National Pike Steam Show August 2022

Let's go to the National Pike Steam Show today!

I went on the first day (Friday) of the summer 2022 event. This is the best day to go in my opinion. All of the equipment was running. The level of crowd was just right, enough to enjoy yourself and relax a bit without bumping into people.

If you like the industrial era, and everything that built this amazing country, you can see a little bit of everything there. From classic cars and trucks, to farm tractors, farm rigs, coal and mining rigs, drilling rigs, rock crushers, saw mills, blacksmithing, power generation, arts and crafts, and so on. So much to see, I recommend going multiple days in order to see it all and take it in.

Even though it's called a "steam show", I think the days of actual steam are waning. They have some running static displays, but I only noticed one actual steam shovel working, and that was later in the day. I didn't catch it digging. Just undergoing some maintenance. I don't know why... but my guess is that it's a dying art. Perhaps because you need a team to run steam equipment, and it's a dangerous hobby, for both the operator and the public. I absolutely love it because large equipment can be so quiet and powerful compared to modern equipment. But I understand why we just don't see much of it anymore.

Lots of 1940s+ diesel equipment now. The cable shovels and dragline rigs are fascinating. They built this this country after WWII. I highly respect them and the people who run them. They are nothing like modern hydraulic diggers today. These old rigs take strength and skill to operate. Lots of clutches to engage and release, as well as gravity itself doing the work. Some have mechanical clutches with no assist. Some have air assist. But that's it. It's a very interactive process. I hope to learn to operate one of these someday and keep the spirit alive.

The National Pike Steam Gas, and Horse Association
222 Spring Rd
Brownsville, PA 15417

http://www.nationalpike.com/

Hope to see you there next year!