Where are all the old steam things??

A section for all non-Steamboat things and machinery - Steam vehicles, trucks, plant, cars etc...
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farmerden
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Where are all the old steam things??

Post by farmerden » Tue May 18, 2010 1:19 am

I have found a small steam engine.I will post pics eventually!In trying to identify it I went to some steam sites in the UK.I was shocked to see that you people seem to have every piece of steam equipment ever made! Don't you people ever throw anything out? :lol: Seriously I would have thought everything old like that would have been melted down for the war effort. In western Canada there is nothing left-now I can't say how much was here in the first place cause I'm just a kid :lol: but it is puzzling as to the numbers of steam equipment around. Any body got any ideas why you in the UK have so many and we have so few?? Den
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by Edward » Tue May 18, 2010 1:00 pm

Dear Den ,

You write that you are surprised that more steam plant in the UK wasn't melted down for the war effort ; in fact in many cases the war gave an added lease of life to steam .
The main reason for this was that coal, being mined locally did not have to be imported at great cost in life and limb as did oil . From a distance of 65 years we tend to forget that not only was oil VERY tightly rationed for private individuals but such things as new commercial vehicles or tyres etc were completely unobtainable , space on the trans Atlantic convoys was very limited .
As a result agriculture in particular but also some haulage companies either retained steam plant that would otherwise have been scrapped or re-introduced retired steam plant .
On land I don't know of any new steam plant being manufactured but as all new marine i/c engines were required for Naval/Military vessels quite a few medium sized marine plants were built for such vessels as Harbour Service Launches etc by the many relatively small engineering firms which did not have the equipment or expertise to manufacture diesels .

Regards Edward
Last edited by Edward on Tue May 18, 2010 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
farmerden
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by farmerden » Tue May 18, 2010 3:50 pm

Thanks Edward I guess we are "World's Apart" :lol: It never occured to me that you had surpluses of coal and no oil.That is indeed a logical answer to my question. To someone like me who has only seen one or two traction engines in my life to see row upon row of them at your shows is a site to behold. Thanks for your imput! Den
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by stevey_frac » Tue Oct 12, 2010 6:01 am

farmerden wrote:Thanks Edward I guess we are "World's Apart" :lol: It never occured to me that you had surpluses of coal and no oil.That is indeed a logical answer to my question. To someone like me who has only seen one or two traction engines in my life to see row upon row of them at your shows is a site to behold. Thanks for your imput! Den
Perhaps that's only western Canada?

I was at the Steam Show in Milton, and there had to have been a over a dozen traction engines, about a half dozen stationary engines, one fellow with about a half dozen engines bolted to a trailer, and a nice VFT boiler to run them all.

I think there are some pictures of it all here: http://www.steam-era.com/archives/photo ... llery.html

Those are from last year. This year's hasn't made it up yet. I didn't take any, as it was raining, and i didn't want to get my phone wet.
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by artemis » Tue Oct 12, 2010 7:17 pm

farmerden wrote:Thanks Edward I guess we are "World's Apart" :lol: It never occured to me that you had surpluses of coal and no oil.That is indeed a logical answer to my question. To someone like me who has only seen one or two traction engines in my life to see row upon row of them at your shows is a site to behold. Thanks for your imput! Den
Guess you never get across the border to the 'States except to a steamboat meet. There's a lot of steam equipment at the Anacortes Antique Machinery Show in late September or - a little further south - the Great Oregon Steam Up at Brooks, Oregon the weekend before the NWSS Annual Meet (2011 at Cathlamet, WA about 100 miles or so from Brooks). There's even a traction engine parade as well as contests. Ever seen two 50HP Case traction engines in a tug-of-war. Wow! Both events are listed in advance on the NWSS website "events" page.
NWSS Webmaster Ron :D

There's also a "get-together" in the late June over on The Island (Vancouver's Island for you non-locals) at the British Columbia Forestry Center http://www.bcforestmuseum.com/?celebrate-steam,202. Usually at least half a dozen traction engines, stationary stuff, steam automobiles and the narrow gauge railway. Sometimes a couple of stamboats on trailers.
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by RogerV » Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:16 am

I've heard of a number of instances when fire chiefs and others took creative measures to keep steam fire engines which were loaded with brass and copper from being sacrificed for the war effort. In one case, a fire engine got "lost" in a large municipal warehouse. In some other cases steamers were reactivated because there was a real need for them; hundreds of fire trucks were being manufactured, but the majority of them went to military installations, and a fair number of them went to our allies via Lend-Lease. Municipal fire departments often had to fend for themselves.

I know of at least one instance where a privately-owned steam fire engine was used to fight fires on an estate in England when off-course German bombers dropped their bombs in the countryside. There well may have been others. A steam fire engine is a thing of great beauty, and people are frequently people are surprised that some of them had a pumping capacity equal or near equal to that of a modern fire engine. In an interesting reversal of the usual situation, American fire engines were often more ornate than those used in the U.K.
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by Mike Rometer » Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:20 am

stevey_frac wrote: I was at the Steam Show in Milton, and there had to have been a over a dozen traction engines, about a half dozen stationary engines, one fellow with about a half dozen engines bolted to a trailer, and a nice VFT boiler to run them all.
There is a Steam Rally, not to far distant from here, where each year they boast over a 1000 engines. :lol:
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by S. Weaver » Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:52 am

One thing I've observed - can anybody corroborate? - that steam and its related hardware seems to remain the further one is from the smelter. In eastern Oregon and Idaho, I've come across more pieces than in eastern Pennsylvania, for example.
Steve
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by Mike Rometer » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:34 am

I would think that is true for all types, not just steam, Steve. Why haul it any further than you have to. Given time it would all disappear, if there isn't something nearer.
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Re: Where are all the old steam things??

Post by 87gn@tahoe » Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:17 am

I wonder how much was lost in the pre-2008 high scrap prices. I know a lot of classic cars were... :evil:
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