Have you ever listened to an elder pine for the way things were and thought to yourself just how full of it they are? Have you ever considered that they might actually have merit to their argument? Just because it is the most technologically advanced item, or the most modern version of an implement, doesn’t mean it’s the best. I want to liken it to something, but the only thing that keeps popping into my head is using a sledgehammer instead of an M-4 rifle…anyways, I have a better second example for you: this Case steam tractor making a pull at Pickneyville, Illinois in 2013. By farm implement standards, this is anvil technology and should be easily outpaced by the modern counterpart. In practice, however, the old iron dutifully outperforms some of the wildest race creations we’ve ever seen hook to a pulling sled. By sheer torque, this old Case does a full pull and then some. Don’t pay too much attention to the spark show coming out of the funnel…these guys were putting sawdust into the firebox to make a show out of the pull. Grandpa might have had a screw or …well, a few screws missing, but he did have it right on one accord: some things really were better back in the day.