The Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association puts on the second- or third-oldest Threshermen’s Reunion in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is held in the middle of August each year, from Wednesday through Saturday, in Kinzers, Pennsylvania, about eight miles east of the city of Lancaster. The association’s name is taken from the 1890s book ''Rough and Tumble Engineering: Book of Instructions for Operators of Farm and

Traction Engines A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine ...

'' by James H. Maggard.

Threshermen

Threshermen were crews of laborers who owned their own traction engine and

threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of farm equipment that threshes grain, that is, it removes the seeds from the stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed, thr ...

ry, and moved from farm to farm to bring in and thresh the wheat harvest. Many crews covered several states and several hundred miles each season. Farmers and their wives would compete to gain and keep the services of the best threshing crews. Threshermen were made obsolete by the development of the

combine harvester The modern combine harvester, or simply combine, is a versatile machine designed to efficiently harvest a variety of grain crops. The name derives from its combining four separate harvesting operations— reaping, threshing, gathering, and win ...

in the 1940s and 1950s.

Reunions

The first Rough and Tumble reunion was held in 1948 on the grounds of Arthur S. Young's farm equipment dealership south of

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

at the east end of Kinzers, Pennsylvania, about east of the city of Lancaster. Young and his father had maintained a number of steam traction engines, and Young served as an officer of the Pennsylvania Threshermen and Farmers Protective Association. A number of local steam engine enthusiasts encouraged Young to hold a Threshers Reunion to showcase his collection of engines, and the PTFPA agreed to provide free food and advertising for the event. The Rev. Elmer Ritzman, the founding editor of ''Iron Man Album'' (a magazine devoted to preserving the heritage of threshing and farm life in general, now owned by Ogden Publications and titled Steam Traction Magazine) was a major proponent of the first R&T show, and served as an R&T director for many years.

Traction engine collection

R&T has one of the world’s best and largest collections of old traction engines, with over two dozen machines. There are also all kinds of antique farm implements and machinery, plus three barns full of old

steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

and old stationary

gas engine A gas engine is an internal combustion engine that runs on a gaseous fuel, such as coal gas, producer gas, biogas, landfill gas or natural gas. In the United Kingdom, the term is unambiguous. In the United States, due to the widespread use of ...

s, including an Otto-Langen Engine, one of the world’s few surviving examples of the first commercially successful gas engines, almost all of which are kept in operating condition, and are run during the Threshermen’s Reunion and other shows. There is also a 2/3 scal
Shay side-geared steam locomotive
that provides rides, as well as a smaller live steam locomotive named Little Toot. Most of the events, especially the Threshermen’s Reunion, has scores of crafters, including local

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

residents, and scores of

flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal ...

vendors who come from all over the country. In addition to the Threshermen’s Reunion held in the middle of August, R&T offers a two-day “Steam School” of hands-on learning, an Antique Tractor Pull in April, a Spring Steam-Up in May,

Blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

Days in June, and a celebration of A Time of Harvest in October. Additionally, various collectors associations hold events at R&T, including

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

Days and an International Harvester / Farmall show.

Railroads

The association runs two railroads on its property for guest to enjoy. One is the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Shay Railroad, featuring a coal-fired,

geared steam locomotive A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses gearing, usually reduction gearing, in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design. This gearing is part of the machinery within the locomotive and should n ...

. The other is the Crown Metal Products Locomotive Roster
/ref> Little Toot Railroad, a

ridable miniature railway A ridable miniature railway (US: riding railroad or grand scale railroad) is a large scale, usually ground-level railway that hauls passengers using locomotives that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel or petrol ...

featuring a locomotive built by

Crown Metal Products Crown Metal Products was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock based in Wyano, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Ken Williams in 1946 and initially sold pot cleaners and then electric fence wires and other products. In 1959, the compan ...

References

External links

Rough and Tumble website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rough And Tumble Engineers Historical Association Threshermen's Reunions Museums in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Historical societies in Pennsylvania Agriculture museums in the United States Steam museums in the United States Recurring events established in 1948 1948 establishments in Pennsylvania