President: MARTIJN ZELDENRUSTVice President: Vacant, TabledSecretary: IAN WEST, WestlockTreasurer: Tabled to next meetingHistorian: MICHAEL MORT, AthabascaDirectors: 3 yrs: LES DUNFORD, Dapp, JDWOYNOROWSKI, Westlock2 yrs: GRANT PEDEN, HENRY GOLLER,Westlock1 yr: OTTO SCHAAB, Westlock, LEEKIPPERS, NeerlandiaNewsletter: LES DUNFORD, DappLunch: PHIL COLBOURNEShow Chairman: PHIL COLBOURNEParade Marshall: OTTO SCHAABTrade Barn Show: IAN WESTOUR MAILING ADDRESS:Vintage Tractor & Machinery ClubP.O. Box 5414WESTLOCK, AB T7P 2P5

Volume 27, No 7July, 2018July, 2018

Vintage VoiceVintage VoiceMonthly Newsletter

of the Vintage Tractor &Machinery Club

Next gathering:July 11, 2018July 11, 2018Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.

Grant Peden residence

(See page 2 for completedirections to his property atBaptiste Lake, west of Athabasca)

Summertime is fun time!!The days are warm and long, and time to kick back and relax

a little. As members know, there are no regular meetings of theClub during the summer, and we try to encourage gatherings forJuly and August at members’ residences. As you check Page 2 andthe meeting minutes as recorded by our faithful secretary IanWest, you will note that two members will host the summermeetings.

The first will be at Grant Peden’s place at Baptiste Lake,west of Athabasca on July 11. This is a first for him.

The second will be hosted by Dale Schafers at his placesouth of Riviere Qui Barre. Members will recall an enjoyableevening there last year.

Check out the meeting minutes on Page 2 and write down thedirections carefully to each of these places and come prepared foran enjoyable social evening at both of these places.

Three things to remember: Your spouse (kids are welcometoo), a salad or dessert - or both, if you wish, and perhaps lawnchairs would be a good idea as well. Oh yes, and bug spray forthose uninvited little critters!

We note with sadness the passing of Ken Wood in an accidentthe weekend of June 23-24. We have little details other than itinvolved a side-by-side. Ken was a member a few years ago, andvery enthusiastic in regards to the tractor pull sled event and therestoration of tractors, owning several himself. Our condolencesgo out to his family and his parents, Garry and Carol Wood. Garryis also a former member, but continues to be involved with theCanadian Tractor Museum. At the Canada Day events July 2 inNeerlandia, a tribute to Ken was held during the tractor pullsthere.

Whether you are a fan of the competitive sled pulls or not,there is no doubt the pulls, either way, are a popular event withboth pullers and those in attendance at these events.

Above is shown the row crop Farmall Super M tractorwhich Ken Wood used on the pull sled competition at ourVintage Tractor & Machinery Club show June 2. Note allthe wheel weights he added. Ken was very keen on thepulls.

VINTAGE TRACTOR & MACHINERYCLUB MEETING

June 13, 2018CANADIAN TRACTOR MUSEUM

WESTLOCK, ALBERTA

18 Members in attendanceMeeting called to order at 7:30 pm by Vice President

JD Woynorowski as President Martijn Zeldenrustunavoidably delayed. Introduction of Art Purdy (guest)who is currently in the process of modifying a vintageJohn Deere combine being donated for educationalpurposes by providing cut out areas around the variousinner workings of the machine.

Minutes from May 09 meeting read by Secretary IanWest. Minutes adopted as read. Motion by Ian West,Seconded by Lee Kippers. Carried.

Old Business: Tractor Show June 02 & 03: JD Woynorowski

reported on the publicity generated by the Facebookadvertising as follows: A Total of 7,410 people looked atthe advertisement with140 direct responsesencompassing viewers from the following Municipalities :Barrhead, Westlock, Spruce Grove, Wetaskiwin &Athabasca. All this for a cost of $99.63 which JDsuggested as being economical for future reference. BrentSterling reported attendance for both days as 756 adultsbased on gate admissions – not including children, inaddition to four complimentary admissions each to DaveHillman (Announcer) & Propane Hut (Propane Supplierfor Breakfasts) Treasurer Brent presented an accountingof Show Revenue/Expenses also for review. (Attached)Wally’s Amusements attendance—Discussion. InSummary, meeting attendees NOT happy with themanner in which the persons operating the ridesconducted themselves. In summary, Open liquor wasnoted, Set up was poorly conducted, Price of ridesexcessive and an Unauthorized Concession was incompetition with Official Concession provider (ClaudetteOlson) & Barn vendor.

