Homebuilt Traction engine

Location: Cullman, AL

It's pretty clear what's happened here: An enterprising farmer, sometime around 1930-1950, has gotten ahold of a working boiler from a stationary or portable engine, and built his own chassis and cab for it. Unfortunately the drivetrain was removed so I couldn't document how it was motivated. The steering linkage was intact enough that I believe this was a functioning tractor. However the small rear wheels lead me to believe that the drivetrain was underbuilt (possibly using truck parts and not steam engine parts) and thus it was only used to pull small loads or to move the flatbelt power to where it was needed.

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Augur-Drive Vehicles

I've always been an exotic-vehicle enthusiast, and after a few visits to Burning Man, I came up with the idea for an augur-driven vehicle. It would be cool because it would be completely ridiculous and would tear up the ground it drove over. I think the idea came from the fact that my grandpa has a bunch of augurs lying around his farm.

I took my idea to Johny Amerika, who is the sort of guy who could seriously discuss the possibility of building such a thing. We talked about pros and cons and possible issues and I think he even said he'd seen some guys who'd built one. I filed the idea away in the "someday, with funding" section of my brain and didn't think about it for a year.

Then I stumbled across these futuristic images from Russian propoganda. Apparently in glorious communist Russia we will all be driving these things:




One advantage would be that, given the proper bouyancy, the vehicle would be amphibious. I was surprised to see someone had the same idea, but not too surprised, as there ain't much new under the sun.

Later, I was looking through pictures of abandoned Russian junkyards (yes, that's what I do for leisure) when I saw this picture, without a caption:



I was stunned. There before me was exactly what I'd envisioned. Not only had someone come up with the idea, they'd built it, scrapped it, and now it was rusting away without so much as a comment from the photographer like "hey, check it out, no wheels on this one".

With a little more research, I found out what it was. They called it the ZIL-2906. The Nazis had a little guy:





...and I suspect the Soviets adopted the technology. The most surprising thing is that it goes! Check out this video:

DC ++ Garratt Locomotive Restoration

Location: Canberra, Australia

One of my goals for this trip to Australia was to be able to work on this Garratt steam locomotive restoration project. It's just an interesting locomotive, being articulated and having the water tank ahead of the boiler and the coal tender behind.

At the moment it's in bits but it's looking great and has good bones. Today we began to reassemble the superheader and the bits inside the steam dome.



The boiler had been chopped off its base in a timber mill, which meant all the bolts had to be drilled out and re-tapped. Fun!



A locomotive grillout.



Would you trust this man with your locomotive?

Work days are the first Saturday and the third Sunday of the month. Click here for more information on the locomotive and the project.

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See My Vest

Moving around without a chance to sit down and get some sewing done, this waistcoat has taken me the better part of a year:



I wanted an inner-tube vest like my bike club colors, but without any flair:



The red and blue trim is scrap leather from an ole whipmaker:



Inner tube is round, not flat, so fitting it to the vest is tough sometimes. But as it ages the dental floss and the rubber will relax and it will smooth out.

Here's a lovely accessory: A fob coin-holder.




I found this fob switch-action ashtray at the bottom of a toolbox. It's a little crusty but the lid and ciggy-holder spring open at the touch of a button. Steampunks don't litter!

World of Wearable Art & Classic Cars

Location: Nelson, New Zealand

This is a strange museum. The World of Wearable Art started out as a small tent show and has grown to a huge production that draws designers from around the world and gives out tens of thousands of dollars in prizes. While a usual fashion show displays ridiculous contraptions with the conceit that one would theoretically wear them, this one does away with that limitation and displays ridiculous contraptions that noone could possibly wear through the day. Fashion is quite enjoyable, actually, when you drop the pretense that it is reasonable.

Some of the works drew inspiration from Victorian fashion. Like this outfit, "Rattle Your Dags":



'Dags' are sheep dingleberries and this outfit had black gems and crystals streaming down the posterior.

