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World’s Largest Steam Traction Engine: The 150 HP Case Comes Back to Life

Kory Anderson’s recreated J.I. Case 150 HP Road Locomotive revived a lost 1905 design and became Guinness World Records’ largest steam-powered tractor in operation.
Entry740 Date Time4 min MechanicCarCody Team
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The machine now drawing crowds as the J.I. Case 150 HP Road Locomotive is a modern, working recreation—not one of the original engines built by Case. Kory Anderson and a large skilled-trades team made it from historical drawings, new castings and newly manufactured parts. Guinness World Records recognizes the finished engine as the largest steam-powered tractor in operation.

What the 150 HP Case is—and what it is not

J.I. Case designed its giant Road Locomotive in 1904 and began producing it in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1905. Only nine were built between 1905 and 1907. Every original 150 HP engine was eventually lost, so there is no surviving Case 150 to restore.

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Anderson’s engine is therefore a historical recreation built from scratch. Its purpose is not to pass as an unrestored artifact, but to show how a huge early-20th-century steam traction engine was designed, built and operated. Guinness records the machine as constructed in 2018.

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The numbers behind the record holder

Guinness World Records lists the Case 150 as the largest steam-powered tractor in operation, with a loaded weight of 34,000 kilograms (75,000 pounds). Anderson Industries gives the following working specifications for the recreation:

Specification Published figure Qualification
Length 25 ft Anderson Industries project specification
Width 14 ft Anderson Industries project specification
Height 14 ft Anderson Industries project specification
Boiler pressure 180 psi Anderson Industries project specification
Operating speed 200 rpm Anderson Industries project specification
Top speed 5.69 mph Anderson Industries project specification
Coal capacity 6,000 lb Anderson Industries project specification
Water tank 650 gal Anderson Industries project specification
Loaded weight 34,000 kg (75,000 lb) Guinness World Records’ 2018 record entry

Those figures explain the contrast that makes the engine remarkable: it is enormous and capable of heavy drawbar work, yet its road speed is only a little over five miles per hour. Steam traction engines turn boiler pressure into slow, high-force movement rather than automobile-like acceleration.

How Anderson rebuilt a locomotive that no longer existed

Researching the original design

Anderson began researching original Case drawings in 2007. Because no complete 150 HP engine survived, the drawings were the essential reference for dimensions, assemblies and castings. The project used those historical documents while manufacturing replacement components for a machine that had vanished.

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Making the large castings

Casting work began at Dakota Foundry in Webster, South Dakota, in 2017. Foundry workers produced the large iron components, which then required machining, welding and fitting. The work combined traditional heavy-industry processes with modern engineering and fabrication so the finished machine could safely operate.

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A team effort rather than a one-person restoration

The build involved foundry specialists, machinists, welders, engineers, family members, mentors and volunteers. Their contribution matters to the story: the engine is a functioning demonstration of skilled manufacturing as much as a tribute to Case history.

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“This engine will forever stand as a monument to the men and women who preserved our history for us to experience and enjoy.”

—Kory Anderson

From first fire to public demonstrations

  1. 1904–1905: J.I. Case designed the Road Locomotive and began production in Racine, Wisconsin.
  2. 1905–1907: Case built nine 150 HP engines. None ultimately survived.
  3. 2007: Anderson’s project timeline records the start of research into the original drawings.
  4. 2017: Casting began at Dakota Foundry in Webster, South Dakota.
  5. August 18, 2018: The recreated engine was fired for the first time.
  6. September 8, 2018: It made its public debut at the James Valley Threshing Show in Andover, South Dakota, pulling a 24-bottom plow.
  7. 2019: It appeared in a pull demonstration at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minnesota.
  8. 2022: The engine received Guinness recognition and demonstrated its ability by pulling a 50-bottom John Deere plow.

Can the Case 150 really pull dozens of plows?

Yes, the documented demonstrations show that it can perform serious drawbar work. The debut involved a 24-bottom plow, and the 2022 demonstration used a 50-bottom John Deere plow. The machine also pulled four steam engines up a 13 percent grade during a later demonstration.

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Those are event-specific demonstrations, not a claim that every field, surface or implement would produce the same result. The available record documents 24-bottom and 50-bottom plow pulls; it does not establish a separate 44-plow demonstration.

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Why a recreation can be more useful than a static survivor

Historical artifact versus working interpretation

An original Case 150 would be an irreplaceable artifact, but none remains. Anderson’s engine cannot provide original material or an uninterrupted chain of ownership. It can, however, preserve the design in motion and let audiences see the scale, sound and operating demands of a giant steam tractor.

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Display versus operation

A static exhibit can show paint, proportions and hardware. A live firing demonstrates the boiler, controls, traction and pulling capacity as a system. Public plowing and hill-pull events turn the recreation into an educational working demonstrator rather than a sculpture.

Historical purpose versus modern role

The original Case machines were built for heavy road and agricultural work in the steam era. The recreated engine now serves heritage education, engineering demonstration and public exhibition. Its modern role is to make a lost machine understandable without claiming that it is an original survivor.

Where people have seen it

The first public appearance was the James Valley Threshing Show in Andover, South Dakota, on September 8, 2018. The engine was also demonstrated at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag in 2019. Event appearances can change, so visitors should check the current program of a specific show before traveling; the supplied historical record does not establish a permanent museum home or an ongoing exhibition schedule.

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Why the Case 150 matters

The recreated 150 HP Road Locomotive fills a gap that restoration normally cannot: it brings back a machine for which no original example survived. Its record-setting size is measurable, but its broader value is practical and human. Drawings, castings, machining, welding, engineering knowledge and volunteer labor turned a lost Case design into a machine that can fire, move and pull.

Quick Recap

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Be In Your Mind 12PCS Steam Engine Traction Tire 242-206 25.4mm ID Compatible with Lionel Not Compatible with Berkshire Engines Model Train Tires
Be In Your Mind 12PCS Steam Engine Traction Tire 242-206 25.4mm ID Compatible with Lionel Not Compatible with Berkshire Engines Model Train Tires
Replacing OEM numbers : 242-206, which is a direct replacement for the old or broken one.; The product dimensions are: inner diameter 25.4 mm, width 3.3 mm, and band width 4.8 mm.
$9.39

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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