I'm a Steampunk, pt 1

Have you heard of steampunk? If you haven't, I'd say now is your chance!

To me, it's a lifestyle that pays homage to an era that never was but should have been (and could have in many respects). There's this part of me that is absolutely obsessed with steampunk. It's in my blood and comes out in subtle ways every day. I don't dress the part like many a steampunk cosplay afficianado--though the thought has crossed my mind for certain "special" events or holidays. There's something more elegant about the Victorian industrial design motif, especially when compared to the smooth and sleek modern design with all the mechanicals hidden behind a faux metal skin of simplicity.

I think my mindset has a lot to do with my father and his father (and by extension, both sides of the whole family). They are complete train nuts... or perhaps steam technology nuts... to the extent that they both have built multiple fully functional 1/8th scale live steam engines (that's a separate post). I also grew up around large steam tractors at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum in nearby Vista. In fact, my father and grandfather did the initial restoration of this 75-horsepower Case steam tractor. At the AG&SEM, we worked with several other club members and volunteers to restore all kinds of steam engines, equipment, and tractors.

Heck, my "first car" was an 1889 Advance steam tractor (60 horsepower)... well before I drove a car. This is the one (right), from an old mid-80's photo I found on the web. How odd is that? I bet I even parked it next to the sawmill and Case (in background to the left and right respectively) just before this photo was taken. I suppose the photo could also be from the time period when I shared the engineer/fireman duties with Randy Chase (great guy), but I can't tell.

An odd note about the "mere" 75 or 60 horsepower--back in those days, that meant these were equivalent to hitching up 75 or 60 draft horses to one piece of farm equipment. The horsepower of a draft horse was recently calculated at 14.9 horsepower for a short peak period (declining to less than 1 over prolonged periods (for the math geeks, I suppose that would be jerk, acceleration, velocity, and inertia all playing together). This means these two steam-beasts theoretically generate an estimated 1,117 and 894 h.p. if I understand the "then versus now" calculations correctly. Even if I misunderstand them, I've seen these things rip a barn off it's foundation, so I know they have more power than the measly two-digit numbers imply.

So, in a way, there's actual "steam" experience flowing in my veins.

To be continued...