It seems that I had missed the first part of the story. I was told that earlier in the day a Case engine had climbed the grass slope all the way to the top and now the gauntlet was down. Never let it be said that a Case engine could best an Aultman - Taylor at anything. It was a matter of honor.
Climbing a hill with a steam traction engine is not the same as with a gasoline powered vehicle. If you were to assemble a team of the world’s best engineers and give them the task of designing a machine that was totally unsuited for climbing a slope, they would probably come back with something very similar to a locomotive boiler style steam engine. You have to understand what goes on inside one of these beasts to appreciate the difficulty. A cut away view of the inside of these boilers is a big help if you don’t already have an understanding. One source I found online is an illustration from a book called Farm Engines and How to Run Them by James H. Stephenson, published in 1903. It is available at: www.gutenberg.org/files/43867/43867-h/43867-h.htm .
Set aside the obvious, the two plus tons of the engine and the added weight of the water for the boiler. Disregard the fact that the steel wheels have no cleats because they would damage paved surfaces. Just consider what happens inside the boiler tube when the traction engine leaves a horizontal surface and begins to climb an inclined plane.
The first effect of course is that the water in the tube runs to the lowest point, reducing the area where heat transfer can occur and steam can be produced. Next consider that the stack is no longer at an optimum angle to induce draft through the firebox and tubes and out the top. As a result, the temperature begins to drop. The steam dome as well is no longer at the highest point to collect the steam and send it to the engine. All these effects begin to reduce the power available to propel the locomotive up the slope.
In spite of these shortcomings, or maybe because of them, there is a long tradition of attempting a hill climb with one of them. I was aware of this because I had seen photos in Jack Norbeck’s Encyclopedia of American Steam Traction Engines. On page 299 there are a couple of photos of a 12 hp Case engine climbing a ramp that was built for this purpose by the Michigan Steam Engine and Threshers Association at Mason, Michigan. These pictures were taken in the 1970’s, but while I was researching material for this post, I found a much earlier example.
Offered for sale on Ebay was a 1908 postcard that looks to be printed from one of those hand “colorized”, black and white photographs. It shows a ramp that is almost exactly like the one in Mason and a Case engine crawling up it. A caption printed across the postcard reads “Case engine doing real hill climbing stunts.” A banner displayed in the photograph declares,” Case engines are the only real hill climbers.” I think it’s pretty clear that Case was using these demonstrations as a publicity stunt.
The evidence indicates that there was something to Case’s claims, but what was it that gave a Case engine an advantage? Looking for some kind of answer I turned to the only Case catalog that I have, a 1916 issue, and found exactly nothing. No mention of hill climbing or any information about boiler construction that would shed some light. Case seems to have lost interest in the subject by this point in time.
Meanwhile, back at the Steam Expo. our Aultman-Taylor made several more attempts but never quite made it to the top. Venting might make you feel better but for now at least, Case remains King of the Hill.
Sources:
www.gutenberg.org
www.ebay.com/itm/case-hill-climbing-steam-engine-tractor-postcard
For information about the 2020 show visit: www.capa-ga.com