Motion by Keith Sterling “In view of theaforementioned complaints surrounding Wally’samusements, Be it resolved NO considerations forallowing them to attend future Shows” Seconded byHenry Goller. All in Favour.

Show Chairman Phil Colbourne tendered hisresignation but indicated his willingness to act asresource for all future shows. Museum Donation—As perprevious arrangements whereby Tractor Club donated$1/head show admissions,

Motion by Keith Sterling , “Whereas in the pastTractor Club Donated $1/head, Be it Resolved that theCanadian tractor Museum receive $756 Donation”.Seconded by Wayne Forbes. Carried.

Brent Sterling will attend to Thank You notices forthe various show sponsors to be placed in upcomingWestlock News.

• Screen Installation on Museum MachineryShed. Discussion. Henry Goller will coordinate

installation with tentative work party scheduled forJune19 at 9am.

• Paving Stone installation by kitchen area at Ag.Barn. Phil Colbourne indicated his willingness to contactAg. Society to determine if rental concessions can beestablished in return for an estimated area of 20 ft.x 12ft.in addition to the leveling of existing tiles as deemednecessary. Tentative work date for this project July11.Wayne Forbes indicated he has access to a skid steer forsite preparation & will coordinate scheduling for thisproject.

• Rochester Tractor Pull. Pieter VanDasselaarconfirmed date for this event as August11 and requestedas many members to attend as possible, bringing tractorswhere possible also.

New Business: Glen Kine Memorial notice received. Scheduled for11

am, June 23 at the Canadian Legion, Westlock.Summer activities –• July & August Club Membership Get-Together at

Club Members’ homes: Grant Peden has offered to hostthe July Barbecue event on July 11, 6 pm., at hisresidence near Athabasca. Directions to the Pedenresidence: Take Hwy 44 north of Westlock to Dapp store.Then turn North on Hwy.801, continuing to Hwy 663.Then turn East to Hwy 812. Drive North to “T”intersection. Then Turn West around south end ofBaptiste lake into “Summer Village, West Baptiste”Grant’s address is #837 Baptiste Drive.

• Dale Schafers has once again volunteered to hostthe August Barbecue event at his residence near Calahooon August 08,at 6 pm. Directions to the Schafers’residence. Drive South on Hwy 44 to Twp Rd 552 (Southof Riviere Qui Barre) Turn West on Twp Rd 552 to RangeRd.272. From this intersection, Continue West .8km (1/2mile) to Dale’s Rural address 27220-Twp Rd552 on Northside of road. Note long fence & Red building in yard.

Of Note, Tractor club will supply drinks and wieners.Club members are requested to supply a salad or dessertfor 1 family—ie. Pot Luck!

Financial Report: Treasurer Brent Sterling reported a Bank Balance of

$12126.98 (Interim) as not all monies have been finalizedfrom Show proceeds. Brent further reported CurrentMembership of 41 Members paid up for 2018-2019.

For Sale/Wanted: Dale Schafers is looking for aPitman/ Steering arm suitable for a John Deere 520, 530or 630 row crop model tractor. Contact Dale at 780-991-2120 .

Grant Peden is interested in obtaining information onthe extent of Dearborn implements and if possible yearsof production, Serial #’s etc. If you can help, Call Grantat 780-675-5665.

Adjournment 9:30pm.~ Ian West, Secretary.

Obviously a very busy June meeting and some gooddiscussion around the show itself. Also note the twosummer get-togethers for members and spouses. Note thedirections, write them down before heading out. These arealways great social events to take in. Bug spray optional!

Page 2, Vintage Voice Newsletter – July 2018

Page 3, Vintage Voice Newsletter – July, 2018

The Beginning of the Endfor Steam Traction Engines

Steam traction engines haddecided disadvantages, includingscarce timber and expensive coal,which led to their decline.

By Sam Moore

By the time the “Gay Nineties”rolled around, the strong patents heldby the Otto Co., Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, on internal combustionengines had expired. As a result,“mechanicians” and tinkerers all overthe country began experimentingwith gas traction engines.

Virtually every threshingmachine manufacturer had developedand was successfully selling steamtraction engines and had littleinterest in the new technology. Manythreshermen believed steam was theonly power for threshing and scoffedat the idea of gas engines being asgood.

Still, steam engines had decideddisadvantages. In most grain-growingareas, timber for fuel was scarce andcoal was expensive. An extra man, ateam and a water wagon were neededto haul the 20 or so barrels of waterused by the engine every day – andwater was scarce in some areas. Itrequired a half-hour or so to getsteam up in the morning, fluesclogged or leaked and had to becleaned or replaced, grates burnedout, and boilers sometimes exploded,while in cold weather pipes could notbe allowed to freeze.

