Commentary and photos by Craig Libuse
Two things helped this year's show reach what was no doubt record attendance figures: Great weather and a huge auction on Friday. Gary and Jared Schoenly put together a very large collection of interesting items including a large number of high quality steam engine models from the collections or Clarence Dawson and Bruce Moyer, and the place was packed all day Friday as thousands of items were sold. The crowds were solid on Saturday and were not eager to leave Sunday, as good weather took the apprehension out of the drive home. Below are some photos from the show in case you couldn't make it.
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Friday saw a very large crowd for the auction. Machine tools, accessories, steam engines and gas engines of all sizes and types brought in a big crowd. |
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Some of the boats by Clarry Dawson on preview before the auction. |
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This beautifully made radio controlled steam powered torpedo boat brought $2900 at auction. |
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Two of Clarry Dawson's steam tractor models sold well with the large Case tractor selling for $7200.00 |
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The cancellation of a large live steam train meet down south caused by Hurricane Katrina meant that several large clubs attended the Cabin Fever show instead, making for a large and interesting exhibit of live steam locomotives and layouts. |
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Several layouts were set up with plenty of engines running. |
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George Luhrs always has spectators at his display, as he exhibits his collection featuring the world's smallest running internal combustion engines. George is one of the Joe Martin Foundation's Metalworking Craftsmen of the Year. |
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Craig and Jim manned the Sherline booth. Here we are before the rush begins on Saturday morning. |
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Jim Clark explains the features of Sherline tools to show spectators and also does tool demonstrations for those wanting to see how metal is cut. |
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Steve Peirce won the Sherline Machinist's Challenge contest last April in Detroit at the 2005 NAMES show. He attended the Cabin Fever show and brought with him the tiny Achilles engine that was the top vote-getter. He had added a few details that weren't on the engine at the contest. |
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Steve Peirce's tiny Achilles engine is a tribute to the late Bob Shores. It is a miniature version of one of Bob's engine designs. This is called the ".22 Caliber" version of Bob's Silver Bullet engine. |
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From tiny to mighty--a full-size restored Case traction engine was also on display. |
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A favorite side trip when visiting York, PA is a tour of the Harley Davidson factory and store. Unlike at many dealers, they actually let you sit on the bikes in the showroom, and there is plenty of Harley clothing and souvenirs on sale in the store. The factory tour takes about one hour and is quite interesting. |
For images from the 2005 Cabin Fever Show, click on the underlined words.
To learn more about other Model Engineering shows, CLICK HERE.
Click this link to learn more about the Joe Martin Foundation's Metalworking Craftsman of the Year award. Visit the Foundation page for more details on Mr. Ronnie and all the previous winners and their work.