Incredible Jarred D Ruble sale results
Posted by Chris Graham on 8th November 2022
Peter Love reports on the highlights from the recent Aumann Auctions’ sale of Jarred D Ruble’s incredible vehicle collection.
The late Jarred D Ruble was well known within the antique steam and tractor hobby. A very likeable man, I had the pleasure of meeting him and visiting his collection over the years. He was instrumental in the superb Heritage Park at Forrest City, in North Iowa, USA, and the steam school associated with that location. The Aumann Auctions sale of his early gas tractors, steam engines, gas engines, impressive scale models, huge assortment of parts and a fantastic literature and memorabilia collection, was concluded on September 8th.
The highlight was the very desirable 1910 JI Case 110hp direct steam ploughing engine. This example carries a single-acting water pump and optional 20in wide front wheels (all the wheels have been re-spoked). Most of the Case was purchased out of Manitoba in the 1990s, and then assembled over a 15-year period. The three-row lap steam boiler is in excellent condition and the engine is in full working order, so-much-so that in June this year it pulled an eight-bottom plough very successfully. Much in demand, the final bid for this amazing machine was £171,357.
As for the half-size, 110hp Case steam ploughing engine, built by John Haley of Illinois in 2009 (with a coded boiler by Oliver Engineering), this machine runs at 150psi and the castings used were from Tom Stebritz. He made all the patterns and nine complete sets of casting kits were sold, plus three incomplete sets. Of those kits, six are in operation today. It went on to sell for £73,954.
The superb 1924 Stanley 750 was the 39th made out of a total production run of 102. Its restoration was completed in 2007 by the Noble family, in honour of Robert Noble, who was the president of the Steam Automobile Club of America at the time.
The car features a new boiler and original Solar 1130 lights with the correct Warner-Patterson headlight lenses. The blue and black colour scheme makes for a sharp-looking, elegant car and this really high-end restoration changed hands for £70,347.
As for the steam traction engines, the well-known and rare 1912 Buffalo-Pitts 35hp engine – which was a star at the Rollag, Western Minnesota shows when owed by the Anderson family and in full working order – sold for £63,132.
This auction report item comes from a recent issue of Old Glory, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE