POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Burrell 7 nhp steam traction engine

Object No. B2595

Before tractors, cars and heavy haulage vehicles began to be regularly used in Australia from 1910, steam traction engines hauled and operated threshing machines and other machinery on farms. They were also used for pulling ploughs, running chaffcutters and the heavy haulage of wheat and wool. This engine was built in 1907 by Charles Burrell & Sons of Thetford, England. It illustrates a number of significant technical advances in traction engine design pioneered by the Burrell company in 1878 and 1889. These included the single crank compound cylinder arrangement and the double-geared final drive. This engine is also an example of British technology specifically modified for Australian conditions. This was undertaken at the request of the colonial agent for Burrell engines, E. Coulson of Melbourne. These included larger and wider wheels, higher ground clearance, increased water capacity, larger ground bearing area, spark arresting gear, the addition of a third speed, wood racks to carry fuel, higher gearing and a full length canopy for the hot Australian weather. These designs proved to be practical, popular and reliable with the public. As the Burrell company were a small firm they were able to build to customers' requirements in Australia and still remain profitable. References Burrell Works Drawing Collection, Road Locomotive Society, Thetford, England. Clark, R.H., "Chronicles of a Country Works", Percival Marshall, London, 1952. Clark, R.H., "The Development of the English Traction Engine", Goose & Son, Norwich, England, 1963. Clegg, G.R., "Clark's Megaethon - a study in local history", Paper for Harden Murrumburrah Historical Society, NSW. Gilbert, G.F.A., "Burrell Style 1900-1932", Road Locomotive Society, London, 1994. Lane, M.R., "St Nicholas Works", Unicorn Press, Stowmarket, England, 1994. Lane, M.R., "Boydell's Megaethon - The First Traction Engine in Australia" in "Road Locomotive Society Journal", 39/4, 1986. Lane, M.R., "The First Burrell Traction Engine in Australia", in "Road Locomotive Society Journal", 43/2, 1990. Wheelhouse, F., "Digging Stock to Rotary Hoe", 1966. Mildenhall Collection, Australian Archives, Canberra. "The Sydney Morning Herald", 10 April, 23 May, 10 July 1857. "The Sydney Morning Herald", 10 July, 21 July, 1860. "Newcastle Telegraph", 13 Nov 1857. "Maitland Mercury", 1 Jan 1858. "Goulburn Herald", 29 Dec 1860. Graham Clegg, Conservator, Metals & Engineering & Margaret Simpson, Curator, Science, Technology & Industry August 2009

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Summary

Object Statement

Traction engine, 3 speed, sprung, single crank compound, full size, 7 n.h.p., engine No. 2901, metal, made by Charles Burrell & Sons Ltd, St Nicholas Works, Thetford, Norfolk, England, 1907, used by Corio Shire, Victoria, Australia

Physical Description

This Burrell traction engine is a self propelling steam vehicle. It has worm-driven chain steering operated from the driving position at the rear and is fitted with a built-in tender which served as a water tank, fuel bunker and footplate. The fuel was burnt and steam raised in a locomotive-type boiler which consists of a firebox containing an inner firebox, a round boiler barrel containing fire tubes and a smoke box. This engine is a three-speed type with a single crank compound cylinder arrangement. The single crank compound was patented by Frederick Burrell (patent No. 3489, 1889), and combined simplicity and economy by linking the piston rods onto a common crosshead. This meant that only one connecting rod, crank throw and valve set were required. The engine also has a double-geared final drive, also patented by Burrell (No. 2881, 1878). In this system the spur gear drive to the back wheel was duplicated so that each wheel was driven independently, halving the stress in the most highly-loaded part of the gear train. The compensating gear, or differential normally on the axle, was placed on the second shaft away from road dirt and stones. The higher rotating speed of the second shaft resulted in reduced torque, allowing the assembly to be built much smaller and enclosed to allow for thorough lubrication. Specifications Engine No: 2901, 7 n.h.p. Made to order: No. 4550 Sent away to order: No. 2523 Cylinders: single crank compound Bore: 10 inches & 6 inches Stroke: 12 inches Steam pressure: 160 p.s.i. Speeds: 3 Driving wheels: 7 ft diameter, 24 inch width Leading wheels: 4 ft 7½ inches diameter Total weight: 14 tons

