Hello Folks,

My twin autistic sons have caught the live steam bug and are planning our "guys trip". We visited Kinzers, the whole Strasburg area plenty of times, along with Tuckahoe near our house.

In your preservation option, which summer steam/threshing show offers the most variety of interesting boiler/running-gear designs coupled with a variety of vehicles or locomotives themselves? Through Googling, I've found several candidates in the mid west (we live in Centreville, MD) and our budget only has room for one trip.

Short story long, in terms of bang for your buck, what's the best US steam show over the summer that would be great for budding austic engineers?

Thank you,
Joe Comer

This is the biggest, most diversified operation I know of for all things steam in probably the most intense format (depending on your child, may just be overload)

https://www.oldthreshers.org/other-events/

Yes, it's in Iowa.

Joe,

The Midwest Threshers reunion looks like the place to go.
They have a daily parade of equipment.
https://www.oldthreshers.com/reunion/en ... -of-power/

Hopefully the large crowds would not be a problem for your boys.

Wesley

For steam traction, National Threshers west of Toledo, Ohio has plenty of action, including "locomobiles." Held in late June.

http://www.nationalthreshers.com/


Ederville in NC is another good one - in November. Some rail stuff. Ken Eder, now deceased, owned a business cleaning up train wrecks.

https://www.edervillenc.com/


Further afield is Rollag, MN (southeast of Fargo). It has a full scale railway with two steam locos, plus plenty of traction, etc. Highly recommended. Labour Day Weekend.

https://rollag.com/

Not sure how far you want to travel, but I'll make a pitch for the Thresher's reunion in Denton, NC. It's been a while since I went, but when I did, there were steam rollers, a 'Mike Mulligan' steam shovel, steam printing plant, steam train ride, and more.
https://dentonfarmpark.com/southeast-old-threshers-reunion/

The Rock River Thresheree in Edgerton Wisconsin is easy to reach and also has a narrow gauge steam train operating around the perimeter.

http://www.thresheree.com/

Hi Joecomer
Another trip you could take, is riding the Reading & Northern RR and there locomotive 2102 which is ex Reading.. You could ride there popular trip from Reading outer station to Jim Thorpe, Pa,, a 120 mile round trip..
If you are interested in something like that..
https://www.rbmnrr-passenger.com
The above posts has are also worth looking into,,and I am sure you will get many more suggestions,, ...
The trips sell out fast,, and the railroad has many types of seating,,for the budget minded people,, from coach to 1st class seating...I hope this is a help...Pat.

Not rail, but strictly tractor and portable engines, and maybe worthwhile.

The first is in Berryville, Va., in July.

https://svsgea.org/

There is another in Smithsburg, Md., in September--Facebook page, but it's a community thing, and you should be able to access the site.

https://www.facebook.com/steamandcraftshow/

Finally, I can ALWAYS recommend the East Broad Top.

https://eastbroadtop.com/

Another plug for North Carolina: the North Carolina Transportation Museum is having a 'Sensory Friendly Day' on April 21, 2024. While no operating steam, this might be of interest:
https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/sensory-friendly-day/

Here are a few pics I took at Berryville in 2022 if you want some idea of what to expect there:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAfvrB

I've got several in the West/Northwest

Oregon Rail Heritage Center (Portland, OR):

https://orhf.org/

Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad (Garibaldi, OR):

https://oregoncoastscenic.org/

Northwest Railway Museum (Snoqualmie, WA):

https://trainmuseum.org/

Colorado Railroad Museum (Golden, CO):

https://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/

Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad (Elbe, WA):

https://mtrainierrailroad.com/

Nevada Southern Railway Museum (Boulder City, NV):

https://nevadasouthern.com/

Inland Northwest Rail Museum (Reardan, WA):

https://inlandnwrailmuseum.com/

Forney Museum of Transportation (Denver, CO):

https://www.forneymuseum.org/

Alder Gulch Shortline:

https://virginiacitymt.com/Experience-T ... d-Schedule

Try the steam traction engine page on facebook.

Jensen still makes the little ones, Joe, in their same little "factory" they always have...

http://jensensteamengines.com/hobby.htm :)

Thank you very much for the wonderful suggestions. Speaking of "little live steam", we have an old Wilesco from my dad we fire up occasionally. Some of those midwestern and southern steam-ups seem within reach. We'll probably have to wait until later to make the grand sweep of the west coast, and of course the NG Colorado scene.

Thanks again, I appreciate the feedback.

v/r,
Joe