Steaming 2025 Vol.69 No.1 by Back editions of Raising Steam and Steaming (1957-2026)

STEAMING VOL. 69 No. 1 WINTER 2025/26

£4.99 where sold

The Magazine of the

NATIONAL TRACTION ENGINE TRUST Steaming.indd 1

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The The National Engine Trust TheNational NationalTraction TractionEngine Engine Trust Traction Trust Preserving ourour heritage with on the road Preserving heritage with steamsteam on the road Preserving our heritage with steam on the road Registered CharityCharity No. 291578 Registered No. 291578 Registered Charity No. 291578

Founded in 1954, our aim is to promote the preservation of our heritage with steam on the road. Founded in 1954, our aim is to promote the preservation of our heritage

Founded in 1954, our aim is to promote the preservation of our heritage with steam on theEngine road. Membership of the National Traction Trust is open to with steam on the road. all ofMembership those who, whether they are engine owners a of the National Traction Engine Trust is openortonot, all ofhave those who, Membership of thein National Traction Engine Trust is open to allsteam of thoseroad who, genuine interest theowners preservation whether they are engine or not, haveofa self-propelled genuine interest in the preservation of whether they are engine owners or not, have genuine interest in the preservation of vehicles, portable andaassociated self-propelled steam roadengines vehicles, portable engines andequipment. associated equipment. self-propelled steam road vehicles, portable engines and associated equipment.

annualsubscription subscription rate is £38 thosetooutside the EU). The Trust’s TheThe annual rate is (£48 £38 to(£48 thoseofoutside of the The annual subscription rate is £38 (£48 to those outside of the EU). The Trust’s magazine Steaming is sent free Steaming to members atisthe endfree of January, April, July and EU). The Trust’s magazine sent to members magazine Steaming is sent free to members at the end of January, April, July and October. Other benefits of membership include very advantageous terms at the end of January, July and October. Other beneﬁ ts October. Other benefits April, of membership include very advantageous terms for boiler and other insurances, advice on technicalterms mattersfor and accessand to the of membership include very advantageous boiler for boiler and other insurances, advice on technical matters and access to the excellent Driver Training courses. other insurances, advice onDriver technical matters excellent Training courses.and access to the excellent Driverofficers, Training Full details of the Trust’s activities, newscourses. items and many other aspects of Full details of the Trust’s activities, officers, news items and many other aspects of information can be found on our website at www.ntet.co.uk

can beactivities, found on ourofﬁ website www.ntet.co.uk Full detailsinformation of the Trust’s cers,atnews items and many The Steam Apprentice Club is thecan juniorbe section of the NTET, formed toat support other aspects of information found on our website The Steam Apprentice Club is the junior section of the NTET, formed to support youngsters up to the age of 21 in learning about and appreciating road steam. www.ntet.co.uk youngsters up to the age of 21 in learning about and appreciating road steam. To find out more please contact the chairman (see below) or visit: To find out more please contact the chairman (see below) or visit:

The Steam Apprentice Club is the junior section of the NTET, www.ntet.co.uk/sac www.ntet.co.uk/sac formed to support youngsters up to the age of 21 in learning NTET Sales offer a large selection of traction engine reading andplease other items: about and appreciating road of steam. ﬁndreading out more NTET Sales offer a large selection tractionTo engine and other items: see below) the advertoronvisit: pagewww.ntet.co.uk/sac 46. contact the Chairman (see see the advert on page 46. NTET Sales offer a large selection of traction engine reading and other items: see the advert on page 46.

W HO’S WHO AT THE NTET Who’s Who atthe the NTET Who’s Who at NTET

Spares and Pattern Register: President: Treasurer: Richard Semple Andrew Semple, Linden Lea, AmyTechnical Reynolds Services treasurer@ntet.co.uk Spares andspares@ntet.co.uk Pattern Register: Unit: President: Spares and Pattern Register: Technical Services Unit: President: Lydham, SY9 5HB Systems Support: Richard Semple spares@ntet.co.uk Tony Seddon tsu@ntet.co.uk AndrewBishops Semple,Castle, LindenShropshire Lea, Technical Services Unit: Richard Semple spares@ntet.co.uk Tony Seddon tsu@ntet.co.uk Andrew Semple, Linden Lea, 01588 630 664 president@ntet.co.uk Nick Bosworth general.support@ntet.co.uk Lydham, Bishops Castle, Shropshire SY9 5HB TonyPublic Seddon tsu@ntet.co.uk V765 Registrations Officer: Relations and Communications: Lydham, Bishops Shropshire SY9 5HB V765 Registrations Public Relations and Communications: 01588 630 664 Castle, president@ntet.co.uk Vice Presidents: V765 Registrations OffiOfficer: cer: John Hunt v765@ntet.co.uk ViaRelations General Secretary. Public and 01588 630 664 president@ntet.co.uk John Hunt v765@ntet.co.uk Via General Secretary. Paul Davis and Colin Hatch JohnSales Hunt v765@ntet.co.uk public.relations@ntet.co.uk Vice Presidents: Dick Blenkinsop, David Smith Communications: Officer: public.relations@ntet.co.uk Vice Presidents: Dick Blenkinsop, David Smith Sales Chairman: Via General Secretary. Section: Sales OffiOfficer: cer: Kathy Smith, The Cottage, Main Road, Rally Organisers’ Chairman: Kathy Smith, Cottage, Main Road, Rally Section: Chairman: Rob public.relations@ntet.co.uk Kathy Smith, TheThe Cottage, Main Road, New Bolingbroke, Boston, Lincs. PE22 7JU JohnOrganisers’ Wye rally.chair@ntet.co.uk RobClifford-Wing, Clifford-Wing,Trelissa TrelissaCottage, Cottage,Philleigh, Philleigh, New Bolingbroke, Boston, Lincs. PE22 7JU John Wye rally.chair@ntet.co.uk Rob Clifford-Wing, Trelissa Cottage, Philleigh, Truro, New Bolingbroke, Boston, Lincs. PE22 7JU 01205 480 836 sales@ntet.co.uk Truro,Cornwall, Cornwall,TR2 TR25NE 5NE chairman@ntet.co.uk chairman@ntet.co.uk Rally Support Offi cer: Rally Authorisation: 01205 480 836 sales@ntet.co.uk Truro, Cornwall, TR2 5NE chairman@ntet.co.uk 01205 480 836 sales@ntet.co.uk Rally Authorisation: General Secretary: Gavin Young rally.support@ntet.co.uk Training Officer: Alan Holmes rally.auth@ntet.co.uk General Secretary: Training Alan Holmes rally.auth@ntet.co.uk General Secretary: Nick Hirst general.secretary@ntet.co.uk Training OffiOfficer: cer: Joe Black training@ntet.co.uk Anne Whittingstall general.secretary@ntet.co.uk Steam Apprentice Club: Steam Apprentice Club: Joe Black training@ntet.co.uk Anne Whittingstall general.secretary@ntet.co.uk Charlie Coulls training@ntet.co.uk Steam Apprentice Club: Vice Chairman and Engine Owners Section: Paul Stingmore sac.chairman@ntet.co.uk Coal and Alternative Fuel Trials: Nick Bosworth sac.chairman@ntet.co.uk Vice Chairman and Engine Owners’ Section: Coal and Alternative Fuel Trials: Nick Bosworth sac.chairman@ntet.co.uk Vice Chairman and Engine Owners’ Section: Bob Farm House, Castle Hill, Coal and Alternative Fuel Trials: Tom Attwood coal.trials@ntet.co.uk BobSiddall, Siddall,Stud Stud Farm House, Castle Hill, Compliance Officer: Compliance Officer: Tom Attwood coal.trials@ntet.co.uk Bob Siddall, Stud Farm House, Castle Hill, Carlton-on-Trent Tom Attwood coal.trials@ntet.co.uk Compliance Officer: Carlton-on-TrentNG23 NG236NX 6NX Charlotte Garbett compliance@ntet.co.uk Steaming Editor: Charlotte Garbett compliance@ntet.co.uk Carlton-on-Trent 6NX 01636 engines@ntet.co.uk Steaming Editor: CharlotteDisc Garbett compliance@ntet.co.uk 01636821 821991 991NG23 engines@ntet.co.uk Steaming Editor: Paul Ritchie steaming@ntet.co.uk Insurance Administrator: 01636 821 991 engines@ntet.co.uk Insurance Disc Administrator: Paul Ritchie steaming@ntet.co.uk Membership Paul Ritchie steaming@ntet.co.uk Insurance Disc Administrator: MembershipSecretary: Secretary: Louise Maunder discs@ntet.co.uk Advertising in Steaming: Louise Maunder discs@ntet.co.uk Membership Secretary: Richard NTET Advertising in steaming@ntet.co.uk Steaming: Louise Maunder discs@ntet.co.uk RichardSemple, Semple, NTETMembership, Membership,Linden LindenLea, Lea, Advertising in Steaming: Paul Ritchie FBHVC Liaison Officer: Richard Semple, NTET Membership, Linden Lea, System Support: Lydham, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY9 Paul Ritchie steaming@ntet.co.uk Lydham, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY95HB 5HB Paul Ritchie steaming@ntet.co.uk System Support: John Durling fbhvc@ntet.co.uk Lydham, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY9 5HB David Smith support@ntet.co.uk membership@ntet.co.uk membership@ntet.co.uk David Smith support@ntet.co.uk membership@ntet.co.uk FBHVC Liaison Officer: Treasurer: FBHVC Liaisonfbhvc@ntet.co.uk Officer: Treasurer: John Durling Amy Reynolds treasurer@ntet.co.uk John Durling fbhvc@ntet.co.uk Amy Reynolds treasurer@ntet.co.uk NTET General Council: Nick Bosworth, Rob Clifford-Wing, Charlie Coulls, Paul Davis, John Durling, Gareth Ellis, Charlotte Garbett, James Huntley, Richard Hurley, Louise Maunder, Amy Reynolds, Dee Searle, Tony Seddon, Bob Siddall, Kathy Smith, Paul Stingmore, Mark Waite. NTET General Council: NTET General Council: Tom Attwood, Joe Black, Nick Bosworth, Rob Clifford-Wing, John Durling, Charlotte Garbett, James Huntley, Louise Maunder, Amy Reynolds, Andy Rimell, Tom Attwood, Joe Black, Nick Bosworth, Rob Clifford-Wing, John Durling, Charlotte Garbett, James Huntley, Louise Maunder, Amy Reynolds, Andy Rimell, Dee Searle, Tony Seddon, Richard Semple, Bob Siddall, David Smith, Kathy Smith, Mark Waite, Anne Whittingstall, John Wye Dee Searle, Tony Seddon, Richard Semple, Bob Siddall, David Smith, Kathy Smith, Mark Waite, Anne Whittingstall, John Wye

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Steaming • Winter 25 Steaming • Winter 2023/24 Steaming • Winter 2023/24 31/12/2025 12:06

STEAMING

Chairman’s Welcome

don’t know about you, but Winter seems to sneak up on me every single year. We’d barely finished enjoying a mild, almost smugly pleasant Autumn; just that one sharp frost in November, and now, as I’m writing this, the rain is coming in sideways and the wind’s doing its best to break my office windows! First things first: a big shout-out to Keith and Amy Reynolds for pulling together another cracking weekend. Everyone who came along, whether you were local, travelled miles, or joined us online, seemed to have a great time, and it was lovely seeing so many familiar faces. And a huge thank-you to the Grocott family for letting us invade their museum for the AGM and for making us feel completely at home. The team at Albrighton Hall & Spa looked after us well. Dinner was delicious, and afterwards Andrew Goddard, Managing Director of Morris Oils, treated us to a surprisingly fascinating talk on the world of oil and grease which was well received by members. Sunday morning was a real highlight. We headed over to the old Sentinel Works, now in the hands of the Goddard family, who’ve done a fantastic job turning it into a modern storage and distribution site without stripping away its old charm. They’d really gone to town for our visit, putting on a superb engine display. Vicky and Sarah kept us warm and cheerful with endless cups of tea and coffee while we wandered around. The display leaned heavily on Burrells, which as many of you will know, suited me perfectly; though I must confess my heart was utterly stolen by David’s Devonshire Burrell. It looked picture perfect in front of its living wagon, which wore its working days paintwork so well. Thank you also goes to Dick Blenkinsop, who’s stepped down as Vice President after many years of solid support. I’m delighted to say President Andrew is back for another round, and he’s joined by two new Vice Presidents, Colin Hatch and Paul Davis. I’m looking forward to seeing them at meetings over the next year. To the Trustees and officers who’ve stepped back from General Council, thank you sincerely. I know how much time and effort goes into the Trust, and your contributions have really mattered. Six trustees are staying on for another three years, and we’re welcoming Charlie Coulls, Richard Hurley and Paul Davis to the team too. One of the bits of news I really enjoyed sharing at the AGM was that Steam Apprentice Club membership has doubled! That’s an incredible achievement and down to the hard work and enthusiasm of Paul Stingmore and his team. They give so much of their time, and it really shows. If you fancy giving them a hand, even for an hour or two, they would love the help. Just drop Paul a message. I’m also pleased to say the new NTET and SAC websites are finally live. Yes, they took longer than expected (don’t they always?), but I hope you agree they show the Trust off in the right light. Over the next few months, we’ll be rolling out more features, including a new members’ area, so keep checking the sites. As last year closed, many of you will have been out at festive events before giving your engines a Winter break; boilers emptied, everything oiled and tucked up until the Spring. For those of you still ploughing on with restorations, I hope your shed heater is earning its keep and the kettle’s never far from boiling. I trust you all had a very happy Christmas, and I wish you a peaceful 2026, whilst I look forward to catching up with you all on the rally fields this season.

