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18-24 August, 2003
The official show days begin at 9am with the anthems of Canada and the United States*, a short sermon and a prayer. For those of us from the UK, the respect shown during the anthems is impressive. Engines are turned off, and the whole showground becomes still and silent. Then it's time for serious fun to start! Engines in every direction and the air buzzing with enthusiasm. The photos I've included here are just to give the slightest flavour of what there is to see at the show. If you've got a big oilfield engine, it really helps to have the right transport, when it comes to loading and unloading! Generally voted to be the sweetest running engine at the show was this IHC Famous. If you have a good internet connection speed, there's a short video of it running here (1.7MB). Another engine attracting a lot of attention was the 20HP Stickney, not least because of the team of engineers running it - a grandfather and grandson, whose ability will be of benefit to the hobby for years to come. While some engines run well and others look good, there are some which do both! Portland is also the place to see the unusual - Jim spotted this Mexican engine, but didn't get the name, and I liked this wooden engine on which all the parts which should move on an engine did move. This picture on the cooling tank of a Reid gave us the idea of painting on Tillie's cooling tank. When it comes to the unusual, how about this early prototype chain saw? Being a dolls house fan myself, I was really taken with some great models out in the sale area. Collecting engines can be refined in all sorts of ways - a particular marque, only the biggest of each marque, or even more specialist, such as this collection of oilers. Even two complete sets of swingtop oilers are easier to transport than the average engine! Many engines are running old equipment - various pumps, grinders and cement mixers, etc, but the Do-It-All machine is something else! In fact, I don't even know what engine DOES run it! Photographs don't do justice to this amazing piece of technology, so here's a 2MB video of part of it. At the end of a long hard day, the best enginemen reward their patient women with a romantic evening stroll among the oilfield engines. There really is nothing like that aroma of propane and the crack of a barker to let her know how you really feel about her ;-) I can't reproduce the smells here, but here's a video (2MB) to get an idea of the sights and sounds of romance. Also known as a Reid, with a barker.
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