40th Steam-O-Rama Featured York-Built Equipment JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent WINDSOR (York Co.) —Early American tractor buffs from the York area recently celebrated a 40th anniversary and honored their own. The annual Steam-O-Rama show was hosted by the Early American Steam Engine Society at its Windsor meeting and show grounds, Oct 2-5. Focus of the anniversary celebration was York and York-area built machinery and related equipment. “York was a ‘hot’ area of farm equipment manufacturing through the 19th and early 20th century and was really quite an industrial cen ter in that time,” said Floyd Miller, York antique equipment collector chairing the Yoik-made portion of Floyd Miller's SD-1 tractor was little more than a motor ized frame when he purchased it several years ago. ■ •■] (HD *MD *PK3 #>^| i [ |€ Burn wood, coal, oil, or gas and save &€ Heats your home and your hot water %€ Much more efficient than a wood burner | Comes in many standard sizes to fit most , I needs |€ The boiler system adapts to any plumbing | §*§ SAFE: The fire, fuel, and connections are # outside of your warm, comfortable home I ahoning utdoor W urnace "The Natural Way to Heat!" |. * | For more information and the dealer location nearest | you call TOLL- FREE Q I 1-800-692-5200 i n Limited number of dealerships available “ the show. “A lot of the manufac turing boom came after the Civil War era and up in the early 1900 s.” He noted that York-manufactured equipment is featured by the Stcam-O-Rama every fifth year. An added draw to this year’s steam event was the 60th anniver sary of Sheppard diesels. The R.H. Sheppard Company, originally known for shoe manufacturing, became an early developer of diesel engines. Those early engines went into use as genera tors, marine-equipment motors, and a source of power for the mili tary during World War 11. After the war, Sheppard turned to experi menting with its diesel engine is a farm tractor model. At first, the company is reported to have repowered a Farmall M, one of the early popular gasoline farm trac tors, with their own diesel engine. According to farm equipment history sources, the first Sheppard- Diesel tractor was introduced in 1949. It was dubbed the SD-1 Model, a 5.4 horsepower, single cylinder, air-cooled diesel tractor, sized primarily for lawn-garden type use. Largo' and additional models of tractors from the Shep pard firm continued to be manu factured until the early 19505. Floyd Miller has restored one of the three known remaining SD-1 models and polished it to gleaming for display at the Steam-O-ftama. The other two are owned by the Sheppard firm, which manufac tures power steering systems for large trucks and construction equipment. Miller, an avowed Sheppard diesel enthusiast and equipment collector for 40 years, joked that he spends his kids’ inheritance on his antique farm equipment pursuits. “I had the 2-, 3- and 4-cylinder models and needed the one cylinder to complete the set,” said this walking encyclopedia of anti que tractor lore. Miller tracked his prize down to a distant airplane hangar where it had been stored by the owner, a former employee of the Sheppard firm, and had been used primarily in its later years for mowing. He spent uncounted hours restoring to like-new the basic frame and motor that remained of the machine that, when new, had sold for $1,065. Rick’s Gradall Rental, Inc. Pond Building Pond Cleaning Stone Reventment Stream Restoration Demolition coll Scott or Bruce *t 10-35 H-7686 poqcr