The Magazine of the National Traction Engine Trust Volume 69 No. 1 Winter 2025/26

In This Issue From the Trust Obituaries AGM 2025 AGM Awards AGM Visits Photographic Competition 70th Anniversary Rally Ransomes Return SODEM Road Run Burrell No. 3684 Meteor Steaming Around Members Benefits Shop Correspondence Steaming Past

4 11 12 14 16 20 22 24 26 28 32 44 46 48 50

Cover photo: Sentinel DG4 No. 8571 stands in the landmark entrance to the Waggon Works on the Sunday of the AGM weekend. Photo: Morris Lubricants Published quarterly for the membership of the National Traction Engine Trust 4 Church Green East, Redditch, Worcestershire B98 8BT Editor: Editor: Paul Ritchie email: steaming@ntet.co.uk Consulting Editor: Colin Tyson Designer: Anita Waters neetz-design@outlook.com Print and distribution by The Lavenham Press, 47 Water Street, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN © 2026 The National Traction Engine Trust. Reproduction, transmission, storing or copying, by any process whatsoever, without the written permission of the publisher is forbidden. All rights reserved. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NTET. CONTRIBUTIONS – We welcome any relevant contribution, large or small, to the Trust’s magazine. For advice or to discuss potential articles, please contact the Editor.

ISSN 0260-2962

LEFT: David’s Burrell No. 2512 General C R de Wet and trailer were picture perfect. Photo: Morris Lubricants

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Steaming is printed on wellmanaged FSC®-certiﬁed paper using vegetablebased inks. Printing plates are aluminium and are recycled, as are any surplus/old inks while printing blankets are shredded and used for rubberised play areas and footpaths. The wrapping it comes in is degradable and will break down in the soil.

31/12/2025 12:06

FROM THE TRUST... TSU Report – Winter 2025 TSU in 2025 (and beyond) The pressure gauges are on the kitchen wall again – it must mean we are approaching the end of the year… I’ve given the final TSU report of 2025 the title above as a bit of a review of the year and as a look forward to 2026. 2025 has been a year of consolidation but also further developments for the TSU Team. Late in 2024 and early in 2025 we reviewed the Rally Authorisation Scheme. Having reviewed the legislation and having taken specialist legal advice, the TSU recommended the withdrawal of the Authorisation Scheme. The discussions over the legislation and removal of the scheme raised questions as to whether our Steam Apprentices could continue to drive engines. We delved further into the statute books and consulted the lawyers again. We concluded, given specific conditions, we could confirm they were able to continue with this activity. Phew! Having withdrawn the Authorisation Scheme, we set to and reviewed what we could offer events in the form of support -on to the consolidation bit. Out of this the NTET Rally Support scheme was born. We concluded that we could offer pretty much all that the Authorisation Scheme offered (access to the EIF Purple Guide, access to the NTET Disc System etc) with the exception of the legal exemptions from aspects of the Road Traffic Act. Under the leadership of Gavin Young (who has taken to it well and is doing a grand job for us) we felt that the scheme could be expanded to offer more. Gavin has some great ideas, and the work is continuing and will do in 2026. Tom Attwood’s work on fuels and the availability of the same has seemed to have settled down in 2025, with many of us finding suitable fuels locally to our home bases. This does not mean we have taken our eye off the ball. We continue to monitor the situation and will do so on a continual basis in coming years. Which leads me on to… Environmental pressures,,, Charlotte Garbett (our Compliance Officer) has been keeping a keen eye on environmental issues (along with Tom) and has been monitoring the output from our Lords and Masters in Governments all over the world. COP Summits have been watched like a hawk, and their output was reported at the last Engine Owners and Drivers Meeting. This work will also continue in the coming years. I see this as one of our threats and Charlotte’s work on this is key to what the NTET is about. Back to events – 2025 has seen quite a lot of activity and publicity about Martyn’s Law. If you have read Charlotte’s pages throughout 2025, you will be well aware that safety at public events have come under considerable scrutiny following events like the Manchester bomb. The Government have been looking to provide some regulation to ensure the public’s safety at events. This is likely to have some implications for steam rallies and events. Charlotte has kept us updated as things progress. This will doubtless continue in 2026. 2025 saw a handful of applications for engines to reclaim their original registrations. John Hunt has been working steadfastly on 4

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this. Through the work he and our Chairman have done, this year saw him agree a partnership with the Road Locomotive Society, which gave John access to their archives. This is a valuable resource for this activity and as an added reciprocal arrangement, John processes any applications he receives from RLS members. The NTET is a member of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs. Our person on the ground with FBHVC is John Durling. In 2025 John became a member of their Legislation Committee – giving us and road steam representation on that committee. This is good news in that the FBHVC is mainly internal combustion focussed, so this development means that from 2025 we can ensure they do not forget about our needs when consulting with Government on legislation affecting road vehicles. Louise Maunder continues to be our Discs Officer. This task (alongside her work with the SAC) is quite time consuming. She has been looking at the workings of the scheme in depth, and we have met recently to discuss various elements of this. This work will continue over the festive period and into 2026. We will update you in the New Year as things progress. The Team (including NTET Chairman, Rob Wing) continues to meet when we need to. As it happens, 2025 has seen four TSU “Catch Up Calls” and we continue to use our WhatsApp group to bounce ideas and issues around. I have probably missed some things we have been doing – so please forgive me! All in all, as you can see, 2025 has been a busy year for the team.

TSU in 2026 I said at the start, this piece would be part looking back on the year and part looking forward to 2026. In a nutshell, as you can see, the TSU Team have a number of things we are working on. This will continue over the Festive Period (though not on Christmas Day under pain of death from our families!) and into 2026. I would like to personally thank the Team for their hard work and diligence. Many people don’t realise what a hard working bunch we have (both on TSU and wider within the NTET and SAC) and just how many hours of people’s free time goes into volunteering for the Trust. Please remember, we are your TSU, so if you have any pressing technical issues you need assistance with, please contact me on tsu@ntet.co.uk and we will be pleased to help. In conclusion, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Steamy 2026. Tony Seddon Head of TSU Steaming • Winter 25

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Compliance Martyn’s Law There continues to be a lot of discussion around Martyn’s Law, and while the core position hasn’t changed, a few useful developments are worth flagging. One of the most helpful recent additions is a new official “myth buster” and summary leaflet published via the ProtectUK website. These materials are aimed at clearing up some of the common misunderstandings that have been circulating, particularly around what Martyn’s Law does and does not require. They reinforce the message that preparation should be proportionate and sensible, and that organisers do not need to engage consultants or purchase products claiming to offer “Martyn’s Law compliance”. These resources are well worth a read, and more similar material is starting to appear online, so it’s worth keeping an eye on official sources as further guidance is released. It’s important to remember that, despite these helpful background documents, the formal statutory guidance has still not been published. Until it is, no one can claim to be compliant with Martyn’s Law, and there is no enforcement regime in place. The focus for now remains on understanding your event, thinking through site-specific risks, and being ready to adapt once the official guidance arrives. In the meantime, the NTET’s Tackling Terrorism Site Risks consultation is already underway and gathering practical examples from across the sector. This is a valuable opportunity for organisers to share real-world risks and the controls they already use, many of which are likely to be common across steam events. The more contributions we receive, the more useful this shared resource will be when organisers come to review their arrangements for 2026 and beyond. If you haven’t already taken part, please do consider submitting an entry. It doesn’t need to be complex or exhaustive, even small, practical observations help build a clearer picture of the challenges we all face and the sensible measures that work in practice.

NTET DRIVER TRAINING COURSE The NTET Driving Course will be held on 16th and 17th May 2026 And enjoy a weekend of lectures and driving at Astwood Bank Members £325, Steam Apprentices (age 13-15) £110, (age 16 – 21) £165 for the two days. DISCOUNT of 15% If you pay for 2 years at the same time More information at www.ntet.co.uk Owners and Drivers Contact Charlie Coulls:training@ntet.co.uk Winter 25 • Steaming

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As further online material and guidance becomes available, the NTET will continue to flag useful resources and explain what they mean in a rally context. For now, collaboration, common sense and proportionate planning remain the watchwords. Vehicle and heritage regulation (watching brief) As mentioned previously, steam vehicles remain categorically MOT-exempt, and recent DVLA changes have been welcomed. However, the Department for Transport continues to look at historic vehicle safety more broadly, and while steam was not the focus of recent consultations, the NTET is keeping a watching brief in case future proposals widen in scope. COP Snapshot Many Steamings ago, I explained what COP is and why it’s worth keeping an eye on, as international commitments can, over time, influence UK policy and legislation, including areas such as fuel access. The good news is that COP30, held in November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, focused on climate finance, adaptation and long-term transition rather than introducing new restrictions. While COP discussions can shape future policy direction, there are currently no proposals affecting historic, steam or vintage vehicles, and no immediate issues arising from the conference. Depending on when this edition graces your doorstep, I wish you a happy, healthy and successful 2026. I suspect Martyn’s Law will continue to develop over the coming year, but our community has always shown its ability to adapt with good sense, fresh perspective and a willingness to learn from one another. Sharing experience and working together will remain key as we navigate whatever comes next. Charlotte Garbett

Engine Owners, Drivers and Crew Meeting will be held at the

S E Davis and Co Ltd, Sandhills Farm, Edgioake Lane, Astwood Bank B96 6BG

on SUNDAY 22nd February 2026 Commencing at 1100 hours with coffee served from 1030hours. A buffet lunch will be provided.

All engine owners, crew and other interested parties are invited to attend whether members of the Trust or not. The event will also be transmitted as a Webinar. More details nearer the time. The Agenda for the meeting will consist of the usual updates on all matters of interest plus a talk on a topical matter For more information, please contact Bob Siddall, Tel 01636 821991 or engines@ntet.co.uk

31/12/2025 12:06

FBHVC News Summary - Historic Issue 8 - December 2025 The Legislation Committee Having reported in the last issue of Steaming that the FBHVC, along with many other organisations, had responded to the Government’s Call for Evidence regarding the proposed introduction of driverless, automated vehicles, we are now awaiting the fallout. Initial trials of any automated vehicle (AV) are likely to be limited to taxis (or Automated Passenger Services – APS as they appear to be referred to) on defined inner city routes, historic vehicles, and steam engines in particular, are unlikely to encounter them, but the FBHVC is monitoring the situation: and will continue to do so as and when (if) the use of AVs for personal transport becomes a reality. In this issue of Historic Lindsay Irvine touches on the subject of ‘Clickbait’. This he defines as ‘Noun – content (on the internet) whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on a link to a particular webpage’. Most of us will have come across this at some point. An article pops up on your phone or laptop which appears interesting or to offer some dire warning of impending doom to “all drivers over 65”, or whatever. The purpose of this is, of course, to encourage you to click on it as the author of said piece gets money dependant on the number of views the article receives. This is all well and good, until the article contains information which is actually wrong or, in some cases, malicious. Recent examples are:- “the need to renew your licence at 62 from 12th October this year”, no, it’s still 70. “the need to pass a medical and eyesight tests on renewal”, no, “the ending of zero rate VED on HVs”, no. It now appears that AI is being used to generate many of these so-called

articles, with the result that they have moved firmly into the malign category. So far, I’ve not seen any such clickbait headlines referring to steam, but I think that the lesson is clear, any lurid or eye catching headline in your social media feed or when you boot up your laptop should be approached with caution.

National Historic Vehicle Survey (NHVS) The first NHVS was conducted in 1997 and the FBHVC has repeated this exercise roughly every five years since. The 2025 survey was carried out with the assistance of Turquoise Thinking Ltd. 19,943 surveys, representing owners, enthusiasts, trade and clubs were returned making it a truly representative view of the historic vehicle movement in this Country. The numbers produced by this survey are quite staggering; 1,934,178 historic vehicles registered in the UK. 690,777 (estimated) historic vehicle owners in the UK. 34,500 people employed in historic vehicle activities. £3.2 billion spent by owners per annum. £7.3 billion total annual spending per annum on vehicles and activities in the UK. 22,700,000 people regard historic vehicles as part of the heritage fabric of this Country. As well as providing interesting reading and giving us a feeling of being “really part of something big”, this report has been given to various Government departments to emphasise how important we are to the economics of this Country. This is a tiny snapshot of the survey results. The full report can be found on https://fbhvc.co.uk/survey .

Drive It Day 2026 It’s not too early to be thinking about the start of the next season, and what better way than taking the engine out (or if you don’t own one persuading someone who does) for a few miles on the 26th April for Drive It Day. As in previous years this is being promoted by the FBHVC to encourage historic vehicle owners to get out and about with their pride and joy. You can also support the charity ‘Childline’ by purchasing one of the Drive It Day plaques to attach to your vehicle for the day – go to https://www.driveitday.co.uk .

And finally Anyone involved in putting on a show or rally will be only too well aware of the increasing burden of the bureaucracy required before you can even start to think about putting exhibits on the field. Once again Lindsay Irvine has been busy with his paint brushes to produce this amusing and apposite cartoon. It is, of course, used with his permission. More on these articles, and the rest of the Historic magazine, can be found at https://fbhvc.co.uk . John Durling FBHVC Liaison 6

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Engine Owners Section Report Engine Owners Code of Practice Since the last report progress has been made on having the Engine Owners Code of Practice reprinted and it will be uploaded on the website shortly.

BCOPC At the latest meeting of the Boiler Code of Practice Committee the topics which concern us was the availability of the Guidance Notes. These cover all aspects of the pressure systems on railway locomotives. Some of these are relevant to our locomotive type boilers. When they are available, a link will be provided on the Owners and Drivers Section of our website. The committee consists of representatives of heritage railways, boiler repairers, boiler inspection companies, SAFED (Safety Assessment Federation), Office of the Rail Regulator, the Heritage Railway Association, and various consultants.

