I had only intended visiting the USA from my home in mountainous Austria to buy parts for old motor cycles in Davenport, Illinois - mainly for Harley Davidson and Indian examples, which I occasionally restore. That was until a friend told me about a meeting that was being held at nearby Mount Pleasant for old steam engines.
I was interested right away and we travelled to Mount Pleasant. I recall saying to Hans during the journey that: ‘If only one tractor was steaming, the long journey would have been worth it.’

About three miles away from Mount Pleasant we noticed black drifts of smoke but we couldn’t have dreamed of what we got to see at the show: Dozens of steam engines and traction engines and towing vehicles made by Case, Rumely, Russell and many others; Huge tractors manufactured by Hart Parr, Oil Pull and Avery; as well as stationary engines in large numbers and they were all working. Coming as we do from Alpine Austria we hadn’t seen anything like that before and I must admit that I got infected by the steam virus there and then. I could barely wait for my next journey to the USA to take part in the steam meeting on Labor Day. From then on I’d made up my mind. I too wanted to own a steam engine.

During a journey through the Czech Republic in November 1994, it was gradually getting darker and pouring down with rain, but I saw something special next to an old barn. It was a 1914 portable engine No. 775 made by Wichterle in Prosnitz, - then still part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. I was able to find the owner and he was willing to sell the engine. However, it still took more than a year until I was the proud owner of my portable, since an export permit from the Czech National Museum was required.
Afterwards I immediately and eagerly started the effort to get it working. Although I’d restored several motor bikes and engines up to then, I’d never worked with a steam engine.

Almost completed, with boiler cladding fitted.

I dismantled it and cleaned all the parts, most of which were still in the original colours, so I decided to leave it in its original state. Shortly before completion I subjected it to a water pressure test which showed that the boiler tuber were faulty and had to be replaced. It didn’t take very long until I found a company in Salzburg which still had 20 old roller expanders in stock and they even gave me a helping hand at rolling the tubes. A little later I was able to acquire the rare tools when the company went bankrupt.
Now the portable Wichterle No. 775 is operating again, running like new and is regularly being used for cutting firewood.

Having become a steam enthusiast, I travelled to the Great Dorset Steam Fair. In my mind I had an idea, or rather a dream, of a self-moving steam engine, a traction engine.
Unfortunately there weren’t a lot of engines on offer and those that were were very expensive, apart from a few steam rollers. Although I really liked the English-built traction engines and road locomotives as well as the perfectly restored showman’s engines, I definitely preferred the American workhorses; Case, Rumely, Russell etc., that I so admired in Mount Pleasant. But I thought that an American traction engine will probably remain nothing else but a personal dream.

In July 1996 my friend Hans and I went on a journey to Holland in order to visit the large meeting for tractors and stationary engines in Sevenum. It was a fantastic event and I got to see a Sawyer Massey and a Case traction there. I was fascinated and all of a sudden my dream was omnipresent again. I came back with many addresses of people who traded with tractors and sometimes steam engines. Because of our curiosity we decided to visit some of them.

On our visit to the second trader we struck gold. It was an unrestored but complete traction engine - what’s more, it was a Case - my favourite!
The price was reasonable and although it was only a small step to make my dream come true, I suddenly had doubts about the decision, after all you don’t buy a steam engine every day. I said to Hans: ‘I really like the Case, but unfortunately I don’t have a place large enough to put it into.’ Hans replied: ‘You don’t have enough room for a small one either, do you?’ His logic was correct and so I decided to purchase Case No. 21403 of 1909 - a 45hp example. I didn’t sleep well the following night with the machine haunting my dreams.