1899 CASE STEAM TRACTION ENGINE – Image by Jim Tombrink
The Antique Tractor Club & Machinery Association is preparing for the upcoming annual Threshing Bee at the Huntley Project Museum on Aug 17-18, 2013. If you are looking for an authentic education, this is a great opportunity to bring the whole family and show the kids what it was like to farm in the early days from antique tractors to threshing machinery and food. I mean homemade food from corn on the cob, homemade bread, Cornbread, to home made ice cream and more. With as much as goes on, everyone will be entertained to rope making, to history of the farmers in the Huntley Project and early western farm operations. Steam engines were also a big part of the early days. You will find all that and more at the Annual Threshing Bee this weekend on the Huntley Project!
The following is a story and history of a 1899 Case Steam Engine that came back to life by Jim Tombrink, a member of the Antique Tractor Club whose membership extends outside of the state and into Canada.
1899 CASE STEAM TRACTION ENGINE COMES BACK TO LIFE! – Jim Tombrink
Engine number 7357, an 1899 Case Steam Traction Engine rated at 12 HP was painstakingly restored with a brand new boiler by Ed Litzsinger. The final product is amazing and better than new, but let’s start at the beginning. This engine was purchase by Dick Tombrink from Ed Meehan in Roundup, Montana around 1983. The engine was not running at that time. Mr. Meehan had replaced the boiler with a 1906 boiler from Clarence Young, near Ulm, MT. The high pressure cylinder, head, piston, and piston rod in the engine were missing and not to be found. Dick made patterns for a high pressure head, the intermediate head between high and low pressure cylinders, and the two pistons. The patterns were shipped to AFFCO foundry in Anaconda, MT and consequently poured in 1985. The high pressure cylinder was fabricated from pipe and bored to accept a piston cylinder sleeve. The (then restored) steam engine was displayed and run at the Antique Tractor Club annual Threshing Bees from 1986 until 1995. Periodically, the boiler was checked with ultrasound thickness testing to determine the thickness of the boiler plate (sort of a health check that would determine the amount of pressure the boiler could safely carry).
In 1995, the boiler crown sheet was found to be too thin to operate any longer. The crown sheet is the part of the boiler that is the pressure boundary between the boiler and the top of the firebox. Engine number 7357 was retired and ended up in the far corner of the shop. Over the years, it was discussed what would the future be for this steam engine. Dick did not want to sell it to anyone with the premise that it was a running engine since the boiler was not serviceable. It could have become a static display somewhere to never run again, but hesitation to let this engine rest prevailed. Fate had other plans for Engine number 7357 in the sleepy corner of the shed as the passing time turned into our friend.
A NEW OWNER
Ed Litzsinger has long been a boiler repair man and has his own shop in Billings, MT (E.L. BOILER WORKS). As the antique steam bug had bitten him, the only remedy was to own one. Ed looked for an engine for some time and I do know he had tried to purchase another engine but the owner wouldn’t sell. Ed realized that a good steam engine with a good boiler with an owner willing to sell is rare these days. Owning a boiler shop, an impossible project for most of us would not scare Ed away. Ed purchased this Case Traction Engine from Dick in May 2011.
Tractor Steam Engine Parts for Restoration
The Restoration
Ed started on this engine in October of 2011. Many nights, weekends, slower times in the boiler shop, in between jobs; all were dedicated to seeing this engine run again. Perseverance finally paid off as the engine was finally finished in 2013 with about 18 months of work into it. Ed described the project as, “A lot of work…….FUN WORK”. A new boiler was fabricated (saving and reusing the steam dome on the existing engine) and welded which is usually the stumbling block unless you have a bigger checkbook to hire someone else to do it. Ed stated that after building a boiler and onlyhaving materials and hours from his crew into it; his labor not counting; it is easy to see why a new boiler is 40 to 50 thousand dollars.
The new boiler had all welded stay bolts (bolts in the boiler to retain the flat areas flat when the boiler is under pressure). Since a new boiler was being built, Ed chose to upgrade the boiler metal thickness from the original factory 5/16″ to 3/8″. The stay bolts were upgraded from the factory 3/4″ to 7/8″ diameter. The original crown sheet was 5/16″ and was upgraded to a thicker 3/8″. Thirty new SA 178 Grade 8 tubes were installed, cut to length and rolled into place. The tube sheet on both ends of the boiler (supporting the boiler tubes) was also upgraded to a thicker 1/2″ material. Larger hand holes (3″ x 4″) were incorporated in the new design to allow for easier access and proper clean out of the boiler during downtimes. The new boiler was degreased with an external boiler supplying the steam to clean it out.
A new firebox was built and inserted from the bottom of the boiler (just like they did in the Case factory in 1899). The new firebox had to be welded in as well. New grates for the firebox were poured in Wisconsin and delivered to Billings to support the future fires in this boiler.The engine was mounted 5 or 6 times on the boiler to ensure that holes were drilled in proper places and everything would line up. The critical part of engine mounting and alignment was finding reference points to work from and maintain proper dimensions. This also helped to keep the engine level on the boiler. “Level, plumb and square” as Ed puts it. New wing sheets (plates that carry the engine and tie it to the boiler) were built. The gear alignment from the engine through the intermediate and to the bull gears on the wheels was shimmed to ensure everything was in alignment. The front steering saddle needed new steel tied to the cast iron. This was achieved with nickel rod welding. The large rear axle links on each side of the engine were custom cut with a water jet. The smoke stack was installed and preheater mounted. Finally high temperature paint, good to 425 degrees F was used to paint the new boiler and engine. For the finishing touch, Ed brought someone in to paint the Case eagle on the smoke box door. During the entire process, an AI (authorized inspector) was out frequently to inspect every tack and weld on the boiler. The boiler was hydro tested (pressure tested with water) to 225 psig (1 ½ times working pressure). The boiler thickness was checked with an ultrasound thickness meter in many locations and recorded to satisfy the state boiler inspector and provide an as built report to verify metal thicknesses for pressure ratings. The 3/8 boiler calculations (leaving out the older 5/16″ steam dome) would have allowed for a boiler pressure of 538 psig. Ed wanted the extra thickness as a buffer for the corrosion that happens over time and this boiler will most certainly last longer than any of us writing (or reading) this article. A new 140 psig safety was installed. The final R stamp was given on March 14, 2013.
Finally this engine was first steamed (with out wood) using another boiler to supply the steam to it. The engine ran flawlessly and no boiler leaks detected. Ed wanted to see how low of a pressure the engine itself would operate. Ed reported that he ran the boiler down to 6 psig before the engine stopped turning. That is good indication of the health of the engine. This engine will be displayed again with new boiler, repairs, and paint at the 2013 Threshing Bee on August 17 th & 18th. Please feel free to come out and welcome this engine back to life. As a final act of kindness, the old boiler was not scrapped. Ed turned it into a cutaway boiler for educational purposes and it now resides at the Tractor Club grounds for those interested in what the inside of boiler looks like. Looking back at all of the time, money, and efforts; Ed stated, “I’d do it again, it’s challenging”.
