Steam Traction Engines
To my knowledge the first steam traction engine in the region, a “Foden”, was bought by “Cocky” Davis, of “The Pine”, two miles from Lockhart, about 1910. I understand it was driven up from Melbourne under its own power, and it took more than a week to make the trip.
I saw that engine pulling a wagon load of bagged wheat into Lockhart in 1916. During those early years Charlie and Alex Brown, who lived 3 miles from Lockhart along the Wagga Road, had a steam chaff-cutting plant. Charlie Brown also had a brick kiln on his farm and he made and supplied all the bricks to build the Commercial Hotel, Lockhart in 1906.
Between 1913 and 1920 Lockhart shire council had a steam traction engine for road building between the town and Bouffler’s hill. It used to haul three wagon loads of gravel from the quarry. That road can still be seen about a mile from Bouffler’s hill, on the left-hand side of the bitumen road running between the two pine belts. Early in 1920 the Lockhart council sold this road plant to a Sydney firm. In 1912 I remember seeing a steam traction engine clearing land on a property on “North Brookong”. I was told those giant engines could break trees three feet thick near the stump.
These engines were few and far between in those times. Only four steam chaff-cutting plants worked in the district. The first from 1924 to 1937, was a Ransome, Sim and Jeffery plant. Another two were Marshalls. J. S. Lewington’s Marshall plant was the best about. He moved several houses with it. The steam traction engines had several advantages over conventional tractors. Among these advantages were greater weight distribution, a wider and higher driving wheel and up to 150hp drawer-bar pull. Their disadvantages were that they were too cumbersome for the average farm and they required a lot of firewood and water.
Transcribed by Fiona Beckett from ‘Historic “Brookong” and Antique “Urangeline”’, written by Hamish L. Browne, March 1972.