Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf

■ LAST DAYS AT LEISTON
■ THE LAST SHOWMAN’S ATWORK
■ CONVERSIONS IN THE 1930s
RECALLING THE EARLY DAYS OF STEAM ON THE ROAD
Traction Engines
Ploughing Engines
Steam Rollers
Vol9 : THE MONO FILES
£8.99

ORDER ONLINE: shop.kelsey.co.uk/OG
OR CALL: 01959 543747
(Lines open 8.30am-5.30pm Monday to Friday) *see website for overseas rates
ALSO AVAILABLE BY POST IN THE
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE SERIES
OUR HERITAGE: AFLOAT
PADDLE STEAMERS ★ STEAM SHIPS ★ STEAM TUGS & MORE
Vol 7 : ON THE WATER
£8.99
OG Colour Files 07 200x270.indd 1
10/02/2022 09:16
THE END OF WORKING STEAM ON THE
ROAD, RAIL AND WATER IN THE 1960s
STEAM RALLIES IN THE 1960s AND 1970s
Vol5 : THE COLOUR FILES Mike Swift&Roy Miller
£8.99
12/08/2021 09:41
Nick Baldwin
Vol6
£8.99
Nick Baldwin
Part
2
Vol8
£8.99
Rallies in the 1950s and 1960s
The making of the famous ﬁlm THE IRON MAIDEN
Engines at the end of their life
Vol 1 : COLOUR FILES
John Crawley
£8.99
OG Colour Files 01.indd 1
12/08/2020 14:22
Vol8
STEAM WAGONS
Undertypes
and Overtypes
Allchin ★ Clayton ★ Foden ★ Garrett ★ Hindley ★ Mann ★ Sentinel ★ Straker ★ Tasker ★ Thornycroft ★ Yorkshire
Vol 2 : THE MONO FILES
John Crawley
£8.99
OG Colour Files 02.indd 1
12/11/2020 09:11
TRACTION ENGINES IN
TROUBLE “ROLL UP, ROLL UP” FAIRS &
FAIRGROUNDS ON THE ROAD
WHEN FOWLER’S HAD A FIELD DAY
Traction Engine
Rarities and Oddities
John Crawley
Vol 3 : THE MONO FILES
£8.99
12/02/2021 15:41
£8.99
each
inc p&p
UK only*

Welcome to Old Glory
Archive Volume 9
Front Cover: Various images from the
Old Glory Archive.
Series Editor: Colin Tyson
Designer: Anita Waters, Publishing Works
Managing Director: Phil Weeden
Publisher: Paul Appleton
Advertisement Sales: Sue Fixter,
Publishing Works
Tel: 01507 499081
sue@publishing-works.com
Published by: Kelsey Publishing Ltd,
The Granary, Downs Court,
Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL.
Telephone 01959 541444,
Fax 01959 541400, www.kelsey.co.uk
T
he archive of photographic images
lodged with Old Glory magazine
built up considerably over the
three decades between 1990 and 2020
and it was always a pleasure to help
enginemen by locating images of their
engines from their commercial past.
Contents
Distributed by: Marketforce (UK) Ltd.,
3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London
E14 9AP. Tel: 020 3787 9001
Printed by: Pensord, Blackwood,
South Wales
© Kelsey Media 2022
all rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden
except with permission in writing from
the publishers. The views expressed in this
publication are not necessarily those of the
Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Media accepts
no liability for products and services offered by
third parties.
ISBN: 26347458
First Published August 2022
We were also fortunate that during
that time our Senior Correspondent
and eminent early steam preservationist
John Crawley provided a host of features
drawn from his own incredible photo
archive. The auction of material after his
passing also enabled the magazine to
purchase several volumes of photographs
from engine manufacturers that were
‘thin on the ground’ in our own archive.
After John died, another of our regular
correspondents, Mike Dyson, who had
already produced the popular ‘Road Test’
articles, where he was invited to drive
other people’s engines, kindly offered
to fill the gap left by John by running a
series of archive features for the magazine
drawn from his own collection.
Mike owns a Garrett tractor and invited
me aboard at an Old Warden rally –
steering between trees and picnicking
families certainly concentrated the mind!
This volume is therefore a tribute to Mike’s
efforts, before we return once again to our
own archive and that of John Crawley’s.
I hope you enjoy the issue.
Colin Tyson
Series Editor
Fysons of Soham 4
London Haulage Contractors 8
Tasker Steam Wagons 12
Conversions in the 1930s 16
Savage Traction Engines 20
Wallis & Steevens Road Engines 24
Wallis & Steevens Steam Tractors 28
Wallis & Steevens Advance Rollers 32
Bernard Fielding Showman’s 36
The Last Days at Leiston 40
Single Cylinder Ploughing Engines 44
Merseyside Showman’s Engines 48
McLarens of Leeds 52
Burrell Single Crank Compounds 56
Showman’s built in 1920 60
Fowells of St. Ives 64
The Last Showman’s at Work 68
Tasker ‘Little Giants’ 72
Round Timber Haulage 76
Late Design Aveling Rollers 80
Lancashire Showman’s Engines 84
Showman’s Engines Lifting 88
John Crawley’s Traction Engines 92
Rollers with Scarifiers 96
3 OLD GLORY ARCHIVE

A FENLAND TRACTION
ENGINE BUILDER
C J R Fyson of The Mount Works, Soham
Cambridgeshire millwrights and general engineers C J R Fyson
& Son of the Mount Works, Soham built just 17 traction engines
between 1894 and 1924 and sadly none have survived into
preservation, says Mike Dyson
R
ichard Fyson the founder of the
business, started as a millwright
repairing and later building
windmills and wind-pumps. As wind-
pumps were quickly becoming obsolete and
being replaced by steam engines, so Fysons
moved with the times and became involved
in the installation and maintenance of
steam pumps – so essential for keeping the
Fenland free from ﬂoods. At the same time,
he became an agent for several agricultural
machinery manufacturers.
In 1891 a portable engine was completed
with varying reports as to its size but
probably an 8nhp. The boiler was hand
rivetted, but the cylinder came from a
scrapped engine. It was used by a local
farmer for threshing and it was last heard
of driving a stone crusher in the 1920s.
Encouraged by the success of the portable
and the increasing demand for engine
repairs, it was decided to enlarge the
premises to include a foundry.
Most of the engines when completed
were used by Fysons in their own contract
threshing business, some hired out and
some later sold. Eventually buyers would be
The first traction engine built was T1, seen here with Charles Fyson standing on a stepladder holding his son.
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE 4
THE MONO FILES

found but they were all in the immediate
area with one engine escaping over the
border into Norfolk and another into
Suffolk.
In 1894 the first traction engine, T1, was
completed. This was remarkably like a
Burrell with a three-shaft layout and two
speeds with the gears outside the hornplate.
The boiler, cylinder casting and motion
were supplied by Burrells. Although the
boiler for the portable had been built by
Fysons, they were not confident they could
provide one that would stand the stresses
of a traction engine. The crankshaft,
countershaft and back axle were provided
by Robeys with the gears coming from
Fowells. The rest of the engine including
the wheels and tender were made by
Fysons. The arrangement of buying in all
the major components continued with the
later engines. Most of the boilers came from
Dodman of Kings Lynn with some from the
Grantham Boiler & Crank Co. Cylinders
were supplied by Burrells with gears usually
sourced from Fowells of St Ives. Clarke’s
Crank & Forge Co of Lincoln supplied a
number of crankshafts. No T1 was used
by Fysons in their own threshing business
and was later sold to Summerlees of nearby
Littleport – probably during WW1 where
it was worked until the business closed in
1947. It was sold at auction complete with
thrashing tackle to a local scrap merchant
and cut up.
T2 followed the next year and like all
their engines was to be an 8nhp, 3-shaft
single cylinder engine. As they were
designed to work in the fens, brakes were
considered unnecessary but when parking
it was essential to remember to chock the
wheels. A pump was fitted but an injector
was thought to be an unnecessary expense.
The engine was used by Fysons and then
annually hired out for the threshing season
to Josiah Aves, a miller at nearby Isleham.
At the end of the season, usually June, it
would be back at Soham for an overhaul.
It was later sold to Lewis Pate of Little
Downham, eight miles north of Soham. In
1922 it was sold back at Fysons who then
fitted a new firebox and used it in their own
threshing business until it sold in 1926 to
J W Brooks of Little Downham where it
worked until 1945 when it was scrapped.
Eight miles to the west of Soham at
T2 in the ownership of Fysons setting out at the beginning of the threshing season under hire to J
Aves.The engine appears to have received a fresh coat of paint. HUGH DYSON COLLECTION
Note the curved flywheel spokes of T3 that were a feature of the early Fyson engines. It would be easy
to mistake the layout of the motion for a Burrell.
This 1940 photograph shows T4 positioning the threshing
machine alongside a corn stack in readiness for a day’s
threshing. HUGH DYSON COLLECTION
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
5

The annual Soham Baptist Church Sunday School outing on its six-mile trip around the area hauled by
T10.The engine is displaying its new registration number – CE 7801 which was issued in 1921 so by
this time the engine will have been at least 10 years old.
Fysons used T9 for over 35 years.The poor quality photograph shows ten men at work.
HUGH DYSON COLLECTION
Haddenham, William Burkitt ran his
threshing business using a portable engine.
Both he and Charles Fyson were friends and
members of the Baptist church. In 1898 T3
replaced the portable and many years later it
passed into the ownership of William’s son,
Percy Burkitt. When the business closed
in 1939 T3 was purchased by Frederick
Peacock & Sons of Haddenham and
continued in work but was out of use by the
early 1950s, then sold for scrap in 1953.
Fysons were usually busy on general
engineering work but when times were
slack progress could be made on building
an engine. This ensured the skilled
workforce would not be laid off when there
was little regular work. In 1900 after a gap
of two years T4 was finished and put to
work. Some years later it was sold to the
Summerlee brothers at Littleport joining
T1. It was probably out of use by the end of
WW2 and sold for scrap.
T5 was finished in 1901, T6 in 1905, T7 in
1905 and T8 in 1907. Two engines were to
be used by Fysons and there were customers
for the other two. Their design was in many
ways a hybrid of a Burrell and a Fowler. One
conspicuous difference was the rear wheel
spokes which were not rivetted to the rim
but held in place by three taper bolts. It is
claimed in the 1960s by one member of
the Fyson family that they never had any
problems with loose spokes! In 1908 T9 was
completed and was hired out to Josiah Aves
to replace T2. This was the first engine to be
fitted with Pickering governors. It remained
with Fysons until the end of the war and
then scrapped.
It was another two years before T10 was
finished. From 1910 to 1944 it worked for
Fysons until it was sold by auction in July
1944. The catalogue described it as “Boiler
fully insured and recently inspected”. The
accompanying equipment included a
Clayton threshing machine and a Fyson built
elevator. Thomas Read & Son bought the
engine for use on their farm at March. It was
out of use after the war and then scrapped.
The only compound engine to be built
was T11 which was constructed from the
remains of Fowler No 11276. This was a
class B6 which was built in 1908 and whilst
en route to its new owners it was lost at
sea. The remains consisting of the boiler
and top works which were salvaged and
purchased by Fysons. The rebuilding was
finished in 1911 and used by Fysons. For
some unknown reason it was not a popular
engine with its drivers. Later, it was sold to
Baldocks of Haverhill and soon returned to
Soham. It was out of use in the yard but was
not included in the 1944 auction and was
later scrapped.
By 1914 T14 was under construction and
later exhibited at the local Ely County Show
presumably with the intention of finding a
buyer. However, the engine was put to work
in the firm’s own fleet of threshing engines
and continued in use until 1948 when it
was sold to Peacocks of Haddenham. It is
possible this was used to replace T3 which
required a new firebox. By the early 1950s it
was out of use and in 1954 sold for scrap.
In 1915 another boiler arrived from
Dodmans and work started on the
construction of T15 which was completed
the following year. It was used by Fysons
but by 1945 a crack had developed in
the firebox and thought too expensive to
repair. It was purchased by Peacocks of
Haddenham as a source of spare parts for
their other Fyson engines. It was finally
scrapped in 1953.
The boiler for T16 was completed by
Dodmans in June 1921 and ready for an
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE 6
THE MONO FILES

