The Development of the English Steam Wagon
An increasing number of steam wagons have appeared at Steam Engine Club rallies and are becoming sought after by collectors.
There seems nowadays to be a great interest in collecting pieces of vintage machinery as an anti-dote to the lack of creative outlet for many people in the cost-conscious and functional age in which we live
We feel that this book serves a double purpose in that it is a mine of practical information for the collector and student who wishes to make steam engines his hobby and is also a fascinating piece of social history evoking all the cosiness of a more intimate smoke-filled Britain.
This book is of course a first-rate engineering history by a man who is a recognised authority on his subject and makes no concession to chattiness or flowing narrative in its painstaking recording of informative detail.
The Development of the English Steam Wagon is able to be published fairly soon after the author's Development of the English Traction Engine because many makers of traction engines also made steam wagons and he was able to gather a great deal of information while doing research for the previous volume. He has travelled many miles on his Brough Superior since the completion of that work, collecting further data.
The result is a unique collection of records about the development of mechanical road trans-port and the construction of vehicles and many mechanical innovations which are relevant to modern practice. The book is lavishly illustrated with old photographs and large numbers of diagrams so that the text is able to be read in con-junction with explanatory illustrations throughout.
Much attention was given by manufacturers to the perfecting of efficient small boilers for use in steam wagons and the author has used boiler design as a basis of classification of the various types of wagon. Many details have been gathered from sources now obscure and scarce. The types of engines vary from those with a single cylinder-through many forms of compounds to a three-cylinder radial design utilising the uniflow principle, not omitting even a vee-four arrangement Other interesting mechanisms covered comprise epicyclic transmissions, spur-pinion differential and springing arrangements.
Hardback with dust jacket, 18x25cm, 207 plus appendices pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Good/Very Good, a little wear/tear to DJ
ISBN: 9780999011249
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Updated: 15 September 2025