DIMENSIONS

Height

3500 mm

Width

2700 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

Charles Burrell & Sons of the St Nicholas Works, Thetford, Norfolk, England, manufactured this engine. Benjamin Burrell (1725-1793), a whitesmith and blacksmith was making agricultural implements in Thetford by 1755. His son, Joseph (1759-1831) continued to expand the business and by 1803 the firm were located in Minstergate Street, where they were to remain for 125 years. The introduction of threshing machines brought fresh opportunities in manufacturing and concurrently a need for steam portable engines to drive them. A machine shop and foundry were added to the works and Burrell's first portable engine appeared in 1846. Despite the rapid adoption of steam power for railways, industry and shipping, the development of road steam locomotion was slow. The Burrell company were one of the first to experiment in this area working with James Boydell and his track-laying wheel system, a precursor to Holt's later development of the caterpillar track system. The first successful machine designed for heavy road haulage was built in Britain in 1856. Four years later a Burrell Boydell engine was the first used in Australia by Jones & Palmer in an attempt to start a road transport business from Sydney to Goulburn. Between 1855 and 1872 the Burrell firm dominated heavy haulage engine production but by 1880 the gradual production of steam traction engines by other companies led to the popular arrangement which prevailed until the 1930s. Burrells were only small volume producers compared with the industry giants such as John Fowler and Marshall. Nevertheless, their reputation for innovation and workmanship was high. They exported widely with successful agencies in Germany, Italy, and later Australia and New Zealand where sales eventually exceeded all other export markets. Burrells were responsible for many improvements in the design of traction engines including the spark arresting equipment for colonial use, differential locking from the driver's cab for use in boggy conditions and, most significantly, double gearing in the final driven and the single crank compound cylinder arrangement. This gave a reduction in weight, mechanical simplicity, ease of manufacture and cheaper production costs. It became one of Burrell's best sellers, and was used on portable, agricultural traction engines, contractors and showmen's road locomotives and ploughing engines. It found many customers in Australia, with some 70% of local sales being of this type, including this traction engine.

HISTORY

Notes

Prior to 1895, Burrells had no agents in Australia until J. Howard, of Pitt Street, Sydney, took up the agency but only seven engines were sold up to 1904. All were of the standard British design, with an extended smokebox and firebox to suit wood fuel instead of coal. In 1904 Howard was replaced by E. Coulson, of 116 Abeckett Street, Melbourne, and from his first order, dispatched on 19 April that year, Coulson began specifying engines to be built to his requirements. Coulson had considerable experience with traction engines, particularly for scrub rolling and clearing in the mallee, and understood the requirements of local contractors and even specified design changes for Burrell engines. Coulson's sales efforts also led to his participating in official agricultural trials. Regular ploughing experiments were held at the Victorian Agricultural Research Station at Werribee, near Melbourne, to determine practices and equipment best suited to local soils and conditions. It is known that this engine was used in these trials of direct traction ploughing at Werribee. Coulson's agency spanned the years when traction engines achieved their highest sale numbers in Australia. From 1910, the date of his last sale, petrol and oil tractors and other motor vehicles gradually ousted the traction engine from heavy transport and agriculture. This engine's full working history is not yet known. It was ordered (No. 2523) through E. Coulson and left the Burrell factory on 8 May 1907. According to the order, it was sent complete with a "chimney and awning irons but without anchors, wire rope, tools or awning" and the "boiler was not cased". According to the Burrell records held by the Road Locomotive Society, the engine was owned by Corio Shire, on the western side of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, and used for hauling gravel wagons and driving stone crushers. This Burrell traction engine was purchased by the Museum at an auction on the weekend of 18th and 19th August, 1984, at Coleraine, Victoria, undertaken by Roger L. Mines, an associate of Dalgety Farmers Ltd, Coleraine. It was in the collection of T.K. (Keith) Brown. The auction included 13 traction engine, 15 steam portable engines and 100 vintage cars.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Purchased 1984

Acquisition Date

31 October 1984

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