Western Minnesota Steam Thresher’s Reunion is happening all weekend, as it is an annual event every Labor Day weekend since 1954 (and the temp is a cool 70 degrees there today!)

this video gives a real good look at everything all over the 200 acres of steam powered everything, and tractor driven vintage farm equipment too

The Rollag grounds cover more than 260 acres and include a “sandbox” where giant steam shovels gulp bucketfuls of earth, a re-creation of a prairie town and a smattering of church dining halls serving family-style meals.

 Along with the traction engines, there are more than 600 stationary steam engines housed in permanent buildings, all built and maintained by volunteers.

the 353, which served as a switching engine, carries visitors around the 2 mile track loop to get them to the various displays of steam shovels, traction engines, steam tractors, threshers, excavators, and dozers

the 353 Soo Line 060 switch engine built by Brooks-Alco of New York joined the 

Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (WMSTR) in 1971.

here is a real nice video of it https://www.facebook.com/ClassicTractorFever/videos/489822502972182

It all started in 1940 when the Nelson boys fired up the old Garr-Scott engine to thresh with steam again for old time sake with family & friends. 

The event continued once a year until 1954, when Western Minnesota Steam Thresher’s Reunion met formally for the first time and invited the public. 

Today the show has grown to include hundreds of demonstrations and exhibits spread over 210 beautiful acres and is a 501c(3) organization. There is no selling of products or merchandise on the show grounds from outside vendors. All receipts are used for the growth and development of the show. Everyone there is a volunteer or visitor

the event is near Fargo, and about 8 hours West of Green Bay

You probably remember that just a couple months ago I learned about the Boise, Idaho, JUMP tractor museum, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2022/04/amazing-collection-of-cool-old-tractors.html  they just finished restoring the 1909 Rumely Oil Pull prototype, which was used for only a year, and then sat behind the Indiana factory as newer and better models were made in the great race for better sales, until the collector who ran ran what was once called Oscar's Dreamland of Billings, Montana, found and restored it. 

During a 1998 auction of that collection, J.R. Simplot purchased 110 machines, including Kerosene Annie, and gave it a permanent home, under curator Rob Bearden. 

Rumely made kerosene powered tractors, because  kerosene cost 5 cents, and gasoline in 1910 was 25 cents, so the Rumely engineers started work to find a way to fuel a tractor with inexpensive kerosene. Cheap diesel didn't become the dominant fuel until the 30s

Of the 900 or so Type B Oil Pull kerosene powered Rumely tractors, only 2% have survived, about 20.

Because the Rollag Steam event is annual, to entice return visitors the event needs to bring things no one has seen before to keep things fresh, and there was nothing greater than Kerosene Annie to do that this year.

https://rollag.com/

https://www.facebook.com/wmstr/

https://www.youtube.com/c/WMSTRMedia/videos

https://www.agweek.com/news/revived-kerosene-annie-heads-to-rollag-for-the-western-minnesota-steam-threshers-reunion