T14 parked in Peacock’s yard at Haddenham.The ashpan lays underneath the engine and the
smokebox door is open. Note the Cambridgeshire licence plate No 278 attached to the hornplate.
T15 threshing at Wicken with perhaps the farmer’s wife standing on the
footplate. She is certainly not dressed for work! HUGH DYSON COLLECTION
The rather poor-quality photograph of T17 shows it on the belt but with no
sign of a driver! Notice this engine, like other later engines, has the usual
straight spokes for the flywheel. HUGH DYSON COLLECTION
Almost certainly, the only part of a Fyson engine
to survive is this nameplate.
hydraulic inspection by Fysons. Work
on this engine did not start immediately
as it took some time to order the many
components. By September John Browns
of Sheffield were supplying the T-rings and
spokes for the wheels. Clarke’s of Lincoln
were not able to have “the axle forging
and single bent crankshaft” ready until the
end of the year and Penney & Porter also
of Lincoln did not have the gears ready
until early December. The engine was
finally finished in April 1922 and joined
the firm’s own fleet. At the 1944 auction,
T16 was described as “Boiler fully insured
and recently inspected” and sold to Arthur
Goodman of Ramsey. It was still in use in
1950 and later scrapped.
The final engine built at Soham was T17
which emerged in 1924 and joined the fleet
of Fyson’s threshing engines which did
include Burrells, Fowlers, a Garrett, and an
Allchin. However, T17 was not included in
their 1944 auction and is believed to have
finished work in 1951.
supply almost everything to the local
farming community. No job was too small –
even a couple of hen coups were supplied to
a customer. The vast amount of paperwork
generated before the introduction of the
telephone is unbelievable. Letters, postcards
and telegrams arrived each day in large
numbers. Keeping control of finances must
have been a nightmare with many farmers
for months on end and then often only
paying off part of their debt. It was vitally
important that Fyson representatives were
at Ely’s Thursday market to meet farmers
and remind them how much money they
owed.
Post war, Fyson continued as general
and agricultural engineers eventually
specialising in the building of elevators
for agriculture and the bulk loading
and unloading of ships. In 1991 the
business finally closed and the works were
demolished. The site is now a housing
estate but a little further down the street
is the house that was lived in by Charles
Fyson and his family. Fysons could never be
regarded as traction engine builders. Their
engines, although well made, appeared
on the market too late to compete with
the established manufacturers. With
major components being supplied by
established builders, I am sure there was
an understanding that if they sold their
engines, they would not try to sell them
cheaper. Only five of the 17 engines were
sold directly to customers.
I am indebted to the late Tony Brown
and his father Reg for giving me copies of
their research into Fysons. Without their
timely intervention many of the records
of this small company would not have
survived. Currently a 4in scale model of a
Fyson engine is being built but I am assured
this is a long-term project and will not be
completed for some time. ■
Although only a small business when
compared with other traction builders,
they employed a large number of
people. In addition to the repair of farm
machinery, they were agents for Clayton
& Shuttleworth selling a number of their
threshing machines and also agents for
Ruston & Hornsby oil engines. They could
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
7

SOME LONDON
HAULAGE CONTRACTORS
There were a
number of steam
haulage contractors
in and around
London capable of
moving large loads
such as boilers and
transformers around
the capital, says
Mike Dyson
N
ames such as Rudd, Hickey,
Coulson and Ward worked
around the city demonstrating
their skills and expertise in managing
large engines and sometimes not such
A big load for Ward’s Garrett tractor No 3270 which is ﬁtted with wood-block wheels.The economy
boiler weighs around 25 tons!
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE 8
THE MONO FILES

LEFT: Burrell No 2701 Black Prince is fitted with
rubber tyres and has electric lighting supplied
by a steam turbo-alternator mounted on its
nearside belly tank.
A view of Hickey’s yard in 1920 showing Burrell No 3829 His Majesty
when fitted with a swan-necked jib which was later replaced with a
straight jib. ADAM BROWN COLLECTION
RIGHT: Hickey’s Burrell No 3489 City of London
is returning to Richmond with a boiler weighing
around 15 tons.The engine was photographed
before 1923 as it still on steel wheels. Note the
large acetylene generator mounted on the belly
tank and the three acetylene lamps on the front.
large engines with heavy loads.
Perhaps the best-known London
haulage contractors were Hickeys who
were based in Richmond, Surrey.
They were established in 1881 as boiler
repairers. They soon became boiler
makers and machinery dealers and were
involved in the haulage of machinery
using teams of horses which later
gave way to steam power. Their ﬁrst
large haulage engine was a Clayton &
Shuttleworth compound road engine
named Goliath of which little is known.
In 1914 Hickeys purchased a second-
hand Burrell engine. This was 8nhp No
2701 named Black Prince which had been
supplied to timber merchant James Harris
of Hook Norton, Oxfordshire. After
an overhaul it was to put to work and
in the 1920s the engine was ﬁtted with
rubber tyres and new wheels supplied by
Burrells. In the early 1930s it was sold
to Fred Gray, the well-known showman
based at Hampstead in North London.
The engine was converted to fairground
use and after the war was sold for scrap
but not cut up. In 1962 it was rescued by
Alan Bloom, the founder of Bressingham
Steam Museum and is now preserved in
Scotland.
In 1919 Hickeys purchased another
second-hand Burrell No 3489. This was
a 6nhp road engine built in 1913 for
Ponsford of Topsham, Devon. It had an
overhaul and was named City of London.
In October 1923 new wheels complete
with endless rubber tyres were supplied
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
9

Again the same long beam with Fowler No 14861 moved to the front. Note the steel strakes on the
rear wheels and rubber tyres on the front.
Crossing one of the London bridges with a heavy load is Garrett tractor No 33380 owned by Coulsons.
Two policeman are required to assist in the haulage of this
very long beam. Coulson’s Fowler No 9904 heads up the
road train with Fowler No 14861 at the rear.
by Burrells and fitted to the engine. The
engine was regularly used for the haulage
of boilers and other loads, ranging from
barges to ship’s propellers. By 1931
steam haulage was no longer economic
and the engine was put up for sale but
did not find a buyer until 1935. The
new owner was Dagenham showman
Swales Bolesworth who converted it to
a showman’s engine. Two years later it
was sold to Teddy Andrews of Tunbridge
Wells who renamed it George VI and it
retired from the fairgrounds in 1948. It is
now preserved in Oxfordshire.
A useful engine for a boiler maker
is a crane engine. Hickeys purchased
Burrell 6nhp crane engine No 3829 from
Hoopers of Liskeard, Cornwall, which
had been delivered in March, 1920 and
named Mount McKay F W C. after a
Canadian mountain. By October of that
year it had been purchased by Hickeys,
complete with its swan-necked jib. The
engine was lettered with Hickey’s name
and the engine renamed His Majesty. It
was not long before the jib was found to
be unsatisfactory and it was replaced with
a straight jib. Unlike the other engines it
continued to be in use after the other steam
engines had been sold. It continued in use
until 1950 and was later restored by the
firm. It is now preserved in West Sussex.
Another haulage contractor operating
in the London area were Coulsons based
at Park Royal in West London. They
had started in business near Sleaford,
Lincolnshire, specialising in the haulage
of gravel pit barges. By 1925 they had
relocated to London moving and erecting
heavy machinery. One of their biggest
contracts was moving two 75-ton
transformers to a hydro-electric power
station in Scotland from the local railway
station. There were no proper roads
across the open moorland and it took
three weeks to cover just twelve miles!
Coulsons purchased Fowler class R3
No 14861 in 1925. It had been built for
the War Dept in 1917 and was bought
in 1920 by Edgar G Edgar. For some
unknown reason the engine was re-
possessed by the War Dept in 1923 and
two years later was with Coulsons. The
business was taken over by Pickfords
in 1941 and the Fowler went out of use.
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE 10
THE MONO FILES

Part of a crane is being hauled through Ipswich by Rudd’s Fowler No 14921.Although fleet No 147, this was the only large engine operated by Rudds.
In 1946 it was sold to Allan Knight of
Huddersfield and scrapped.
Another big engine owned by Coulsons
was Fowler class B5 No 9904 which
was supplied to E.W Wright of Alton
in 1904. Although an old engine, it
was purchased in 1929 for the Scottish
contract and was used throughout the
1930s. In 1943 it was purchased by
Samuel White of Owlesbury, Hampshire,
for use as a threshing engine and
then sold to a Norfolk nursery for soil
sterilisation. It is now preserved in
Yorkshire.
In addition to the Fowlers, Coulsons
owned a number of steam wagons and
steam tractors. Garrett 4CD tractor
No 33380 was part of a large order by
the Ministry of Munitions which left
Leiston in 1918. After the war it was
purchased by Coulsons initially working
in Lincolnshire and later in London.
By 1945 it was in the ownership of
Hickeys who appear to have had little
use for the tractor. It was sold in 1953 for
preservation and has now been converted
to a showman’s tractor.
The Rudd haulage business was started
in 1889 with premises in Westminster. It
was not long before they made the move
to Bow where they were near engineering
works, shipbuilders and the docks.
Edward Rudd was a great friend of Frank
Garrett and it is not surprising he owned
a number of Garrett wagons but he was
also an agent for Couthard and Sentinel.
In 1921 Rudds wanted a large engine and
purchased Fowler class TE2 No 14921
which had been built for the War Dept in
1917. It was converted to a crane engine
and used frequently for delivering boilers
to the docks. It had little use after the
war and in 1950 went to Goodmans of
Tottenham to be scrapped.
In 1933 Rudds had the contract to move
a 120-ton transformer from Hackbridge
near Croydon to the new Barking Power
Station in Essex. To help with the work
Hickeys assisted with their Burrells No
3489 City of London and No 3829 His
Majesty. The load was too heavy to travel
over any of the Thames bridges. It was
unloaded at Rotherhithe and lifted onto
a barge with a 200-ton floating crane.
The barge with the transformer was then
taken across to the north side of the
Thames where it was re-loaded on to its
trailer for the final stage of the journey.
Thomas Ward of Silvertown in the
east end of the capital were machinery
merchants specialising in the supply and
erection of boilers. Their main business
had been established in Sheffield in 1877
as coal, coke and iron merchants later
moving in to the scrap metal business.
They did not have any big road locos
but a small fleet of overworked Garrett
tractors.
Garrett 4CD tractor No 32740 was
purchased in 1915 and was fitted with
Bauly Tangent wheels which had a
composite wood and rubber tread,
noted for their quiet running and non-
slip properties. By the 1930s Ward’s
Silvertown operation was concentrating
more and more on scrap metal with less
work for the tractor and in 1937 it was
scrapped.
For a short time between the two
world wars steam was the ideal
method for the haulage of large loads –
particularly heavy bulky items such as
boilers and transformers. By the 1930s
steam was slowly giving way to the
likes of Scammell and Albion and after
the war steam was no longer being
used for heavy haulage. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
11

