Rough and Tumble

This is one a post that's been in draft form since an early spring road trip to Lancaster, PA, to visit family. We had a day of exploring as family was either working or in school. We've been in this area before, yet always find something new to us.

It seemed appropriate to post it on Labor Day weekend, a U.S. holiday celebrated annually on the first Monday of September to mark the achievements of American workers. A PA museum we visited focused on agriculture, industry and workers.

Founded in 1948, the Rough and Tumble Engineer Historical Association, is a non-profit, all-volunteer PA museum that celebrated its 78th year in 2026. Located in Kinzer, PA, Lancaster County, it's one of the first and longest running organizations of its type in the U.S. 

The museum celebrates agricultural and industrial history and the men who worked steam and gas-powered farm equipment. Called threshermen, they operated steam or gas-powered threshing machines to loosen and separate grain or seeds from stalks and husks. 

Threshermen would travel between farms with heavy equipment to bring in and thresh the wheat harvest, usually processing crops for multiple homesteads. Crews covered several states and hundreds of miles within a single harvest season. Sadly, the development of the combine harvester in the 1940s and 1950s lead to the demise of the threshermen and their equipment.

The association's name derives from this 1891 text

The rough and tumble name derives from the above 1890s guide for farm machinery, Rough and Tumble Engineering: A Book of Instructions for Operators of Farm and Traction Engines by James H. Maggard. This book was an operational manual for heavy steam and traction engines. 

Rough and Tumble has one of the world’s largest collections of old traction engines on site. There's antique farm implements and machinery and three barns of old steam engines and stationary gas engines, including an Otto-Langen Engine, one of the world’s few surviving examples of the first commercially successful gas engines. Most of these machines are kept in operating condition.

Some vintage steam-powered tractors

Exhibits include a collection of steam tractors, including a restored 1886 Schiedler engine, one of the oldest running steam traction engines in the U.S. There's a working sawmill and shingle mill, a traditional blacksmith shop, a line shaft machine shop, and a detailed model shop. Another building houses a collection of vintage automobiles and commercial trucks. 

One building holds vintage cars and trucks on permanent display

On the grounds there's a large display of kerosene, gasoline and oil-powered tractors from the early 1900s onward, featuring brands like John Deere and Rumely. The machinery is maintained in operating condition and run during the annual Threshermen’s Reunion and other shows. 

Some steam-powered threshers on display

The museum didn't begin as a collection of memorabilia, but as an event. After crops were harvested, steam threshermen and farm families would gather for a reunion and picnic. Manufacturers and salesmen would show new models. Farm equipment dealers, farmers and threshermen organized The Pennsylvania Threshermen and Farmers' Protective Association (PTFPA).

Then, as the days of the steam-powered traction engine waned, two local threshermen's chapters voted to spend remaining funds on a Threshermen's Reunion. 

In 1948, the first reunion was held on the grounds of farm equipment dealer, Arthur Young, across Route 30 from the present location. The son of a custom thresherman, Young operated a steam traction engine during harvest season, before opening a farm machinery business. The PTFPA provided food and advertising for the first event. In 1950, before the second reunion, Young recommended the Rough and Tumble name to the Board of Directors.

In 1951, Rough and Tumble developed a national reputation through promotion in The Iron Men Album magazine (now Steam Traction Magazine) devoted to preserving the heritage of threshing and farm life. Interest grew and the organization began to collect, preserve, restore and exhibit artifacts of agricultural and rural society. 

Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association (from website)

In the mid-1950s, contributors established a fund that allowed the organization to purchase land on the north side of Route 30. Nine acres were initially purchased. Today, Rough and Tumble has expanded to 33 acres and 15 buildings.

Farm equipment isn't the only attraction here. Two working railroads operate on the property. Adults and children can ride around the grounds on a coal-fired 2/3 scale Shay side-geared steam locomotive. 

A 2/3 scale Shay steam engine takes visitors on a ride 

A Shay locomotive is a geared steam engine that originated and was primarily used in the U.S. It's named after Ephraim Shay who invented it in the late 19th century for logging, mining, and steep mountain railways. Unlike standard locomotives that use side-rods connected directly to driving wheels, a Shay uses a side-mounted drive shaft and bevel gears to power every single wheel on the engine and tender.

Little Toot is a smaller ridable steam locomotive for younger visitors.

Throughout the years, Rough and Tumble has hosted events in response to popular demand such as a two-day “Steam School” of hands-on learning, an Antique Tractor Pull, a Spring Steam-Up Day, Blacksmith Days and a celebration of the harvest in October. 

The Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association is located in Kinzer, PA, on historic Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30). There's an admission charge and a separate fee to ride the steam train. We found this excursion was well the cost to explore. If you plan to visit, be sure to check when Rough and Tumble is open as this is a volunteer-run operation.

Other than dates for special events, the Rough and Tumble grounds are generally open for visitors the first Saturday of the month from May through the Time of Harvest event in October. After that, there's no exhibits on the grounds until the Spring Antique Tractor Pull in April.

Best Wishes to U.S. blog friends on this Labor Day Holiday

No holiday travel  for us. Our far-away travels are next week