The Last Peerless Sold
The last Peerless ever sold was the 1928 Peerless showroom model of Geiser Company out of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. This engine sat on display until 1936 when it was bought by Harold Claycomb. Harold refused to bring the engine home until it was repainted due to the paint fading over the years. Once the paint job was finished, Harold came to drive his engine back to Oesterburg, PA. Harold drove his engine off the lot in the morning, and the sheriff arrived that afternoon to foreclose the company.
Harold had to get the Peerless from Waynesboro to Osterburg, Pennsylvania, an approximate 75 miles. In today’s terms, you could put it on a trailer and be there in about 2 hours . . . But Harold drove the Peerless. He took the Lincoln Highway (US Route 30) through the mountains while operating this steam traction engine. His top speed was 3 miles an hour. All while also stopping to refill water from streams and creeks and chopping trees to use as fire tinder.
The Peerless was used by the Claycomb family during World War II as the power source for their sawmills. The steam engine was fired to a higher pressure than factory rating in order to produce the power it needed to run two saw mills at once. The family was able to operate safely due to an understanding of the engine and a uniqueness of the boiler. The company outsourced this boiler’s manufacturing to the Downing Company, and it was therefore a heavier build.
The engine was saved from the metal scraping for the War effort and worked on the farm from 1936 through the 50’s.
Once retired from the sawmills, the engine no longer ran and was stored under cover. Due to being stored properly, the engine maintained its integrity through the years.
The Last time the Peerless is Sold
In September of 1976, the Peerless was purchased without firing for $4500 by the Brocht Family. On March 26th of 1977, the Peerless was brought to the Brocht family farm where they worked on bringing it back to running condition. After cleaning out the boiler of squirreled-away corncobs and verifying the integrity of the engine, the friends and family had the Peerless running again. The family affair included getting new flues, welding work, a new paint job, (and a few pies from the matriarch Shirley Brocht to keep the crew running) and saw the engine project complete within a week, on Good Friday of 1977.
Once running, the Peerless became a living legend in its own right:
The Last Peerless Sold