M ARCHIVE
TASKER STEAM
WAGONS
Between 1910 and 1924 Taskers of Andover produced 121
wagons with the majority being 5-tonners, says Mike Dyson
F
rom the early 1900s Taskers
developed their ‘Little Giant’
steam tractors which became one
of the most successful on the market.
The tractor formed the basis for a 5-ton
wagon overtype wagon with the first one
completed in 1910 in time to be exhibited
at the Gloucester Royal Show. However
after the First World War the Tasker
wagon design was somewhat dated and
sales declined rapidly. The business went
into decline and in 1932 the company
was saved when it was reorganised as
a builder of trailers for commercial
vehicles. In 1938 the Air Ministry
required a recovery trailer to carry an
entire fighter aircraft. On receipt of the
tender it took just 10 days for Taskers to
not only produce a written and costed
proposal, but they also built a prototype
trailer. Could a British company respond
in a similar way today?
Like the steam tractors, much of the
design work of the steam wagon was
The wagon supplied to Southend-on-Sea Corporation No 1430 was fitted with a firehole door on the side of the boiler, similar to those of Mann wagons.
THE MONO FILES

The tipping gear fitted to No 1454 was manually operated although some of the later wagons were fitted with an arrangement driven off the flywheel.
Notice the absence of the flywheel at the end of the crankshaft.
Wort & Way took delivery of No 1722 in 1917 and it last worked for Arthur T Booth (Manchester) Ltd in
the early 1930s. PETER LOVE COLLECTION
carried out by George Hoare. It was a
typical overtype wagon with a Belpaire
boiler and like those fitted to the B2
tractors. However, the boiler was shorter
and of greater diameter, so it had a greater
heating surface. Some of the boilers had
the firehole door at the side, similar to
the Mann wagons but this feature was
discontinued after 1911 apart from
one built in 1922. However, this may
have fallen foul of Mann’s patent. The
boiler was fitted with 48 1½in tubes and
operated at 200psi. It was usual to fit two
injectors but a pump could be supplied.
The compound engine had cylinders
of 4½in and 6½in with a 7in stroke for
the 5-tonners but the bore and steam
pressure were increased for the four
larger wagons that were built. The engine
had valves operated by Stephenson link
motion but utilised a proper double high
system so that high pressure steam could
be admitted simultaneously into both
cylinders. Like the tractors, the wagons
had fast-revving engines and was claimed
to produce almost 30bhp at 340rpm.
Experiments were conducted to do away
with a single flywheel and use four small
15in flywheels instead in an attempt to
have a better-balanced engine. However
few wagons were produced with this
arrangement as it was a lot cheaper to fit
a single flywheel. Most wagons had two-
speeds but if solid rubber tyres were fitted
a third speed was an optional extra. The
Commercial Motor was impressed with
the differential locking gear which could
be operated from the footplate but this
was only available as an optional extra.
Chain steering was used apart from two
which had Ackerman steering.
The first wagon to be completed was No
1418 which was dispatched in February
1910. The fourth wagon No 1430 left the
works in July 1910 and was described
as a “steam watering van” – used for
spraying water on dusty roads. To achieve
a shorter wheelbase, the wagon was fitted
with a side-fired boiler. It was thought
the fireman’s perch was rather dangerous
and later wagons beginning with No
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
13

No 1678 might have been the first of a large number of wagons supplied to Dutfields but instead they chose to purchase Sentinels in large numbers.
Perhaps the beer drinkers around Bishop’s Waltham had immense thirsts so that a small brewery
would require a steam wagon such as No 1616 to make regular deliveries to its 11 pubs. By this time
the design had reverted to a standard flywheel.
1475 had the firehole door fitted in the
normal position so the fireman could
have a safer seat beside the driver. No
1418 was supplied to Southend-on-Sea
Corporation which used it up until 1930
by which time most roads had been
tarmacked and the wagon was no longer
required for spraying dusty roads. It was
later sold for scrap.
In 1911 the Enderby & Stony Stanton
Granite Co Ltd, south-west of Leicester,
took delivery of two wagons. Both Nos
1554 and 1455 were tippers and the
shorter wheelbase for the tipping gear was
achieved by again using a firehole door
on the side of the boiler. Wagons working
in quarries would have been hard work
with excessive strains and wear on all
the components. Both wagons were used
until 1929 when they were sold for scrap.
No 1616 was a more orthodox design
with a single flywheel. The 3-ton wagon
was supplied in 1914 to Edwards’ Brewery
of Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire, to
supply its 11 pubs. In 1923 the Winchester
Brewery purchased the business and no
doubt cost saving and rationalisation
was the order of the day with the wagon
scrapped the following year.
H & G Dutfield, the heavy haulage
contractors of Smithfield purchased five
Foden wagons in 1914 and 1915 but at
the end of 1915 purchased two 5-ton
wagons from Taskers, Nos 1678 and 1681.
Taskers did not receive any further orders
from Dutfields who went on to purchase
26 Sentinels and a further six Fodens. No
1678 was sold in 1921 to Charles Walker
of Canning Town and by 1923 was with
J.A King of Hayes, Middlesex, and was
eventually scrapped.
Tasker’s best customer for steam wagons
was the public works contractors Wort &
Way of Salisbury who purchased a total
of twelve wagons. The first was ordered in
1915 but in 1920 eight were delivered. In
1923 the business together with the fleet
of around 50 steam wagons was taken
over by Hodgson Road Contractors Ltd
of Manchester. Throughout the 1920s
many of the wagons were sold but the
Tasker wagons continued in use. There
were further changes in 1930 when
the business became Arthur T Booth
(Manchester) Ltd. It was not long before
all the steam wagons were scrapped.
The Hampshire millers, J.H Bradfield &
THE MONO FILES

Although built in wartime, there is little sign that No 1749 was painted with economy in mind.
The first of the Forfarshire wagons No 1849 was based at Dundee.The chain drive to the tipping gear can be seen below the motion cover.
Son of Stockbridge owned a Tasker Little
Giant tractor and two Foden wagons. In
1918 they added to their fleet with the
purchase of Tasker 5-ton wagon No 1749.
The Fodens were scrapped by the late
1920s but the Tasker continued to work
into the 1930s. In 1934 the wagon was
sold to the Chichester showman, James
Cole who also operated a scrap metal
business.
Forfarshire County Council purchased
two 5-ton tippers in 1921 (Nos 1849 and
1850) to add to their fleet of four Tasker
Little Giant tractors. The following year
a further order followed for another two
5-ton tippers (Nos 1908 and 1922). All
four wagons continued in use until 1932
when they were sold for scrap.
When Taskers launched their wagon
in 1910 it was similar to many others
on the market. The use of the four
small flywheels and the placing of the
firehole door at the side of the boiler
were good features but they were soon
discontinued in an attempt to make the
wagon cheaper and more competitively
priced. They had a reputation as good
steamers and were frequently overloaded
without causing any problems. The
war years limited the scope for
improvements to the design but after
the war this was vitally important. By
this stage other manufacturers had
updated their designs and overtypes
built by Sentinel, Garrett and Yorkshire
were setting new standards in speed and
efficiency. Taskers were a small company
and did not have the capital to invest in
new models. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
15

CONVERSIONS
IN THE 1930s
The conversion of traction engines is not a modern
phenomenon. In commercial days it was not unusual to
convert an engine for a different purpose if it was financially
worthwhile, says Mike Dyson
ABOVE: To supply power to even a small Ark
a 6nhp engine such as Burrell No 3489 King
George VI has to be worked hard.
LEFT: Mrs Symonds’ Burrell No 3979 Earl Haig
was photographed at one of the London fairs.
Notice the canopy stays have not been fitted
with twisted brass.
ABOVE RIGHT: Burrell No 3836 Starlight at
Wormwood Scrubs Easter Fair in 1939.After
dark it was generating for the Dodgems
although it says ‘Light’ning Skid’ on the canopy.
RIGHT: Heal’s engines and rides were always
well turned-out and Burrell No 3980 Her
Majesty was no exception.The ‘Broadcast Show’
may refer to a radio broadcast from Heal’s
fairground.
THE MONO FILES

A
fter the First World War there
was a great increase in road
traffic. Large numbers of internal
combustion engine lorries became available
at war surplus sales. Petrol lorries were
ideal for light haulage but the heavier work
was more suited to steam. The cost of
haulage by road became so much cheaper
than sending it by rail.
The railway companies argued this
competition was unfair. In 1900 the annual
cost of roads was £12 million but by 1932
the cost had risen to £61 million. The cost
was in effect paid for by taxpayers. The
cost of maintaining the railway network
was £64 million, paid for by the railway
companies. The Salter Report dated July 29,
1932, proposed that mechanically propelled
vehicles should contribute the whole of
the £61 million with £23½ million coming
from commercial road vehicles and £36½
million from other road users. What made
matters worse for steam operators was
the Report noted that there was a duty
of 8d duty on a gallon of petrol but there
was no duty to be paid on coal, so there
was therefore a hidden subsidy for steam
vehicles. The vehicle licence fee was the
same for all types of vehicle and this was
thought to be unfair as heavy vehicles did
more damage to the roads.
The Report recommended the licence duty
for commercial vehicles should to be based
on weight and the findings of the Report
formed the basis of an Act of Parliament
- ‘The Road and Rail Act 1933’. However,
agricultural engines and showmen’s engines
were treated less severely and were not
subjected to the same increases in duty. The
effects of the changes in legislation are well
known with steam wagons some almost
new being withdrawn from service as the
cost of taxation made them uneconomic
to operate. Road locos fared little better
especially as solid rubber tyres attracted
additional costs to the vehicle duty.
Showmen realised that good road locos
could be purchased very cheaply and once
converted with the addition of a dynamo
were ideal for hauling and generating for
their rides. A converted Burrell engine
was a good economic proposition when
compared with an Armstrong-Saurer ‘oiler’
which were available after 1930. These
were hard times as the country was going
through a terrible economic depression
with large numbers of people unemployed.
The fairground business was obviously
affected as people without jobs were not
going to have any spare cash to spend at a
fair. Many of the conversions were therefore
carried out by the showmen themselves
utilising old equipment where possible such
as the dynamo bracket, dynamo, canopy
and supports. Many of these conversions
replaced existing engines which needed
major repairs. Buying a cheap road loco
was preferable to paying to have a new
firebox fitted to an existing engine.
Burrell No 3489 is an unusual looking
6nhp engine as it was supplied with the
usual 6ft 6in rear wheels but had smaller
4ft 1½in ones on the front. It was built in
1913 for Ponsfords of Topsham, Devon, but
by 1921 was with Hickeys, the well-known
London boilermakers. It was named City
of London and in 1923 it had replacement
wheels of the same size supplied by
Burrells and was fitted with solid rubber
tyres. It was converted in 1935 for Swales
Bolesworth of Dagenham for use with
his new Lakin Ben Hur Speedway. Two
years later it was sold to Teddy Andrews
of Tunbridge Wells who renamed it King
George VI in honour of the new king. The
engine went to work with an Orton &
Spooner Ark known as the ‘Jungle Thriller’
which is now owned by the Carter family.
King George VI was retired in 1948 and
soon afterwards purchased for preservation
and has now been owned by the Wharton
family for over 70 years.
Noah Judd of Chackmore in
Buckinghamshire took delivery in 1920 of
a Burrell 6nhp road loco No 3836 which
was named Starlight. The engine was
used for timber haulage, passing to new
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
17

