Steam up power fest, any one going this year?

[Ura-Ki]

It's that time again, I missed the last few years, and will not be displaying my Caterpillar, but will be going at least for two days this year! Hope to see you there!

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[Ownerus]

I always try to make it for at least one Saturday. I love the old iron. Missed last year
It gives me inspiration to work on my projects, usually to no avail but hope springs eternal.
A great living museum to take kids to!

 

[Stomper]

I always try to make it for at least one Saturday. I love the old iron. Missed last year
It gives me inspiration to work on my projects, usually to no avail but hope springs eternal.
A great living museum to take kids to!

I've got so many projects sitting fallow at the moment that it's downright depressing at times. Right now I'm laying down the floor boards on a 8' wide x 80 linear feet long of wrap around covered veranda.... the boards are 8' long x 2.5" wide, each have 14 semi-hidden predrilled and counter-sunk nails per board....


I take comfort in knowing the added home equity will be $15-20k when I'm done!

 

[Ura-Ki]

One project at a time, that's how I do it ( or at least I tell my self that) so far, the Cats done, the Tucker is done, the Boats done, and the PowerWagon is done, only 300 more to go!
I actually have been selling off projects, I realised I would never get to them, let alone finish them, so they are making their way to good homes!

 

[41mag]

....so how will we recognize you without your Caterpillar???

 

[Ownerus]

One project at a time, that's how I do it ( or at least I tell my self that) so far, the Cats done, the Tucker is done, the Boats done, and the PowerWagon is done, only 300 more to go!
I actually have been selling off projects, I realised I would never get to them, let alone finish them, so they are making their way to good homes!

How do you manage that? I quit intentionally acquiring projects a while back. Now they seek me out! I'm starting to suspect that the god of unfinished projects is on a search and destroy mission with me as the target

 

[Stomper]

....so how will we recognize you without your Caterpillar???

Because he's emerged from his "project chrysalis" and now has anntennae, and big lucious butterfly wings....

 

[41mag]

You talking the Veneta country faire?

 

[Ruger Rich]

I've gone for years. Always drug the kids along. It's just a real good piece of Americana. Not nearly enough of this stuff around.

 

[Ownerus]

Bump
Looks like I'll be able to make it today!
Never sure until the last minute, too often something interferes.

 

[41mag]

the huffing/chuffing/20 RPM/live steam/soothes me;

spent a couple years in the late 40s in Granny's shack next to the steam locomotive siding, which stopped around midnight to pick up produce from the packing plant literally in her yard.....you could hear the belching & whistle miles away as it approached from across the desert run....coming to a brief stop was sonic therapy, while the complex murmurs and wheezing of the resting beast for a few short minutes always entertained.

In the quiet of the rural night, under the darkness that magnified the starry starry sky, the rails themselves would being their own quiet song. Periodic snapping at first, and a growing excitement gradually increasing until all other night sounds were background to the tempo and magnificent crescendo coming to entertain. It always amazed, how the rails could sing.

The labor of lunging forward as the box car slack was added while the drive wheels would spin just a certain amount, time & again as eventually the clacking increased until the mournful steam whistle at the head signaled another success for the engineers technique.
I never tired of that nightly symphony just a few yards from my cot.

The steam powered washing machines from 30s exactly what she had at the time.

Think the grand kids are hooked on steam now. We'll be there too.

 

[Wifey]

Mike and I went today, as we do on the first day every year. We decided as hot as it was going to be we would get there earlier than 9 a.m.
We always hit the swap meet at the end of our journey but decided to do that first today as there are no trees in that area. As always there's some really great stuff/junk to see (mostly guy, of course). And, as usual, I didn't find anything I had to have but Mike did. A man always needs more tools!
We are pretty disappointed (have been for several years) that they keep moving the parade up later in the day. We haven't seen the tractor pulls for many years now because they pushed them to after 4 p.m. when they used to be around 1 p.m. We just don't have it in us to spend that much time there. We hit about 5-1/2 hours and headed home. Appreciate the trailer ride around the place and out to the car for sure!

Quite the crowd at 8 a.m. - more than I expected - but not too many things fired up at that time of day.


