Author Topic: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show  (Read 2351 times)

Offline b.lindsey

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Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« on: April 15, 2018, 01:30:02 AM »
A few weeks ago  Craig DeShong and I decided to meet up at this show which neither of us had been to before. Craig's daughter and son in law (and new grandbaby) live not far from the show location and its about 60 miles from me so it worked out well. Its not a big show and somewhat disappointingly there were no old hit and miss engines there that I saw, just tractors and lots of crafts but it was a beautiful day and the show had a good turnout as far as spectators, many of whom were quite interested in our model engines. I have attached a few pictures of Craigs nice exhibit. Photo 1 is his growing collection of Lauson engines including the one currently in progress. Photos 2 & 3 are of his hit and miss engines which both saw a lot of run time today. Craig's Otto Langen also ran flawlessly throughout the day and is shown in photos 4 & 5.

The last picture is of a large John Deere combine which the local dealer (set up right beside us) had brought along with various other small tractors and riding mowers. As the sun got hotter they opened up the large side panel of the combine to provide some shade and beneath it was a literal maze of mechanical marvels from chain drives, variable speed belt drives, hydraulics, electronics and somewhere in there the big diesel engine that powers this thing. In case anyone wants one, the asking price including the "head" of your choice (grain, corn, soybeans, etc.) runs about $750,000, made to order with a year lead time according to the dealer. Quite an amazing piece of machinery.

It was a very nice day and always enjoyable to meet a fellow member of our forum, and share our models. Thanks for the invite Craig!!

Bill

Offline Craig DeShong

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2018, 02:34:17 AM »
Many of you here on the forum have known Bill for quite a while but I’m a recent new comer and was looking forward to meeting Bill.  I found Bill to be a warm, receptive, all around great guy and it was a pleasure to make his acquaintance.

Now that I’m back at home and everything is put away, I can begin to think about responding to Bill’s eloquent post.  It WAS a small show, looked more like a community gathering to me.  It was a great place for the local equipment vendors to showcase their stuff; there were a few antique tractors: some of them restored.  There was lots of flea market stuff, some music, and activities for the kids and ticket drawings for the adults.  Our exhibits certainly weren’t mobbed with spectators, but there was a semi-steady trickle of folks; about the time you got done talking to one, another would show up. 

Bill didn’t post a picture of HIS exhibit, so I give you one that I took.  He brought a nice assortment of engines and I think the spectators enjoyed seeing them.  He brought his Rider Ericsson hot air pumping engine.  It had been sitting in his office for several years so a check valve was stuck.  Once that was cleared it ran smoothly and was a delight to see.  People would say, “It doesn’t make any noise, how does it run?” which resulted in Bill going into his spiel on hot air engines to match mine on Otto-Langen engines. He also brought a tiny hit-and-miss engine that I might have needed a magnifying glass to see all the parts, but with a flick of his thumb it took off running, sounding like an industrious bee-hive.  He brought his scale model of a Briggs and Stratton 6S, an engine I'm very familiar with, having owned three.  It ran great and sounds just like the real McCoy.  He also brought another hot air engine but it was a gusty day, and no matter what kind of wind barrier we constructed, the wind kept blowing the flame out, preventing it from running; it sure is a beautiful model though.  He also brought a steam engine and a compressed air radial but without a source of air, they too were a static display. 

Regardless of what he told you above, not all was well in the DeShong camp.  My little Lauson RSC just refused to run.  Maybe it got up on the wrong side of the b̶e̶d̶ car trunk :???:, I can’t say; but it just put its f̶o̶o̶t̶ piston down and refused to run :'(, at least till later on in the day.  I had several folks ask me to run it, and my response became, ”It’s three years old, and like some three year olds it’s having a tantrum and refuses to do what I ask it to do or cooperate in any constructive way” :lolb:.  With this, the men looked at me rather strangely but all the women were nodding their heads up and down in silent commiseration.  Still, I took six running engines to the show, and returned with all six still running, so no complaints. :ThumbsUp:

One of the reasons I go to these shows is that, invariably, something happens or someone says something that makes the whole day worthwhile, Saturday was no exception.  Above, Bill stated that my daughter brought my 2 month old grandson to the show, his first engine show (they can never be too young to begin to influence them :agree:).  While they were there, a young couple walked up to our exhibits.  The guy, with a big grin on his face said, “oooooooooooooooooooh, look at the neat model engines” :LickLips:; the lady, with an even bigger smile on her face said,”oooooooooooooooooh, look at the pretty baby” :Love:; so there you have it, always count on Bill and I to set up exhibits for the most discerning and widest variety of tastes. :Lol:
« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 02:40:42 AM by Craig DeShong »
Craig
The destination motivates us toward excellence, the journey entertains us, and along the way we meet so many interesting people.

Offline Dave Otto

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2018, 03:19:53 AM »
Thanks Craig,

That’s a great shot of Bill and his display.


Dave

Offline zeeprogrammer

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2018, 04:18:44 AM »
Fantastic post Craig. A very 'good feelin' post.
Thank you.

And thanks for posting the pic of Bill.

We'll need another about 2 weeks after the next 46-47 days.
Retirement does strange things to a person.
Makes them younger. At least for a while.  ;D

At least my wife thinks I look younger since I retired.
But I think she's angling for some yard work.
Carl (aka Zee) Will sometimes respond to 'hey' but never 'hey you'.
"To work. To work."
Zee-Another Thread Trasher.

Offline Larry

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #4 on: April 16, 2018, 05:09:13 AM »
Thanks Craig & Bill - great read. North Carolina is my home - I just happen to live in Atlanta.

Offline Roger B

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #5 on: April 16, 2018, 08:52:30 AM »
Thank both for the excellent posts and pictures  :ThumbsUp:  :ThumbsUp:
Best regards

Roger

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Union County NC Tractor and Farm Show
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2018, 11:53:08 AM »
Craig, thanks for the wonderful post and for the kind words. Just the chance to get together made the day a success in my book!!  As a side note, neither of us had planned to attend the show on Sunday which turned out for the best. We had a nasty storm front come through the area from around 1-6pm yesterday, high winds, golf ball sized hail in some places, and a few suspected tornados. No doubt our meager little canopies would have ended up in the next county had we been there on Sunday. Craig, I am happy you made it home safely, and it was indeed a pleasure meeting you and your family. Maybe we can find a little bigger show for next time :)

Bill

 

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