By 1941 Burrell No 4042 Robin Hood was looking a little tired.The canopy reads ‘Robinson’s Tower Speedway’ – an unusual description for an Ark
Many of the engines converted in the 1930s spent only a short time on the fairgrounds. Fowler No
13468 Queen Mary was only used for three seasons.
owners in 1923 and was finally used by
Gloucestershire timber haulier Charles
Butler of Blockley. He had two Burrell road
engines for sale. In 1934 Bob Edwards the
well-known Swindon showman bought
both engines selling No 2759 to showman
H Jones of St Blazey, Cornwall. Starlight
was immediately put to work hauling the
Dodgem loads. It was later converted to full
showman’s specifications and the canopy
lettered ‘Light’ning Skid’ in anticipation of
buying a Skid. However, the ride was not
purchased. Starlight was the last steamer to
be used by the firm. It remained in use up
to 1939 when it was retained as back-up for
the diesels which by now had replaced the
other steamers.
Edward Symonds used a Burrell
showman’s tractor and after his death his
widow, Flo, carried on the business with
her sons. She sold the tractor and in 1937
purchased Burrell 6nhp road engine No
3979 from Taylors of Midsomer Norton,
Somerset. This had been new in 1924 and
had been worked hard on timber haulage.
Over the winter of 1937 the family carried
out the conversion and named the engine
Earl Haig. It was then put to work with
Burrell No 3833 Queen Mary with their
Lakin Ark which they had purchased
new in 1934. The ride called ‘The Jungle
Speedway’ was jointly owned with Mrs
Symonds brother-in-law, James Cook. The
engine was only used for four seasons and
in 1943 sold to Darby’s of Sutton in the Isle
of Ely to be used for driving a thrashing
machine. It was dismantled and remained
derelict in the open for more than 20 years
when it was purchased for preservation by
the late Stan Burgess.
Haulage out of the Bath & Portland Stone
Firms Ltd quarries was exacting work and
required large engines. The headstones for
all the war cemeteries across France and
Belgium were supplied by these quarries.
Burrell 8nhp No 3980 was delivered
in 1924. After eight years it must have
done some hard work hauling blocks of
stone but was purchased by the famous
West Country showman Charles Heal to
replace Fowler No 9383. The engine was
overhauled, converted and repainted and
named Her Majesty. The engine was used
with a Swirl. In 1941 the engine was sold
to Mrs Amy Lock of Plymouth for use
with a Noah’s Ark and the following year
both ride and engine were sold to William
THE MONO FILES

Townsend’s Fowler No 15319 Queen Mary is well-polished and looking very smart. Note the size of the
dynamo.
For such a large engine, McLaren No 1716 Miracle appears to have very small wheels.
Armstrong of Long Eaton, Derbyshire. Her
Majesty was out of use at the end of the
1945 season and was later scrapped.
Another engine purchased from the Bath
& Portland Stone Firms Ltd was Burrell
8nhp No 4042. It was purchased new in
1926 and worked on stone haulage for ten
years when it was sold to Ernest Robinson
of Barnsley. He converted the engine and
named it Robin Hood. The family had
purchased a Lakin Noah’s Ark and this was
their first traction engine. After the war
Robin Hood laid out of use until purchased
by the Sheffield Model Engineering Society
and later scrapped.
In 1914 Fowler class R3 road engine No
13468 was delivered to Kent Haulage at
Hoo Street, Weyburgh. They named the
engine My Lady of Kent. After the war it
was sold and after another three owners
was purchased at auction by showman
George Rogers of Chipping Sodbury in
1932. It had little use and was sold again
in 1936 to Bristol showman, Sam Smart.
The engine was now converted with the
addition of a full-length canopy and a
dynamo unlike their other Fowler road
engine No 12702 which was acquired in
1938 and never fitted with a dynamo. No
13468 was named Queen Mary but by 1939
it was all change again as the engine was
sold to W.E Chivers for road haulage and
later in the war was scrapped.
Another engine that entered showland
service after working in the Portland
quarries was Fowler class R3 road engine
No 15319 which was supplied to the War
Dept in 1918. It had two commercial
owners in Newbury and by 1921 was
hauling stone out of the quarries for
Frederick Barnes of Easton, Dorset, and
named Nellie. By 1936 the engine was
out of use and it is claimed the showman,
Richard Townsend of Weymouth,
purchased the engine plus another for just
£25. The engine was converted and named
Queen Mary which seems to have been a
popular name at that time. Later the brass
fittings were chrome plated but this was
soon changed back to plain brass! At first
the engine worked a set of Gallopers and
later with a Lakin Ark. By 1948 Queen
Mary was retired and was purchased in
1950 for preservation.
Twenty McLaren road engines were
converted for use by showmen. In 1923
McLarens exhibited 8nhp road engine
No 1716 at the Newcastle Royal Show.
It was purchased by Stubleys of Batley,
Yorkshire, for the transportation of goods
in connection with their woollen mill. By
1933 it had been bought by Christopher
Thompson of Keighley to replace 6nhp
Aveling road engine No 8336. The McLaren
was converted for fairground use possibly
using parts from the Aveling. The engine
was now named H.R.H Christina Rose
but this was soon changed to Miracle.
By 1942 it was no longer working on the
Yorkshire fairgrounds but was being used
for heavy haulage by Bentleys of Bradford.
Three years later it was with Allan Knight
of Huddersfield who sold it on to Tom
Harniess, the Doncaster showman.
However, it was scrapped soon afterwards.
The 1930s was the last decade of steam
on the fairgrounds. Diesel generating sets
such as the Fowler-Sanders were more
convenient, with no waiting time for raising
steam or the need for an engine driver in
constant attendance. With the end of the
war in 1945 and the availability of large
heavy diesel ex-military tractors that were
cheap to buy, it was the end of steam. A
few traditionalists hung on to their steam
engines but they were soon set aside with
the march of progress. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
19

SAVAGE
TRACTION ENGINES
Towards the end of the 19th century there were a
number of builders such as Dodman, Tuxford and
Holmes who built a few traction engines and then
quietly disappeared. However, Savages did fare better as
they gradually concentrated on producing fairground
rides, writes Mike Dyson
Samuel Wright, the owner of the chain drive engine, is standing on the footplate.The mounting on the crankshaft next to the chimney was to give
sufficient space for the chain drive to the second shaft and rear wheels.
THE MONO FILES

S
avage’s are best known for the
many sets of Gallopers that
have survived into preservation.
However, Frederick Savage started his
business manufacturing agricultural
machinery in King’s Lynn in1853. Repair
work dominated the order books after
the Second World War and the company
finally closed in 1973.
The business started as a small workshop
repairing and making simple farm tools.
It was not long before small steam engines
were built, with many being supplied for
marine purposes. By the end of the 1850s
the first portable engines were being built
which were soon followed by traction
engines. As the popularity of Savage’s
products increased, larger premises
were needed and in 1873 a large site was
acquired whereupon the St Nicholas
Ironworks was built, complete with its own
foundry.
Typical of the early period of traction
engine development, the drive from the
crankshaft to the rear wheels was via a
chain. Various refinements were made to
the design but the biggest improvement
was the adoption of all gear transmission.
By the 1870s two distinct types of
traction engine were being produced: the
‘Agriculturist’ and the ‘Sandringham’. The
‘Agriculturist’ could be used as a ploughing
engine using the annular space around
each of the rear wheels as a winding drum
and as a general purpose traction engine.
The rear of the engine had to be jacked
up so the winding drums could operate
using a system of anchors and a plough. It
continued in production until 1884. Other
attempts at cultivation equipment were the
Darby Digger but the successes of Fowler’s
double engine system were well established
by this time.
The ‘Sandringham’ class was a more
conventional general-purpose engine and
was their most successful design. Various
modifications were made including the
use of a very slow speed gear. This might
not seem important but manoeuvring a
thrashing machine in the confined space of
a farmyard with a single cylinder engine is
very difficult and the extra slow speed gave
the driver so much more control.
The demand for fairground equipment
was so great that the company started to
move away from producing agricultural
equipment with traction engine
No 364 is shown when out of use.The valve chest on this engine is on the
flywheel side but there are examples with it on the gear side.
A pause in thrashing for the photographer to record No 138 at work with a thrashing machine. Note the drive chain has been disconnected and annular
gear on the inside of the rear wheel which is driven by a cog on the end of the second shaft. JOHN SPARROW COLLECTION
No doubt this photograph of No 291 was taken after the day’s thrashing.
Notice the heavy type of governor has been replaced with a Pickering.
DAVID BLISS COLLECTION
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
21

No 157 at work at Cottenham in 1905.The engine is fitted with an ‘inching gear’, which is a
toothed gear on the inside of the flywheel.
What appears to be the end of a long working life of over 50 years for No 388. Looking behind the
flywheel can be seen the two sections of the hornplate rivetted together.
production gradually coming to an end.
The identity of the first photograph
is somewhat problematic. It could be
either No 124, 129, 143 or 149 as all four
of these engines were 8nhp chain drive
engines supplied to Barford & Perkins of
Peterborough. Most of these engines were
re-sold to customers who not only bought
the engine but also Barford & Perkins
ploughing equipment. The engine in the
photograph was re-sold to Samuel Wright
of Barrowden, Rutland, who was already
an established thrashing contractor using
portable engines but there is no record of
him owning ploughing equipment. Whilst
Wright and some of his men were pushing
a thrashing machine into a barn, it rolled
backwards crushing Wright against the
front of the engine and he later died of his
injuries.
Another chain drive engine but with
steering from the footplate is 8nhp No 138
which was purchased by Thomas Martin
of Littleport near Ely in 1875. There was
an overlap in production of the steering
position in front of the smokebox to that of
the usual arrangement with steering from
the footplate and both types were available
in 1875. The general arrangement is much
the same with the crankshaft placed next
to the chimney although the flywheel is
now on the nearside. The wheels are made
of wrought iron with spokes rivetted to a
T-ring, an improvement on the earlier cast
iron wheels.
John Maskell of Cottenham near
Cambridge took delivery of No 157 in
1876. Again, this is an 8nhp engine but it is
fitted with cast iron wheels and the steering
is in front of the smokebox. These early
designs were all single speed and when
driving a thrashing machine, the drive
chain had to be disconnected. The final
drive from a cog on the end of the second
shaft to an annular gear inside the rear
wheel must have caused problems with
mud and stones being regularly caught in
the gears. When on the road sharp corners
had to be negotiated by taking one of the
driving wheels out of gear.
Most engines supplied by Savages were
8nhp. No 291 left the works in 1883
for Thomas Emblin under steam to be
driven the 15 miles to Tydd St Giles.
THE MONO FILES