Manufactured Fuel Graham Donkin of CPL gave a presentation about their involvement in the production of manufactured fuel for the heritage sector and compared it with other available fuels. At the present several heritage railways are fully committed to manufactured fuels, and some were splitting 50/50 with imported coal. The one major problem is that none of the Main Line Operators have tried it out on the main line.

Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR 2000) A major concern was the consultation that had just been issued about PSSR 2000. It would appear that Government is trying to dilute or get rid of PSSR 2000 in its effort to reduce red tape. I filled in the consultation on behalf of the NTET and I hope that some of you have filled it in on a personal basis. As usual the call for information was not particularly well publicised and the time scale was short.

Smoke Whilst at the meeting I had complaints from the railway side about the amounts of black smoke being emitted by a traction

Steam Apprentice Club As I write this update, Christmas is fast approaching and our ‘Winter months work programme’ is well under way. In fact, by the time this reaches you we will be over the Christmas hump and counting down towards Spring and the new rally season. A slightly emotional update from me this time is that Richard Pierce sadly passed away a few weeks ago. I always had an interest in steam, but Richard was the reason I was able to access the hobby. He was the owner who said, ‘come along and get involved’. He was also the owner who helped me learn hard lessons. After I’d not considered just how steep a hill was and not changed down (and set the brake blocks alight in trying to lose speed on Richard’s Fowler road loco Endeavour) it was Richard who said: ‘next time you come up to a hill, you’ll remember this’. It was Richard who taught me that there is as much enjoyment in sharing our hobby as there is in driving engines Winter 25 • Steaming

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engine. A video of the incident on social media had had many thousands of views. It was emphasised that this was counterproductive and would draw unwanted attention to our hobby and the supply of coal. In the past it has been great to blast a column of black smoke into the air to show how hard the engine was working. We have all done it. However, the world has changed and there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our hobby and our contribution to ‘Climate Change’. To quote from a report in Old Glory: ‘One important thing, the coal used here, …., was excellent and it was a relatively smog free zone, something that is so important to all responsible organisers in this day and age especially as we have a new leader of the Green Party’. Please be aware of your actions and try not to draw unwanted attention to our hobby.

Engine Owners Meeting The meeting will be held on Sunday 22nd February 2026 at S E Davis and Co Ltd, Sandhills Farm, Edgioake Lane, Astwood Bank B96 6BG. See advert elsewhere.

Driving Course The Driving Course will be held on 16th and 17th May 2026 at Astwood Bank. See advert elsewhere.

Membership of EO Section Are you a Chartered Engineer? I am looking for members who are Chartered Engineers to join the Engine Owners Section. As a Section we are custodians of the Engine Owners Code of Practice, and it would be helpful if we could have a couple more Chartered Engineers on the Section. At present the Section only meets via the internet, so it is not onerous in time commitment. Please get in touch if you think that you can help. Bob Siddall

themselves. I would therefore like to take a moment to pay my respects to a man who was pivotal and inspirational not just for me, but to so many others, in providing those opportunities. A man who was also a true gentleman. It seems right that as we approach Spring, new life will start to appear and new apprentices will join us, looking for that same opportunity, on the rally field – please be the person that says “yes” and inspires the next generation as Richard did for me. In matters of the Steam Apprentice Club, I had the great privilege of working through a plethora of nominations this year for our annual awards – with multiple entries across the categories: 7

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Teddy Chapman

Ben Clarridge

Daniel Horne

Harley Plumb

Elliott Jones

Oliver Forster

● Steam Apprentice of the Year: Teddy Chapman,

It was also a pleasure at the AGM to be able to describe how the SAC has made such good progress this year on membership numbers, social media presence and refreshing our website and Logbook etc. I made a plea at the AGM for people willing to host driving days and was really pleased when several people offered to run new driving days for us in 2026. I’m therefore hoping we will shortly be able to announce a good selection throughout the year – if any of these are local to you, please consider taking your engine along and supporting us. The earlier we know engines will be available, the sooner we can confirm the number of places available for our apprentices. Through the Winter we will continue to build on the new logbook and the members area will be launched on the SAC website. We’ve also got new opportunities coming up for some of our older apprentices with bursaries being offered for the BESTT Basic Steam Safety Course which looks like it could be a great entry point for aspiring young boiler inspectors! Meanwhile, my Garrett is getting a new set of pistons and rings amongst some other Winter maintenance and we are already planning our first outing down to Brixham in Devon in April. Wishing all of you a safe, happy and memorable 2026! Paul John Rex Models Stingmore

Ben Clarridge, Daniel Horne, Harley Plumb; ● SAC Volunteer of the Year: Elliot Jones and Oliver Forster;

and ● Organisation Supporting the SAC: Weeting Steam Engine

& Country Show, and West of England Steam Engine Society for their continued delivery of massive driving days for our apprentices, and finally John Rex Models. Every one of these would have been a deserving winner so it made our life really hard in deciding who to award the trophies to.

The final awards were given to: Apprentice of the Year: Harley Plumb for his fund-raising work with his grandad’s miniature Fowler and his home built engine for the specialist children’s ward (C2 at Addenbrookes children’s ward) where he had himself been treated several years before after suffering a brain tumour on his 9th birthday. Harley is becoming a very competent engineman, so it was a pleasure to hand over this award. Volunteer of the Year: Elliot Jones took the award this year for his work with the Bredgar & Wormshill railway where he helps with the railway and resident Garrett traction engine. We often see Elliott wherever the SAC is around the country and he is always keen to get involved. Organisation supporting the SAC: John Rex Models were given the award this year after kindly donating a water bowser kit to the club last year to accompany Lady Sylvia. With lots of hard work throughout the summer this was successfully built. The bowser is now in several parts with different apprentices around the country using the Winter period to paint it! Thanks to the whole team at John Rex and well done on the award. 8

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Direct Debit Mandate for Existing Members To preserve your copy of Steaming you may Copy/Scan and Print this form and then ﬁll in all of the details and send by post to: NTET Membership Secretary, c/o Linden Lea, Lydham, Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY9 5HB or, email to: membership@ntet.co.uk

Note: This form should only be used if you wish to Renew an existing NTET or SAC membership. If you do not wish to deface this in-magazine form visit ntet.co.uk/renewing for the PDF version If you wish to Join the NTET or SAC you may do so on-line at ntet.co.uk/joining Note: Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit instructions for some types of accounts. Name:

Member No:

Post Code:

Email Address: Phone No: I wish to renew my subscription to the NTET by Direct Debit in the category I have ticked below NTET Single £38.00

NTET Joint £57.00

SAC Single £15.00

SAC Joint £22.50

1 NTET + 1 SAC £53.00

1 NTET + 2 SAC £60.50

2 NTET + 1 SAC £72.00

2 NTET + 2 SAC £79.50

I wish to start the Direct Debit payments on 1st 20 which is the month of my current expiry date, and then renew annually on the anniversary of this date until I cancel this notice in writing. To the Manager

Bank or Building Society

Address Post Code Account holder(s) name(s): Sort Code:

Account Number: Service User Number: 6 9 1 2 1 3

Signature(s):

Date:

Charities Aid Foundation, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4TA Instruction to your Bank or Building Society Please pay the National Traction Engine Trust from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction with remain with the Charities Aid Foundation or the National Traction Engine Trust and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society. I am a UK taxpayer and would like this and all future subscriptions I pay to the NTET to be Gift Aid Donations. To add 25% to the donation at no extra cost to the donor Rev 1.1 09/23

Agree Disagree

National Traction Engine Trust is a Registered Charity No. 291578 – Registered in England No 1302197 Registered Oﬃce: 4 Church Green East, Redditch, Worcestershire. B98 8BT

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I will contact the NTET if I wish to cancel this declaration, change my name or my home address or if I no longer pay suﬃcient tax on my income and/or capital gains.

Please tick Agree or Disagree

9 15 31/12/2025 12:06

Membership Musings Many engines will now be tucked up in their Winter quarters awaiting the Spring and the return of the rally season. A few hardy souls will have done Christmas Lights and Santa Runs some even seeing in the New Year. It was great to welcome you all to Shropshire for the AGM in November at the Grocott Centre and the Sunday visit to The Sentinel Waggon Works in Shrewsbury with a good selection of steam represented at both venues. Interesting to see the work being undertaken by the Goddard Family and Morris Lubricants to bring the Sentinel Works back up to standard. The main office block, gates and the famous statue have all been fully refurbished. The Sentinel Waggon Works name has also been proudly reinstated above the gates something that was removed some years ago by Rolls Royce. My thanks go to David, Diana, Edward and Vicky, Andrew, Sarah, William and George Goddard for their invitation and wonderful hospitality.

From the President As I write this, we are approaching Christmas and I am reflecting on the year’s AGM in particular. The AGM passed off well, in no small part due to the work of the team who organised the two days, led by Keith Reynolds and Tony Seddon. The Saturday format was different due to the availability of a suitable venue; however it worked fine. The meeting was supported by an interesting selection of engines roading to the Grocott heritage centre to greet us, thank you. Sunday saw us invited to visit the Sentinel Waggon Works in Shrewsbury now owned by the Goddard Family who are determined to maintain the works history as well as providing expansion for their needs in Morris Lubricants. Again, there was a fine display of engines to greet us. Many admired the fully restored facade of the works, the front gates and the Sentinel himself standing proud. This part of our industrial heritage is now in safe hands. My thanks to the Goddard family and their many helpers. I would like to thank all those who supported my re-election to President. It is an honour which I very much appreciate, and I hope I do the job as people would wish. In fact, there is no

Renewals continue and as usual please when renewing online be careful not to rejoin. If it asks you for more than number and postcode you maybe in the wrong part of the system. If you get a renewal reminder and you know you have a Direct Debit in place please ignore it. If you are not sure please feel free to check with me before acting on the reminder. Please remember that Direct Debits appear on your bank statement as Charity Donation and always on or around the 1st of the month. I trust by the time you read this you will have had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here’s to 2026. Richard Semple

“job spec” to use modern terminology so I will just bumble on for the time being. We also welcomed two new Vice Presidents, Colin Hatch and Paul Davies. I am confident they will both make very useful contributions to the Trust. While mentioning Vice Presidents I thank Dick Blenkinsop who decided it was time to retire, a man who over the years has given a lot to the Trust and the steam movement in general. Thank you Dick. We have a brilliant team of officers who do the work and are there seeking to support members and our movement. I hate to mention individuals as so many contribute but two exceptions - we have Charlotte our compliance officer wading through a mountain of legal paperwork which we must do and endeavouring to interpret it for us more simple mortals! The Steam Apprentice Club under Paul’s leadership has doubled its membership this year, they work hard as a team, please if you can help do, give Paul a shout because the lack of people will ultimately limit what they can do for the young members. By the time you read this “Happy Christmas” will be too late but it’s the thought that counts! Andrew Semple

NTET DRIVER TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS

The NTET is awarding Scholarships to participate in the NTET Driver Training Course which is held in May each year. The Scholarship covers the course fees for one year, NOT incidental expenses such as travelling, accommodation and food. The scholarships are open to non-engine owners being members, who are members of the NTET. For more details of the Scholarship and Course, visit www.ntet.co.uk Applications including a cv and a statement of why you wish to attend the 3 year Driver Training Course should be submitted by 28th February to the General Secretary of the Trust: general.secretary@ntet.co.uk 10

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OBITUARIES Frank Lythgoe

4th August 1939 – 4th September 2025 Frank was born in Warrington to Adam and Frances Lythgoe, joining his elder brother Adam at home in Culcheth. His early schooling was at Culcheth before boarding at Bedstone School in Shropshire with his elder brother. Frank would tell you he hated school and diverted his energies to the school garden where he became very accomplished. The story goes he succeeded in feeding the school on spinach for several days which resulted in spinach becoming his nickname. It was a sign of things to come however, as he wanted to be a farmer from a young age. After a short time learning how to farm, he acquired and moved to Warburton Park Farm, still a teenager! In 1963 he met Pat Hancock, love blossomed and they married the following April and so began a married life of over 61 happy years. Over the next ten years they went on to have five daughters who

were all loved and cherished by Frank and Pat. Frank was a very practical man and could always mend whatever the girls broke. In his early years Frank ran a motor racing team from home, occasionally driving himself, and right up to his death followed Formula One with enthusiasm. Later he began to develop an interest in steam preservation and probably became best known for regularly rallying five showman’s engines, there were several more in his collection along with fairground organs and a Wurlitzer organ he rebuilt in his barn fitting it with modern electronics to make it play better. He was often motivated by assertions that “it could not be done” he would set off to prove them wrong. As well as steam he went on to collect a number of vintage tractors. He spent many hours at steam rallies

Anthony Owen Hunt (Tony)

and made many enduring friendships which enriched his life and those who he knew. Frank was diagnosed with multiple myeloma some ten years ago but he battled on right to the end. His funeral took place in Warburton on the 18th September attended by many friends. Frank leaves behind his wife Pat of 61 years, his five daughters and their husbands and seven grandchildren to whom we extend our sympathies. Andrew Semple

Richard Pierce

19th May 1941 - 3rd December 2025

1933 – 2025

It is with great sadness I write this brief tribute to Tony who died at the end of November. He was an original member, along with his father Tom, of the British Fairground Society which was incorporated into the Leeds and District Traction Engine Club in the early 1960’s. The first rally of the club was held at Harewood House near Leeds and with a few exceptions most rallies were held there, every year on an August Bank Holiday. Tony organised many of these rallies along with other members of the club. He was also a member of the Road Locomotive Society and along with his 1920 Burrell No. 3849 showman’s engine Marshall Foch, which he inherited from his father, attended many rallies. He also owned a children’s fairground ride, a Gaviolli organ mounted on the body of a van which he used to raise money for Motor Neurone disease of which his first wife Enid died. He was an active member of BESTT and a member of the NTET. He also authored a book, The Hunt Collection of company photographs of J & H. McLaren Ltd of Leeds. Our thoughts are with Marian, his second wife, and his close family. Gordon Newton Winter 25 • Steaming

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As we were going to press we heard of the passing of Richard Pierce, long term NTET member and for a period, NTET Engine Owners Chairman. We will provide a fuller account of Richard’s life and reflect on some of his achievements in the next edition. For now our thoughts are with his family. RIP Richard. 11

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AGM 2025 Chairman’s Report Members, both in the room and online, were welcomed to the AGM by the Chairman. The Trust received a very warm welcome from local members, and it was a pleasure to bring the AGM to Shrewsbury, following the previous year’s venue in the South of England. Thanks were given to Keith and Amy for organising the visits across the weekend, and it was hoped that members had enjoyed looking around the Grocott Museum. The Trust also expressed its gratitude to David and Linda Grocott, who had kindly hosted the meeting.

