Texas Members and Visitors

[me4osu]

Don't forget to go to the Burton Cotton Gin Festival this weekend (4/19 - 21). They power the gin with an old 1925 2cyl Bessemer Diesel engine, with constantan rods for glow plugs (heat with a rose-bud). They also have an antique tractor pull and lots of guys using one cylinder ebullient cooled engines to run corn mills, can smashers, churns etc... Plus BEER.





Burton

 

[TxDieselKid]

Wish they had a "REAL" tractor pull for us bigger boys.



I used to live right by there in Brenham for 2 and 1/2 years, great place I plan on moving back one day.



Andrew

 

[me4osu]

TDK

I think its kind of cool to watch the old iron run. My wife's cousin forged alot of the pieces they used to re-build the old Bessemer engine.



Do you know of any real tractor pulls in central Texas? I used to go to them all of the time when I was a kid in Oklahoma. All I can find is the gasser 7-engine deals they have at the dome. I would like to see some souped up D-21 Allis' and Oliver 19s run outdoors. Talk about smoke!

 

[TxDieselKid]

That does sound like a good time in Burton.



I know of no tractor pulls in Texas PERIOD, except in the dome.



Andrew

 

[LandShark]

Told the wife that I would take her somewhere this weekend. This looks like fun.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a campsite in this area? We'll have our slide-in and will not need any hookups.

 

[me4osu]

Campsites

Bastrop is not too far, neither is Lake Somerville, but I'm not a knowlegeable camper. You might try to PM rustyJC, he might know of a good camping spot nearby.

 

[RustyJC]

Too bad I'm batching it this weekend and have to dog-sit. Since I work for the company that built the Bessemer engine, I'd really enjoy seeing the thing run. Of course, that's a pretty late-model engine - C&E Cooper Co. (the parent of Cooper-Bessemer [Cooper bought Bessemer in the 1920's], Cooper Energy Services, Cooper Industries, Cooper Cameron, etc. ) was founded in 1833 in Mount Vernon, Ohio as an iron foundry and started building Corliss steam engines in the 1870's.



Probably the closest campground is Lake Somerville. If you want, PM me and I'll check the Trailer Life campground guide tonight.



Rusty

 

[me4osu]

Corliss Steam Engine

Rusty,

I remember seeing a huge single cylinder steam engine in Pittsburgh one time. I think it was a Cooper, must have been about 25' tall. They left it as a monument to the days when you needed headlights to drive during the day in Pittsburgh. Now it is multicolored, kind of an artsy thing.