4: De ploughing engine.

A steamengine that was used mainly in the agricultural land is the ploughing engine. It was specially designed for this application.
Ploughing engines can easily be recognised: they have a large drum on which a cable is wound and also a socalled clipdrum 2). In most cases this drum is horizontally mounted; however, some engines have a vertical drum.
The horizontal drums and clipdrums are mounted under the boiler.
The vertical drums and clipdrums are mounted on several ways: at the side of the boiler, but also at the rear-end of the engine against the tender.
In the past many “experiments” have been made, which has resulted in many “special” types of ploughing engines.
An example is a very large drum around the entire engine. Because it was not yet possible in the old days to produce a flexible cable, a large diameter drum or wheel was required to wind up the stiff cable.

Ploughing engines were very heavy, which made it practically impossible to drive them over the relative soft and muddy agricultural land. The risk of sinking away was too large.
Throughout the years several systems were developed to overcome these problems.
Three systems will be discussed below.

-1- The roundabout system

In this system an engine is installed on a fixed place at the side of the field to be ploughed.
A cable was led via pullies and sheaves around the field. The used engine could be a ploughing engine or eg a portable in combination with a winch system. The pullies and sheaves could be repositioned relatively easy and so the plough could be moved, covering the entire field. Advantage was that only one engine was required; in the early days in most cases a portable, which made the operation relatively cheap.

-2- The double engine system

For this system are required 2 ploughing engines, positioned at the opposite ends of the field. The cable is rolled off from one engine and connected to a plough or harrow, which is also connected to the other engine.
By pulling the cable to one engine and winding off from the other engine the plough was pulled over the field. By reversing the direction and pulling/winding off action the plough could be drawn to the other side. Both engines move than an couple of feet after each draw and so the entire field can be ploughed.

-3- The single engine cultivation system

This method uses one ploughing engine situated at one side of the field. At the other side was a self moving anchor and a pullywheel. The anchor consisted of a frame with wheels and the pullywheel on top through which ran the cable. The wheels were sharp like knives and sank into the ground, so fixing the frame. The frame was ballasted to improve its fixation in the ground.
Between the steel cable which ran through the anchor back to the engine was mounted the plough or harrow. This enabled the plough to go over the field.
For the side movement of the anchor the pullywheel was equipped with an axis. A cabledrum was powered via this axis. A cable at the side of the field could be wounded up resulting in the side movement of the anchor.

As already told above, the weight of a ploughing engine was too heavy for direct use on the land. However, many types of engines have been developed to work directly on the field like the modern tractor.
In many cases the result was a disappointment; in some cases successful, like the Wallis & Steevens 4 ¾ compound oilbath tractor.
Richard Garrett and Sons built in 1917 a small steamtractor which had to compete with the internal combustion engine tractor, that became more and more popular as result of the developments in World War 1. It was called the “Suffolk Punch”.
Several have been built. However, it was no success; the steamdriven ploughing engine had lost its battle from the diesel driven tractor.

The ploughing engine has dominated for many years the horizon of the English countryside. They were built till the twenties. Later they were scrapped gradually.
Luckily not all engines have been scrapped, so we can see them nowadays still at work at steamrallies, also in Continental Europe. It is a magnificent view to see them pulling the plough through the field; an important piece of agricultural history!

*2) A clipdrum is a pullywheel to guide the steel cable for the plough. To avoid slipping of the cable a system of clamps ( the clips) is mounted around the wheel. It was developed and patented by Fowler.