Trust Aims It was confirmed that the aims and objectives of the Trust had remained unchanged over the past year. These continued to be: The encouragement and promotion of public interest in the preservation of historic steam-powered road vehicles, fairground and agricultural equipment, and the promotion of safe operation, maintenance, repair and exhibition of such equipment through training programmes, publications, codes of practice, and skills development for both young people and adults.

Keep Steam on the Road The 2025 season had brought increased optimism throughout the movement. Attendance numbers at rallies and events had been strong, including the celebrations at Appleford and the West of England. Coal prices had eased, offering average but workable quality, though members had continued to guard against excessive

smoke. Fuel quality had varied, but costs had reduced, and mixed ovoid fuels had become more widely used.

Financial Year 2025/26 The financial year ending on 31 March 2026 had shown a stable period of activity for the Trust. A full financial report was scheduled to be given by Treasurer Amy later in the meeting.

Section Leaders’ Reports Detailed reports from Section Leaders were provided within the AGM booklet. Members were invited to ask questions from the floor, and none had been raised.

Communication and Regulation Communication remained a priority for Trustees. The major investment in the Trust’s new website had been nearing completion and was expected to support a refreshed membership campaign aimed at road steam enthusiasts, the wider steam community and the general public. A similar initiative was planned for the new SAC website. The intention behind these efforts had been to communicate more effectively, grow the Trust’s membership and strengthen support for non-engine-owning members. Members continued to express strong appreciation for the well-established Steaming magazine, and thanks was given to Paul Ritchie for his ongoing work in producing it.

Fuel & Boiler Inspectors The Trust had continued to monitor matters relating to fuel quality, smoke, firing techniques and the use of both lump coal and ovoids. Encouraging new entrants to take up roles as Boiler Inspectors remained an important area of focus.

Regulation The TSU continued to engage extensively with relevant authorities. The Compliance Officer had reported significant progress, including the completion of more than ten policies, as well as work related to Martyn’s Law and the Rally Support Scheme. A vote of thanks had been given to all officers involved.

Appointments • Andrew Semple was re-elected as President for a further three-year term. • Thanks were expressed to Dick Blenkinsop, who retired after many years of service as Vice President. • Colin Hatch and Paul Davis were appointed as new Vice Presidents, with Paul also joining the General Council. • The Trust welcomed Charlotte Coulls and Richard Hurley as CG Trustees. • Thanks were given to those stepping down: Anne Whittingstall, Tom Attwood and Joe Black. The Chairman thanked the departing officers for their many years of service to the Trust.

SAC The SAC had reported a 100% increase in new entrants to the hobby, both young and mature. The Trust will continue to prioritise this important section, and the significant progress achieved had been made possible through the dedication of Paul, Louise and Gareth.

Appleford Rally 2025

Members enjoying their white table dinner.

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The Trust had worked with the organisers of the Appleford Rally as they celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first steam event that helped shape the movement as it exists today. The Trust had contributed funds to support the celebrations, coinciding with its own 70-year milestone as a club and Trust. The weekend had been excellent and very successful. Steaming • Winter 25

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Setting up, prior to the AGM.

Meetings and Governance The General Council had continued to meet regularly, with sub-committees meeting monthly. This consistency had helped maintain momentum across ongoing projects. The commitment of Trustees, in both time and expertise, had been greatly appreciated. Thanks were expressed to: • Tony Seddon and the TSU Team • Charlotte for work on law and regulation • Tom Atwood for work on fuels • John Durling for representation with the FBHVC • John Hunt for work on V765 • All Section Leaders for their steady and effective contributions • Keith and Amy Reynolds for organising the weekend’s visits • All Trustees and members who serve the Trust, both past, and current • Finally, it had been noted that the Trust continued to be short of volunteer support and members had been encouraged to assist where possible. The Chairman concluded by thanking all members—Trustees, volunteers, engine owners and enthusiasts, for their ongoing support and commitment, without which the Trust would not exist.

General Secretary’s reflections For the 2025 Annual General Meeting we travelled to the Grocott Heritage Centre near Whitchurch, Shropshire. Throughout the course of the day our members enjoyed exploring the Heritage Centre and the exhibits the Grocott Winter 25 • Steaming

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family have on display showcasing 75+ years of the family business, in addition to a superb cafe. Outside, several engines were in steam, James Allison’s unique 6” scale four-wheel drive Fowler traction engine was of particular interest inside the building. The morning after the meeting, many members joined an arranged tour of the Sentinel Waggon Works in Shrewsbury courtesy of the ever-generous Goddard family, owners of course of Morris Lubricants. Our sincere thanks go to the Grocott family for their hospitality, Tony and his team for arranging the venue and bringing some engines along to the AGM despite somewhat poor weather, and also to Keith and Amy Reynolds for the superb job they did of organising the hotel, speaker and tour. The AGM itself took place on the Saturday afternoon and was attended by over 40 members in the room, an additional 14 watched via our Zoom webinar – thanks again to Nick Bosworth for setting this up and providing the technical support in the room. It was brilliant to re-elect Andrew Semple as President who will now be ably assisted by two newly elected Vice Presidents in Paul Davis and Colin Hatch, I am sure their input to the Trust will be invaluable going forwards. Charlie Coulls, Paul Davis and Richard Hurley were elected on to the General Council, we look forward to working with them and what they can provide towards the work of the Trust. Charlie has taken on the training officer role previously occupied

by Joe Black for many years, we thank Joe and his wife Vicky for their efforts, they certainly set the bar high. We must also thank both Tom Attwood and Anne Whittingstall for their dedication to the trust over the years, Tom will remain in TSU as the Coals and Alternative Fuel Trials officer, but no longer on the GC. Amy Reynolds, Jim Huntley, Dee Searle and Bob Siddall were all re-elected, with Amy and Bob continuing in their roles of Treasurer and Head of Engine Owners Section / Vice Chairman. The Trophy Presentations followed the close of the meeting, with our newly re-elected President Andrew Semple doing the honours, capably assisted by our Vice Chairman Bob Siddall and Keith Reynolds. Congratulations to all the recipients, details of which are included elsewhere in this issue. In the evening after the AGM, we dined on a delicious meal accompanied by drinks at the Albrighton Hall and Spa, Shrewsbury. The speaker for the evening was Andrew Goddard who detailed how the family came to take ownership of the Sentinel Waggon Works, including his families’ history and longstanding involvement with the steam movement. It was great to hear the lengths they have gone to in securing and restoring the works to their former glory. With much to look forward to in 2026, If you’d like to get involved with supporting the Trust, either at events or in the background, please do get in touch. 13

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All photos by Nick Bosworth

2025 AGM AWARD P

ARTHUR NAPPER CUP Presented by Arthur Napper, originally for engines at the Appleford rally. When Appleford Rallies ended Arthur agreed it could be widened to be presented to engines and wagons operated and maintained to a high standard. This year’s winner of the Arthur Napper Cup went to the Appleford Rally organisers collected by Reg Dore, of behalf of all the organisers.

THE EDNEY SHIELD Purchased by the club in memory of the late E. W. Edney who was treasurer of the club and often regarded as the savior of the club. This year’s award went to Tony and Sarah Seddon who over the years have completed the restoration of more than one engine and have continued to support others to achieve the same goal. More recent times have seen greatly increased participation in Trust’s business.

THE JACK HOLLOWAY PORTABLE FRUIT BOWL Awarded as the title suggests by Jack Holloway for the need to recognize this side of rally work and engine owning. Recent years have seen a growing interest in portables and a growing number are to be found enjoying their rightful place on the rally field.The award went to John and Andrew Bradbury for their work in restoring Ruston & Hornsby 2nhp and Clayton 4nhp.

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CURTIS BOWL A small vase originating from the Curtis family. Often given for taking an engine on long and outstanding journeys under steam. This year’s winner was Ken Miln, who along with his family have undertaken many significant road runs firstly with his parent’s Aveling & Porter steam roller, Lady Hesketh and more recently with his Foster tractor.

PERCY HIRONS BOWL Given by John Hirons to be presented to an agricultural engine preferably one which was either in serious use or used in a proper demonstration. This award went to the Shadbolt family. Their Wallis traction engine Panther is always an engine that stands out in the crowd at any rally. Always immaculate and roaded everywhere it is a credit to Joe, Ceri and the rest of the Shadbolt family.

DACRE LACEY CUP Given by Alastair Dacre Lacey, an early Chairman, of the club, and member number one on the roll. To be awarded for outstanding engine preservation. This year’s recipient was Alistair Evans. The Evans family have always keen supporters of the rally field and vintage restoration. Their sheds are filled with old tractors and a Marshall sheds filled with old tractors and firstly a Marshall portable and Aveling roller. Their collection of engines has expanded to one of the best in the country.

THE BAKER TOC H CUP This impressive trophy is on permanent loan from the Baker Transport family of Southampton. The award went to Bridgette Brown along with her supporter Tom Sanders for the presentation of the Fowler crane engine rallied for so many years by her late Father Len.

CONNIE HUTCHINS MEMORIAL TROPHY Purchased with money raised within the committee and inner circle of friends at the time as a memorial to Connie Hutchins who had been membership secretary in the early 60s. This trophy is awarded annually to a lady within the movement. This year the award went to Maggy Astbury. Maggy is the owner, along with her husband Mark and children, Tristan and Theo, of their two engines - the Clayton roller Ironside and Fowler K7 The Steam Sapper. Maggy is the secretary of the County of Salop Steam Engine Society and goes above and beyond the call of duty in that role.

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D PRESENTATIONS

ERIC MIDDLETON TROPHY Donated by enthusiasts on his death who had assisted him with his large collection of engines and is presented to the best restored exhibit undertaken with modest funding and minimal amount of equipment. This year it was awarded to Andrew Wheeler for his exceptional work, and many have benefited from his happily shared work and skills.

THE BILL MCALPINE TROPHY. Sir William gave the trophy to the NTET for it to be awarded to someone who through example and endeavors made a significant contribution to the road going steam preservation movement. This year it went to Roger and June Mills, who were involved back in the days of Eric Middleton at Hartlebury. For many years they worked with Bill Hunt before engine owning themselves. and even today have a close connection with our hobby known today as “Roger the lamp man”.

JACK HOLLOWAY TROPHY This trophy is presented to someone who has given considerable service to the Trust. This year marks the retirement of Joe and Vicky Black who have for many years managed a significant area of Trust activity and the award was presented to them.

JOHN CRAWLEY TROPHY A fine rose bowl given to the club by John for outstanding service to the club or wider hobby movement but not connected directly with engines. This year this trophy was presented to The County of Salop Steam Engine Society which was founded in 1961 with their first event in Church Stretton. The event moved on via Bishops Castle, Walcot Hall to Onslow Park in Shrewsbury, pictured below.

THE GOLDEN FILM SHIELD Awarded for work in the full field of the traction engine movement. Often awarded to “bodies”as opposed to individuals. Presented by Morris Lubricants of Shrewsbury, producers of the Golden Film Lubrication oils. The award went to the Goddard family for the restoration of the Sentinel works and their determination to keep this part of our hobby’s heritage alive for the future.

NOT PRESENT

YOUNG VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR This is a new trophy, created to recognize a member of the club who has given time volunteering with other organisations within our hobby. It was awarded to Elliot Jones for volunteering at Bredgar & Wormshill Railway where he helps prepare the railway fleet and also supporting with the Garrett agricultural. He also supports on Tony Baker’s roller Omega.

CHOISY AND SIMPSON CUP Choisy and Simpson were insurance brokers and a forerunner of Tennant Budd, and the cup was to be awarded for outstanding engine preservation but not necessarily confined to a specific engine. The winner was Brian Allison who has been responsible for the restoration of many steam engines. He set himself up in business, making his hobby his career after being made redundant. His business has flourished and now he is known as one of the premier engine restorers in the country.

THE JT BEEBY CUP SAC APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR This award is made to a steam apprentice who has demonstrated a high level of knowledge and practical achievement in the working, operation and maintenance of road steam in any form. For his continuing commitment to road steam and support for C2 Ward at Addenbrookes chlidren’s ward this year it was awarded to Harley Plumb.

JOHN COOK MEMORIAL TROPHY This trophy is presented to the winner of the NTET annual photographic competition which this year was Oliver Moore.

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THE DOC ROMANES TROPHY Created in the name of former president of the NTET, Giles ‘Doc’ Romanes, this trophy is to recognize adults, groups or organisations who have supported the SAC over the years. For contributing a water bowser to the Steam Apprentice Club to support Lady Sylvia it was awarded to John Rex Models.

