Big auction--mostly CASE

[Chuck Sindelar]

If there is room in your shed for one more steamer, you have three months to get your check book in order. The George Hedtke collection auction has been set for Sat., Oct 1st at Davis Jct., ILL. Lots of nice stuff--110 Case (with a nice 14 bottom P&O plow to go with it), an 80 Case, a 65, a 50, The very last Case road roller to roll out of the Case factory in 1923, an 18 portable, and the only surviving boiler from a Case 150, (from engine #14666). The very best Case inch 36 threshing machine that you will find anywhere--complete with wing feeders, and both a 40 inch, and a 44 inch Case threshing machine. If you're not looking for steam, how about a 45-60 Avery, or a 30-60 Aultman-Taylor. These are not junk, but all restored and painted and stored in a nice tight dry shed. Hilpipre has the auction, and our reguler contributer Ken M. will hopefully post their web site with the entire listing--(Thanks Ken)--There is LOTS MORE! so you'll not want to miss this sale

[Ken Majeski]

Post What...

http://www.hilpipre.com/6_show_items.php?&AuctionNo=143

[Peter]

I dont know George. I did once see the 150 boiler. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it seems kind of a shame to break up a nice JI Case collection. I hope that 150 boiler does not leave the country regardless of any sob stories about how the Germans looted thier country. Then there is nothing I can do about that either. I though I heard a few years ago someone was working on a full size construction of a 150 case, is that true or was I dreaming?

[Ken Majeski]

Well.... one has to take into account that Georges engines probably? haven't been inspected in recent years since Illinois started doing UT. So your on your own as far as buying one or all of them. Of course you are buying any engine. I would geuss like the Rynda auction you will see a lot of handholes pulled and UT being done. Because outside apearance don't mean a lot as far as a boiler is conerened....

Well I did hear that Willis Able I think was going to build a 150 and Benson Mountain was going to build the boiler. But as I understand it they no longer have a S Stamp so I don't know if anything is happening anymore...

[Bob Ronning]

I know George well. He told me more than once that his collection would always be together, as a museum. he thought he had it set up so it could. The powers to be have had two sales before he died, now the rest of the collection will sell. another way to look at it is, George was a great caretaker for the collection and now it will be up to someone else to care for it.
This sale will put a lot of great items in the hands of the new caretakers so more people can enjoy are hobby for many years to come.

[Casemaker]

Benson Mt was offering to build Case 150's for $180,000. Then I heard that their company went out of business shortly after that. I am curious to know how did they come up with blueprints to work off. According to JI Case archives - all the blueprints for the Case 150 either do not exist or were destroyed. Does anyone know if either Willis Abel or Benson Mt had prints ?

[Casemaker]

Benson Mt was offering to build Case 150's for $180,000. Then I heard that their company went out of business shortly after that. I am curious to know how did they come up with blueprints to work off. According to JI Case archives - all the blueprints for the Case 150 either do not exist or were destroyed. Does anyone know if either Willis Abel or Benson Mt had prints ?
I think that to be safe some of us should take all the measurements off of the Case 150 boiler prior to the auction - maybe not for our selves but for future steamers. Any time I have advertised a steam engine for sale I always can count on getting interested foreign responses. I really dont like it when I hear that a steamer has left the country.

[Peter]

I am not overly concerned about a case 50,65,80 leaving the country. The 150 situation worries me. Thats a special case, pun intended. New stewardship is good if someone like Willis buys it. Great in fact. If the 150 crosses the ocean, it probably never come back and thats a shame.

[Casemaker]

Peter,
I could not agree more....so lets do something about....how about all the stackers start pooling their money and buying it ? I dont care were it stays as long as it is in the country....

[Peter]

That sounds good; but I dont think its feasable. Say 200 people give 100 dollars, thats 20k. About right maybe? Maybe not. So you need maybe 1000 or 2000 people to get anywhere close to certainty. I would hope for any kind of reasonable figure there will be plenty of american bidders. Just gotta wait and see what happens. Then how do you know who your bidding against. On a positive note, there is a chance the right buyer could fabricate a working 150. Wouldnt that be wild!

