World War One Steam Powered Highway Convoy

Steam power is awesome, even if it isn't running on rails!

Only thing better would have been to see a traction engine pulling some artillery in that convoy.

Oh, that's wonderful.  The English sure know how to have fun with old relics.  Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

Very neat to see.  Thanks for sharing!

--Greg

WOPW!!! That was great.  I love seeing things that are out of the ordinary.  Thanks for posting.

That first loco's exhaust and the bouncing of the boiler...that engine was really worked hard to get around that first curve..it looked like it could barely make it with a helper. Well. at least without rails..the drivers aren't spinning free.

That is GRAND!!!!

They could come through my village anytime!!!!
Ralph

At the end, in the thumbnails, there is another video of WW1 2 foot gauge trains that is really interesting.  It shows steam & gas mechanical locomotives - some doubleheaded or with pushers, and tracklaying and other scenes.  It appears to be US forces as the steamers have USA on the sides.  One shot is of a narrow gauge steamer with a group of soldiers on it being lifted into the air by cranes.  Check it out.

That's it!  Thanks.

Fantastic.  I've seen one of these puppies run at a state fair and the sound is just incredible.  It's not as much a putt putt as a continuous long puffing.  You can hear the steam doing work for a second or so each time, not just banging like a combustion engine does. 

Thanks I love it.

Great videos! Thanks for posting them. I think I saw my grandfather in the WWI railway film. That film is fantastic, especially since the scenes are almost 100 years old.

My grandfather was "over there" too in artillery. Would you believe they used horse drawn artillery?  He took photos over there and as a teenager, I was awestruck by biplanes, the old fashioned way of doing things. Still am. I was struck by this unique homage to veterans.

At the ripe old age of 82 I remember seeing similar steam tractors in everyday use threshing wheat in Illinois in the early 1940's.  I lived in a small agricultural community and late each summer a crew would arrive, chugging up the road pulling a tank wagon and a threshing machine.  They would spend a day at a farm, custom threshing that farms crops, then move on to another.  They were pretty much obsolete at that time, though a few still were in service.  Quite a few "one lung" John Deere gasoline tractors provided the same service on other farms.  Glad I was able to see them in actual use.  (Still quite a few still farmed by horse then, too.)

     Here in the the heartland summertime "Tractor Shows" are common.  Operating steam and vintage gas tractors are frequently seen in operation and on show.

     Most agricultural steam tractors are not as large as the military ones in the video, but some were.

Logan

Like yourself, during the late 1930s harvest time, I remember "Old Man Isom" and his sons with his steam tractor,thresher and tanker as he made the rounds throughout our greater farm community. The rest of the time he powered his grain mill and part time sawmill with the tractor. 

During 1938-39 he pulled "stone boats" [sleds] to deliver rock from a local quarry for a WPA project to build a Gymnasium on our local school grounds. I recently visited my hometown when the "Rock Gym" was recently placed on the Historic Register. 

BD: 2/17/32..

I envy folks like yourself that could witness the real deal.

Really cool and interesting.  I had never seen a lowboy like that. I have driven a tractor similar and the steering wheel took 23 complete revolutions to go lock to lock.  You have to anticipate a turn a long way in advance.

George Lasley

Just plain cool.....

Thanks for posting this.    Very interesting to see.