Went to the Ohio Valley Antique Machinery Show over the weekend and shot some photos of these beautiful steam tractors:

1. Case's 1923 model

A larger image of this one can be seen here.

"J I Case Threshing Machine Co. Racine Wis. U.S.A."







2. These engines burn wood, straw, or coal; and sawdust if they want to provide a spark show for spectators.







3. The tractors were used for oats threshing, an important crop for feeding the horses that did a lot of hard work on the farm.


A little while ago I purchased an old flue scraper and at the show I got to see how it was used. The front of the tractor is opened, revealing the flues:



This tractor has 54 flues that are cleaned after each day's use:


The flue scraper is attached to a pole approx. ten feet long:





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A photo of the flue cleaner that was included on the "What is it?" site a few months ago:

A couple more photos of this tool can be seen here.