[Colin]

well ill be damed. after all the rumors its finally happening. Its hard to believe hes gone. dad and i were lucky enough to have his presence here a couple times. He even steered out 110 plowing once. I think its probably best his stuff is auctioned off. we always heard too it was gona be a private museum. but at least this way his stuff can run again and hopefully it will go to good homes.
As for the 150. we have a full set of blue prints here. dad got them from jerry parker a lot of years ago. theres been a few sets made now. i take them out every winter and study them. i finally got the 2 spd figured out. Hi gear goes through the clutch. but low gear is direct cogged and goes through 2 extra gears to get the reduction. . dad and i have been leaning on Kevin Anderson and his son Kory to build one someday. I think Kory will take the project on. i hope they do it someday
George has the only other runnable 44X66 case next to ours. it will be interesting to see what it brings. a rough one last year at danny roens sale brought 3500 i think.
i think the 150 boiler will stay in th country. i really hope it can come to south Dakota. will just ahve to hold our friends hadn up till its sold

[Bob Ronning]

George knew someone that had the wheels for the 150 case. one time when Case was cleaning up a case dealer from out east got the wheels, but he would not sell them to George. and George would not sell his boiler to him. Does anyone know if the wheels are still around somewhere?

[Scott]

Could you give us a history lesson on the 150 Case? I take it they didn't make many of them.

Scott

[John]

I thought the wheels were at the Case Plant in Racine. I was there in the mid 70's and saw a set of rims and was told the story of the 150 and how they were recalled and that the wheels were from the them. Who knows the person that told me might have been pulling my leg. I did see a nice picture of some 150s on a wall of a barn a few weeks ago. All this while chasing Eagles.

[Colin]

John where these original pictures? or just copied ones that evryones seen before. ive never heard that the wheels were thre that late i wish you had a picture of them

[John]

As I said the fellow could have been pulling my leg about them. At the time I would not know if they were or not, as I was not into steam engines at all. All he told me is that they came from a model of steam engine that Case scraped and he mentioned a 150hp. They were quite large. They were setting in a corner of a old warehouse. They was a large flywheel there also. They did not want to get rid of them at all. He said they might put them on display someday. This was back in about 1972 or 1973. I was in High School at the time and was more interested in fast cars.

[Casemaker]

There was a story in Iron Man Album that the wheels were seen in Racine at a Case Warehouse and when the person went back and they were gone. That person was told that they had been scrapped. This story was back in the 40's or 50's.

[Casemaker]

I think that it would be great if the wheels existed - that would be impressive mounted on the boiler and a big step to getting the engine back together.

I could start building some of the loose patterns for the missing castings...such as the connecting rod and the hub locks if I had the specs. I could use some of my model patterns/core boxes as a guide to help build the monster ones. Accross the road from me lives a very good pattern maker who would give me all of the guidence that I need.

Several weeks ago on ebay was a wooden flywheel pattern that was almost a dead ringer for the flywheel - but it was 48 1/2 tall (needs to be 50) and the flywheel face was not wide enough - I think that it needs to be 16 or 20 inches wide). I think that if you look around enough that you can find a flywheel pattern that could be changed to be correct. You might be lucky and find the wooden gear patterns as well. The place to look would be at old foundrys or antique dealers who sell these patterns as decorations.

On castings this size shrinkage will be an important consideration (1/8 inch per linear foot). The most complicated patterns to build will be the engine frame/engine frame core boxes and steam cylinder pattern and core boxes.

This engine can be put back together - but then again I have been called nuts before ........

[Bob Ronning]

The HEDTKE sale site has been updated with beter photos. Has 3 photos of the 150. http://www.hilpipre.com/6_show_items...AuctionNo=143#

[Chuck Sindelar]

Originally Posted by Bob Ronning

The HEDTKE sale site has been updated with beter photos. Has 3 photos of the 150. http://www.hilpipre.com/6_show_items...AuctionNo=143#

A couple of mistakes in the listing have again been repeated--maybe not importent to most?
The Case engine numbers listed do agree with those I have on file, but the 80 Case is not a 1928, (Case built NO steamers in 1928) but rather is a 1914--And the 65 Case is not a 1914, but rather is a 1916.
Chuck