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July 11, 2005
More steam power ....
Some of the engines on show at the recent steam rally were real beauties. I confess to a fondness for the magnificent "Showman's Engines" - probably because the funfair that used to visit the city I grew up in had a magnificent beast that stood in the centre of the funfair hissing and shaking as it generated the power for all the funfair rides and the bigtop itself! It was a stunner - green, gold, and black, gleaming brass, and the great flywheel spinning with long belt drives from that to various bits of equipment and, of course, the huge generator sat on its boiler front!
A half sized replica of a Showman Engine - this one provided the electric lighting for the campers at the rally and for the evening BBQ.
These engines usually towed a string of caravans and trailers, and in their heyday it would not have been unusual to see a travelling show in convoy with three or four of these, a couple of more ordinary "tractors", and a couple of Foden lorries all towing trailers and caravans as they made their way from pitch to pitch. Their pace was sedate to say the least, with a rated top speed of around 12 mph, they actually travelled under load at speeds closer to 5 - 8 mph, probably safer, given that braking systems are manual! Like their lorry counterparts, they are "open feed" systems so need to top up with water regularly.
The nearside of the Showman Engine showing off the big flywheel and the decoration.
Half the show for small boys in my youth was the traction engines - far more attractive than today's white vans and lorries!
Posted by The Gray Monk at July 11, 2005 10:48 AM