(Photos by Greg Rourke) – Last week we showed you some of Greg Rourke’s awesome photos from the 57th Sycamore, Illinois Threshing Bee. His
Really, the advent of the steam tractor allowed farmers to work amounts of acreage that up until that point were thought to be impossible. Pulling a single bottom plow with a team of Oxen was one thing but when you could pull a plow 20x the size and with vastly more ease (but it still wasn’t easy!) behind a steam tractor farm output soared, the economy exploded, and an ever expanding nation was able to not only eat well but also start exporting vast quantities of food to other places in the world.
While better than being farted on by cows, operating a steam tractor was a messy multiple guy operation. Someone had to actually turn the knobs, read the dials, and control the thing while someone else was feeding logs, coal, or other combustibles into the firebox to keep the roaring blaze up to make the steam that actually got the whole works moving. “Steering” was kind of an interesting act with ratios that make cruise ships seem nimble. Like all things, the tractors evolved, advanced, and eventually gave way to the new breed of smaller, more powerful, and more maneuverable diesel tractors. That being said, these big steamies had a decades long run that was vitally important in our history. We also love them because they’re constructed all of iron, steel, and brass. Plastic was a science-fiction idea at the point these were made and if it wasn’t half in thick steel plate, someone was bound to bitch that the machine was cheaply made. Ah, the good old days!
Greg reports that the show was well attended and the steam tractors had big crowds. They all pulled their whistles at noon in a deafening tribute to each other. There’s nothing quite like the sound of a few dozen steam whistles blaring all at once! Hit the link below and enjoy these photos that feature some of the coolest and slowest machines you’ll ever see here at BangShift. Steam away!
GALLERY: 
“While better than being farted on by cows, operating a steam tractor was a messy multiple guy operation.” You always have the right words to describe the moment.