THE DAVID BRADBURY COMMENTATORS AWARD This award was created by David, himself a very popular and knowledgeable commentator for over 50 years. David wished the award to be given to a commentator of repute within the area where the AGM is being held. David was the commentator at the County of Salop Steam Engine Society rallies for 50 years and this year’s award goes to his successor, Anthony Coulls.

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AGM 2025 – Shrewsbury

Tony Seddon’s 1914 Aveling & Porter No. 8401 Avellana stands in front of the museum.

his year we found ourselves on the edge of Shrewsbury, however you pronounce it. The actual AGM was held in the Grocott Heritage Centre in Prees, Whitchurch, a private museum marking and celebrating the history of the Grocott transport empire and the company, possibly better known to many of us as Grocontinental. Prior to the formal part of the day, we were given the opportunity to explore the museum. The first thing I noted within the museum was the beautiful, and awe inspiring, 6-inch miniature of the Fowler four-wheel drive traction engine. This model was made by James Allison working from little more than a couple of pictures

A9 Fowler No. 15376 towers alongside Wallis & Steevens Advance roller No. 7885 Tilly. The Fowler has been owned by the Bridson family from new.

and some details of other Fowler engines of the period. The ‘reverse engineering’ of the front hub and differential arrangement is quite staggering in itself. Outside several local engines has braved the cold weather to appear in steam. Thanks to George Bridson, Evan Allison, Tony Seddon and Tom Attwood, Richard Bridge. The afternoon saw the formal part of the day conducted by Rob Clifford-Wing, our Chairman, followed by the customary presentation of the trophies. Details of these appear elsewhere in this issue of Steaming. The social side of the AGM weekend was catered for at the Allbrighton Hall Hotel, Allbrighton, where some 60 or so

members and guests enjoyed a good meal and good company. A short but interesting talk by Andrew Goddard gave us some of the history of his company and the story behind their acquisition of the Sentinel

Full-size engines attending: Grocott Heritage Centre. Fowler No. 15376, 1919 – George Bridson. Wallis & Steevens Advance roller No. 7885, 1922, Tilly – James and Even Allison. Aveling & Porter No. 8401, 1914, Avellana – Tony Seddon. Burrell roller No. 4004, 1925, Pride of Somerset – Richard Bridge. Sentinel Works. Aveling & Porter L type tractor No. 11839, 1927, Oberon – Brian Allison. Burrell tractor No. 2876, 1907, Little Samson – Andrew and Edward Goddard. Burrell No. 4066, 1927, John of Gaunt – Alistair and Alex Evens. Aveling & Porter roller No. 10072, 1922, Achilles – Charlie Brown. Burrell No. 2512, 1902, General C R de Wet – Goddard family. Sentinel DG waggon No. 8571, 1931 – Goddard family. Marshall tractor No. 68754, 1915, Mascot – Hedd Jones. Burrell showman’s No. 2547, 1903, Endurance – Crane family. Marshall tractor No. 62387, 1913 – Tom Sanders. Foster Wellington tractor No. 3452, 1907, Nip on Kid – Ken Milns. There were also a fine collection of miniature engines attending on both days.

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1925 Burrell roller No. 4004 Pride of Somerset.

Works and the progress towards restoration of the site. On the Sunday morning, we were invited to the Sentinel Waggon Works, now warehousing and the distribution centre for Morris Lubricants. There is an awful lot of oil (and other products) there. Those of us who were engine owners did wonder if a few free samples might be had; but not today. We were all pleased to see that the gates

1903 Burrell showman’s No. 2547 Endurance and 1931 Sentinel DG waggon No. 8571.

now carry the ‘Sentinel Waggon Works’ logo again and that the ‘Sentinel’ figure is painted up and still looking towards Glasgow. The original offices are being restored and put to use again, albeit as offices for the NHS. Walking round the ‘work in progress’ of the construction of these new offices I did wonder what the designers and draughtsmen of 1915 would have made of them now! Once again, the local engine community

did us proud with 10 full-size engines in steam, plus many miniature wagons (no Sentinels) and a couple of traction engines. An enjoyable weekend for all, and many thanks to the Grocott family and the Goddard family, and of course all of their volunteers and helpers who made us most welcome with the provision of seemingly endless supplies of tea and biscuits. See you all in Dorset next year. John Durling ➜

The NTET visitors stand in front of the famous Sentinel Waggon Works, with Sentinel DG waggon No. 8571 in the archway.

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Aveling & Porter No. 11839, 1927, Oberon, Burrell No. 4066 John of Gaunt and Burrell No. 2876 Little Samson positioned in front of the Morris’s buildings.

B The varied and impressive collection of miniatures in attendance were able to make use of the space for trundling around.

Marshall tractor No. 68754 Mascot.

The Goddard family’s Burrell No. 2512 General C R de Wet and trailer.

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31/12/2025 12:07

2025 photographic competition ▲

In this issue we recognise the 3rd place photographs in each category. Engine Portraits 3rd - Kieran Hardy Marshalls No. 84679 and No. 55924 at the Black Country Museum.

Steam on the road 3rd - David Warren Fowler No. 14888 Kingfisher and Aveling & Porter No. 11145 Ayesha.

▲

People ▲ 3rd - Alison Morrison On the road with Ruston & Hornsby No. 115100 Hildary.

▲

Working engines 3rd - Richard Warren Powering the fair Fowler No. 15713 Pride of Shannon and Burrell No. 3888 General Gough.

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70th Anniversary Rally of the West of England Steam Engine Society

he West of England Steam Engine Society celebrated a historic milestone this year with the 70th anniversary of its annual rally. Held at Stithians, the event marked seven decades of preserving and showcasing the region’s rich engineering and agricultural heritage. This landmark year proved to be one of the most successful in the Society’s history, drawing record crowds and an exceptional range of exhibits. Approximately 10,000 visitors passed through the gates over the course of the weekend, making it the biggest turnout since the rally moved to Stithians. The strong attendance reflects both the enduring appeal of steam and vintage machinery and the Society’s dedicated efforts to promote and expand the event. Feedback from exhibitors, traders, and the public highlighted a vibrant atmosphere, excellent organisation, and a noticeable sense of celebration befitting the anniversary. A standout feature of this year’s rally was the impressive display of full-size steam engines. A total of 103 engines attended, far exceeding previous years at

Marshall No. 43345 Countess new in 1905 to Obed Lanyon of St Allen, Truro who’s name boards were replicated for its visit to the 70th West of England Steam Engine Society rally and is now with Tony Beeching in Somerset.

this venue. Notably, 27 of these engines were first-time participants, demonstrating the rally’s growing reputation within the heritage and preservation community. Alongside the steam engines, the rally hosted its traditional wide-ranging

attractions, including vintage tractors, classic cars, commercial vehicles, stationary engines, fairground organs, and a model display. Craft stalls, trade stands, and food vendors provided variety and contributed to a lively showground environment.

Burrell No. 3919 Susie with heavy haulage trailer carrying Burrell No. 3031 partly restored.

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RIGHT: Clive Poole’s 8’’ Burrell Gold Medal tractor with part built 6’’ Burrell roller formed part of a large miniatures section. BELOW RIGHT: Sentinel S4 No. 9087 by the most recent version of the famous West of England commentary box.

Family entertainment and heritage demonstrations ensured there was something for visitors of all ages. In recognition of the 70th anniversary, special efforts were made to honour the Society’s history and the volunteers who have contributed to its longevity. Displays featuring archival photographs, past rally programmes, and historical accounts helped visitors appreciate how the event has evolved since its early days. Informal gatherings of long-standing members and exhibitors added a personal and nostalgic dimension to the celebrations. The success of this milestone rally was made possible through the hard work of the Society’s committee, volunteers, exhibitors, and supporters. Smooth logistics, clear layouts, and well-managed entry systems were regularly praised by attendees. The Society also extended its gratitude to landowners, local partners, emergency services, and community groups whose cooperation remains essential to hosting an event of this scale. The 70th anniversary rally stands as a significant achievement for the West of England Steam Engine Society. With record-breaking attendance, an unprecedented number of full-size steam engines, and a strong sense of tradition and community spirit, this year’s rally has set a high benchmark for future events. The Society now looks forward to building on this momentum as it continues its mission to preserve and celebrate the region’s industrial heritage. Rob Clifford-Wing All photos by David Warren

ABOVE RIGHT: Aveling & Porter roller No. 10045 An Gof at its first rally in over 40 years it is now going to get a full restoration with new owner Mark Bear. RIGHT: Long term Cornish resident Burrell showman’s engine No 2651 Challenger.

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THE RANSOMES RETURN

5th – 6th July 2025

he occasional visit to Ipswich Transport Museum by Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies No. 26995 Boudicca (erstwhile Mendip Lady) probably created the idea of a reunion of Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies engines in the town of their birth. Little of Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies’s extensive Orwell Works now exists, but engines could still pass by surviving buildings, including a few still displaying Ransomes ‘ghost’ writing. The East Anglian Traction Engine Society, celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2025, supported the idea and Ipswich Transport Museum came in to make it a joint event. Visiting engines and low-loaders were given a secure base at the Nacton works of Ransomes Jacobsen, successors to Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies, to the east of Ipswich (to where Ransomes moved upon closure of the original Orwell Works). USA parent company Textron generously

Engines line up back at Ipswich Transport Museum – No. 36220 Hooky, Garth Holman’s 4nhp tractor No. 36220, No. 30004 Major and Hywel Mason’s No. 42032 Velfrey Queen. Photo Richard Hemington.

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funded 2 tonnes of best Welsh coal. By Saturday morning, nine Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies engines had arrived in Ipswich from across the UK ready to take part in something rather special. With the exception of Boudicca, this was the first time most of these engines had been back to Ipswich and the site of Orwell Works since being built. Furthest travelled, all the way from Aberdeen, was Alasdair Webster’s 1912 No. 24436 The Tasmanian Devil which sadly barely got off the low-loader before a failed earlier repair prevented it from taking part (in steam at least). Other engines arrived from the Midlands, Hampshire, and Pembrokeshire. 1932 No. 42035 Vernon and crew steamed to Ipswich all the way from the Peak District, a total of 224.5 miles! The line-up was completed by Mark Groom’s 1919 No. 30004 Major, the Bicknells’s No. 31066

Hooky, Garth Holman’s 4nhp tractor No. 36220 and Mark Kirby’s No. 42036 Keith Honour’s portable No. 22988 took part in the run behind Hywel Mason’s No. 42032 Velfrey Queen. Saturday morning saw a 6-mile run into the town centre and a circuit of Ipswich Town’s Portman Road stadium before heading along pedestrianised St Peter’s Quay (bollards dropped for our

Mark Groom’s 1919 No. 30004 Major. Photo Steve Cooke.

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Ipswich Town FC – Garth Holman’s 4nhp tractor No. 36220 passes No. 26995 Boudicca. Photo Richard Hemington.

Hooky passes Boudicca on the way back to Ipswich Transport Museum. Photo Richard Hemington.

arrival) for lunch stop in front of the impressive Old Custom House. Engines, with road speeds varying between 2.5 and 9 mph, arrived at intervals to be greeted by a good crowd of onlookers. After an extended lunch stop, engines continued along the Waterfront and past the modern university buildings built upon the site of Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies’s Orwell Works. Many photographers followed the engines for a photoshoot against a backdrop of surviving Ransomes buildings. An undisputed highlight was the return of crane engine Hooky, for the first time in 75 years, to where it worked from new in 1920 to 1950. Running later than planned, most engines took a direct route back to Ipswich Transport Museum while Major and Boudicca surprised late shoppers by heading across town before the 6-mile run back through the suburbs to join the others for an evening of food and mini beer festival at Ipswich Transport Museum. Winter 25 • Steaming

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Hooky poses in Ransomes Jakobsen’s works before hitting the road. Photo Steve Cooke.

Despite the most significant rainfall experienced for many months, a good number of visitors arrived on the Sunday to see the engines outside the Museum before steaming the few miles back to Ransomes Jacobsen to load for their journey home. This was probably the largest gathering of Ransomes engines since the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 1997, and the first such return of engines to the site

of their construction. The East Anglian Traction Engine Society acknowledges the enthusiast support of Ipswich Transport Museum which ensured the success of this ‘one-off’ joint venture. Thanks also go to Ransomes Jacobsen for making their site available, plus Ipswich Borough Council and Associated British Ports for giving access to areas normally closed to vehicles. Richard Hemington

Hywel Mason’s No. 42032 Velfrey Queen hauls Keith Honour’s portable No. 22988. Photo Steve Cooke.

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SODEM road run 2025

he annual SODEM road run took place on Saturday 8th November in aid of the British Legion Poppy Appeal. Starting from The Gates Hang High public house in Hook Norton, the 16 mile route then made its way onto The George at Brailes via Sibford Ferris. From

there it was onto the Cherington Arms in Cherington, and then down to the Hook Norton Brewery via Whichford before heading back to The Gates Hang High, for the evening’s entertainment. All photography courtesy of Paul Fisher.

ABOVE: Well-known 1913 Burrell showman’s No. 3489 King George VI made a majestic sight throughout the run. LEFT: 1919 7nhp Burrell No. 3804 Independence.

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Another fine Burrell showman’s out on the run was No. 3651 Earl Kitchener.

Aveling & Porter No. 9435 Nessie in the glorious Autumnal sunshine.

1930 Garrett 4CD No. 33981.

Well-travelled 1930 Foden D type timber tractor No. 13762.

Clearly enjoying getting to grips with Burrell No. 3257 Clinker was Sam Goddard and his crew.

Dan Scobie’s 6-inch Maclaren was one of several miniature engines that took part in the outing.

