Iroquois Steam Roller at Mankato KS 2024

Mankato Kansas had their Steam and Tractor show the weekend of July 20 and 21st. We took our Iroquois Steam Roller (built somewhere between 1910 and 1914) there on the 19th to get it ready and do a bit of practice on the parade route. The first clip is the basic area where we ran back and forth to show how it operates. The second is of practice on the parade route. There are no breaks on the roller and there is a bit of an incline to descend so to keep the roller under control you have to use the Revering Lever to slow it down which you can hear the gears don't like a lot and probably isn't the best for it. The last section shows the roller actually doing some work packing down a bit of a gravel road that the tractors use to get up to the Tractor Pull area. It was fairly steep in the upper part which is why he only went as far as he did.
We purchased to roller from a Boiler Repair guy in Missouri. He had gotten it in an auction in Iowa. It had been used for road work in Iowa and then sat in decline for several years till the auction. The Iroquois company where this was built was in Buffalo NY and the head of the company was instrumental in the development of asphalt.

[@858studios5]

The designer was a real genius, whoever made this. It’s small, simple, and compact. All the mechanisms are really basic, nothing wrong with basic, and again it’s all done really nicely. Another thing they did was make it very easy for anyone wanting to repair it to do so, all gears and the engine are very accessible. They also did a very good job of using all the space given, I wish I knew the maker and the stats on this thing.

[@ShellyGunderson]

It is an Iroquois that was manufactured by the Barber Asphalt Co. in Buffalo NY somewhere between 1910 and 1914. That's as close as we can get to the year it was made. Not very good records, they were destroyed or lost. It was operated for a while in Iowa for a Municipality before it sat for years and then the previous owner bought it and repaired it to the condition it is in now. The previous owner restores and rebuilds boilers so we know that is in good shape. Thanks for the comment, it is a very cool piece of machinery though rather difficult to steer. 🤣

[@dukenukem8381]

This is incredible

[@ShellyGunderson]

Thanks, it's different for sure.

[@GoingtoHecq]

This is the coolest motorcycle I've ever seen.

[@briansmith-l1q]

the most unique machine i've seen, and it runs perfectly make more videos of this and more history if you could

[@ShellyGunderson]

Thanks for the comment. I posted this to another reply about what we know of the history and we fully intend to make more videos. It is an Iroquois that was manufactured by the Barber Asphalt Co. in Buffalo NY somewhere between 1910 and 1914. That's as close as we can get to the year it was made. Not very good records, they were destroyed or lost. It was operated for a while in Iowa for a Municipality before it sat for years and then the previous owner bought it and repaired it to the condition it is in now. The previous owner restores and rebuilds boilers so we know that is in good shape.

[@Wasatch95]

What a beautiful machine! Still wearing it's work clothes but you can tell it's been gone over carefully. I can't see so much as a single leaking steam joint or gland! Engine sounds really tight too!

[@ShellyGunderson]

Thank you very much! We go back and forth on whether to pain it or leave it. So far leaving it has won out. 😊

[@Wasatch95]

@ShellyGunderson Speaking as someone in the museum field I think there is a lot to be said in favor of leaving it as is. I love an "as new" cosmetic restoration as much as anyone else but seeing a machine as it was when it was actually working tells a more complete story.

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@Wasatch95 Agreed. That is why we have left so far. Some original paint and pin striping is still visible in the right light.

[@JimRobertson]

Looks like three hands are needed at times!! Didn't see a clutch for switching from forward to reverse😊

[@ShellyGunderson]

Definitely need 3 at times! Ha, yes, no clutch. 😊

[@ordenavide2986]

2 pilots

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@ordenavide2986 Yes.

[@derweibhai]

Amazingly quiet.

[@ShellyGunderson]

It is fairly quiet for what it is. Thanks

[@kenvandevoort7820]

It reminds me of a shay locomotive.

[@ShellyGunderson]

Yes! This is partly why we got it. I like trains and Shays are very cool and we thought this would be similar since we can't have a full size locomotive very easily. 😂

[@kenvandevoort7820]

@@ShellyGunderson We used to live one block from Midwest Old Threshers in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. We could look out the window and see West Side Lumber #9 go by. They also had a steam threshing engine which had a roller up front.

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@kenvandevoort7820 I have been fortunate enough to ride in #9. It would be very cool to be able to see it in action often.

[@kenvandevoort7820]

@@ShellyGunderson I also road the cab of #9 years ago and have a HOn3 Roundhouse shay kit to put together. I also bought an HO scale Iroquois Road Roller kit from Wiseman Model Services. My plan is to put it in front of a shop building and call it Mannheim's Steam Rollers.

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@kenvandevoort7820 LOL That's great! If you do, post a pic so I can see. I have heard of that HO model before.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

Did you pay for all the damage to the road? That was a very large gouge left on that first corner.

[@ShellyGunderson]

We didn't damage anything. That is either looking like that from water coming off the roller or was there before. The roller would flatten not gouge the road.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

@ShellyGunderson I saw black asphalt rolling along the edge during the turn right at the bottom of the frame. We called it a roller cut.

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@tireballastserviceofflorid7771 There was no damage to the road caused by the roller.

[@Wasatch95]

Man you can see that its water coming off of the engine. It's not there when the first roller passes but it appears ahead of the second roller right as the engine passes over. Might even be injector overflow.

[@ShellyGunderson]

@@Wasatch95 Thanks

[@boandlkramer2539]

Damit hätte Deutschland den Krieg gewonnen 😂👍