I WILL give you an account of a little mishap I had which
might be classed as unusual. I have been running a tractor for six
years. We plow and seed in the spring and thresh in the fall and
this is the only ‘spill’ I ever had. We were going
seventeen miles from home to break a quarter section of raw land
for flax. Our crew consisted of myself and the plowman. Our outfit
and equipment included a 30-60 kerosene tractor and an eight-bottom
gang, a cook and bunk car kerosene tractor and an eight-bottom
gang, a cook and bunk car10 x 20 feet, mounted on an
old-separator truck, one five hundred gallon oil tank, one
sod crusher and a tool wagon which made quite a train. We had to
cross a steel bridge with high approaches graded up to it on each
side.
Just as the engine was approaching the bridge, one of the plow
chains came loose and swung the plows to one side. The oil tank was
hitched to the plows and of course it ran off the crown of the
road. As my repeated howls failed to reach the steersman, I jumped
down the embankment to signal him and about the same time down came
the oil tank and tool wagon and the sod crusher. The way I went
through a barbed wire fence to get out of the way was not slow and
was not a bit too soon either. Our tank lay bottom side up in a
ditch about six feet deep on one side and about fifteen feet on the
other, but it was closed with a pipe cap and did not leak a
drop.
Luckily the ground was level on the side, so we ran the engine
through the fence and backed up as near as possible to the tank.
First we took off the wagon wheels and carried them up the bank,
then the front and hind axles. Next we took a forty foot cable and
all the log chains we had and drove a crowbar in the ground just
behind the engine and hooked one end of the cable to it and passed
it down under and around the tank and fastened the other end to the
drawbar of the engine. The tank being round, this arrangement
allowed it to be easily rolled up the bank. It looked as though a
five hundred gallon tank filled to the top would be a pretty good
lift for two men but it wasn’t. First we rolled the tank over
with the bunkers up, then put on the front and hind axles and
fastened them on with chains. Then we put on the two upper wheels,
and a little pull brought it over easily on those two. Then by
hitching over the tank and to each of the axle ends on the opposite
side, we could raise the wagon to its proper position. By carefully
manipulating the clutch, I managed to raise the tank and hold it
until the other man chucked on the remaining two wheels. The rest
was easily dragged out and we were soon on our way with no damage
but a broken reach in the tool wagon.
Here is a photo of a Sirer Cropp engine made in Detriot,
Michigan. I found this little engine in Huntingdon County,
Pennsylvania about three years ago. It was all bent up and I
restored it. It is a two cycle. Note the size of it. I have been
looking around to see if there are any more like it. So far I have
not seen any. If some reader reads this letter, I would be glad to
hear from him.
I have been playing around with auto and gas engines for 42
years. My brother Phare and I have bought about 35 gas engines and
sold many. We have at present about 30 engines. I prefer the New
Holland make of engine.
