A Post That Needs To Be Here Too

NOTE
Originally posted over at the other place 5/24/12. Some decent pictures along with a bit of info.

I've seen huge areas being mowed around houses but I do believe the largest are in west central Kansas and this isn't one of them. I'm sure it makes them happy.

Winter wheat was almost three foot high and on the way back further north in the state it was half turned  but not as lush.

There are many oil wells many being developed and old ones refurbished as well in Kansas. Not like in Utah but there is plenty going on. 

Remember about clicking on the picture to make them bigger.

No matter where I was grain storage was being expanded at all levels. Here it's a elevator in Warsaw, IL.

This is corporate facility for sure because even if a family owns it.

Not that long ago most of a the grain produced was hauled to the local elevator to be handled. Most operators have their own now.

This is the lock and dam on the Mississippi in Keokuk,Ia.

The river still floods and this is one way to avoid trouble. What places like this and many others are known for is being "fish camps" used extensively on weekends. Use your imagination.

 

The curiosity with Nauvoo is over. The meal had at the Nauvoo Hotel was one of the best I've had in years. I understand the new leader of the mormons does not have as much interest in this place like the guy before him so there's not as much money coming this way. For not being tourist season it seemed there were quite a few people around.

The ferry south of Warsaw still operates for transporting what ever fits. There are not that many places to cross this huge river.

In northern Iowa things have been big for some time but I think it's even bigger now. Like land prices of 10K an acre and one parcel of 77 acres sold for 12.9.

Something like 350K for the planter alone and you can get them twice as large. With GPS if you want and with the price of seed you can literally save thousands.

This drag strip still functions in Humboldt,IA. Went down this in like '71 or so and came home with a trophy.

The house in what was my cornfield when I was just a pup still stands. The grove is still there and plum trees still grow along side the railroad tracks.

The Grotto always gets a visit looking for new angles of the same things. The 100th anniversary is this year,

I've seen a number of places similar to this one. I guess recreating old gas stations is a new hobby. It must be expensive.

A state record musky at the fish hatchery at what is known as the "Iowa Great Lakes".

This area has been a vacation destination for many years and just a very cool place. There are lakes in Colorado but it's not the same. There is a museum and there were a lot things in there I remember from the kid days.

It was a lot of fun in here.

The "Queen" one of several over the years that gives rides that even locals continue to take. Notice the wind turbines on the horizon. They're all over the place as Iowa is second in the nation in wind power.

Guess the water gets pretty high at times.

I did catch a few and this was one of them. It was too big and was released. Got fed plenty of walleye and it was a huge treat and so good.

Was gone quite awhile and could of stayed much longer but it was just time it seemed to get back here so that's what happened. Blasted on back on Monday. Came in at 890. Drove 2600 with and average of 26.5mpg.

I had a blast it's just that simple!

Plain Old Tractors Except For

On the way to another place ran across these. I should have taken more time. I like the colors and attempted to capture certain aspects of these magnificent machines some of which I was actively involved with operating and working on them. Did I mention I'm a Deere guy?  Have a couple newer Deere's at work and sometimes just not that impressed. New or old manufacturers have got this down.

Never around crawlers that much but the one above sure is pretty.

This a Model 40 I believe one that was not common where I was living.

There's some thing about the green and Oliver has some impressive iron as well. Their in-line OHV six cylinder is one of the smoothest idling motors I've ever been around.

Then there's the red. The ones I worked on. I think this was an H that was in great shape. I did not see this run. Take a look at that bad boy in the back. He's coming up. Remember how you can click on the picture to make them bigger twice.

There are many things that are unique about each manufacturer's tractors. Here for instance the gear shift lever and the way it operated. If I remember right when you put it in reverse you had to be careful or you could get it in the --well you know where. The throttle at the top and the way it clicked.The operating panel that's not seen well here with an ammeter,light switch and on off switch. Down at the bottom middle is the choke and there's another some place you pulled that engaged the starter. And then there's the unique sounds from these machines each has.

This is a Massey Harris and they are around for sure and are very good tractors.

This is from a John Deere A with the choke at the left and if you had electric start you used your left foot for that. If you didn't you hand started it with the fly wheel having to do a couple of operations one of which was opening pet cocks to each of the two cylinders to relieve some of the compression of the huge pistons.

This is the tractor on the trailer from the picture above. I think it was a 730 as in the video below. No matter what this thing is huge and was maybe one of the biggest of the day late 50's.

The round thing houses the clutch pack which is operated with a long lever on the right side. In the front of the cylinder that rotates when the motor is running is a brake pad that stops the rotation when the clutch is disengaged so changing gears can be made easier. Most all tractor's had foot operated clutches and Deere changed that with a "New Generation" in '62.

 What you see here is a "pony motor" that is used in this case to start these things. This was unique in that this motor was a OHV V4. You can see two of the spark plugs on the right bank of the motor. It got the job done but is not what you may think it to be. These motors did not run very well and came apart plus were very expensive to repair. Some cried themselves to sleep when they saw the repair bill. These motors ran on gas.

This is what came after the H's and the M's from Farmall. Pretty interesting control panel and the gauge on the right is the only original. First tachometer that also included ground speed which is important to know at times. But more important are the three levers on the right. Hydraulic controls at your fingertips. This made life much easier.

Something else that was just huge in the industry was Farmall's "Torque Amplifier". No one else had anything close to this. Say you were plowing and there was an area that the soil was very tough to plow. If you needed to change gears you had to stop. With this pull back on the lever and reduce your gear ratio by 22% or something like that-get through the tough spot - release the lever and you're back to plowing without missing a beat. Pretty cool for its day.

This video below shows a man starting up one of these monster diesels using a pony motor. The whole thing is good and is six minutes long. He finally climbs into the seat about four minutes or so if you want to scroll over to that.



I mentioned above about hand starting these motors. If you've never seen this take 40 seconds and watch this. This tractor I believe was Deere's biggest of that time period. The smaller tractors that hand cranked of course turned over easier. As battery's and electric components became better that era came to an end. My guess in the very early 60's. This is a gas motor as well. These D Models were never made into diesels. The clicking noise you here is the magneto-the device that makes the spark.

Grand Junction And South

The picture at the top is in Utah and the rest show the geography around Grand Junction Colorado. As many tractors I've been around have never seen an orchard model of any kind. Did I mention I'm a John Deere man. Not so much anymore but am partial to the green.