Old Photos
- Thread starter JohnWThomas
- Start date
Partly for versatility. You could drive a sawmill that was under a permanent roof, with a steam engine parked a ways from the building/roof. A long belt could easily cover a wide range of drive or load pulleys.
Partly fire safety (for the day). If you are piling up grain, straw, or sawdust, you'd like your coal/wood fired engine to be at a distance.
These were used in remote areas, with slow access to new goods. If a long belt broke, you could lose a few feet, repair it, and still be able to use the belt.
They got the job done. As a young lad, I helped out on a threshing crew, round about 1970. That thresher was driven by a tractor (gas or diesel) with a side drive pulley, and the same long style belt. Since you had a means to haul grain stalks, back in the day it made sense to haul everything to and from a stationary threshing mill.
Impressive to see running, with those long belts. My sense of them (even as a kid) was that people intuitively knew to stay clear of the belts - haven't seen stats, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have more drive related injuries with PTOs today.
Rgds, D.
Partly fire safety (for the day). If you are piling up grain, straw, or sawdust, you'd like your coal/wood fired engine to be at a distance.
These were used in remote areas, with slow access to new goods. If a long belt broke, you could lose a few feet, repair it, and still be able to use the belt.
They got the job done. As a young lad, I helped out on a threshing crew, round about 1970. That thresher was driven by a tractor (gas or diesel) with a side drive pulley, and the same long style belt. Since you had a means to haul grain stalks, back in the day it made sense to haul everything to and from a stationary threshing mill.
Impressive to see running, with those long belts. My sense of them (even as a kid) was that people intuitively knew to stay clear of the belts - haven't seen stats, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have more drive related injuries with PTOs today.
Rgds, D.