Traction Engine Register 2020 published
Posted by Chris Graham on 14th July 2020
The newly-published Traction Engine Register is available now, for just £10, from Southern Counties Historic Vehicles Preservation Trust.
A fully-revised, new edition of the Traction Engine Register has been published. It’s the 13th in the series that commenced in 1968, and is now issued every four years.
The Register has become the standard reference source on surviving, road steam vehicles, portable engines, steam fire engines and fairground steam engines that exist in preservation in Great Britain and the Irish Republic.
The 2020 Register lists 3,859 entries built by 128 different manufacturers. The total number of entries is only slightly higher than in the 2016 edition, reflecting that discoveries of previously unknown engines are now very rare. Any increase in numbers these days tends to be due to repatriations of engines from around the world, and the creation of a number of full-sized, accurate replicas of types no longer surviving.
A total of 2,880 self-moving traction engines, road locomotives, road rollers and steam wagons are included. In addition, 690 portable steam engines, 162 steam fire engines and 127 engines associated with fairground rides are listed. Most surprising is the number of alterations that have been notified to the editor since 2016, which has led to over 2,000 individual amendments to the listed engines affecting 22% of the self-moving engines.
In addition to the inevitable alterations in location as ownerships change, many machines have received new names, and further research has brought forward more technical details. Also, 1,100 informative notes now accompany the listings, to provide readers with even more, useful information.
To enable enthusiasts to easily identify an engine, the road registrations reference list to the makers’ numbers has been revised, to include 2,652 references. The book has been produced in the popular and handy pocket-sized style, and contains 116 pages with 17 colour illustrations.
The Traction Engine Register is maintained purely with the assistance of numerous owners and enthusiasts who supply information about the engines and, without everyone’s help, it simply couldn’t be produced. So sincere thanks are extended to all those who took the trouble to update details.
The new edition is available direct from the publisher, Southern Counties Historic Vehicles Preservation Trust, and orders can be placed by visiting its website at: thetractionengineregister.webs.com. Alternatively, orders can be place by post, by writing to: 1 Pollingford Cottages, Ellens Green, Rudgwick, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 3AS. The price of the new edition is £10, including postage.
Additions and notification concerning future alterations are always welcomed. Please get in touch by email to: tractionenginereg@btinternet.com, or by posting details to: 24 Priory Road, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9EN.
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