The engine eventually passed to Thomas
Emblin’s son Ernest and worked for the
family until it was joined by a Clayton &
Shuttleworth which was purchased new
in 1907. Both engines were sold in 1947
to Eric Ladbrook, a scrap metal dealer of
Holbeach, Lincolnshire. Although many
engines were being scrapped at this time,
there was little profit to be made when
cutting up an engine. When the cost of
gas, wages and transport are taken into
consideration, the scrap metal dealer
would be lucky to make a profit of £5.
No 364 was delivered to Frederick
Stratton of Swaffam, Norfolk in 1885
and named Perfection. This was a
‘Sandringham’ class rated at 8nhp with
a cylinder of eight and five-eighths inch
bore with a 12 inch stroke and is described
as having a ‘light pattern’ cylinder which
is the same size as the 7nhp engines. The
boiler pressure was limited to 120psi
with the hornplates made in four pieces,
no doubt to avoid infringing the Aveling
Patent. By the early 1920s the engine
had been sold to Herbert Loveday of Old
Buckenham, Norfolk. For some years it
was out of use and early in the 1950s it was
scrapped.
In 1886 William Rust of Buxton Lamas,
Norfolk, took delivery of No 388, a 7nhp
engine. By 1902 the business was being
run by sons, James and Robert Rust. Over
the years a number of Savage engines
were owned. No 528 a 7nhp engine was
purchased new in 1891, No 808 another
7nhp was new in 1903 with No 728 built in
1898 named Enterprise purchased second-
hand in 1914 and finally 7nhp No 463 built
in 1889 was acquired in 1944. After the war
the traction engines were replaced with
Field Marshall tractors which in 1947 were
used to tow the now redundant engines
to John Slender’s yard at North Walsham
where they were eventually scrapped.
Savage No 614 was supplied new to the
well-known South Wales showman John
Studt. It was a 7nhp single crank compound
named Shamrock and had an annular
compound cylinder. Three piston rods were
fitted - two for the low-pressure cylinder
and one for the high pressure - all working
on a common crosshead. This was a very
complicated arrangement and only three
engines of this type were built. No 614
was not a success and was soon sold. The
new owner was also dissatisfied and the
engine was returned to King’s Lynn where
the compound cylinder was removed and
replaced with a conventional single cylinder.
The engine was purchased by Richard Drake
of Sutton near Ely for use in his contract
thrashing and forage business, already the
owner of five Savage engines. In 1935 the
engine was purchased by Fred Darby &
Sons, also of Sutton and worked for them
into the 1940s and was scrapped in 1954.
Towards the end of the nineteenth
century there were a number of traction
engine builders such as Dodman,
Tuxford and Holmes who built a few
engines and then quietly disappeared.
However, Savages did fare better as they
gradually concentrated their business on
the production of fairground rides. For
a short time they produced a few steam
tractors and steam wagons but these
were little more than experiments. Three
Savage traction engines survive: a 7nhp
‘Sandringham’ and two replica chain
engines which were built in 1975. ■
This photograph of No 614 clearly shows Savage’s patent slow-speed third
gear.When the lever is raised vertically and locked into position, the low-
speed gear is engaged.
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
23

THE MONO FILES
WALLIS & STEEVENS
ROAD ENGINES
Road engines
are not usually
associated
with Wallis &
Steevens. They
are famous for
their Advance
rollers, their oil-
bath tractors and
their expansion
traction engines
but not road
engines, says
Mike Dyson

OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
25
L
ike other traction engine builders,
W&S produced road engines but
unfortunately most have been
scrapped. I understand there is one
survivor but it has not been seen for
many years.
Wallis & Steevens built less than 100
road engines with a substantial number
of the smaller sizes being exported.
Production was really quite insignificant
when compared with Burrell and
Fowler. The traction engines built by
Wallis & Steevens were popular with
estates and large farmers where after
the threshing season was completed the
engine could be put to work on local
haulage such as delivering roadstone
to the side of the road in preparation
for road improvements. A road engine
was a logical development. The first
road engines had a single cylinder and
were fitted with motion covers, a plated
flywheel and belly tanks. Later road
engines were substantially built and used
compound cylinders. These engines were
intended for local haulage and shorter
distance work or the haulage of heavy
indivisible loads. Significantly many
of the Wallis road engines ended up in
the latter days of steam being used for
agricultural work.
Two road engines built in 1903 were
4-shaft (Nos 2643 and 2645) but all
subsequent engines used 3-shafts. Initially
LEFT: No 2437 is a large engine and curiously fitted with
a governor so it could be used for agricultural work. Most
of the men in front of the engine are holding the tools
of their trade such as the young man on the left holding
a spanner.
BELOW LEFT: No 2505 looks quite magnificent when new
and over the years was to have six different owners.
RIGHT: A works photograph of No 2600 prior to delivery
to Neaves of Fordingbridge. Notice the Salter safety
valves which appear to have been phased out with the
introduction of compound engines.
BELOW: An 8nhp engine such as No 2452 owned by
Oakhill Brewery would have had no trouble hauling
these two trailers loaded with beer – even in the hilly
area in this part of Somerset.
the cylinder had a central steam chest
with inclined valve faces – similar to
the Fowler design. It is not surprising
to learn that Alfred Robinson, the chief
draughtsman at Wallis & Steevens had
worked at Fowlers! Later designs had
a more orthodox cylinder design with
outside valves.
Wallis & Steevens road engines were
rather basic when compared with other
makers and any unnecessary brass-
work was not included. Boiler work
was of a high standard with most of
the plates being hand flanged and they
did not have the problems associated
with hydraulic flanging. However, when
compared with other makes the shafts
and bearings were not as substantial. As
an example the Burrell main bearings
were almost double in size to those fitted
to a Wallis.
Edwin Burt of Holt, Dorset purchased
No 2437 in 1898 in part exchange for
an 1882 Wallis traction engine. The new
engine was an 8nhp single cylinder,
sprung with a plated flywheel and belly
tanks. By 1907 it had been sold to its final
owner, Thomas Scutt of Blandford. As it
was not registered for road use in 1921 it
is assumed that it was out of use by that
date.
Another 8nhp single cylinder road
engine was No 2452 which was supplied
in 1899 to the Oakhill Brewery Co Ltd,
Somerset, who produced a very popular
stout. Much of their production was

THE MONO FILES
No 2728 was photographed at Basingstoke before dispatch. It shows a very compact engine but
without a belly tank. Note the cylinder has a central steam chest with inclined valve faces – similar to
the Fowler design.
The photograph of No 2644 shows a very well-built engine with five rivets for each spoke in the rear
wheels. Note the change to Ramsbottom safety valves.
transported by the Somerset & Dorset
Railway but more local deliveries were
hauled by the Wallis. It was later sold to
Bushby & Son of Headingley, Leeds, and
was soon resold to Holme & King Ltd in
Montgomeryshire until it went out of use
sometime in the 1920s.
In 1902 5nhp compound road engine
No 2505 was delivered to George Hickson
of Grimsby. This was a fully sprung single
cylinder engine with motion covers and
a plated flywheel but without belly tanks
so obviously long journeys were not
planned.
The following year it was sold to John
Drury of Laceby, Lincolnshire, and by
1921 had been sold to Birmingham
showman James Shepherd. The engine
was fitted with twisted brass to the
canopy but it seems most unlikely that
it was fitted with a dynamo. In 1925 it
was sold to contractors W.A Bishop &
Sons of Burley, Shropshire, sold again
in 1928 to E Davies of Shrewsbury and
yet again in 1929 to J.L Jones of Adfe,
Montgomeryshire. Perhaps the large
number of owners might indicate that it
was not a good engine.
Neave & Co Ltd of Fordingbridge,
Hampshire, purchased No 2600 in 1903
which they named Lawrence. This was a
7nhp engine but again only fitted with a
single cylinder. It was sold in the 1920s
to William Everitt of Gussage All Saints
in Dorset and used as part of his contract
threshing business.
In 1903 10nhp 3-speed compound
engine No 2644 was sold to George
Carlyon, a haulage contractor at Kenwyn,
near Truro in Cornwall. The engine was
named General Buller after the famous
Boer War general. In 1909 it was sold
to another Cornish haulage contractor,
Hosken, Trevithick & Polkinghorn of
Truro. The loads that were hauled would
have included heavy mining equipment
for the tin and china clay industry. It
would be interesting to know how the
engine compared with other makers
operating with such heavy loads in a
very hilly district. In 1911 General Buller
was returned to Wallis & Steevens in
part exchange for a new wagon. It was
immediately sold to William Flanagan
of Belfast where it worked until around
1940. The next owner was James Brogan
of Dunloy, Antrim, where it was used on
agricultural work. By 1945 it had been
sold to J.B Warke & Co of Castlerock,
Londonderry, and was later scrapped.
Few 5nhp road engines were built
because they were so similar in size to
steam tractors which had the advantage of
being subject to less stringent legislation.
A steam tractor could be operated by
one man and could travel at up to 12
mph. 5nhp compound No 2728 was
built in 1904 for A.W Smith of Feltham,
Middlesex. By 1916 it had been sold to
E.W Chapman of Great Bardfield, Essex,
for driving a threshing machine. By 1921
it had been sold to its final buyer, George
Smith of Great Canfield, Essex, where it

OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
27
Henry Thompson must have been very pleased when he took delivery of No 2866.As the engine is
fitted with governors, it could have been used for driving a threshing machine as well as for haulage.
LEFT: The last road
engine, 5nhp compound
No 7881, to be built
at Basingstoke closely
resembles one of the
7¼ ton tractors built
by Burrell or Aveling &
Porter.
continued to work up until the war when
it was scrapped.
Henry Thompson of Holbeach,
Lincolnshire, purchased 8nhp compound
road engine No 2866 in 1904. This seems
a curious choice of engine for a small
contractor who operated two threshing
sets and a pair of ploughing engines.
Its next owner was Ewan Macdonald
of Louth, who operated an engineering
and contracting business which is still
in operation today and Glyn Macdonald
is chairman of the very successful
Lincolnshire Steam Rally. By 1923 the
engine had been sold to George Copping
of Cabourne, Lincolnshire. It then had
three owners in Wales with its final
owner being Owen Jones of Aberfan,
Glamorgan, who bought the engine in
1939.
Production of road engines almost
stopped after the First World War with
resources concentrated on building rollers
including the very successful Advance
rollers. However, in 1926 work started on
building three 5nhp road engines. Two
were exported and the third, No 7881
was completed in 1927 for the Kinson
Pottery at Parkstone, Dorset. A 7nhp
traction engine, No 7681, was taken
in part exchange for the new engine.
The engine was named Little Atom and
used for the haulage of clay and coal
continuing to work up to the war. It was
eventually sold in 1950 to Mark Loader &
Sons of Bournemouth for just £10! After
many years it was restored and is now
back in the ownership of the family that
purchased it in 1927.
The limited success of Wallis &
Steevens road engines almost certainly
held back further development of these
designs. The Basingstoke builders were
slow to adopt compound cylinders but
the cheaper single cylinder arrangement
was no doubt attractive to many
potential buyers. The engines that were
built were ideal for short distance road
haulage and as most were fitted with
governors, were
easily put to use for
driving a threshing
machine. Many of
these engines were
impressive machines
but sadly none
have survived into
preservation. A while
ago there were plans
to build a replica
but unfortunately I
understand this will
not happen. ■

