A venerable predecessor to some of the first engine-based vehicles, Tim Gosling profiles steam traction engines and their use in the early 20th century
As soon as the restoration of our 1918 military autocar truck was completed, we started taking it to our local traction engine rally, the Honiton Hill Show. This event has been running since 1971 and has a strong emphasis on traditional farming, vintage tractors, steam traction engines, cars, motorcycles and commercial and military vehicles. As you would expect for a small country show, the chance of running into another military vehicle from World War One would be fairly slender. However, this was not the case in 1995 – on entering the showground, we immediately spotted an enormous Fowler B6 seam road locomotive painted in army service green with the instantly recognisable WD (War Department) and crow’s foot arrow echelons and markings.
As soon as we had parked up, we went to speak to the owner, who confirmed that it had been built in 1914 for the British War Department and had served in France during World War One. On its return to Britain, it was sold off as surplus in 1921 and passed to the London and Kentish Traction Haulage Company, which late…