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Burrell No. 3684 Meteor

urrell No. 3684 is a double drive 5-ton wagon sold new to J & M Nadin of Coventry in 1915. They owned some collieries but did not keep the wagon long selling it in 1916 to Bayleys of Abingdon, who were parchment makers. In 1919 it was sold to Rundle’s of New Bolingbroke, who used it until 1931, it was then broken up with some parts being saved for spares. Apparently, the wagon always lacked power compared with a Foden, which is probably why its first owner did not keep it long. When the cylinder block was cut up for scrap,

Rundle’s found a flaw in the casting, which may have caused the lack of power. Jack Meaker of Autumn Engineering, decided in the 1980’s to have a go at building a Burrell wagon, as no complete one existed, using the very few parts available. Over the years he built a very nice boiler and had a new cylinder block cast from patterns made by Alan Davenport. By November 2017 Jack decided to sell the project to Neil Gough who exhibited it in the R.L.S tent at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in 2018, by which time Neil had built ABOVE: Burrell No. 3684 first public appearance in the R.L.S tent at Dorset 2018. Front view of the boiler assembly with Neil cleaning the chimney.

The offside showing the curve in the chassis to avoid the diff.

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Burrell No. 3684 in January 2022 a nearly complete wagon awaiting painting.

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The completed wagon at the end of September 2025, having been to Old Warden rally.

part of the motion and added a few other bits. By July 2020 the wagon was a rolling chassis and by January 2022 it was looking more like a wagon complete with a body, but still with plenty to do. Unfortunately, while the cylinder block was off the boiler for machining Neil discovered a major flaw in the casting, which meant a new block had to be made. After two attempts he got a good casting allowing progress to be made again. Neil started painting the wagon in 2024 and did not finish it until September 2025 just in time to take it to its first rally at Old

Warden, where it performed very well, steaming freely and having plenty of power. Burrell wagons of this period were offered with 2 or 3 speeds, Neil elected to build it as a 3 speed, which makes it capable of 20mph, but you would probably not get up many hills, fully loaded in top gear. During the construction of the wagon Neil managed to buy the original mechanical lubricator and 3 brass hub caps from Rundle’s and recently they gave Neil the original brass makers plate, which had been on their office wall since 1931.

The steering position is not ideal, Foden 5-tonners were not ideal either.

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The water pump is large compared with a Foden. The mud hole door is not very accessible. LEFT: A drivers eye view of the very clean motion, showing the large number of parts that had to be made.

Burrell’s decided to use 2 drive chains, which made getting in and out of the cab quite difficult, due to adopting their usual design of building the differential on the second shaft on the hornplate rather than on the back axle. Later designs were changed to a single chain with a diff on the rear axle. This also allowed for a more conventional chassis design, on early ones the side member has to be bent around the diff, which does look strange. Burrells made 100 5-ton wagons and 14 6-ton wagons, they were probably fairly expensive compared to Fodens. The design of the wagons seems to have altered quite a lot over the years as can be seen from existing photographs. You might think it is a similar

size as a Gold Medal Tractor, so would share the same cylinder block, but no, the bore sizes and centres are different. There are some parts of another wagon in existence, 1925 No. 4008 owned by the Lugg family. The wagon was new to H. Kay of Horsham and used until 1934, when it was cut down to a portable to drive a saw bench and used until the early 1950’s, a picture of it is in John Crawley’s book Steam Wagons in Focus. Sadly, it was later all scrapped at Upper Beeding, much to Michael Lugg’s annoyance. Michael has collected a number of parts over the years, front and rear axles and wheels came from another wagon called Aurar, Michael built a chassis and he bought a number of bits from Bill McAlpine who had bought them from Garretts in the 1970’s when they were having a clear out. He has also found a water tank but no boiler or cylinder block. Sadly, the bits do not come from the same size of wagon. Some of the parts were exhibited at Dorset in 1994 and again in 2000. Perhaps one day somebody will take on the challenge of rebuilding it. Neil has made a very thorough job of the rebuild, using some original Burrell drawings and photographs, he is to be congratulated for his attention to detail and the quality of the finished job. This being the only complete Burrell wagon in existence. Bob Moorman

Neil has named the wagon Meteor after the Meteoric effort required to finish the wagon.

The original maker’s plate.

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1911 Burrell No. 3303 a 5-ton double drive wagon, new to Arnolds of East Peckham, Kent.

1911 Burrell No. 3319 5-ton, new to Kilburn Brewery.

1912 Burrell No. 3360 5-ton, new to Jackson Brothers.

1924 Burrell No. 3953 6-ton single drive wagon, new to Kent Brothers.

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1925 Burrell No. 4027 6-ton single drive 3 way tipper.

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STEAMING AROUND CONTRIBUTORS Nick Bosworth, Nick Evans, David Eyre, Paul Fisher, Chris Gerrard, Jim Gerrard, Els Lambert, Steve Parrott, Michael Pumfrey, Philip Steer, David Warren and Helen Wheatley. NOTE: The information within this section is only as accurate as we are provided with. Any discrepancies are purely incidental, and we will try to ensure accuracy where possible.

Contributions are welcomed – steaming@ntet.co.uk

BEDFORD The Bedford Steam Engine Preservation Society end of season run took place on Saturday 27th September and was organised by David Venn of DCV Engineering in Sharnbrook, The popular run visited several local villages.

Compound 1907 Aveling & Porter convertible tractor No. 6319 Queen of Herts on the Bedford road run.

1918 Garrett 4CD No. 33278 Princess Mary passes the Swan with Two Necks in Sharnbrook.

DERBYSHIRE On the 25th October 2025 Foster No. 14410 Sprig, Garrett No. 33986 Queen Mary and visiting engine Fowler Tiger tractor No. 15288 Mr Blower spent the day trundling around Derbyshire on an end of season run. After reaching the first pub and finding it closed they carried on to the Kings Corner at Oakwood, The Three Horse Shoes at Morley and the Sitwell Arms at Horsley, before returning home to Smalley. Two weeks later the Foster and the Garrett attended a bonfire night event at the Sitwell Arms.

➜

LEFT 1920 Garrett No. 33986 Queen Mary.

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➜ 1919 Fowler No. 15288 Mr Blower.

Foster single cylinder 7nhp No. 14410 Sprig.

DEVON Earlier in 2025 Steve Parrott, a former NTET Council member, gifted his Robey No. 42129 RL 75 Tandem steam roller to the Robey Trust to join their collection in Tavistock, Devon. The roller will be looked after and used by the volunteers at the Robey Trust, and the Mayor of Tavistock accepted the engine on behalf of the Trust; the Town Council being a strong supporter of the Trust. It was new in 1924 to Dingles of Stoke Climsland and worked with them all its life being bought from them by Archie Dingle of Kelly Bray (but no relation!). It has stayed owned in Cornwall all its life but now resides in Devon alongside Jack Ayland’s 1939 Robey Tandem No. 48869. Jack is the Secretary of the Robey Trust, Winter 25 • Steaming

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and is a former NTET award winner. The roller got its name Bullet as it was strafed by a Messerschmitt during WW2 whilst on airport runway work. It still has the bullet holes.

ABOVE: Steve Parrott presents Robey No. 42129 to the Mayor of Tavistock, gifted to the Robey Trust.

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DORSET The Old Ox at Shillingstone was the venue for the end of season steam up in the northern part of the county on 18th October 2025. Making its first appearance in the hands of new owner Sam Goddard was Burrell No. 3257 Clinker which undertook its own road trip to the pub via Stourpaine and Blandford. The engine had of course been seen on that road before when it roaded to the Great Dorset Steam Fair. First traction engine to arrive was local Shillingstone engine Wallis & Steevens No. 2656 Little Olga. Making its final appearance at a Dorset event was Fowler No. 16134 Progress, which was owned by the late Alan “Chalky” White, and has now moved to new owners in the South West. The 1924 roller has been a familiar sight at events locally for a long time, having been owned by Chalky since 1969, and was usually seen in the hands of Percy Guppy. TOP: Wallis & Steevens No. 2656 Little Olga was the first in place in the car park at The Old Ox. ABOVE LERT: Making a first ever appearance at the event was Burrell No. 3257 Clinker. LEFT: Another first-time visitor to the end of season steam up was 1931 Fowler roller No. 19049,

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➜

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➜ RIGHT: Fowler No. 16134 Progress leaves the Old Ox, heading to its new home.

Attending the Bridport Christmas Cheer event on Wednesday 3rd December was John Lambert’s 1929 Fowler showman’s conversion No. 17585 The Wanderer, which was making its first public outing in his ownership. Also in attendance was Graham Froud’s 1901 Fowler roller No. 9005 Lord Kitchener. The Wimborne Christmas Save the Children parade took place on Saturday 13th December, with four full-size engines in attendance, as well as four miniatures. Father Christmas arrived courtesy of Dave Loader’s Garrett No. 28758 Earl of Eldon, having roaded from Ringwood that morning. The dates for the popular Road to Rails rally organised by the Swanage Railway have been set as the 26th28th June 2026 and will move to a new larger event field next to the station at Norden. RIGHT: Clifford Dibben’s Wallis & Steevens No. 7102 Freddie taking part in the Wimborne Christmas parade. BELOW: John Lambert’s 1929 Fowler showman’s conversion No. 17585 The Wanderer, stands in front of Bridport’s 1926 Electric Palace.

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HAMPSHIRE

1904 Aveling & Porter RC10 No. 5446 Poppy driven by Joel Street arrives at the Elm Tree.

The annual end of season Ringwood Steam Up up at the Elm Tree in Ringwood took place on Saturday 4th October with a record 16 full-size engines in attendance, as well as a strong representation of miniature engines. A number appeared at the event for the first time including Aveling & Porter RC10 No. 5446 Poppy, formerly owned by Tom Humphreys and now owned by the Dorset Heavy Horse Farm Park at Verwood. The winner of the tankard for the Landlady’s favourite engine was another engine making its debut at the event, Fowler road roller No. 19049, which roaded to and from the event from North

With Burley Manor behind, Robey 5nhp portable No. 40892 provides power to a Parker stone crusher during the 2025 Burley Steam & Vintage Vehicle Show.

A combination that attracts great attention wherever its goes is Dave ‘Chippy’ Freemantle’s Fowler A8 No. 13140 Volunteer and John and James Jackson’s Stenner & Gunn rack saw bench.

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➜

Dorset. Raising £860 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, this popular event has confirmed its date for 2026 as Saturday 3rd October. The Burley Steam & Vintage Vehicle Show hosted ten full-size engines and a large number of miniatures traction engines in the village of Burley in the New Forest. This saw a rare outing for Paul Honeybun’s 1909 Wallis & Steevens 6nhp agricultural engine No. 7090 Vectis. The engine spent its entire working life on the Isle of Wight and was partly surrounded by scaffolding during the event to allow the visiting public to view the workings of the Wallis. Other engines attending included organiser Jon Narey’s ex-Eddisons 1913 Aveling & Porter roller No. 8097 Moby Dick, Terry and Shaun Cheater’s 1926 Wallis & Steevens 6-ton Advance roller No. 7869 Sir Echo and Martin White’s 1914 Foden 5-ton wagon No. 5078 Pride of Burley. In the working area was the welltravelled combination of Dave ‘Chippy’ Freemantle’s 1913 Fowler A8 No. 13140 Volunteer belted to John and James Jackson’s Stenner & Gunn no.4 rack saw bench sawing timber throughout the weekend. In recent years, the event has featured a very popular stone crushing and road making demonstration which has gradually aided the extension of one of the show ground’s hard standing roads. This time, Joe and Danny Dovey’s 1923 Robey 5nhp portable engine No. 40892 was powering their Parker stone crusher. The freshly crushed rubble was rolled in courtesy of a trio of motor rollers from Aveling & Porter, Aveling-Barford and Wallis. In set allocated time slots, miniature traction engines used a small arena where the public could have rides behind a variety of engines. Not long after the event, it was announced that a huge £10,000 had been raised from the show for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. This was the highest amount the rally has raised in any one year - a substantial achievement. On Saturday 25th October, the Marder’s Yard Club based in Andover held their annual end of season road run and open day. Several engines took part in the road run, such as Ewan Davis’ ex.Eddisons 1922 Aveling & Porter 8-ton C-type road roller No. 10282 Stoneybroke, Colin and Laura Davis’ 1944 Marshall 12ton road roller No. 89549 Oor Wullie, Ian Best’s 1923 Wallis & Steevens 10-ton road roller No. 7779 Sir Lancelot and Leroy Winter 25 • Steaming

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Out in the open for first time in 47 years back in October 2025 was the late Derek Marder’s 1934 Sentinel S6 No. 9103.

Collins’ 1917 Tasker B2 chain drive tractor No. 1741. The well-travelled engines of the late Derek Marder, looked after Colin and Daniel March and team, also took part which were 1910 Ruston Proctor 3nhp road roller No. 38591 Midnight and 1918 Ruston Proctor SCD steam tractor No. 52453 The Lincoln Imp. Back at the yard, the main attraction was 1934 Sentinel S6 waggon No. 9103 which had been brought out of hibernation for the first time in 47 years having famously been tucked away in Derek’s workshop all that time. The lines of portable engines and steam and motor rollers, many from Derek’s collection, never fail to impress when visiting the yard. Also on display was Leroy Colliss’

restored US-built 1906 Aultman & Taylor traction engine. After a bumper year, it was announced that the 2025 Netley Marsh Steam & Craft Show, held over 25th – 27th July near Southampton, had raised over £50,000 for nearly 40 local charities, organisations and good causes during a presentation evening on 21st November at Totton Conservative Club. President Danny Dovey also presented the President’s Cup for the individual(s) who have gone ‘above and beyond’ for the show and this year it was awarded to John and James Jackson. Both have supported the event for many years and organise much of the show’s very extensive working section.