Wifey

 

[USMC-03]

I haven't been to the Steam Up in almost 20 years. My dad and I would regularly haul over one of the old John Deere 2-cylinders to show. Other things have just taken precedence and my wife and kids really have no interest. I miss going.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

might be going next weekend. gonna be way too hot tomorrow

took the kiddo last year and it was hot as helll.

now we have 2 boys and will prob take them next weekend when its cooler

 

[41mag]

I hit the main gate way earlier than usual. It paid off, as temps were moderate enough for me to do my geezer shuffle until nearly noon before having to find a cozy shade waiting for the 1:30 parade.

I miss the old truly inspiring Noon Whistle-rama.

 

[Rock solid]

Planning on next weekend

 

[Ownerus]

....
I miss the old truly inspiring Noon Whistle-rama.

How did you miss that? Right at 12:00. My wife had to plug her ears it was so loud! I didn't have to...maybe you didn't either? LOL

My wife was sorta fading in the heat so I didn't get back to the swap meet area. This is probably a good thing since I doubtless would have found something I "needed". Like I don't already have enough stuff in my way. I love looking at the old technology. The fellows back then were no dummies. A LOT of clever and ingenious mechanisms. A lot of rungs on the ladder that got us to where we are and much of it more ingenious than we see today when we can just throw enormous amounts of computing power at a problem. Like 3 stepper motors and controllers instead of an exotic cam.

I came away (again) with a bit of renewed resolve to make some progress on some projects. 8 tractors and a half dozen or more machine tools that need some TLC and a rapidly diminishing number of years to do it not to mention all the non-fun (less fun?) projects in the waiting room

 

[41mag]

How did you miss that? Right at 12:00

From a couple decades back, I was always physically vibrated in those bibs, as hoots and whistles & noon fog horns numerous & extensive all about the compound, would fire into action, for possible 1 full minute.

Not the 'loudness' per decibel, rather the intensity of the infra-sound became prominent enough to vibrate the very juices of my spine from their lethargy.

 

[Mikej]

the huffing/chuffing/20 RPM/live steam/soothes me;

spent a couple years in the late 40s in Granny's shack next to the steam locomotive siding, which stopped around midnight to pick up produce from the packing plant literally in her yard.....you could hear the belching & whistle miles away as it approached from across the desert run....coming to a brief stop was sonic therapy, while the complex murmurs and wheezing of the resting beast for a few short minutes always entertained.

In the quiet of the rural night, under the darkness that magnified the starry starry sky, the rails themselves would being their own quiet song. Periodic snapping at first, and a growing excitement gradually increasing until all other night sounds were background to the tempo and magnificent crescendo coming to entertain. It always amazed, how the rails could sing.

The labor of lunging forward as the box car slack was added while the drive wheels would spin just a certain amount, time & again as eventually the clacking increased until the mournful steam whistle at the head signaled another success for the engineers technique.
I never tired of that nightly symphony just a few yards from my cot.

The steam powered washing machines from 30s exactly what she had at the time.

Think the grand kids are hooked on steam now. We'll be there too.

From a couple decades back, I was always physically vibrated in those bibs, as hoots and whistles & noon fog horns numerous & extensive all about the compound, would fire into action, for possible 1 full minute.

Not the 'loudness' per decibel, rather the intensity of the infra-sound became prominent enough to vibrate the very juices of my spine from their lethargy.

Man, you sure talk pretty! I like!

We've been going to the show for...We'll I don't know? Wifey and I have been together for almost 31 years. Hmm. I HAVE to go each year. But each year it get's to be less fun. At 9-10 very few of the big stuff, or tractors firing up. It's pretty much a given it will be HOT by noon. Get some of that stuff going early. The place is already getting crowded by 10:00. Give us something to look at. The parade moved back even more from a year or two ago? The original tractor pull, of 300' has been gone since they took away the original place for that and the flea market to the East. I really like traditional fair food. The food there is limited considering the crowd, and pretty terrible. They really need more food. A really great, high volume sausage on a bun with grilled onions and huge plate of curly fries isn't there anymore. Standing in a line of 30 people in the blazing sun waiting for a poor guy to cook burgers on a small gas grill, and then no dedicated seating, isn't something I'm going to do.

Somehow I still have to do it every year.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I am going this next weekend, supposed to be cooler! I sure do enjoy the steam engines, the saw mill, and the black Smith shop! And then there's always the swap meet that gets me in trouble! I'm not bringing the Pickup, so no excuses to buy stuff! Lol
It's those damn hand tools I really gotta avoid, there are always a bunch of good deals on old hand tools I gotta have!