WALLIS & STEEVENS
STEAM TRACTORS
Although Wallis & Steevens were one of the smaller traction engine
builders, they were a very innovative company, says Mike Dyson
ABOVE: On the motion cover of No 2410
is the name of the owners,Wallis &
Steevens Ltd but why it should be hauling
barrels of beer seems curious. However,
it seems a considerable load for such a
small engine! Can a beer expert calculate
the weight?
LEFT: The load being hauled by Richard
Drake’s No 2742 looks impressive but
these are bags of chaff which are not
heavy.The engine is ﬁtted with auxiliary
water tanks mounted high on the side of
the boiler.
RIGHT: A carefully posed photograph of
4¼ -ton tractor No 2890 prior to delivery
in March 1906.
THE MONO FILES

E
arly successes with their expansion
engines were followed by some of
the first steam tractors to appear,
the first of these being the 3-ton tractors.
After 1896 new legislation removed
many of the restrictions on the use of
traction engines. Light traction engines
that could be operated by one man
but weighing less than 3-tons were
allowed. Wallis & Steevens were the only
manufacturers that were able to produce a
credible design in this very limiting field.
The first of these tractors - No 2380
- which was virtually two-thirds of the
size of a traction engine, appeared in the
summer of 1897. It was a single cylinder
engine fitted with their patent expansion
gear. The cylinder was 6in by 10in stroke
with a working pressure of 120psi.
The second 3-ton tractor to be built
was No 2410 and was completed in 1898
for use as a yard engine at the North
Hants Ironworks, a job it did for the next
17 years. It was used for shunting dead
engines around the works and short trips
to the station goods yard and around
Basingstoke. It was the last 3-ton tractor
to be sold and it clearly never worked
hard. In 1915 it was sold to G.W Jones of
Newbury and within a year he had sold
it to Thomas Clark of Culkerton, near
Tetbury, Gloucestershire. It is assumed
that it was eventually scrapped.
The building of tractors stagnated for
a time, partly because the company was
A works photograph of No 2514 Pioneer prior to delivery in March 1901.
being restructured. In the summer of
1899 further tractors were built with
some experimentation with variation
in the size of the cylinder and boiler
pressure. By 1901 the cylinder bore
standardised at 5¼ in with a 9in stroke
and boiler pressure raised to 150psi.
However, it seems there was no standard
design with modifications being
constantly made.
No 2514 was dispatched in March 1901
to the South Western Mineral Water Co
at Wimborne, Dorset, which they named
Pioneer. An appropriate name as this was
their first venture into steam traction.
One can only assume the tractor did not
meet their requirements as it was sold
to Sidney Munkton of Bournemouth
in 1904. It was sold again in 1910 to
showman George Coneley of Liss,
Hampshire, presumably for the haulage of
his equipment with no suggestion of the
fitting of a dynamo. Its final owner was
another showman, J Whitelegg of Bristol
who named the engine Mount Everest. It
was offered for sale in 1926 and appears
to have been out of use after that.
In April 1904 George Gildea, the owner
of the Rhee Valley Portland Cement Co
at Shepreth in south Cambridgeshire
took delivery of No 2742. By 1914 the
engine had been sold to Richard Drake of
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
29

Sutton in the Isle of Ely. Drake was a very
successful forage merchant who supplied
a patent horse feed to the London market
through his premises at Bow in the East
End. At that time vast numbers of horses
were used in the capital. It is believed the
engine was out of use by the 1920s and
later scrapped.
The 3-ton tractors were ideal for light
loads over fairly flat terrain. They were
popular with the Middlesex market
gardeners taking vegetables into Covent
Garden. Between March 1901 and June
1906 some 97 of these tractors were built
for the home market. A small number
were exported but it is believed these did
not strictly adhere to the 3-ton weight
limit.
Only one compound 3-ton tractor was
built; No 2756 which was completed in
1904. It had cylinders of 3¾ in and 6½
in with a 9in stroke working with the
motion totally enclosed in a cast steel
oil bath. With the extra weight of the
cylinder casting and the oil bath it seems
unlikely the 3-ton weight limit could have
been met. The oil bath was made as light
as possible with very thin walls which
made casting difficult. With age it was
not uncommon for the casting to develop
minor cracks which led to a loss of oil.
The 1904 Heavy Motor Car Order
allowed the weight of the engine to be
increased from three to five tons. Wallis
& Steevens were quick to develop their
oil-bath compound design known as the
4-¼ ton motor with the first appearing
in March 1905 – less than four months
after the new legislation. The compound
engine had cylinders of 4¾ in and 8¼ in
THE MONO FILES
The unladen weight displayed on the side of No 2929 clearly shows 4-tons 9-cwt which is 4-cwt over
4¼ tons. Notice the mechanism for the damper on the side of the smokebox.
There can be little doubt about the power of 4¾-ton tractor No 7266 as it transports a tank engine to one of the ironstone quarries in the Kettering area.

with a 9in stroke and the boiler pressure
was increased from 150 psi to 170 psi.
In March 1906 4¼ -ton oil bath
tractor No 2890 was dispatched from
Basingstoke to Duke & Co Ltd of
Plymouth. By 1915 it had been sold to W.J
Johns of Penzance. It was later purchased
by George Lawton of Macclesfield and
in 1921 was sold to Jacob Jewell who was
a showman. Unfortunately, I have been
unable to discover anything about Jewell
and his use of the tractor. The following
year it was bought by Manders Bros of
Wrexham who used it up to the end of
1926 and was later scrapped.
Another 4¼ -ton oil bath tractor No 2929
was delivered to J J Prior Ltd of Limehouse,
London. Priors were hauliers working
in the docks and a steam tractor was no
doubt a good substitute for horses which
were widely used up until the late 1920s.
The tractor was eventually sold to the Earl
of Home for use on his Scottish estates.
Wallis & Steevens sold 27 single cylinder
and 75 compound 4¼ -ton tractors but
they were aware that other manufacturers
of steam tractors did not adhere to the
regulations on weight with most exceeding
the 5-ton limit. This put them at a
disadvantage as other makers were able to
produce more powerful engines without
the problems encountered in building
smaller engines. This problem was
addressed in 1909 with the introduction
of the 4¾-ton tractor. The oil bath motion
remained the same but a larger boiler was
now fitted with slightly heavier wheels.
The first to be sold was No 7082 which
left the works in March 1909. It should
be noted that when the Wallis & Steevens
numbering system reached 2999 they
jumped to 7000, no doubt to impress
customers on the number of engines they
had built.
Albert Wardle of Kettering took delivery
of his 4¾-ton tractor in March 1912.
After the Great War it was sold to Thomas
and Reginald Le Sueur who farmed at
Headley in Hampshire. Its final owner
was Sir Jeremy Colman, a member of the
famous mustard family for use on his
farm at Oakley near Basingstoke.
In January 1913 4¾-ton tractor No 7324
was dispatched to John Apps of Bracknell,
Berkshire. The engine was sold in 1922
to Richard Sanders of Kensington and
within a few months had been bought
by showman John Biddall of Hounslow,
Middlesex. The engine was converted for
fairground use and named Little Mary.
It worked up until the war years when it
was scrapped.
The 4¾-ton tractors sold well with 178
being sold on to the home market by
1919. The following year a larger firebox
and solid rubber tyres were available at an
extra cost. The last two tractors sold were
Nos 7871 and 7872 which left the works in
1926 and 1930. Unlike most steam tractor
manufacturers, they kept close to the 5-ton
limit to the end of production. There were
few changes to the design apart from an
increase in size to the access holes at the
sides of the oil bath to facilitate easier
adjustment of the gland packing. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
31
John Apps’ No 7324 has the safety valves lifting. Note the contorted blast pipe on this 4¾-ton tractor unlike the better direct free flowing exhaust fitted to
the 4¼ -ton tractors.

Wallis & Steevens
were a small
company with
a number of
innovative ideas.
They designed
the Advance
rollers for a
speciﬁc purpose
- rolling asphalt
- and it was a
very successful
machine, says
Mike Dyson
Looking at the rolls of No 7812 it appears to have been rolling chippings.The bevel gears for the
steering can clearly be seen in front of the chimney.The chimney top does not appear to be of the
usual Wallis design.
WALLIS & STEEVENS
ADVANCE ROLLERS
No 7782 was photographed in the
station yard at Basingstoke prior to
delivery to the Limmer & Trinidad Lake
Asphalt Co.The canopy of corrugated
iron was a cheap feature on what was
otherwise a well-made roller.
THE MONO FILES

I
t is claimed that Francis Wallis
attended a conference for road
surveyors and heard about the
problems of laying the new road materials
such as asphalt, using conventional
rollers. These machines were quite
unsatisfactory as most of the weight
was on the rear rolls and the rolls ran
parallel with the axle causing the inner
edges of the rolls to leave wheel marks.
Tandem rollers had been used but were
unpopular as they could not be used for
consolidating base materials and had a
reputation for turning over as they were
top heavy.
During the meeting Francis Wallis
sketched his thoughts on the back of
an envelope, later turning them into
sketches which were given to the drawing
office staff with instructions to produce
something along those lines.
In July 1923, less than 12 months from
the original sketches being produced,
the first roller, No 7773, was delivered
to Henry Woodham & Sons of Catford,
London. He was asked to evaluate the
machine and apart from a few teething
problems, the reports were very good. ❱
The boiler is a standard locomotive
type operating at just 140 psi but the
hornplates are extended backwards to
support the coal boxes so that a tender
is unnecessary. The cylinders are double
high pressure with piston valves side
by side between the cylinders. The
connecting rods drive disc cranks on the
end of the crankshaft set at 90˚ for easy
starting. The arrangement does away with
a flywheel and makes instant reversing
possible. Instead of the usual push or pull
type regulator, the Advance has a wheel
valve which gives fine adjustment to the
speed of the roller.
When rolling asphalt it is important
the roller makes only a momentary
stop or the roller sinks to form a hollow
in the new road surface. The rear rolls
camber to fit the shape of the road. This is
achieved by dividing the back axle so that
each half pivots in a bracket attached to
the hornplate. Where the two half-axles
meet in the centre is a large helical spring
which allows the rear rolls to flex with the
camber of the road.
Steering is by worm and quadrant
which gives accurate control when rolling
close to kerb stones and other items
of street furniture. This eliminated the
slack associated with chain and bobbin
steering.
Instead of spokes, the rolls are
constructed of steel plates with large holes
Another photograph taken in the station yard at Basingstoke, this time showing No 7863.This was an 8-ton machine which is easily identified by the heavy
cast iron tyres on the rolls.
By the 1950s No 7962 was not looking its best
as can be seen by the bent scraper on the front
roll. Being a 10-ton roller it was suitable for
rolling base materials such as this hardcore. Note
the locking pins in the front fork are not fitted
allowing the front roll to pivot either side.
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
33

