JC steam engine heads to "The Big Dig"

After a "Long Wait" (the event was cancelled in 2020 because of COVID-19) the "Big Dig" will be here Friday through Sunday! The full name of the event is the 35th Annual Historical Construction Equipment Association International Convention and Old Equipment Exposition hosted by Prairie Plowing Days – familiarly known as "The Big Dig."

The event will be held on the Kurt Kocher farm south of Concordia. Find the site nine miles south of Concordia on Highway 81 and 2 1⁄2 miles west on Hawk Road, or four miles north of the Highway 24/81 junction and 2 1⁄2 miles west on Hawk Road.

What you will find is an 80-acre site with steam engines, a sorghum mill, prairie tractors, half-tracks, an elevating grader, dozers, heavy equipment, a rock crusher and much more in the way of machinery. Plus, play equipment for the youngsters, a Kiddy Pedal Tractor Pull and bleachers for just "sitting a spell."

Some of the equipment being brought in for the show includes a 1918 60 90 Twin City tractor – one of three in the world. Also, Dan Crist's "oldest tractor in Kansas" is coming from Quinter. The 1908 International friction drive is the third oldest in the United States and it will be running during the show.

Steam engines will be there, Avery, Aultman-Taylor, Nicholas & Shephard, and Russell to name a few but likely not all. The Nicholas & Shephard belongs to Don Blecha from Wichita and will be running during the event.

A steam engine familiar to some area readers is the 1923/1924 Russell belonging to the Jewell County Historical Society (JCHS). The operator will be Cliff Silsby (Mankato High School 1970) of Auburn, Kan.

For those unfamiliar with the antique machinery and steam engines, one needs an operator's license to operate a steam engine just as one needs a license to operate a car. An applicant for an operator's license needs 50 hours of validated supervised experience to be considered for a license. Silsby has the operator's license and other certifications to work on the mammoth machines.

The JCHS's Russell Steam Engine was bequeathed them by Bub Hefner of Concordia. The Russell is a general-purpose machine and lighter in weight than some of the larger bemouths. "Lighter" is around nine tons (18,000 pounds) and this is without the needed three to four hundred gallons of water. The Russell will be put to work during the show.

Visitors to this international event will see these and many other antique machines working – just as they did nearly one hundred or more years ago. There are also several buildings of tractors, crawlers, cars and trucks on display just across the road from the event.

Check the Prairie Plowing Days Facebook Page for more details.