Bressingham Steam Portable Gathering (27th - 28th August, 2023)
This is one of a series of pages I have uploaded to illustrate facets of the steam rallies we have attended in the UK. Click here for the 2023 introduction and overall index.
Readers of the International Steam Pages should know that I cannot resist any kind of machine that relies on a reciprocating steam engine. To many, a portable engine is a traction engine that cannot move itself, but that is a reversal of history. In fact, they derive from someone putting an engine on top of a boiler, maybe they were short of space or wanted to avoid heat losses. These days they would be called 'semi-portable' a name which is downright misleading as few people in their right mind would move one once it had been put in position. From there it was a short step to adding wheels at each corner to create the true 'portable', such machines being ideal in environments where they could be moved short distances and then be connected by a belt for a variety of tasks such as sawing, threshing and stone crushing. Many have entered preservation and some even work for their living in that environment (for example on Australian river steamers). However, in 2009 we did find what I would guess was the last intact active ('real') one of its kind working in a rice mill near Shwebo in northern Burma (Myanmar). There is even a video clip of it on my YouTube Channel. We found many more working survivors but with boiler and engine separated and often only supporting brackets for the engine parts as a clue to its original form.
Not surprisingly then, I have a very soft spot for these engines and when Bressingham announced a 'steam portables event' it was irresistible. Jonathan Wheeler and his family own several and arranged for a fine selection of others to attend. Most enthusiasts would consider them the poor relation of the steam road engine family and the attendance on Sunday was not huge but it was appreciative. There were several other local engines too in steam as well as the Bressingham (steam) museum and three working narrow gauge and miniature steam powered railways. And since I am also a 'gardens' person I have included some pictures of those too.
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Choose the page you are interested in and within that, click on a thumbnail for a larger image. Then click again to return to the page.
David Collidge's Steam Scenes website (http://www.steamscenes.org.uk/) is a fount of information and was a great help in compiling these pages.