Clearly No 7967 was photographed after council ownership as the council’s brass plate has been removed from the motion cover.
in them. The rear rolls are much wider
than usual and the front roll is somewhat
narrower. The difference in sizes between
the front and rear rolls is greatly reduced
on the Advance although they are not the
same size. To create as near equal weight
distribution as possible, pannier water
tanks are mounted on the side.
Advance rollers were produced three
sizes: 6, 8 and 10 tons. The 6-ton has a
smaller boiler with cylinders of 4½in
diameter with a 9in stroke but the
weight can be increased to 8 tons by the
addition of cast iron tyres on the rolls.
The 8-ton machines had a larger boiler
and cylinders of 5in diameter and 10in
stroke and again the weight could be
increased using cast iron tyres to produce
the 10-ton roller. Later models could be
fitted with water ballast rolls so again the
weight could be varied to suit the task in
hand.
The design was far ahead of any of
its competitors and it is not surprising
that they were built in large numbers
at a time when most roller sales were
in decline. They continued to build
Advance rollers in the 1930s at a time
when diesel rollers were fast appearing on
the market. The last two, Nos 8114 and
8114, were supplied to the War Dept in
1940. Of the 272 Advance rollers built,
it is not surprising there are now 77 in
preservation.
No 7782, a 6-ton machine, was
completed in July 1923 for stock and
did not have a buyer until September
when it was purchased by the Limmer
& Trinidad Lake Asphalt Co. The
company was founded in 1881 with
the objective of undertaking road
contracting using high quality asphalt
from Limmer, near Hanover in
Germany and from the Pitch Lake in
Trinidad, the largest natural deposit of
asphalt in the world. The company was
based in Fulham and secured major
contracts for surfacing the roads of
London. They operated a large fleet of
rollers, many of which were tandems
and by the early 1920s they had
purchased 18 Robey tandem rollers.
Surprisingly they only purchased three
Advance rollers which all worked into
the 1950s. No 7782 was finally scrapped
in 1954, unlike the Robeys which were
scrapped much earlier.
Another 6-ton roller was No 7812 which
was supplied to the Western Trinidad
Lake Asphalt Co Ltd in November 1924.
The company was based at Grangetown
near Cardiff. Although they owned a
number of rollers, they were to purchase
only one Advance roller. By 1945 No
7782 had been sold to Davies Bros of
Barmouth and sold again in 1963 to J
C Wilkins of Dolgellau who owned the
Fairbourne miniature steam railway.
Two other 6-ton Advance rollers were
purchased but No 7782 was eventually
scrapped.
In March 1926 the Limmer & Trinidad
Lake Asphalt Co took delivery of its
third Advance roller. This was No 7863,
an 8-ton roller which was only used for
about a year and then sold to the Three
Hills Sand & Gravel Co of Codicote,
Hertfordshire. In 1947 it was sold to
Wirksworth Quarries Ltd of Woolmer
Green, Hertfordshire. No 7863 was used
on the many road upgrading projects
THE MONO FILES

10-ton Advance No 7987 was fitted with a scarifier which could be moved left or right to work in any
position.
LEFT: The 8-ton roller No 8033 has the smaller boiler and engine of the
6-ton design but is fitted with heavier rolls to make it an 8-ton machine.
The tyres of No 8050 do not appear to match.Those on the rear are much
thicker than those on the front. Note also the fitting of an additional scraper
on the front roll.
north of London such as the A1 and the
M1 but by the early 1960s was out of use
and later sold for preservation. It is now
to be found in the Buckinghamshire area.
The local council at Crayford in Kent
purchased 10-ton Advance No 7962 in
May 1928. By 1952 it had been sold to
Sparkes Bros of West Drayton, Middlesex
and again in 1958 to F E Greasley of
Darenth, Kent. In 1963 it was sold for
preservation and named Smokey.
Another local council to purchase
an Advance roller was Eastleigh and
Bishopstoke UDC. In February 1928
they took delivery of No 7967, a 6-ton
machine but fitted with cast iron tyres,
increasing it to make it an 8-tonner. After
many years use with the council it was
sold to the Bournemouth construction
company, Mark Loader & Sons. In 1957
it was sold to another Bournemouth
construction company, Grounds &
Newton Ltd. Ten years later it was sold for
preservation.
Alfred Ward of Egham, Surrey, were
one of Wallis & Steevens’ best customers -
having purchased large numbers of rollers
from them over the years. In 1930 Wallis
& Steevens supplied 10-ton Advance
No 7987 which had been completed in
July 1928. Previously the roller had been
on hire to Nottingham Corporation, no
doubt in the hope of securing a sale but
it was returned to Basingstoke. 1930 was
a difficult year financially for Wallis &
Steevens and no doubt the roller was sold
at a very reduced price to maintain their
cash flow. It worked for Wards for almost
30 years and was then scrapped.
Another Advance purchased by Alfred
Ward was 8-ton No 8033 which left the
works at Basingstoke in April 1930. By
this time Ward was operating six Advance
rollers. In July 1960 the roller was sold at
auction to Hardwicks of West Ewell to be
scrapped but was rescued the following
year and is now preserved in Kent.
In May 1932 Wards took delivery
of another Advance, this time a 6-ton
machine No 8050. However, it was
returned to Wallis & Steevens a year later.
This might suggest there were problems
with the roller. For the four years it was
out on hire but sold in December 1937
to Wirksworth Quarries Ltd to work
alongside their Robey tri-tandem rollers.
When the rollers were being sold off in
the early 1960s, No 8050 went for scrap.
The Advance rollers were a great success
but unfortunately the design appeared
at a time when i/c powered rollers were
beginning to come onto the market. The
quick reverse, the cambered rolls, the
positive steering and the equal weight
distribution made this one of the best
rollers produced. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
35

SOME NOTEWORTHY
SHOWMAN’S ENGINES
A tribute to Bernard Fielding
Burrell No 1470 Pride of the South stands in front of the Gallopers.Just visible is the spectacle plate which
has two glazed apertures.The engine behind is Burrell No 1909 of 1896 Majestic.
A number of
showman’s
engines have a
claim to fame.
The late Bernard
Fielding of
Liverpool made
a list of these
engines that have
a special claim
to distinction,
particularly
with ‘ﬁrsts’ and
‘lasts’, writes
Mike Dyson
THE MONO FILES

B
ernard was born in 1913 and grew
up at a time when steam was a
regular feature of the fairground. He
developed an interest in fairgrounds and the
engines that hauled and powered them from
an early age – an interest that lasted all his
life. Bernard grew up in Halifax in the West
Riding of Yorkshire and remembers how
news of ‘the fair’s coming’ was passed along
the grapevine. The engines and their loads
passed close to where he lived and stopped
to draw water from a horse trough – I
wonder if that was legal? He remembers the
curious names of the engines, often named
after royalty or battleships. Bernard said the
massive engines with their tremendous loads
and the magnificent paintwork and shining
brass together with the aroma of hot oil and
steam left a lasting impression on his mind.
Until his death in 1998 he maintained his
fairground interests and kept meticulous
records of all the information that he was able
to collect. On his death, all of his historical
records were donated to the National
Fairground Archive at Sheffield University.
These are made up of thousands of postcards,
documents and photographs which featured
various traction engines and fairground
rides. He assisted many prominent writers
such as Tom Rolt and O.S Nock by providing
information from his prodigious records. His
LEFT: The incredible train of wagons behind Burrell No 1451 Monarch was certainly a successful way to
gain publicity. How did they manage to get around bends and sharp corners?
Burrell Gold Medal tractor No 3354 when it was first purchased was based near Littleport in
Cambridgeshire. Here it was photographed hauling a trailer loaded with potatoes.
BELOW: The hills and narrow lanes of Devon and Cornwall must have been particularly difficult for a
showman’s engine hauling the rides from fair to fair.A serious accident like that involving Burrell
No 1740 Cornishman whilst descending a hill at Kingsteignton was not uncommon.
interests were not confined to the fairground
but included railways, trams and heavy
horses. One of his greatest achievements
was the saving of the1837 locomotive Lion
from the Liverpool Docks & Harbour
Board workshops where it was languishing
in disrepair. Bernard was able to generate
such interest in this piece of history that the
Liverpool Transport Museum came into
being, where Lion was renovated and placed
on display. Lion was of course famously used
in the film The Titfield Thunderbolt.
The First Burrell Showman’s Engine
The first Burrell engine built to the order of
a showman came in 1889. No 1451 Monarch
was an 8nhp single cylinder two-speed
sprung engine supplied to Jacob Studt of
Maesteg, Glamorgan. The engine had a
half-cab but was not fitted with a dynamo or
twisted brass supports.
It was exhibited at Smithfield Show
before delivery to Studts who operated a
set of Dobbies, Bikes and Sea-on-Land.
The engine replaced a large number of
horses but by 1891 the engine was sold on
to two Gloucester showmen, Hengler and
Matthews. At the end of 1894 it was sold
to Henry Thompson, a cider merchant at
Newant, Gloucestershire. The engine was
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
37

In Green’s ownership Burrell No 3840 Queen Elizabeth was fitted with the exciter platform and Mather
& Platt P3c dynamo. By this time the engine was travelling with a Caterpillar ride.
Fred Gray’s Burrell No 3884 Gladiator was used with the Scenic Motors from 1921 and powered the
ride for the last time at the 1954 August Bank Holiday fair at the Vale of Heath, Hampstead.
finally purchased in 1903 by Lloyd Roberts
of Cheam, Surrey and presumably scrapped
sometime in his ownership.
The Second Burrell Showman’s
Engine
Bernard Fielding suggests the second
showman’s engine No 1470 was also
supplied to Jacob Studt but this appears
to be at variance with other records. The
engine later named Pride of the South may
have been ordered by Studt but was supplied
to Hampshire showman Alfred Bartlett
of Fordingbridge. This was a 7nhp single
cylinder with a half cab and no dynamo and
was delivered in March 1890. By 1922 it had
been sold to Richard Chipperfield, also of
Fordingbridge, but after only another four
years it was out of use and later scrapped.
Destroyed by Fire - Alexandra
Palace 1934
In March 1894 Burrells dispatched one of
their big single crank compound 10nhp
contractors type engines No 1740 to
William, Charles and Sophie Hancock who
operated fairs across the West Country
from their Bristol base. Miss Sophie was
the undisputed boss and a flamboyant
character so well described in Hancocks
of the West by Scrivens and Smith. No
1740 was named Cornishman and was for
many years used for hauling a 4-abreast
set of Gallopers. Initially the engine was
fitted with a short awning but this was
later extended when a dynamo platform
was fitted with a Dickinson dynamo. In
1912 when Cornishman was hauling the
gallopers from Dawlish to Babbacombe, the
driving pin broke descending Ware Hill at
Kingsteignton. The engine and three wagons
gathered speed and failed to negotiate a
bend in the road. The engine toppled on
its side with the first wagon destroyed.
The steersman, Curly Davis, later had to
have both legs amputated. However, the
Hancocks made sure he was cared for and
for several years afterwards, the takings from
the last ride of the day on the Gallopers were
sent to him. Miss Sophie died in 1926 when
Cornishman and the Gallopers were sold to
Ernie Manning of Tottenham. The following
year the engine passed into the ownership
of his cousin, Sam Manning, who operated
the amusement park at Alexandra Palace.
In 1934 the engine was severely damaged by
fire and as a result was later towed back to
Tottenham and scrapped.
Toured Jamaica with Grimmett’s
Circus
In December 1911 Major Henry Tansley
Luddington, a Cambridgeshire landowner,
took delivery of Burrell Gold Medal tractor
No 3354. After an auction in 1918 the
engine went to High Wycombe for timber
haulage and after two further owners was
purchased by the Swindon showman, Robert
Edwards who converted it for use on the
fairground. The tractor, now named Princess
Mary worked with the fair until 1933 when
it was necessary to raise money to purchase
a new Ark and the tractor sold. The new
owner of Princess Mary Claude Ginnett
of the famous circus family was planning
a tour of Jamaica and used the engine for
the haulage of the many wagons. After the
tour the tractor was left in Jamaica and its
subsequent history remains a mystery but
when Bernard Fielding was writing in 1965,
he believed the tractor had survived into
preservation.
The First Burrell Scenic Engine?
Bernard believed that Burrell No 3840
Queen Elizabeth was the first of the scenic
engines built at Thetford. The date of
dispatch is July 7, 1920, although No 3827
Victory left the works on May 11, 1920. I
strongly suspect the Burrell archives were
not available when Bernard was compiling
his records. Queen Elizabeth was exhibited
at Darlington Royal Show and then supplied
THE MONO FILES

