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18 August, 2005 However well a trip is planned, the weather can always make a mess of things, and such was the case when we got up on Thursday morning, expecting to spend a day at a wild water park, only to find that a water park was being created right outside our window! Never ones to be defeated, we adopted an alternative plan, to head straight for the Baraboo showground as they prepared for their annual club show. Our contact there was Joe Prindle, who was soon enthusiastically giving us a tour of the grounds and buildings owned by the club. In the steam building was Joe's own Corliss engine, working but the restoration not quite complete. In the big engine shed, Joe demonstrated the correct and spectacular way to start a Reid! Outside, some of the collection needed moving into position for the show. We've seen video of a Rumley Oil Pull being started - Joe showed us for real, then let Jim drive this Oil Pull into its place. He found a smaller one for Tom and Chris to drive! Feature tractors at the show were Hart-Parr and Oliver, but my camera baulked at all that green and yellow - here's some of the red ones instead ;-) The club grounds were excellent, and we avoided the tornados which passed through the area on Thursday evening. Plenty for sale, lots of engines and tractors to see. A Wisconsin engine ... Bessemer steam engine ... Monitor open crank ... Great Western vertical. Like a Rumley, this IHC tractor is a good example of how the early tractors were simply powered with stationary engines. Joe Prindle's big ball top Monitor did a great job of powering icecream makers for the duration of the show. One excellent display was the steam powered oil drilling rig. There were several saw-mill related displays, including those powered by steam. Rumour has it that Maytags, when they run, are noisy and smelly, but these Maytags looked forlorn with everyone giving them a wide berth! One engine attracting a great deal of attention was a 1901 enclosed crank Fuller and Johnson. I liked this barn fresh engine on original transport. While walking around the show, I saw these two little boys park up their pedal tractors to watch the chainsawing display. One star of the show was a Hart-Parr which was being shown by a local collector. One of the demonstration barns had a terrific gate to enable easy viewing. At the ATIS area, Arnie and Dave had a big surprise for everyone when they arrived in Dave's truck with Arnie's long-awaited restoration in tow - his Bessemer half-breed. Arnie was understandably proud as a new dad! It soon became obvious that Arnie has learned a lot about starting his engines from Dave - here he demonstrates the technique, with Steve Webre and Jim French doing the physical part on the flywheels, while Arnie does "technical tinkering" at the head end. Arnie also had his tulip-top Bamford, Miss Whiplash, on display, while Dave was showing Chip's Economy, the engine which started his involvement in the hobby, originally belonging to his father-in-law. Steve Barr also had a great display of engines in the well-attended ATIS area. Beside the engine area, the ATIS folk could be found every morning tucking into the fine breakfast available on the grounds. Here's Tom French, Mel Webre, Dave, Joe, Arnie, Chris, Steve Webre and Jim French. And the same crew from a different angle, Arnie, Chris, Steve, Dave and Mel. All in all, a great time was had by all at Baraboo - thanks very much to the members of the Badger Steam and Gas Engine club.
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