Susan, Zeke and I visited the B & O Museum in 1999. Somehow, we missed this catastrophe when it happened. The restoration is remarkable.
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Tuesday Torque: Ruston Hornsby 98 HP Twin Cylinder
Simons Museum is a great place that Merle found. Some of their videos are on Instagram, some are on Facebook, and some are on YouTube. Trying to get an embed code that works from Facebook or Instagram is an exercise in futility, but here is a good one from YouTube! Thank You, Merle!
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Wear Your Hard Hat!
Look Quick! Something is always waiting to get you. Wear your personal protective equipment when you are running a chainsaw. Even for little stuff! Watch how it knocks the chain off the bar.
Back To The Old Grind!
Friday, February 24, 2023
Weekend Steam: A Sad One, Weyerhauser 2-6-6-2
Thank You, Merle! Idle for nearly fifty years. Click the YouTube logo to read the writeup.
Mechanical Challenge! Barn Fresh Oilfield Engine
You don't find many Barn Fresh engines nowadays, but this is a good one. Always undercover, and he has it running in short order.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Diesels In Death Throes
There is some dramatic video here! These very likely are due to failure of seals in turbo or superchargers, allowing lubricating oil to be blown into the combustion chambers.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Phantom Doggie Mystery Solved
We have been getting nighttime photos of a canine for many months, and at first I thought it might be a coyote, but it's a dog. A coyote would not be so predictable. We finally got a daytime photo, courtesy of one of our hunters. It's a happy little fellow. Now we need to find the owner. He isn't causing any problems other than marking on the dog yard fence, which really sets of our dogs when they go out.
Monday, February 20, 2023
Tuesday Torque: Portland Tri-State Engine Show, 2022
Thank You, Merle! This is a great look at a show that I have not been to!
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Saturday, February 18, 2023
Weekend Steam II: A4 Pacific Sir Nigel Gresley No. 4498 Leaving Grosmont
Great stack talk, and plenty of smoke. Thank You, Merle!
Friday, February 17, 2023
Thursday, February 16, 2023
How're Ya Fixed For Files/
Tap your file down frequently and brush it to knock chips out, and replace it when it no longer cuts well. File straight, so your top edge is correct. Watch your side angle. You should be pressing straight into the gullet as you stroke. Run your file too high and your chain won't cut well. Run it too low and the teeth will be grabby. Check your depth gauges so you get a good bite.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Forked Firewood: Think Before You Swing A Maul!
That wonky wood between the forks is a tough nut to crack if you split by hand. Work your way around it to save your breath and frustration. Better yet, get a hydraulic splitter before you wreck your elbows!
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Makin' Wood!
I am really shocked by the moisture content of these trees. We have been checking them after splitting and they are running 15%. We can put them right into the stove and they light and burn. We are hoping to store a bunch of this wood in the barn as a hedge against emergency wood cutting!
I am glad to have good weather for a few days. I was back in the woods to drop more ash trees. We got a load home, split it and stacked it, and checked the moisture. These trees are running 15% moisture right off the stump, so we are stacking at the house and saving the dry wood in the barn. The 359 began misbehaving, not wanting to idle down, and I found that a bunch of dust from these dry trees was under the cover. I blew it out and then the throttle would click back to idle.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Tuesday Torque: Galloping Goose
The Rio Grande Southern built these in the 1930s. Thanks for spotting, Merle!
Busy Start To The Week
This morning we had a vet appointment, then we stacked wood. I went back to the woods, cut another load, brought it home, and we split and stacked it. We checked the moisture content of the ash trees we are cutting, and they are right at 15% from the stump. Back To The Old Grind!
Annual Valentine Song Festival! You Are The Song, Arlo Guthrie and the University Of Kentucky Orchestra
I hope all of our Internet friends have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Thank You for visiting!
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Friday, February 10, 2023
Toby Is Retiring To Florida!
Today we took Toby to Lambert Field in St. Louis to meet his new papa. Toby was a quick turnaround, with just two weeks in our home. Midwest Schipperke Rescue made Toby a Lifer because of his age; there was no adoption fee. The kind people who adopt rescued dogs are special, and become like family to the foster parents. We have adopters as far away as Denver, Houston, Detroit, Chesapeake Bay, Chattanooga, and now Florida. Good People!
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
One Piece At A Time
Susan and I are both hoping that she is done with surgeries for a while. She had her eight week checkup at the Bonutti Clinic in Effingham, and her knee checked out just fine.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Bad Idea Falling Cut
When I was working in Kentucky, many of the loggers had an odd method of match cutting the trees they felled, and they usually called it stump-jumping. Match cutting is used in bucking logs and making pruning cuts. You make a cut on the compressed side until the kerf begins to close, and then you cut on the tensioned side, causing the two sides to part. It is not a good idea for falling a tree, though many do it. A match cut gives the tree no guidance and it will fall where gravity and wind take it. The idea of the method they called stump jumping was to create a V match cut on the stump. The V is supposed to act like a knee joint and let the tree fall with a bit of guidance.
I have watched this cut being made and there is little that is predictable about the path the tree takes. It can pop sideways, spin, or jump back. A hinge is a darn important safety device when you cut a tree. It guides the tree in the direction you want it to fall and it keeps the butt of the log anchored to the stump until hinge failure when the face cut closes.
I was surprised to see this reminder of a bad idea in McLeansboro the other day. Maybe this ash tree was taken down from the top and this was just part of the final cleanup. I hope so, but I have seen that many of the bucket truck tree trimmers do not understand the safest ways of falling a tree.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Tuesday Torque: 50 HP Superior Oilfield Engine
This looks to be a 2-stroke engine with a crosshead, and the displacement cylinder is the tail end of the power cylinder, much like the Bessemer oilfield engines. This guy is seriously in need of blocking, but I bet he has that figured out! Many Thanks, Merle, for spotting this one!
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Quick Turnaround
Toby came to us just a couple weeks ago and he will be moving on to a new home in a few days. He's an old boy at 14, and his people had to go to assisted living, and he came into Midwest Schipperke Rescue. He might be a Schip mix, or a Pom; we are not sure. He is a good little boy and will adjust well to a new home.
Back To The Old Grind!
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Weekend Steam II: The Last Narrow Gauge Steam Train In Bulgaria
Courtesy of our spotter, Merle. Many Thanks, Merle!
Friday, February 3, 2023
Weekend Steam: Ten Wheeler....Somewhere...Is It Russia?
Merle found a really good channel with engines we have never seen. Is it in Russia? I don't know, but I am sure someone will know. The channel has fewer than 100 subscribers, so click over there and help them by subscribing. Many Thanks, Merle!
Annual Valentine Song Festival: Smiles, and Whispering...
The end of eras (Ragtime, pathetic ballads, minstrel songs), and the beginning of the Roaring Twenties.
Smiles, Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra:
Whispering, Paul Whiteman's Ambassador Orchestra:
My favorite recording of Whispering, The Comedian Harmonists:
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Sun Dog Says...
...Weather on the way. The forecast says it will stay south of us. Texas is going to get way too much ice.
