Steam Engines

If you love steam (and who doesn't?), you'll love our 65 HP Case steam tractor and our stationary steam engines.

You will definitely want to stand on the platform of the Case steamer. This marvel of engineering from 100 years ago makes a racket when it's moving and spews out steam and smoke in a decidedly environmentally unfriendly manner. Maybe that's why we don't run it very often, but when we do it attracts a crowd. Come by early in the morning and you can watch the process of getting it fired up. It's not quite as easy as turning the key!

In contrast to the Case tractor, the E. Leonard stationary engine is so quiet when it's operating that you can easily talk to the operators when you are standing right next to it. You get the feeling that you are watching TV without the sound turned on. Watching the giant flywheel spin is mezmorizing and the exposed connecting rod and crankshaft will make you wonder how something that big and heavy can move that fast.

Of course, not much would be happening without a boiler. It takes steam to make the engines move and it takes a boiler to make steam. To the first-time visitor, it just looks like throwing logs on a fire but it's actually much more complex than that. There an ongoing balancing act between not enough heat and too much heat, not enough water and too much water, not enough pressure and too much pressure, and so on. Hopefully, you get the idea.

Due to the nature of antique steam equipment, we only have live steam on special occasions such as our annual show. The equipment is on static display at other times.