A traction engine is a wheeled steam engine used to move heavy loads or to provide power at chosen location. Unlike a steam locomotive, it is not designed to run on tracks.

The earliest mobile steam engine is thought to have been invented by Nicolas Cugnot who demonstrated an engine for hauling artillery at the Paris arsenal on October 23, 1769. Unfortunately the idea was discredited when a similar engine ran into a brick wall during a demonstration in Paris.

Traction engines tend to be large, extremely heavy, slow, and poorly manoeuvrable. They typically have two large powered wheels at the back and two smaller wheels for steering at the front. They became popular in industrialised countries from around 1840, when the farm machinery company Ransomes of Ipswich developed a traction engine for agricultural use.

Traction engines saw use in a variety of roles between 1840 and 1940. Common applications were

• tractor and power source on farms
• road haulage
• road rollers
• fairground engine - where it could be used to both power the Fairground ride and tow it from site to site
• moveable stationary engine

Many farms would use draft horses throughout the year, but during the harvest would hire a traction engine for threshing — a good example of the moveable stationary engine.

Road haulage traction engines were generally replaced by steam lorries which had pneumatic tyres. All other traction engines have been superseded by diesel engine powered equivalents.

Traction engines continue to be maintained and preserved by enthusiastic individuals and are frequently exhibited at agricultural shows in Europe (particularly the UK), Canada, and the United States.

Manufacturers

UK

East Anglian

• Ransomes Sims and Jefferies, Ipswich
• Charles Burrell & Sons, Thetford
• Garretts, Leiston, Suffolk
• Paxmans
• Youngs

Additional Info.

• Did you know that the train crew had bread with filling as lunch and kept it under their hat to keep grime and dirt away?

--202.156.2.219 07:22, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)

External links

• UK Traction engine rallies