Northeast Indiana Steam & Gas Association, LaGrange, Indiana

25th Annual Antique Power Steam and Gas Show, Page 1 of 2

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LaGrange County's population is 37 percent Amish, so buggies are a givenat any event. the 4-H Fairgrounds are set up to accomodate them.

Established in the threshing equipment business since 1852 and already the dominant builder of agricultural steam engines, J.I. Case entered the internal-combustion tractor business in 1912 with two-cylinder tractors.
The 20-40 tractor (20 horsepower on the drawbar, 40 on the belt) was very successful. It featured an opposed engine. Case also built a much larger 30-60 tractor, which was not represented at this show.

The Case 12-25 tractor also had an opposed engine and was distinctive in its use of sheet metal to enclose the machinery. Most tractor designs of that eral were developed by putting a stationary-type internal-combustion engine on a steam-engine-derived chassis, and they were heavy, slow and unwieldy, for the most part better-suited for stationary belt work than for tillage.

The four-cylinder crossmotor tractors represented the first stage of movement away from designs based on steam engines, and toward more compact, maneuverable tractors suitable for field tillage as well as stationary belt work.
While more compact than the two-cylinder tractors, they were still massively built and extremely rugged.

In 1929 Case introduced the Model L and a smaller version the Model C, to replace the tried-and-true but outdated crossmotor tractors. The new tractors proved very popular because of their easy handling, fuel economy and Case reliability.
This tractor powering a threshing machine has the trip oiler for the rocker arms (mounted at the center of the hood). That marks it as a 1929 model, but it has had some updates. The water pump has a V-belt instead of the original flat belt, and the all-fuel manifold has been replaced with a later gasoline-only manifold and carubretor from an LA.

The threshing machine was the predecessor of the combine. Grain was cut in the filed and tied into bundles by a binder, and the bundles were gathered into shocks or stooks to dry. The bundles were then loaded onto wagons and brought to the threshing machine where the grain was separated from the straw and chaff.
"Combine" is short for Combined Harvester; it combines the functions of the binder and the threshing machine by cutting the grain and threshing it as it travels across the field.

Emerson-Brantingham was known for high-quality wagons and hay-harvesting machinery. J.I. Case bought the company to acquire those lines.

Banting Machine Company built Greyhound steam engines. Like many steam-engine builders, they entered the gas tractor market by purchasing components or complete tractors from other makers. According to the owner, this tractor is 95 percent Allis-Chalmers.

The show hosted a good variety of steam traction engines. This George White engine is quite a gem; George White was a major Canadian builder with a high-quality machinery line.

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