Ewan Davis’ Aveling & Porter 8-ton roller No. 10282 Stoneybroke arrives back at Marder’s Yard after taking part in the end of season road run.

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KENT

Aveling & Porter 12-ton roller No. 5467 at Goblands Remembrance event in November.

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The final steaming for many engines in Kent in 2025 was at the Remembrance event on 8th November at Goblands, the Pierce family farm near Hadlow with the event is held to raise funds for Help the Heros. There were six full-size engines, three portables and two miniatures. The resident engines in steam were Paul Ramsley’s 1873 Fowler ploughing engine No. 1908, the Pierce family’s 1868 Fowler No. 1050 Heinz, 1920 Fowler No. 14754 Endeavour and James Taylor and John Maynard’s 1930 Aveling & Porter 10-ton roller No. 14039 Canterbury. They were joined by James Darling’s 1902 R class Fowler No. 10242, Stuart Gaines’s 1939 Wallis & Steevens 8-ton Advance roller No. 8112 Lucy and Brian Hope drove Mark Newman’s 1904 Aveling & Porter 12-ton roller No. 5467 over from Yalding to attend. The three portables were all Roger Luck’s, 1860 AW Smith No. 136, 1865 Barrows No. 316 and 1923 Ransomes Sims & Jefferies No. 34240. Melanie Fisher was driving her 6” Foden wagon around with the help of several Steam Apprentices. There were many people who attended and enjoyed the food on offer, raising £1500 for the charity. The number of full-size engines was larger than normal due to a very successful Steam Apprentice Day being held at the farm on 18th October. As there had been such a demand in the South, resulting in potentially many disappointed apprentices who could not attend the Bursledon Brickworks Day, SAC Chairman, Paul Stingmore, decided to rally the troops in Kent to organise an extra day. With nine full-size engines in steam, three more ploughing engines in the shed, six miniatures and two portables, it turned out to be a real treat for the 21 apprentices and their families. Thanks go to the Pierce Family for allowing the use of the farm and providing two of the engines, to all the engine owners who came along, to the SAC Team who put on such a good event and of course to all the families, many of whom travelled miles to bring their apprentices. David Birch has sold his 1909 Fowler 8nhp B4 traction engine No. 11983, which was imported from Australia in 2008 via Preston Services. David did some work on the engine so it could be ➜ steamed, also fitting a new set of gears. Steaming • Winter 25

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LEFT: Melanie Fisher going for a drive around Goblands with some Steam Apprentices in control.

The new owner has sent the engine to Alex Sharphouse for some work to be carried out. The Birch family’s 1930 Zettlemeyer roller No. 553 is also for sale, David’s father Les imported it from France in 1969. Declan Martin has recently bought 1918 Aveling & Porter 10-ton roller No. 8906 Morganydd from South Wales. Bill Best at Bredgar is selling his 1919 Garrett 7nhp traction engine No. 33442, the engine is in very good condition and is usually seen in steam when the narrow gauge railway has an open day. Roger Luck has bought the last remaining 1912 Allchin 6nhp portable No. 1544. It has had several owners in preservation all doing a bit to it. It spent many years outside a pub in Kent, eventually being bought by Colin Tucker and David Birch. They sold it to Andrew Baldwin, near Sellindge, who stripped the boiler down to replace the firebox and part of the backhead. Later it was bought by Colin Knight who made some bits for it and later it was sold at auction in 2016 to Julian Skinner who has recently sold it to Roger. There are still numerous bits missing and the boiler has yet to be inspected to see what repairs are necessary.

Roger Luck has lent his 1897 Ruston Proctor portable No. 1082 to Bredgar railway for their Santa Specials being held during the run up to Christmas. Will Day is having some work done on his 2016 Wallis & Steevens wagon No. 7720, the slide valves are being remade to make them fit better. Trains & Tractions @ The Tunnels is an event taking place on Sunday 19th September at Ramsgate Tunnels, Marine Esplanade, Ramsgate. It is hosted by the Canterbury & District Model Engineering Society in conjunction with Ramsgate and District Model

Engineering Society and Ramsgate Tunnels, with support from Ramsgate Town Council. The event is to celebrate the centenary of the closure of the Ramsgate Harbour railway station in July 1926 (of which the tunnels was originally a part) and the opening across town of the station in use today. Miniature traction engines and trains will be in operation on the promenade, offering rides at £1 each, alongside the tunnels. The tunnels are free to enter and on the day there will be a model railway exhibition to enjoy featuring 10 layouts and several traders.

Fowler No. 10242 and Wallis & Steevens No. 8112 at Goblands Remembrance event.

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NORFOLK Strumpshaw Steam Museum have announced that the steam rally scheduled for the late May bank holiday in 2026 will not take place, although the museum will remain open. The cost of staging the rally has increased markedly since the Covid pandemic and continues to do so. Other factors in this decision include the cost of VAT, increased administration, loss of some land due to veteran trees having to be fenced off, and the constraints of fitting the rally into the available space. The event will be sorely missed, having been a popular date in the rally calendar since 1993.

Burrell No. 3910 Wait & See awaiting its duty next to the fairground.

SHROPSHIRE One of the highlights from the Shrewsbury rally was the appearance of the yellow Burrell showman’s No. 3910 Wait & See next to the fairground. Another notable visitor was Marshall Universal roller No.

1920 Garrett 4CD tractor No. 33981.

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80442, along with the variety of steam tractors present, which included the following various manufacturers: Aveling & Porter GND No. 8030 English Princess, Foster No. 3452, Garrett 4CD No. 33981, Marshalls Nos. 62387 and 68754, Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies No. 39088 and Tasker A1 No. 1296 The Horse’s Friend.

1927 Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies 7nhp No. 39088 in the line up.

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STAFFORDSHIRE The Statfold Barn transport event was held in September, with the event hosting around 20 road steam engines. The usual saw bench demonstration was powered by 1911 A8 Fowler No. 12761 Elsa, with the stone crusher driven by 10nhp Marshall portable No. 71396 Doris. A notable visitor was the partly assembled Allchin 7nhp compound engine No. 1373, shown on a trailer. This 1907 built engine was repatriated from Australia in the late 1970s. Other engines in attendance included Foster No. 14410 Sprig, Tasker tractor No. 1592, McLaren No. 127, Aveling & Porter No. 5065 Nancy, Fowler roller No. 17071, Burrell No. 3202, and Marshalls No. 37823 Old Ned and No. 46276 Pearl.

RIGHT: 1914 B2 Tasker No. 1592 at Statfold Barn.

SUSSEX The Autumn Historic Gathering at Amberley Museum took place on 5th October, and remains one of their biggest annual events. A number of visiting engines arrived to take part in the event together with resident Marshall 8-ton roller No. 79669.

➜

1895 6nhp Fowler Albert No. 7453 at Amberley Museum’s Autumn Gathering in October.

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➜

ABOVE: Another engine that left Leeds in 1895 was 6nhp Fowler No. 7459 Endurance, seen driving a rack saw bench. ABOVE RIGHT: 1886 6nhp Marshall Victoria Empress of India No. 14242 worked alongside Fowler Albert when new.

RIGHT: West Sussex County Council’s 1925 Marshall 8-ton roller No. 79669, which is still owned by them and is on long term loan to Amberley Museum.

LEFT: Fowler tar spraying roller No. 15589 Hilda. RIGHT: The rainbow frames Fowler BB1 ploughing engine No. 15340.

➜ 42

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Wallis & Steevens tractor No. 2758 in Pickford’s livery and now owned by the Atkinson family.

YORKSHIRE Dave Robinson and his team once again pulled together an excellent display near the village of Hunton in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire on the 13th and 14th of September. Regarded as the last rally of the season in the North East the good attendance will I am sure have resulted once more in them being able to financially support many local charities as they did last year when £8000 was donated. The steam section saw a fine display of 24 full-size engines and over 40 miniatures. Making a first-time appearance was Pickford’s liveried Wallis & Steevens tractor No. 2758 now with

Winter 25 • Steaming

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Fowler D2 convertible type No. 7769.

the Atkinson family of York and 1897 Fowler D2 convertible type No. 7769 which is now resident in County Durham with Ed Wright. Andrew and Jeremy Craske put on their usual very extensive display of road making equipment to accompany Fowler tar spraying roller No. 15589 Hilda which has recently received an award from the Transport Trust, reported in Steaming Vol. 68 No. 4, to help reinstate the rotary brush system. Another regular attender seen alongside Howards Gallopers was Giles Gilbey’s Burrell Scenic showman’s engine No. 3438 Perseverance II. In the field over the road, it was nice to see Fowler BB1 ploughing engines Nos. 15340 and 15341 at work with a six-furrow balance plough, where a rainbow signalled the end of the working day.

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NTET MEMBERS’ BENEFITS Suppliers’ Discount Offers We are pleased to share our Member Benefit Scheme which offers NTET members exclusive discounts on a broad range of products and services within the steam heritage movement. Regardless of whether you have been involved in steam for years or are new to the movement, there is something for everyone and we are working hard to further improve these

Supplier: Berrybrook Steam & Classics Berrybrook Steam & Classics is a family-owned business based in Devon. For over a decade, they have specialised in the sale of Full-Size

10% off Heritage Paints Supplier: Heritage Paints Heritage Paints was established in 2013 by steam and restoration enthusiasts who were continually frustrated by the lack of good quality paints readily available at affordable prices. Having many years’ experience of dealing with leading UK paint producers and being a large user

15% off boiler gaskets and door seals Supplier: Seal Extrusion Company SealExCo is a specialist supplier of rubber trims and seals, gasket and packing materials. They keep a comprehensive range of materials

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benefits moving forward.Details of our member benefits can also be found on our website via https://ntet.co.uk/memberbenefits Should anyone reading this wish to offer a discount to the membership, we would love to hear from you. Please email us via public.relations@ntet.co.uk

and Miniature Steam Engines, and also advertise and sell Classic Cars, Classic Motorcycles, Vintage Tractors and other vehicles. Berrybrook Steam & Classics have a genuine passion for working with these earlier vehicles and pride themselves on being able to broker transactions which suit all parties. They additionally offer a range of related services including haulage, valuations, workshop facilities and steam engine experience days!

Following the launch of Berrybrook’s new online shop, NTET members can benefit from the following discounts online: 10% discount on Miniature parts and accessories 10% discount on Steam Experience Days and 7.5% discount on their Mamod range. Website: berrybrooksteam.co.uk Email: steam@berrybrook.co.uk Phone: 01392 833301 Contact: Matt Anthony

of wet paints, discussions started regarding a good quality easy to use coach paint that could be offered at an affordable price to all users. As things progressed, a full range of paint products suitable for all vintage machinery and vehicle restorations was put together, ranging from anticorrosive primers to high build primers all the way to top end coach gloss. Heritage Paints also offer a complete professional painting service from shotblasting and priming through to the final finish of top coat, lining and varnish. They have been involved in many prestigious projects over the years including the recently completed new

build Talisman which will be finished in the full Norman Box Livery next year. Heritage Paints’ high-quality coach gloss paint is available in many colours matched to the original colour schemes of traction engine manufacturers. NTET members also receive a 2.5% discount off their engine painting service. To use the discount simply provide your NTET membership number when placing your order. Website: www.heritage-paints.co.uk Email: sales@heritage-paints.co.uk Phone: 07919 234090 Contact: Graham Morrison

in stock which covers a wide range of applications and all products are sold by the metre and are cut to order, and they also supply in 25m and 50m drums for higher volume requirements. As products are requested by steam preservationists, they will be added to the specific website section so if you cannot find what you are looking for please give them call. The Seal Extrusion company offers a large range of gasket and packing materials suitable for steam boilers,

including boiler door seals from the popular manufacturers. NTET members receive 15% discount on all Seal Ex products. For online orders please contact publicrelations@ntet.co.uk for the discount code or provide your membership number when ordering over the phone. Website: sealextrusions.com Email sales@sealextrusions.co.uk Phone: 01787 827070 Contact: Stuart Bulbeck

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15% off Vehicle Advertising Services Supplier: Legacy Vehicles Ltd Legacy Vehicles Ltd has been set up to offer a unique, dedicated and, most importantly, honest sales service for both sellers and buyers, run by vintage vehicle enthusiasts, husband and wife team Tom & Sammy Allen. Bringing together years of marketing experience and a life long passion for steam and other vintage vehicles, Legacy Vehicles offer sellers a range of options to sell their vehicle from free classified adverts through to a competitive full brokering service. With extensive use of online

5% off Mamod Special Editions Supplier: Promod Ltd Promod supply all major brands of die cast collectables, including their own Promod Originals range, and many Post Office-licensed models, buses,

marketing practices and traditional printed advertising, Legacy Vehicles reach customers from both the UK and abroad and across all age ranges. Although a young company, their new approach to marketing steam engines has seen them quickly become a well-recognised name within the road steam scene for both full-size and miniature engines and establishing an ever-expanding customer base. Their new professional advertising service offers sellers most of the benefits of selling through a dealer but without the large commission bills and has proved a popular choice with many sellers and buyers alike. Alongside the advertising services, Legacy also offer full dealer facilities including a selection of quality engines from their own stock, competitive finance solutions and part exchange on pretty much all types of vintage vehicle.

