Steam Engine Ride!
Everyone has bucket lists. For me I want to ride in a seaplane, and I wanted to go for a ride in a steam engine. Thanks to Bill Jansen, yesterday I scratched one bucket item off my list! Bill Jansen, from Dietrich, Illinois owns a 1911 110 hp Case Steam engine. He allowed my husband Keith and I to go for a ride in one of the largest Case steam engines produced. We rode in the steam engine at the American Thresherman’s Reunion in Pinckneyville, Illinois
Details about the Case 110!
Bill’s steam engine was sold new in AIberta, Canada. It was used to break the virgin Canadian soil! Sharing what these engines did, breaking the soil by plowing is why he goes to the trouble. These machines are history in motion!
The big Case steam engines were used in Canada, and the western states here. It is a rarity to see them in the Midwest. Talking to Bill, I learned you don’t drive a steam engine – you operate it! Bill said that his father was a steam engine engineer and he taught him how to drive steam engines. Bill is carrying on this same tradition of sharing the knowledge. When we took our ride, his grandson Virgil helped operate the engine. This is a two-man job! Virgil is 18 and was not intimidated by the size and power of this 114-year-old machine.
Bill Jansen and his wife Phyllis have four sons, and a daughter. “They all know how to drive a steam engine,” he added.
The 110 hp Case Steam plow engine is a rarity. “Case made 990 of these. There are about 29 left with around half a dozen operating,” Bill said.
Bill has been coming to the American Thresherman’s Reunion for 51 years. “I have been coming here since I was five,” he shared.
The Ride
Before we took off, the steam engine was inspected for safety by an inspector from the Fire Marshall’s office. “They have strict laws in Illinois,” Bill said. “It is great though because I want people to see how farmers made a living with the machines.”
They also filled the water tank, then we were ready to go. Keith and I perched on ledges on the sides of the cab and did what Bill said, “Hold on.”
Away we went, rumbling over the show grounds heading for the plow fields. Virgil was quiet operating his section, and Bill discussed what levers did what! He also added some coal to the firebox during our trip. He said he was running both coal and wood. When the Jansens do their special “spark” shows after tractor pulls, he said they use saw dust.
It was amazing sitting up so high and jiggling over ground. While this was amazing, Bill said, “Could you imagine doing this for ten hours a day?”
Half Century of Progress
Bill will have his wonderful engines (yes, he has more than one) at the Half Century of Progress. “I have been going since the beginning,” he said about this every two-year show. At one of the shows, he set a Guiness Book of World Records when he hooked three 110 Case steam engines together to pull a 60-bottom plow.
I need to thank Annie Jansen for arranging this fun ride. One item off the list, now, anybody want to take me up in a seaplane?
