s projected
crop is 20,000 lbs. White Flint and about 10-12 thousand pounds
Longfellow Yellow Flint.

I enjoy the I.M.A. immensely and can’t wait for it to
arrive. Hope you can read this as I come from a family of doctors,
so guess I inherited the scrawl used on prescriptions.’ (Sounds
interesting, and I’ll bet there will be some folks stopping
around when they get up that-a-way. Folks really appreciate knowing
these things makes their excursions more interesting.)

I’m sure many of you readers will get some information from
E. D. DEWHURST, 712, North Front, Crookston, Minnesota 56716:
‘I am happy to see the questions asked in the July-August issue
of the Iron Men Album about safety valves.

I will try to explain here of my authority to write this article
on subject of safety setting. I am a licensed Minnesota chief
engineer (retired) and past safety valve setter for the U.S. Navy
at Bremerton, Washington Navy Yard during World War II. This is not
the simple matter most people consider it to be, as it required
three knowledgeable men to do these jobs right on a No. 600 boiler,
express type; Setter, Fireman and Timer.

The spring was set down to approximate working pressure to start
with, timer watches gauge at pop; fireman pulls fire, setter makes
necessary changes to the three elements of a high lift valve which
have the ring spoken of in your sketch. When you want a shorter
blow down, raise the ring on movable valve member or lower one on
stationary. However, it is not quite so simple when you must meet a
mandate of Naval Bureau and I think many men are not strict enough
about this sloppy valve action, but with experience and patience it
can be tuned like a fine instrument and have no chatter or
simmer.

There is another thing you should know if you did not happen to
have a safety valve tailor-made for your job. The spring will not
be dependable if you intend to use 18% above or below what it was
made for, and I expect this may be part of your trouble. Changing
spring-reclassifying a valve is not a cheap practical thing to do
by law etc.

I hope these instructions and words of advice are helpful to you
who are working with high lift valves.

P.S.: If old style valves are removed from a boiler you may not
be allowed by law to put it back on!

A different plea for help comes from JUANITA BIRD, P.O. Box 157,
Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica: ‘Help! Because you were
thoughtful enough to publish my letter, extolling the advantages of
living in Costa Rica and Columbia, we have been deluged with mail
from your readers.

So may I, through your column, assure them that we are delighted
with their responses and will eventually answer each and every
letter. Muchas gracias!! (That’s a happy kind of problem to
have, isn’t it? Be patient writers and you’ll hear from
Juanita.)

The following letter will be one for you ‘fellers’ to
talk over. It comes from JAMES B. CAIN, 220 East 140th Place,
Dolton, Illinois 60419: ‘Photo No. 6, page 9 of March-April
I.M.A. identified as the Lang & Button engine of New York Steam
Engine Associations Pageant of Steam must have undergone extensive
changes since last seen by me in 1977 at Levanna-on-Cayuga and
Canandaigua, New York.

The Lang & Button I remember from these shows was chalked as
having been built in 1909 (figure chalked on front of smoke box).
Mounted on brackets above and forward from the smoke box was a
medium-size water tank. Mounted crosswise and on the full width of
the front axle was a narrow, and not too deep, but long tool box. I
have seen this machine at Canandaigua in 1966, and at
Levanna-on-Cayuga and Canandaigua in 1977. I have seen this engine
hot and running around the grounds at Canandaigue and at
Levanna-on-Cayuga, and steaming the corn boil at Canandaigua; but I
have never seen it doing any belt work (the engine was/is
diminutive); have never seen it doing any heavy pulling.

According to information supplied by the Ithaca Journal, the
firm was established as Reynolds & Lang in 1865 as builders of
machinery; became Lang & Button about the turn of the century.
Three steam traction engines were built; a fourth was not
completed. Mr. Norris was quite right in his claim that his engine
was ‘the only one still around.’

The builders remained for about 50 years during and after World
War I as automobile dealers (Wintons) and service as the J. B. Lang
Engine and Garage Company, on Ithaca’s Green Street, and
contributed heavily to World War II effort. The J. B. Lang Engine
and Garage Company went out of business in 1960.I rented a bike in
Ithaca in 1970 from a Shepard Bike Company on West State Street. I
asked the owner if he were any kin to Shepard of Shepard-Niles of
Montour Falls, New York. He told me his name was Button; another
question drew from him the answer that the Button of Lang &
Button was his grandfather.

If the No. 6 photo on page 9 of I.M.A. of March-April is the
Lang & Button engine of the Canandaigue steam shows of the
1960s and early 1970s, it has been drastically altered (removal of
the front end tank). I would like to know the present whereabouts
of the Lang & Button engine and whether it has been permanently
cooled or is it fired up and working at some steam show, and if so,
where may it be seen?’

EARL S. STOUT SR., 24910 Ada Mae Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78257
sends an interesting article on The Banting Manufacturing Company
the the Greyhound Thresher. His letter as follows: ‘When
returning home from a month’s stay in Texas on May 9, 1980, in
the mail was my Iron Men Album, May-June issue. Also, five cards
and letters in response to the letter you printed in your column,
concerning the letter I sent you in January about the Banting
Manufacturing Company. Since you stated at the end of the letter
(If someone is interested and would pass the data on to us, we
would appreciate it for the magazine). I have decided to try to be
fair to all. I will have copies made for all that have written and
then send original to you to do with as you desire.

The name and address written by pen above the letterhead, I
think, is the one that found this material when tearing out a wall
where it had fallen from the attic when the house was owned by
someone else. This man’s nephew, if I remember right, of
Marion, Ohio, gave this material to me at the Miami Valley Steam
Threshers Show at London, Ohio some years ago. I assured him that I
would get it into the hands of people that would appreciate
it.’ (Earl S. Stout as yet lives in Broadway, Ohio 43007 at
18897 Broad Street. But he is moving to Texas in August thought I
would print this to clear up the above address and some of you
might know him as living in Ohio.) Enclosed with his letter is the
data on Banting: 1) a letter dated January 18, 1922 from The
Banting Manufacturing Company. 2) an order blank for ordering
machinery. 3) the Greyhound pamphlet. 4) The Banting Manufacturing
Company machinery list.

In closing, I’d like to remind you Behold the turtle. He
makes progress only when he sticks his neck outJames Bryant Conant.
And here’s a pepper-upper for you: Make peace with what has
happened, don’t foolishly regret it. A blunder has no power, as
soon as you forget it.