This photograph of Burrell No 3896 Earl Beatty dates from the 1930s after it had received repairs at
Fowlers as it has new rear wheels with rubber tyres and the Burrell name is not cast into the hubs.
In this 1930s photograph of Burrell No 3912 Dragon it still has the rubber tyres fitted by Fowlers. Note
the oil lamps have been replaced with electric lighting for night driving.
to Walter Wilmot of Glasgow. It was fitted
with a rear jib crane but the platform for the
auxiliary dynamo was not fitted. Later in the
year the engine was sold to John Green for use
with his recently purchased Dragon Scenic
and the auxiliary dynamo was fitted. The ride
was put into storage in 1929 and later Queen
Elizabeth was used with one of the Green’s
famous Caterpillar rides. On one occasion
the front axle broke and John Thurston was
able to loan a spare one whilst a new one was
ordered from Burrells. During the war Queen
Elizabeth was used in Liverpool for clearing
blitz damage. Soon after it was out of use and
scrapped around 1949.
The Last Burrell Showman’s
Engine to Work in London
In March 1921 Fred Gray of Hampstead
took delivery of Burrell No 3884, a scenic
engine which was named I Wonder for
use with a Scenic ride which had been
purchased the previous year. Later the name
was changed to Gladiator. The number
of low bridges in the London area meant
that it was necessary to have a canopy six
inches lower than standard. By the 1930s the
Scenic Motors only appeared at a few fairs
and Gladiator was then used with an Ark
and later an Autodrome. Gladiator was last
used in 1954 when the Scenic Motors were
scrapped. The following year the engine was
sold to Edgar Shone of Cricklewood and
it now preserved at Sandy Bay World of
Country Life.
A Burrell Showman’s with Fowler
wheels
Burrell No 3896 Earl Beatty was completed
in May 1921 for Anderton & Rowland. This
was one of the new scenic type engines
complete with auxiliary dynamo and tender
mounted crane which had been introduced
the previous year. The engine left Thetford
for Burton-on-Trent to collect a new Scenic
Railway. After the ride had been tested with
the engine, the ride was packed onto trailers
and together with two engines, hauled
the ride to Newton Abbott. By 1932 Earl
Beatty was in need of a new firebox and as
Anderton & Rowland were buying a Fowler
B6 engine it was also arranged that repairs
would be carried out at Leeds. Included in
the long list of repairs was the replacement
of the rear wheels and the fitting of rubber
tyres ‘with groove in the centre’. Normally
the Charles Burrell name is cast into the
hub but understandably this was omitted
by Fowlers! The spoke tee ends were Fowler
style with rivets in line and not staggered
in the Burrell way. Earl Beatty worked
until 1940 and was eventually saved for
preservation.
The Last Burrell Showman’s to
work the West Country
The second engine purchased by
Anderton & Rowland to work with their
Scenic Railway known as the Dragons was
Burrell No 3912 Dragon which arrived
six months later in November 1921. The
engine had originally been ordered by
Pat Collins and the specification included
press on rubber tyres with 20in wide
wheels instead of the usual 22 inches.
The engine worked with Earl Beatty until
1936 when the ride was taken off the road.
Dragon was then used with the Brookland
Racers and later the Dodgems. In 1943 the
engine was sold to Sam Smart of Bristol
to work with a set of Gallopers but after
the war it was out of use and by 1948
had been sold to Gloucestershire dealer,
Jesse Vines of Hardwicke. In 1951 Jesse
Vines with a young Ian Woollett steering
drove Dragon to Thetford to take part in
the local Festival of Britain celebrations
and was later used to drive Thurston’s
Dodgems at Lynn Mart. Eventually the
sale of the engine was arranged by Harold
Darby. ■
OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
39

THE MONO FILES
The last days of
TRACTION ENGINE
BUILDING at LEISTON
T
he intention of Agricultural &
General Engineers (AGE) was
to bring together a number of
agricultural machinery businesses into
one strong combine where they would be
rationalised and their efficiency improved.
They planned to end competition between
members in their home market and create a
business large enough to compete with the
North American firms in export markets.
However, the centralisation of purchasing,
which was soon dispensed with, and sales
Collyer’s Burrell No 4980 at work threshing. Notice the late design feature with the clack
valve mounted high on the boiler barrel so that water is injected into the steam space.
LEFT: Burrell No 4081 with its second owner,
William Parris.Traction engines usually have
painted number plates but, in this instance, they
are of pressed aluminium.
Agricultural & General Engineers (AGE) was a combine of five
companies established in 1919 at the instigation of Aveling & Porter
and Garretts, but things didn’t work out so well, writes Mike Dyson

OLD GLORY ARCHIVE
41
Burrell No 4094 King George V at a rally in East Anglia in the 1950s. It is unusual for a traction engine
to be fitted with brass hub caps.
The finest scenic showman’s engine was probably Burrell No 4092 Simplicity although it was built by Garretts and is seen arriving at Banbury Fair in 1933.
Wilkinson who ceased production in 1874
and Smith, Beacock & Tannett who ceased
production in 1896 clearly show there had
been no investment in modern machinery.
The only engine included in the sale was a
Robey portable dating from 1917.
Trying to sell a traction engine in the late
1920s was no easy task. Garretts exhibited
their products at a number of agricultural
shows including Burrell 7nhp single
cylinder traction engine No 4088 which was
shown at numerous shows throughout 1929
and 1930. The last steam exhibit was Garrett
6-wheel wagon No 35470 which appeared
at the Commercial Vehicle Exhibition from
November 5-14, 1931, and later went to G.E
Farrant of High Brooms, Kent.
The rest of AGE was faring little better
as the economic recession began to bite.
Garrett’s steam wagons had been quite
successful but to be competitive they had
kept their prices lower than their rivals such
as Sentinel and consequently their low profit
margins were not sustainable. Garretts had
plans for a diesel engine lorry which had
reached the prototype stage. However, the
directors of AGE realised the business could
not continue and in early 1932 receivers
were appointed and there were large scale
lay-offs of employees at the Leiston Works.
One or two engines were completed and
after a few months the company was sold
to Beyer, Peacock & Co Ltd the well-known
and finance in the expensive London
headquarters at the Aldwych created a
heavy financial burden that was not justified
by its benefits. The subsidiary companies,
which eventually numbered 14, were slow
to modernise their factories and slow to
move from steam to internal combustion
engines. The profits of some combine
members were used to shore up the weaker
members such as Burrells and the high costs
of running an expensive headquarters left
no income for the shareholders.
There was a gradual decline at Burrells
with only around 250 engines built after
the war. Even the workforce anticipated
the closing of the works which eventually
came in 1928. Parts and five unfinished
engines were transferred to Leiston. An
auction of all the plant and machinery at
Thetford took place in 1930. It is claimed
that Fowlers sent a group of men to buy
some of Burrell’s machine tools but they
felt they had scrapped better ones than
those that were being offered for sale.
Perhaps there is no truth to this story but it
would seem to indicate the machinery was
antiquated. Lathes offered for sale included
ones manufactured by Croft, Butterfield &

THE MONO FILES
A post-war photograph of Garrett No 35461. It was usual for Garretts to fit the steering on the left hand
side but customer preferences were usually accommodated.
Prototype Suffolk Punch tractor No 35320 is shown after leaving the paint shop in readiness for the
Commercial Motor Show in October 1929.
railway locomotive builders of Manchester
who are best remembered for their Beyer
Garratt articulated locomotives. Notice the
difference in spelling as Garretts of Leiston
were not the designers of these amazing
locos. The new company was Richard
Garrett Engineering Ltd.
Recovery was slow and the building of steam
wagons and traction engines was rapidly
brought to an end. A few partially-built
Burrell engines were completed after 1928
and seven new engines were built to Burrell
designs. Curiously all the drawings for these
engines were redrawn and where possible
included Garrett parts - no doubt an attempt
to use up parts from their spares store.
Sales of Garrett steam wagons had been
successful until the first changes to road tax
in the 1930 budget brought a sharp decline
in orders. There was no attempt to continue
steam wagon production after 1932 and
there was no money available for the
development of their diesel lorry.
Burrell 5nhp compound traction engine
No 4080 was probably completed at
Thetford but was taken to Leiston as the
original order was cancelled. In 1929 it was
exhibited by Garretts at the Suffolk Show
and the Royal Norfolk Show where it was
sold to William Collyer & Sons, a large
threshing contractor based near Bungay,
Suffolk. It was probably scrapped at the end
of the 1940s after only 20 years of use.
At the end of 1928 Garretts were able to
sell another of the Burrells. This was a single
cylinder 7nhp traction No 4081 which had
been exhibited at the Royal Highland Show
in August but sold to L J Parris & Sons of
Hastingwood, near Harlow, Essex, at the
December Smithfield Show. The engine was
named Fearless and some years later passed
to one of his sons who operated at nearby
Moreton. By the late 1940s it was sold to
Chris Lambert of Horsmonden, Kent. At
the famous sale in June 1955 it was the star
item selling for the then enormous sum of
£300. At the sale the rear wheels were seen
the wrong way round. The new owner, Dr
J.R Green of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex,
soon had the wheels re-straked and put the
correct way around followed by a complete
repaint. In 1959 the engine was purchased
by George Cushing and is now to be found
in the museum at Thursford, Norfolk.
An order was placed by Mrs Deakin &
Sons of Brecon for a scenic showman’s
engine. Drawings were completed and work
was put in hand at Leiston for Burrell No
4092 named Simplicity which was delivered
in October 1930. No provision was made
for a rear jib crane and the engine was fitted
with two injectors and a boiler feed pump.
It was delivered by rail to Stratford-on-Avon
Mop Fair and immediately put to work
with a set of Dodgems. In 1942 Simplicity
and the Deakins’ Fowler No 20223 Supreme
were sold to Road Engines & Kerr of
Glasgow. They both had their showman’s
fittings removed and were to work on
heavy haulage. After the war Simplicity
was retained for a short time but after
nationalisation of road transport it was sold
to a group of enthusiasts. Sadly, following
a disagreement over the purchase of a set
of replacement boiler tubes, it was cut up.
It seems amazing that possibly the finest
scenic engine built should be first preserved
and then scrapped.
The last of the Leiston Burrells was No
4094 King George V, an 8nhp single cylinder
traction engine. It was exhibited at the
Kent Show from July 16-18, 1931. Like
Burrell No 4081, this was sold to L.J Parris
of Hastingwood, Essex. It is still owned by
the family but has not been seen at a public
event for many years.
After the First World War Garretts

Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf

Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf

Similar to Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Old_Glory_Archive_-_Issue_9_-_26_August_2022.pdf