Steam Hauler

Stanley Skatberg of Alexandria, Minn., built this little -scale
Minneapolis in the early 1960s. It was featured in an issue of
Iron-Men Album around the same time, and I saw it run at
his shop in the mid-1970s. That was before the steam bug bit me,
and all I thought when I saw it was, ‘now that’s cute,’
never dreaming I would own it one day.

After Stanley died in the early 1990s I heard his family was
selling the little steamer, but they wanted quite a sum for it.
Some are worth top dollar, but this one, with a boiler that had
already been condemned by the state of Minnesota, was not.

I lost track of it for many years, and then I found it setting
in a junk pile in Nelson, Minn. For the next few years, every time
I was in Nelson I visited the engine. Finally, when I noticed it
wouldn’t turn over anymore, I decided it was time to do
something with it.

After a nation-wide search I found Stanley’s son living in
Colorado, and I purchased the engine from him for considerably less
than the original asking price.

Although the boiler was bad the engine was complete, and I was
able to free the engine up and get everything working. Stanly had
mounted a full-size Marsh steam pump to put water in the little
steamer’s boiler. It didn’t fit the engine’s scale, and
I mentioned to Jim Briden in Fargo, N.D., that I would be willing
to sell it if he knew anybody who needed one. As it was, Jim knew a
fellow from Austria who was restoring a Case engine and was looking
for just such a pump.

Contacts were made, and two fellows from Austria flew over here
on a Labor Day weekend, took in a steam show in Wisconsin, then
went to Rollag, Minn., and following Rollag swung through
Alexandria and picked up the pump. While they were here I showed
them around the area, including a visit to our little threshing
show at Rose City, Minn. After showing them around we were driving
out the long driveway of the show grounds as the neighbor’s
horses were running in the pasture right along side. One fellow
said to the other, ‘Hmm, good sausage.’ And they were
serious!

After thoroughly cleaning the engine, followed by a new coat of
paint, I mounted it on the back of my restored 1952 International
Harvester L150 flatbed truck for parades and such. It is a lot
easier than taking a full-size engine, water wagon and wood wagon
to a parade.

This little engine is going to be a future restoration project.
I’ll have to buy a different boiler for it and go from
there.

Contact steam enthusiast Joe C. Steinhagen at: 11980
Kluver Addition Road S.E., Alexandria, MN 56308.