Traction-Talk - 4" Foster agricultural traction engine

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4" Foster agricultural traction engine

For sale:

4" scale Foster based on the Live Steam Models design. A great opportunity to acquire a fully sorted out and ready to run engine.

The engine comes with a steam certificate to January 2016 and hydraulic to January 2017. It was built in 1991 and retubed in 2011. Steel boiler with expanded tubes, fusible plug and water gauge with protector. Water fed by crankshaft driven by with bypass, and a reliable injector. Twin safety valves. Single cylinder with slide valve, Stephenson's valve gear, mechanical lubricator, water lifter, winch and cosmetic governor. Glued on rubber strakes which gives the appearance and grip of steel strakes but without the teeth loosening effects of the latter when moving on hard surfaces!

Length 72” (without driver’s seat), height to chimney 43”. Weight in working order approximately 400 kg.

This engine was built in 1991 and retubed in 2011. I bought this engine in 2014 with the sole purpose in mind of completing a road run along the trackbed of the closed Belfast – Comber railway line, which is now a cycle path. With this, and several other substantial road runs completed, it is time to sell and move on to the next challenge.

I find the engine easy to fire, particularly given my experience with smaller machines – the large, docile boiler is much easier to manage than on a 3” engine.

The engine comes with a driving seat, cheap and cheerful trolley, small quantity of coal, lighting up sticks, a firing shovel, quantity of boiler water treatment and 5 litres of steam cylinder oil. Water drums for longer runs can also be thrown in, if required.

I road registered the engine for the various road runs and it comes with its V5 certificate.

I can ship to anywhere in the UK or Ireland, viewing is recommended.

Price - £13,000.

Please email jfriel03@qub.ac.uk with any queries, and I will reply and send photos and videos of the engine in action.

4" Foster agricultural traction engine

My engine is still for sale, thanks to those who expressed interest so far. Due to a problem with my email account could I ask that anyone interested emails me at mccklusky2001-foster@yahoo.co.uk rather than the jfriel03@qub.ac.uk email address mentioned above.

Remarkably I had a phone call from the wife of the engine's builder after she spotted the advert for it in "Old Glory" magazine. I've been able to add the following to the engine's history;

It was built by Edward Chapman in 1991, the first of five steam powered road vehicles that he built. It was originally named Harriet Ann after his mother. When it was sold it was renamed Ruby by the new owners.

The cladding sheets were new when the engine was at Berrybrook Steam - presumably the originals were damaged or lost during the period the boiler was unclad for an inspection.

The engine is currently waiting for me to get time to get its boiler certificate renewed - it is rather a shame that I have no time to use it.

Please get in touch if you are interested.

Boiler certificate renewed 16th April, still for sale.