Presented by the J.I. Case Company, this 1950’s era film recounts the glory days of the steam engine as used for farming and retold by a grandfather to his grandson. The J.I. Case company engines are featured throughout the film. The movie opens on a farm with men using pitchforks to throw wheat into steam powered threshers. J. I. Case Company dedicates this motion picture to all the old times steam threshermen and loyal steam engine fans. These groups keep alive the romance of that bygone era that great dramatic period in American agriculture… “When Steam Was King”. A boy asks his grandpa why he’s looking at an old picture of a farm 1:05. Grandfather and the boy talk about the old steam threshing days 2:13. Grandfather explains the process of threshing wheat 2:25. Clean grain is put into net or a wagon box 2:42. Machine reaps the grain from the fields 2:51. Steam traction engine 3:18. Steam power turns the pulley that drives the long belt that drives the machine 3:36. Man drives a new diesel powered tractor 3.55. Early steamers were built mainly for belt work 4:07. Steamers cutting wood 4:34. Grandfather shows the boy books and pictures of old steam saws 5:04. Portable engines mounted on skids pulled by horses 5:20. The Old Case No. 1, the granddaddy of old steamers, built in 1869 5:53. Grandpa mentions the Pageant of Progress in 1948 at the Wisconsin Centennial State Fair 6:15. Portable steamers in line at fair 6:45. Men display their old steam threshers 8:20. Grandfather Pines about the old days to his grandson 9:00. Picture of a steam engine pulling a building on skids 9:25. Steamers used for plowing in a field demonstration 9:45. Photo from 1910 of an old steamer with control levers 10:45. Picture of Case Steam Lift Plow, plowing with steam engine 11:06. Tractor ignition starts up immediately 11:45. The ease of controls on the modern tractor are shown 12:12. Rogue rollers had steam operated hydraulic steering 12:36. Pictures of old-time engines from 19:10. Old steamer displays at a large threshermen reunion 13:00. Old steamers display before the crowd 13:55. Grandfather shows his grandson his favorite threshermen reunion pictures 14:30. Old-time steam Threshermen reunion with grand old steamers on display 14:50. Man displays driving his steam powered engine over a pyramid obstacle 15:45. The instant power of steam provides control and accuracy for the operator 16:03. The ramp demonstration 16:20. The incline is about a 50% grade and the engines weigh from 6-10 tons 16:37. Operator backs his engine down the ramp 17:35. The teeter totter platform balancing show 17:50. Men continue to showcase their driving skills with the agile steam engine 18:50. The tug-of-war between manpower and steam power – the steam engine wins handily showcasing the power of steam 19:50. Fully operational scale model displays 20:21. Power demonstrations of the big engines are the highlight of the fair 22:15. The Prony Brake, hidden from the crowd here, is a simple device invented by Gaspard de Prony in 1821 to measure the torque produced by an engine 22:24. Another popular demonstration is leading the engine back on a long belt attached to a big fan and see how fast she’ll go 23:00. The revolutions are recorded on a tachometer 23:10. Large steamers and models are displayed for the crowd 23:25. Steam powered plow tills the land 24:18. The Case Eagle trademark appeared on many engines 24:45. Case engines built many machines, When Steam Was King. We gratefully appreciate the cooperation of the following will make this film possible. Old Threshermen’s Roundup, Centennial of Farm Mechanization, Michigan State University, Central states Threshermen’s reunion and steam engine show, Pontiac, Illinois. Antique engines and threshers Association reunion, Wichita and Bird city, Kansas. Mississippi Valley old-time threshers Association celebration, Davenport, Iowa. Pion-Era, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The J. I. Case Company.

The Case Corporation was a manufacturer of construction equipment and agricultural equipment. Founded, in 1842, by Jerome Increase Case as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, it operated under that name for most of a century. For another 66 years it was the J. I. Case Company, and was often called simply Case. In the late 19th century, Case was one of America’s largest builders of steam engines, producing self-propelled portable engines, traction engines and steam tractors. It was a major producer of threshing machines and other harvesting equipment, In the 20th century, Case was among the 10 largest builders of farm tractors for many years.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com