Even if purchasing a steam engine privately, they can help arrange finance, possibly bringing that dream engine within reach sooner than expected. For more information please see www.legacyvehicles.co.uk or give Tom and Sammy a call on 07891 063077. Don’t be put off with them only having a mobile number, always being out and about means calling a landline will inevitable mean reaching an answer phone! NTET members receive 15% discount off their Professional Advertising Service and preferential brokerage rates. To use the discount simply provide your NTET membership number when placing your order. Website: www.legacyvehicles.co.uk Email: info@legacyvehicles.co.uk Phone: 07891 063077 Contact: Tom Allen

cars and much more. They have the latest models as they are released, and also carry the full product ranges from many manufacturers including many obsolete items you cannot find in the shops. They have a popular collectors club which offers many special models, and the chance to visit the warehouse on Open Days. The company also specialise in the production of custom-built models, perfect for corporate promotions and executive gifts with a small minimum quantity of 50 models. They can also custom paint existing model ranges as

special limited edition runs. Promod are one of the largest dealers of Mamod steam engines and are pleased to offer NTET members 5% discount off their limited edition model ranges. Current editions include engines in Pickfords, Anderton and Rowland District council liveries. To use the discount simply provide your NTET membership number when placing your order. Website: promod-diecast.com Email: sales@promod-diecast.co.uk Phone: 01785 224212 Contact: Graham Ward

10% off Home Insurance 20% off online courses

Supplier: One Broker One Broker are specialist insurance brokers for most types of personal and business insurance. All NTET members receive 10% discount off the standard One Broker price for home insurance. Website: https://ntet.co.uk/insuranceservices https://www.onebroker.co.uk/personal/ specialist-insurance/classic-vehicle-insurance Email: hello@onebroker.co.uk Phone: 0330 055 2659 Contact: Carly Nineham

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Supplier: The Sign Painters Academy The Sign Painters Academy is a new online learning platform created by signwriter Paul Myerscough to teach the traditional methods of

the trade, including coach lining. Each course is filmed in real-time video, showing in great detail the different skills and processes from choosing the right brush through to gold-leaf application. Paul has worked on many steam and vintage vehicles over the years, for details of his coach lining and signwriting service, please see: Website: www.bespoke-signs.com Phone: 07768 516 256 Email: paul@bespoke-signs.com www.thesignpaintersacademy.com

31/12/2025 12:08

The National Traction Engine Trust

Preserving our heritage with steam on the road

NTET SHOP Many books, DVDs and other items of interest to traction engine enthusiasts are avaliable from the Trust Sales section. Members are urged to take advantage of this service (which also beneﬁts Trust funds) for troublefree and economical shopping. Mail order, via the address at the bottom of the page, is now joined by our online store at www.ntet.co.uk/shop

Traction Engine reading Alan Thomas Collection Volume 1 £10.00 Alan Thomas Collection Volume 2 £10.00 Alan Thomas Collection Volume 3 £10.00 WESES Collection Volume 1 £14.99 Some Early Robey Steam Engines PJM Southworth £18.00 A Brush with Road Steam Phil Braithwaite £10.50 Lincolnshire Industrial Heritage Colin Tyson £15.99 The Story of Ruston Traction Engines (including Steam Road Rollers and Steam Tractors) Michael Thexton £30.00 Reﬂections of Living Steam Barry Finch £12.95 More Reﬂections of Living Steam Barry Finch £15.95 Ploughing Engines at Work Barry Finch £9.95 Preserved Steam Powered Machines John Hannavy £9.99 Threshing Days William R Anderson £9.99 Herberts of Dorchester Kay Townsend £8.50 Traction Engine Register (2020 edition) £9.50 Threshing Machines Trevor Gregory £27.95 The Story of the Invicta Works History of Aveling & Porter Michael Lane £25.00 Driving and Operating Traction Engines Mike Dyson £25.00 Portable Engines Trevor Gregory £24.95 British Steam Fire Engines Derek Henderson £16.99 Road Rollers Anthony Coulls £8.99 Sidney Harrison - His Life & Times with Burrell,

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Fowler and Scammell Ian Hall £20.00 Steam at Southbrook £19.00 Tuxford and Sons - Excellent Victorian Engineers of Boston - By L Pinchbeck, A Rundle, L Sergeant, A Southcott and F Winch (Editor - N R Wright) £10.00 Traction Engines Anthony Coulls £8.99 J & H McLaren J McLaren 1904 reproduction £18.50 Stationary Steam Engines Anthony Coulls £8.99 Best of the Tests M Dyson £9.95 Aveling & Porter, The John Crawley Collection Colin Tyson £14.99 George Thurlow & Sons Steam Engine Dealers Brian J Sulman £30.00 When Steam Ruled the Roads Colin Tyson £15.99 Steam Waggons in Preservation Malcolm Batten £15.99 Steam Rollers in Preservation Malcolm Batten £15.99 Steam Up! Traction Engines on Parade £15.99 Jack Hampshire classics Apprenticeship In Steam £10.95 I Worked With Traction Engines £10.95 Memories of Steam Rallying £7.95 Torton Tales (brilliant children’s series) by Wendy Wakelin Victoria and the Teddy Bear Victoria’s Busy Day Pop comes to Seward’s Yard Colouring book Rosie & Tanner, Steam Roller friends Victoria meets Finnigan

£6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99 £6.99

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The National Traction Engine Trust Preserving our heritage with steam on the road Road Locomotive Society Archive series The Traction Engine Archive Vol.1 The Traction Engine Archive Vol.2 The Traction Engine Archive Vol.3 The Traction Engine Archive Vol.4

£17.00 £26.00 £22.00 £25.00

Photographic albums Traction Engines At Work in Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely Mike Dyson Steam Scenes Vol.6

£19.95 £15.00

Nostalgia Collection albums Malcolm Ranieri Aveling & Porter of Rochester Fowlers of Leeds

£5.99 £5.99

Paul Stratford Road Rollers Steam in Agriculture

£6.00 £6.00

DVDs The Stanley Steamer

£13.50

To claim UK post free purchase: ● Write your name, address and order ● Enclose your current NTET membership card ● Make cheques payable to National Traction Engine Trust ● Send your order to: NTET Sales c/o Mrs K M Smith The Cottage, Main Road, New Bolingbroke Boston, Lincs PE22 7JU

Winter 25 • Steaming

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Introduction to Boiler Maintenance & Inspection Steam in the Furrow 1996 NTET Road Run Sentinel Waggons (double DVD) Going For Gold

£10.00 £17.00 £10.50 £20.00 £10.50

Trust Items 60th Anniversary Road Run programme 60 Years of the NTET Steaming Binder - A4 Size Steaming binder (From Vol.24 to Vol.62 No.1) NTET Members Badge NTET 2000 showman’s badge NTET traction engine lapel badge NTET Foden wagon badge NTET steam roller badge NTET road locomotive badge NTET navy cap NTET bag with logo 38x37cm

£2.00 £5.00 £8.00 £7.25 £3.25 £5.00 £5.00 £5.00 £5.00 £5.00 £12.00 £4.00

Non-members add 10% for postage. Overseas members – please contact the sales team on sales@ ntet.co.uk to enquire about cost for postage of items to be purchased.

sales@ntet.co.uk www.ntet.co.uk/shop

31/12/2025 12:08

FROM THE EDITOR

ith the new year comes the pleasure of planning the year from a rally perspective, which is such an important aspect of what we do, as preservationists of steam on the road. Of course, we have sadly seen some rallies already announce their decisions not to run in 2026 – Strumpshaw being an example of this. As they have written, there are various reasons for not being able to run this year, but the cost of putting the event on is often the underlying reason. Another rally has announced that there is no supply of coal to exhibitors this year, which appears to have had a mixed reaction on social media. I wish all event organisers the best of luck as they plan their events, and hope that they are well supported by exhibitors, public and of course the weather, which can be the make or break for a rally. It’s good to see some rallies are expanding, and a local event in Dorset is the Roads to Rail event at Norden station on the Swanage Railway which is an example of this. 2026 will see the rally move across the road to a larger field to make the event even bigger and better than before. On the subject of Dorset, we cannot not mention the Great Dorset Steam Fair. The pages of Facebook and social media continue to debate whether it will ever sell, let alone ever re-appear,

but the engagement of people to debate these issues never seems to subside. As every day that passes by and with the continuing sales of the various assets, I’ll allow you to draw your own personal conclusions. But Dorset is happening this year from an NTET perspective, in that it was announced at the AGM in November that the location for the 2026 AGM would be Dorset. We very much look forward to welcoming members later in the year to what we hope we can make into another great weekend with plenty of interesting visits and engines to see. The good news is that between now and then there are many great days ahead of rallies, road

runs, steam ups and opportunities to bring the aims and objectives of the Trust alive. Thank you as ever to our contributors, both writers and photographers, who help to make Steaming what it is today. The copy date for the Spring issue is 8th March. Paul Ritchie

Aveling & Porter No. 7857 Burgh of Hawick pilots the Marshall on the log trailer at Roads to Rail in 2025. Photo: Paul Fisher

CORRESPONDENCE... Dear Editor Welsh Steam Coal a potential slow burn? The whole steam preservation movement has been greatly affected by the loss of home mined steam coal. This and greenhouse emissions not being considered when making the closure of UK mine legislation for the shipping of imported coal from the far off shores of i.e. Australia, Columbia making a mockery of the government’s Carbon Neutral policy. I have no issue with trying to attain carbon neutral policy, and as a responsible steam engine owner, I personally have been carbon off setting for the last 25 years. I recently read in of all places Private Eye (No. 1662), an article regarding the Disused Tip Authority for Wales (DTAW) and one company called ERI Reclamation Ltd. They are seeking to exploit a loophole in the ban for new coal mining licences, and are looking to re-mine the coal tips from closed mines which falls outside of the Coal Industry Act of 1994. Spoil heaps which have left a huge blot on the landscape and 48

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with health and safety risks including water pollution and fire hazard. One only has to go back to the catastrophic events in 1966 at Aberfan to see the appalling damage that can be caused. The first site ERI are looking at is Bedwas, Caerphilly which mined coal for the Royal Navy. This for me, is a good starting point and with more than 2500 mines in Wales alone in my mind is a glimmer of hope of getting back to some “home grown” good stuff for our engines. If the Bedwas site was not of a suitable quality another site might be in the future. I believe this needs further investigation and should be high on the list for the NTET to go to HFA and start negotiations. We must try and secure the previously quoted 125,000 tons per annum out of the projected 468,000 tons due for extraction for the heritage sector, rather than it going to commercial use only. This will not be an immediate answer, but potentially shows a glimmer of light in what for most has been a dark tunnel. With fingers crossed, yours faithfully. Malcolm Rogers Steaming • Winter 25

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STEAMING PAST

he Winter 2000/2001 issue of Steaming gave surprisingly little coverage of the Burrell Millenium Special that had taken place at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. A colour centre spread contained just five photos. Two featured two of the engines that had come over from New Zealand, another a lineup of scenics, the third John Newton’s unrestored The Philadelphia, the fourth a roller and road loco in the playpen and the last a view of several engines in front of the marquee. The Steaming Around column only devoted about a column to the event in the Dorset section but various other county notes made mention of engines that had gone to Dorset. Staying with Steaming Around, was it a coincidence that amongst the period photos used to break up the section was a working day photo of the last Burrell road loco built (No. 4093 Dorothy) as a follow up to the photo of the last showman’s engine (No. 4092 Simplicity) that appeared a few issues before and then mentioned a few pages later that the engine had changed hands? In terms of Trust news, the main items were the appointment of Giles “Doc” Romanes as President and the launch of the Breakdown and Recovery Scheme at the recent AGM, held in Launceston. The breakdown scheme continues to

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be operated by the same company (PRP Rescue Services) at a competitive rate and has come to the aid of various engine and private low loader owners who might otherwise have been faced with large bills for recovery. The Steaming Past (i.e. review of the issue that is now 50 years ago) recorded that Ian Fraser had donated his Marshall tractor No. 68823 Jingling’ Geordie to the Leicester Museum of Technology. Coincidentally the Steaming Around notes recorded that the engine had just been returned to steam and included two photos of the taken at events two weeks apart during which time much had progressed, such as fitting of motion covers and canopy. The engine is well known from the book The Arbroath Affair which covers Mr. Fraser’s legal difficulties around building a shed to house the engine and a steam loco at his house. Two separate articles covered former Brown Bayley’s Steelworks’ Sentinel Standard waggons. The first article covered the exploits of No. 1960 of 1918 through 2000. It started with a new year outing and ran through to Power of the Past event near Woodbridge in late-September. It also included a day working for the Wolf Brewery delivering to pubs as they had run out of diesel for their normal lorry during the fuel delivery driver dispute (the 25th anniversary of which seems to have gone surprisingly unmentioned in the press). That widespread shortage of fuel also came up several times in Steaming Around with mention of events in September being down on exhibits and public compared to normal. The other article mainly dealt with No. 1716 of 1917. As well as the early preservation history of the waggon from its sale by Brown Bayley in 1970, the article also covered some of the operational history of the waggons with the company and speculated whether the fleet of waggons had delivered the stainless steel chain that the company had made to reinforce the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral to London. The letters pages again included content regarding convertibles, converted engines and conversions. The former were considered to be engines that were designed and built to be “easily” swapped between roller and traction engine form and were generally supplied with the parts to operate in both forms. The editor kindly provided contemporary manufacturers’ catalogue illustrations of examples of these for Allchin and McLaren. Converted engines were considered to be those modified during their working lives for commercial reasons – such as tractors to rollers and tractors and road locos to showman’s’ form. Conversions were deemed to be those changed in preservation days, where motives are perhaps more doubtful. Stuart Gaines Steaming • Winter 25

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B E R R Y B R O O K S T E A M . C O . U K

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Berrybrook Steam & Classics, Dawlish Road, Exminster, Exeter EX6 8DN Call us on 01392 833301 Email us at: steam@berrybrook.co.uk Visit www.berrybrooksteam.co.uk Steaming • Summer 2024 52

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