Victor Horizontal Hit-Or-Miss Engine

Continuing my stroll through the machinery exhibits, I encountered a Victor Horizontal Gasoline Engine. You see “hit-or-miss” engines at every Red Power Roundup, but this was the largest model I had ever seen. Judging by the size of the fly wheel, this beautifully-restored single-cylinder engine must have been rated at about 20 horsepower. With the integrated […]

Hit or Miss Engines

Jim, September 15: You never know what you’ll find on the Teardrop Trail, and the Red Power Roundup in Sedalia, Missouri was no exception. While looking at the expected tractors and other IH memorabilia, I discovered a assortment of “hit or miss” engines. They were first available around 1890 from various manufacturers including International Harvester (after 1902) for […]

Red Power Roundup – 2017 Hit-or-Miss Corn Sheller

I always look forward to seeing the “latest” in really old technology at the ‘Roundup, and this year encountered a great display of International Harvester model LA “hit-or-miss” engines shelling and grinding corn, as well as pumping water.

Photo of the Iowa State Fair Agriculture Building

Finishing Day-Two at the Red Power Roundup

By this time, we’d had a full day. From touring the grounds and seeing the Hit-or-Miss engines to seeing the tractor patriarchs, we were about ready to stop. There was one more large building to investigate though — the Agriculture Building.