There really was some stunning work:





some way out there stuff:




...and some premium-grade art-world bullshit that I won't dignify showing.

In order to get the tourists in the doors, they need something for the husbands to do. So they have a collection of classic cars for you to stroll around while the wife looks at the pretty clothes.

They've got a nice Excalibur outside but I didn't even bother to take a picture of it. If you want to see one just google it, they're not uncommon. You could order one up yourself if you wanted, it's a freakin Studebaker!

Inside there are a surprising number of pre-1930 autos. I was pleased to learn that the Model T Ford got 20 miles to the gallon of gas, while their new 2009 "Fuel Efficient" pickup gets 21. One early auto had a range of 150 miles, meaning it could carry more fuel than there were properly built auto roads in America at the time.

I like this delivery bike because it is very much like something I would build:

From World Of Wearable Art Museum

Check out this lovely early 1900s Locomobile:

From World Of Wearable Art Museum

The thing about these early cars, as Leno says, is that because they were luxury items they were made to tip-top perfection and could give any modern luxury car a run for its money on the road. Just look at the locomotive wheels on that thing!

And the lovely flip-down windscreen:

From World Of Wearable Art Museum

I like the storage boxes, outside-of-the-cab shifter, and long horn. The bulb is in the upper right:

From World Of Wearable Art Museum

Just look at those lantern headlights! Some worked off acetylene. Boom!

I have mixed feelings about this museum. The work is stunning, but it's a one-room deal and it costs $18 to take a peep. Somehow I thought the "World" would be a little bit bigger than one room, but it turns out they cycle through their collection. For $8 I would have left this place feeling inspired and amazed, but for $18 I left feeling slightly snookered.

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Mad Max Model A

Location:

The Australians have a noun, "cocky", which might be translated as "practical country bloke who can make anything out of anything."  I met two dairy farmer cockies named Leslie and Bob, about 80 and 90 respectively, who (for example) still drive their parents' 1929 Model A Ford.  Their parents bought it new for their honeymoon;  now Leslie and Bob use it as their daily driver.  At one point Ford offered them a brand new Ford in trade for it (would you take that offer?)  "Naw, we wouldn't know how to fix it!" was the reply.  A cocky would keep a car like this running for 80 years not because they were vintage car enthusiasts, but simply because it works just fine so why replace it?



Well, round about 1949 they decided they needed a tractor.  They got ahold of another Model A (production stopped in 1932 so presumably it was a used car) and the rear differential of some sort of Ford tracked gun tractor and slapped them together.  The engine was the original 4-cylinder (Leslie says it puts out 24 hp) so how to get tractor torque out of it?  Why, just link two gearboxes together!  They put tractor tires on the rear and added a crane boom and the result is some sort of Mad-max ute, fast enough to go to town on but able to do all the work around the farm.  They've never needed a tractor since.





Here you can see the power take-off.  You can attach something directly to the shaft or run it from the V-belt pulley.  At the moment they've got a big ole alternator attached, so the whole thing becomes a generator.  To the left is the crane's winch.  You can also see the vehicle's four gear shifts:  The original, 3-speed Ford's transmission, the one on the left to control the speed of the PTO, the one on the right to control the second transmission (some sort of tractor crashbox), and the little guy down low to engage or disengage the PTO.  This would presumably give the vehicle about 12 different gear combinations when driving and about 24 possible gear selections overall.  Top speed is around 50 mph but I bet it's hairy!



The ole original motor has had some carb and exhaust modifications but is essentially the same the Model A was sold with.



Here you can see the tractor seat and original Model A dash.  Passengers just sit on the PTO tranny and hold on!



I only hope I can live long enough to be just like this guy.

Bonus Model A trivia:

The Model A was licensed to be copied in the Soviet Union, which produced a car called the GAZ.  This, in turn, was made into an armored car called the FAI:



Then, the FAI's slightly improved successor the BA-20 was modified to be driven on rails!



Ford also experimented with a tracked version of the Model T: