Mini Steam Tractor Wows Parade Goers

Mini Steam Tractor Wows Parade Goers Laurie Dryden says her husband owned a 1947 throttle-governed Fairbanks Morse Z gas engine for many years and wanted to use it for something other than running a water pump or churning ice cream. “One day almost 10 years ago, he came in for dinner and tells me all excited, ‘I finally have a new idea for that old engine, and I think it’s gonna work,’” Dryden says. Richard Dryden’s new idea, his Fairbanks Morse Z Steam Tractor, has been a head-turner at local parades and tractor shows for nine years. Laurie says, “Richard’s creation started as a rusty old air compressor tank, steel wheels from an old fertilizer spreader, a few spare Deere combine parts and other rusty iron thrown in for good measure.” Dryden mounted the old Fairbanks engine on top of the compressor tank and added shafts, gears and chains to drive the rear wheels. He replicated the steering on old steam engines for his creation and stands on a platform behind the tank to drive it. Behind him, two wooden boxes represent the water tank and fuel tank found on authentic large steam tractors. A 4-ft. tall 8-in. pipe sends out a small amount of smoke from the top of the tank. “A steam tractor isn’t really authentic without a whistle,” Laurie says, “so Richard mounted one that he salvaged from an old canning factory where he used to work. It sounds like the real deal.” To replicate the old steam tractors further, Dryden painted the steel wheel spokes bright red and the old rusty tank and smokestack a dull black. Laurie says, “The Z Steam Tractor has been great fun at parades and tractor shows. He can ride it down the street, and, by adding a belt, he can even power different antique machines like a corn sheller or grinder.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Dryden (rdryden.sawmill@gmail.com).

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