Somerset Steam and Gas Pasture Party - Orange County, Virginia 

STEAM!

Steam engines fascinate. Dark smoke, white columns of steam, valves and sliders, gauges and wheels attract young and old alike. The heat and the smell of burning coal; it is all irresistible and the Somerset Steam and Gas Pasture Party makes the experience alive. Alive because this event is not a static display of steam engines, but a working display of live steam from small stationary engines to the massive tractors.



Steam power for agricultural use was introduced in 1849. A few years later, self propelled steam engines were available, but it was not until after the Civil War that steam power began to be widely used for farming.

Steam power increased the amount of land that could be farmed and began a revolution in farm labor that had been dependent on human and animal power for centuries. The massive tractors were able to plow and run threshing machines and corn cutters.

Because of their size and weight, often upwards of 30,000 pounds, the steam tractor was not suited for planting and cultivating and horses were still needed for these tasks. In addition, the tractor was expensive to buy and maintain, and needed a knowledgeable operator. Farmers often pooled resources to buy a tractor which would service several farms.

After 1900, the use of steam power in agriculture declined, and by 1920, steam tractors were obsolete, replaced by the internal combustion engine.

Plowing

Threshing

Firing the boiler