Mike Roach with the Iowa Steam Car Tour sent us an update on a planned visit to Antique Airfield next week:
Approximately 15 Stanley Steamers (if they all make it!) plan to visit your Antique Airfield next Tuesday , August 28, for a brief stop and visit. I expect you will see them between 1 and 3 pm.
The steamers and the families that own and operate them assemble around the country at several places each summer. The attraction this year in Iowa is to visit Old Thresher's Reunion at Mount Pleasant. The oldest car will be about 1910 and the newest will be around 1924. The ones built before 1915 are non-condensers, using the water only once; the ones built after 1914 are condensing models that reuse some of their water. The mileage for a non-condenser is about 1 mile per gallon. They burn (to boil the water) either gasoline, kerosene, or a combination of gasoline and diesel fuel.
They are intriguing machines. The owners look forward to tours like this one to practice their steaming skills. I believe that there are only about 100 to 150 operating steamers left in the country (and many more awaiting repairs or restoration). Our cars will have come to Iowa from Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Washington State, and points in between.