The Paterson tractorOddly enough, J.I. Case

Threshing Machine Co. – probablythe largest maker of steam tractionengines at the time – was the first toleap into the unknown waters of gastraction. David Pryce Davies, a youngdraftsman for Case, is credited withdesigning the company’s first gastractor in 1892. Usually called “thePaterson tractor,” because the 2-cylinder horizontally opposed enginewas based on a patent issued toJames and William Paterson ofStockton, California, the frame andwheels were essentially the same asthose on a Case steam tractionengine, while the machine featured acanopy and a huge flywheel on eachside.

It was tested on a nearby farm,but as both carburetion and ignitionwere in their infancy in that era,mechanical problems caused the idea

to be discarded. Case engineers,however, continued to work on thenew technology and, as the 1913 Casecatalogue (the first to feature gas andoil tractors) pointed out, “hadexpended more than $100,000 inexperimental work (on tractors).”

Built under contractIn October 1910, a Racine,

Wisconsin, newspaper reported onCase’s “new traction engine thatburns coal oil,” and cited Davies, bythis time “tractor developmentengineer,” as saying he was sure theyhad a good product that could be runby anyone.

Case’s first tractor, the Model 60,was built under contract byMinneapolis Steel & Machinery Co.,with almost 500 made from 1912 to1916. The Model 60 engine had twoparallel cylinders of 10-by-12-inchbore and stroke and weighed nearly13 tons. The Model 60 was tested onD.P. Davies’ nearby farm; a photoshows it pulling a 10-bottom plow.Engine cooling was similar to that onmany early tractors; engine exhaustwas routed through a large pipeabove a tower radiator, creating adraft that pulled cooling air upthrough the radiator, while a pumpmoved the water through the system.

A simple transmission gave twoforward speeds and reverse, while thespring-mounted differential gearswere the same as those used on Casesteam traction engines.

Lubrication was by mechanicaloilers that fed oil to the enginebearings and then to the exposeddrive gears and pinions, after whichit was discarded on the ground as nocrankcase sump was used. In 1915the tractor, then known as a model30-60, cost $2,500 ($59,760 today)plus shipping.Speed “extravagant andunproductive”

At about the same time, Casebegan to offer a smaller Model 40that was built into 1918 and wasquite popular, (more than 4,200 weresold). The Model 40, soon to be knownas the 20-40, was basically a smallerversion of the 30-60. It was built in-house, although a Milwaukee firm,Davis Motor Co., furnished theengines for about the first year, afterwhich they too were built by Case.The 2-cylinder opposed engine had a7-3/4-by-8-inch bore and stroke andfeatured a cooling system similar tothe one used by its big brother.

Engine lubrication was force feed,with a geared pump circulating oilfrom a closed sump. The bearings onthe running gear all had grease cupsfor lubrication.

The final 2-cylinder Case tractor– a Model 12-25 – was introduced in1913 and it was a beauty. Except forits large, cleated drive wheels, the 12-25 put many 1913 automobiles toshame, appearance-wise. It was longand low – only about 6 feet in height– with an automotive-style radiatorin front and the entire enginecompartment covered by a tastefullystriped hood and sides. Only a beltpulley on the off-side and a largeflywheel on the near side marred thesmooth lines of the tractor.

The engine was nearly the sameas that used in the 20-40, except for a7-by-7-inch bore and stroke, andcooling was by thermo-syphoncirculation through a fan-cooledautomotive radiator. Power wastaken from the engine by a “high-grade nickel steel” roller chain to the2-speed transmission that gavespeeds of 1.75 and 2.2 mph. The 1917Case catalog noted that, “Some lightduty tractors we know are sodesigned as to operate up to 4 milesan hour. This policy we believe iswrong, as it is most extravagant andis unproductive of the best results.”The 12-25 weighed 9,225 pounds andsold for $1,350.

Steering ahead of its timeOne feature of the 12-25 that was

discussed in the 1917 catalog seemsto have been standard equipment: aself-steering device to be used whenplowing. Similar to all such devices, aheavy steel wheel ran on an armattached to the tractor’s front furrowwheel and jutted out ahead of it by 8or 10 feet. As the wheel ran againstthe furrow wall, it guided the tractor.

The interesting thing is thiscatalog comment: “With thismechanism, the operator can moveabout the tractor or plow as hepleases, while his work continues. Allhe has to do is to set the wheel of thesteering device in the furrow, and heis then free to leave his seat forwhatever work is necessary.” As amore or less experienced plowman, Ihave to wonder at that statement.

All three of these early Casetractors competed in the Winnipeg,Manitoba, tractor demonstrationsand won gold medals, putting J.I.Case T.M. Co. firmly in the tractorbusiness to stay. ~

Page 4, Vintage Voice Newsletter – June 2018