Century-Old Case Steam Roller Restored

2022 - Volume #46, Issue #3, Page #18

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When Fran and Brad Vosburg first saw an old, restored steam roller 20 years ago it was “love at first sight”. They later found one that they could restore themselves and dove headlong into the tedious restoration process.
The makeover took 7 years to complete, and Brad says they probably spent more than $25,000 in the process. They now have it insured for $50,000.
“Our family has been associated with steam equipment for three generations and we’ve restored steam and gas engines, threshing machines and water wagons, so we knew the hard work it would take,” Brad says.
The Vosburgs began by checking the health of the machine’s boiler, using ultrasound. They learned the boiler was repairable, so they sent it to Stutzman’s boiler shop in Ohio. The shop repaired the bottom flue sheet, built a new smokebox, and installed a front cylinder bracket.
“The boiler had to be completely re-plumbed using schedule 80 pipe and high-pressure valves, which was difficult and time-consuming work,” Brad says. They were fortunate to find copies of original blueprints for Case steam engines to guide them along. “Prints for the platform and coal bunkers, for the steering, and canopy were especially helpful,” Brad says.
The original motor was missing, so the Vosburgs searched far and wide and finally located a replacement from another Case roller with a poor boiler. Fran says then it was a matter of removing rusty parts, cleaning them, and labeling everything so they could put it back together.
The most difficult portion of the overhaul was finding parts for the machine’s power steering. “These parts were either broken or missing, so we had to make and cast them,” says Brad. They were able to locate the oil pump, governors and injectors.
With everything back together they painted and detailed the old roller and made plans to display it. For the past two years, it’s been a key attraction at the Alexander Steam Show in western New York.
After their 7-year labor of love, the Vosburgs say they don’t plan to pick up another restoration project anytime soon. They want time to enjoy this one, and Fran says, “We’re not in shape for that kind of work anymore.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Brad Vosburg, 10871 Vossburg Cross Rd., Farmersville Station, N.Y. 14060.

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Century-Old Case Steam Roller Restored When Fran and Brad Vosburg first saw an old restored steam roller 20 years ago it was “love at first sight” They later found one that they could restore themselves and dove headlong into the tedious restoration process The makeover took 7 years to complete and Brad says they probably spent more than $25 000 in the process They now have it insured for $50 000 “Our family has been associated with steam equipment for three generations and we’ve restored steam and gas engines threshing machines and water wagons so we knew the hard work it would take ” Brad says The Vosburgs began by checking the health of the machine’s boiler using ultrasound They learned the boiler was repairable so they sent it to Stutzman’s boiler shop in Ohio The shop repaired the bottom flue sheet built a new smokebox and installed a front cylinder bracket “The boiler had to be completely re-plumbed using schedule 80 pipe and high-pressure valves which was difficult and time-consuming work ” Brad says They were fortunate to find copies of original blueprints for Case steam engines to guide them along “Prints for the platform and coal bunkers for the steering and canopy were especially helpful ” Brad says The original motor was missing so the Vosburgs searched far and wide and finally located a replacement from another Case roller with a poor boiler Fran says then it was a matter of removing rusty parts cleaning them and labeling everything so they could put it back together The most difficult portion of the overhaul was finding parts for the machine’s power steering “These parts were either broken or missing so we had to make and cast them ” says Brad They were able to locate the oil pump governors and injectors With everything back together they painted and detailed the old roller and made plans to display it For the past two years it’s been a key attraction at the Alexander Steam Show in western New York After their 7-year labor of love the Vosburgs say they don’t plan to pick up another restoration project anytime soon They want time to enjoy this one and Fran says “We’re not in shape for that kind of work anymore ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Brad Vosburg 10871 Vossburg Cross Rd Farmersville Station N Y 14060

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