Buried Engines

[Casemaker]

Since the topic of engines under water have been covered in the "River Rescue" - thought that I would start one about buried engines.

I heard this from a old friend of mine about 2 engines being buried in central Illinois. The first is a 20hp late model Reeves and threshing machine. They were towed by a bulldozer into a deep ditch and left. The bulldozer then stared pushing dirt from both sides to fill up the ditch and cover the engine with the threshing machine still hitched to the engine. The second engine was a C Aultman Undermount that was using as fill for a machinery yard around I believe Taylorville Illinois. If anyone can confirm these stories or give better info on either one of these...please reply.

[JBoogie]

both situations are sad, but it's kinda ironic that the AULTMAN is buried in TAYLORville.

[Colin]

Originally Posted by JBoogie

both situations are sad, but it's kinda ironic that the AULTMAN is buried in TAYLORville.

thats kidna neat. one of the town guys here told dad he burried a couple old portables at the dump and i think don bradley talked about an 80 that was half buried in a road out in montana somewhere. Dad also heard a storry of a 44" wooden Mineapolis Spereator burried about 45 miles away. and the closest thing is and upright boiler that stood in a fench corner about 2.5 miles away. dad was always gona get it when he got old enough then it got pushed in when they built the road. I dont know why his dad or uncle enver got it i think thats all the burried stuff i know of for now

[Dale Noel]

I heard stories of an engine buried in the town of Norwalk, WI. Was used to fill a hole in town a long time ago... Don't recall what brand....

[KGC1615]

OK, I have one. There is a Keck engine at the bottom of a mine ventilation shaft in Indiana. Just where I can't say. As the story goes, it was sitting on timbers right beside the shaft for years. After the mine closed, it was left to the elements. After some period of time the timbers rotted out and it tumbled into the shaft. It is somewhere between eight and eighty feet below the surface. True story, honest! Now where did I put my shovel?

[MYaeger]

Don't know of any buried engines, but do know of a Wood Bros. here in Montana that might as well be. The guys (two brothers in probably their 80s) who own it REALLY think they have something and their price is in line with the sales we have been seeing this last week (HIGH!).

It's in a shed and my cousin and I went to find it and actually did. The shed had to have been built around it since you just about have to take out your wallet and chew can to squeeze around it and the stack is what is actually holding up the shed. It is actually quite complete and in good shape, but too bad it just sits.

We tried to buy it, but ended up with our Reeves for 1/4 the money.

[Colin]

Chew can what kind? was just going for a dip of berry
Does anyone have close up pictures of that Big mineapolis 45 that was in the river. Ive read that story a few times and finaly got to see it a couple years ago. A brain surgan owns it now and it sounds like he wants to start restoration in a couple years. This engine might be some more competition for the other big makes left

[Tanner Remillard]

Well I cant say that I chew because I dont want my face cut off, but, I do know where a smaller Advance was buried (after it was cut up) and used for fill in a ditch.

[Gustp]

If my memory serves me, there is a newspaper article posted on the wall at the Albany Mn.show's stationary boiler house. From what I can remember it tells of a bunch of engines used for fill on a road project. Anyone else rmember reading it? Jeff?

[LundMachineWorks]

Yes, I read it. It is from "The Farmer" magazine. It talked about twenty some engine being buried in the devil's Lake area to build a road. They apparently just started to push them one after another into a sloug and then pushed dirt on top of them to build the road.

[MoRo]

I'm nearly in tears here, guys. Sheesh! I hafta wonder if those guys knew what they were burying?
~M~

[Colin]

Originally Posted by Monte R.

I'm nearly in tears here, guys. Sheesh! I hafta wonder if those guys knew what they were burying?
~M~

maybe they were trying to thin out some racine water heaters haha

[Tom Cwach]

There are engines buried under hwy 81 north of Madison SD,I think 6?, Used as a base for the roadbed. There may be an engine west of Yankton that was never recovered after falling of a ferry in about 1893. There may be an engine on a freinds farm, He has told me that when his family bought the place in the 1950s that a past resident told them that there was an old steamer parked in a draw years ago. When he had left in the 1930s only about 6" of the stack was out of the ground. The place has so much iron buried we can't get a good location with a metal detector.

[A Martinson]

Originally Posted by ColinCase

Chew can what kind? was just going for a dip of berry
Does anyone have close up pictures of that Big mineapolis 45 that was in the river. Ive read that story a few times and finaly got to see it a couple years ago. A brain surgan owns it now and it sounds like he wants to start restoration in a couple years. This engine might be some more competition for the other big makes left

[A Martinson]

[A Martinson]

Sorry about the multiple posts, for some reason, it would not let me post two pictures in one post, weird, because I know I've done it before multiple times.

[Colin]

That would have been neat to see that engine pumping down by the river. Too bad it got so ravaged Now i cant remember if that part of the engine was still on the 45 boiler in fargo i remember the engine was on the 35 boiler sitting rite beside it. theres still mud in the bottom of the 45 boiler its lacking a flue sheet just like the 150 boiler

[ChadYelland]

Up here i can't say of any buried, but theres stories of a few going through the ice on lakes while moving from one sawmill to another, so guys claim they can find them with an anchor. others say they ran steamers up to the flat cars during the war, drained the water out, then cut them up for SCRAP! oh and there was a story of a 32 Reeves in the saskatchewan river

[A Martinson]

Originally Posted by ColinCase

That would have been neat to see that engine pumping down by the river. Too bad it got so ravaged Now i cant remember if that part of the engine was still on the 45 boiler in fargo i remember the engine was on the 35 boiler sitting rite beside it. theres still mud in the bottom of the 45 boiler its lacking a flue sheet just like the 150 boiler

Since you've seen it, how big is that engine? In the one picture that you can sort of tell size in, it doesn't look all that huge. And with a 4 cylinder double tandem compound engine, it wouldn't have to be all that big to produce 45HP. And where is it at, is it at Larson Welding?

[Craig A]

Originally Posted by ColinCase

maybe they were trying to thin out some racine water heaters haha

Am I hallucinating???

WAY TO GO COLIN!!!!

Absolutely....no how...no way to resist THIS!!!!