'Lena' Wallis & Steevens steam tractor

            
Taken at the Græsted Veterantræf 2023, May 27th 2023 at Græsted, North Zealand, Denmark,this photograph features the remarkable steam tractor 'Lena', a product of the esteemed Wallis & Steevens company. Based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, Wallis & Steevens was renowned for its production of agricultural equipment, traction engines, and steam and diesel road rollers.

Established in 1856 by Arthur Wallis and Charles Haslam, Wallis & Steevens began its journey in a newly constructed facility known as The North Hants Ironworks. The company initially traded as Wallis & Haslam, and it wasn't long before they earned high praise for their hand-worked bench drilling machine at the 1857 Royal Agricultural Show in Salisbury. Early on, the company showcased its versatility by producing a wide array of agricultural equipment, including corn drills, turnip drills, horse hoes, drag harrows, threshing machines, barley hummellers, and more.

In 1862, Charles James Steevens joined the company, and upon Charles Haslam's retirement in 1869, the company was renamed Wallis & Steevens. The company's first portable steam engine's production date remains unknown, but the earliest surviving drawing dates back to 1866. The first traction engine, an 8 hp single, was built in 1877 based on Arthur Herbert Wallis's (the son of the company founder) drawings. This vehicle, aptly named 'Success' due to its impressive performance during its trial run on June 21 that year, was given the works number T250.

'Lena', built in 1904, is a testament to the company's transition from steam vehicles to internal combustion models, which began in the 1930s. The company continued production at the Station Hill premises until the redevelopment of Basingstoke town centre in 1966/67 forced its closure. Production then moved to a site at Daneshill, where the company experienced a brief resurgence before the general trading recession of 1980/81. In May 1981, the company's designs, copyrights, spares, components, and goodwill were transferred to BSP International Foundations Ltd of Ipswich, marking the end of Wallis & Steevens' trading.

This photograph of 'Lena' serves as a beautiful reminder of Wallis & Steevens' significant contributions to the world of agricultural and industrial machinery.

I am not sure if the driver was also 'Lena', but we had a good chat. I assumed that the coal merchant was in Newport, South Wales - but no, it is Newport in Shropshire. 'Lena' is transported around from its base in Holland (yes, Holland the province in the Netherlands) in the truck to the right.

Taken on: May 27, 2023

Tags:

Wallis & Steevens

Lena

Nikon Dx3100

Veterantræf 2023

Nordsjælland « less

Sets appears in: • Steam

Groups appears in: • Nikon D40/xD70/sD80/D90/D200/D300/D700/ D3/s/X • !!Free Zone!!No RuleS more » • Photographs of Traction Engines • Steam Driven Engines « less

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