Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Steam Tractor, Phrae, Thailand

 This engine was reported on a motorbikers forum but that link is now dead. Michael Pass tracked it down and provided most of the information below. Derek Rayner provided some extra material as noted.

Click here for the main 'Preserved Steam Rollers and other Steam Engines in Thailand' page.

Michael writes:

Location : 18° 29' 7.50" N (18.4854168° N) 
100° 9' 28.04" E (100.1577890°E)
3 km NE of Song, a small town, some 52 km N of Phrae

Directions : take highway 101 NE out of Phrae, taking the 103 left after 31 km, clearly signposted to Song. After some 19 km, fork right onto the 1120 to Song. On entering this small town, take any number of left turns which will cross an irrigation canal - turn right (North) & follow the road alongside the canal to the end (3km max) where you will find the Fai Mae Yom dam. The Tractor is plinthed next to the small dam-machinery shed. Visible & photo on Google.

Tractor details : Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies N° 32013
My guess is a 4hp 5 ton Light Steam Tractor circa 1920.

Tractor history : it was used by the local government (Tessaban) for various work, such as pumping water and also driving a stone crusher for road works, which maybe explains its final location. It was also probably used in connection with the dam construction works, before 1955, when the dam was completed. The dam is more of a low-level barrage, diverting water from the river along the irrigation canal, supplying the surrounding paddy fields of the area.

Comments : since 2010 the Tractor has been re-plinthed (now level) & surrounded by a little garden with low hedge. Before, the loco was not level, which may explain why the front wheels looked wrong. I'm fairly certain the front wheels are original and the loco is in a pretty good, solid condition, albeit missing some of its top mechanism.

Derek adds:

I've managed to find some details regarding this RSJ tractor. They have come from the records of the Road Locomotive Society.

The tractor has boiler No M240. This was completed as RSJ tractor No 31149 on 29 May 1920 and this was shown at the RASE Show at Darlington, 14 June 1920. It was not sold there and returned to RSJ at Ipswich. It became No 32013 in 1921 and was shown at the RASE show at Derby, 16 June 1921 and again went back to Ipswich.

It was finally sold on 26 August 1921 to MITSUI - which is presumed to be a Japanese firm....

This sort of renumbering was prevalent at that time since steam tractors were just not being sold - due to the advent of the very many ex-WD WW1 lorries on the market at the time.

There is one preserved RSJ tractor in the UK that has had around four or five similar re-numberings over a long period of time for the same reason.