Brad McKinney of Portersville puts his tractor in drive dragging along a heavy sled as part of a competition Sunday at the Portersville Steam Show. Nathan Bottiger/Butler Eagle

The thrum of moving gears, metal squeaking and engines roaring echoed across the Portersville Steam Show on Sunday, and that’s the way they like it.

Part of Sunday’s particular cacophony came from a tractor-pulling contest, one of many over the show’s four days.

“I’ve been coming here since I was born,” said one of the contestants Brad McKinney, of Portersville. “I love it. I grew up doing this stuff.”

Revving up at the starting line, a tractor lurched forward pulling a large, heavy sled behind it. At points of great emphasis, the tractor would rear back onto its larger back wheels.

A stack of weights added to the tractor’s front end appeared to keep the tractor balanced in that position, which ultimately allowed it to pull the sled a great distance.

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