STEAM POWER

 

You may have forgotten about Traction Engines, which are large steam driven tractors invented in the 1850s and used, in the UK, into the 1950s. But if we've forgotten these colorful "road locomotives," rural England hasn't. Team LSP reports, from somewhere in England:

"I'm at a Traction Engine Rally, in a beer tent, listening to Country and Western. Guess what, there's not a single rainbow in sight. But there's hundreds of engines.

"The rally hadn't been held for three years because of the scamdemic but now it's back. There were 24 vintage fire engines alone, and a steam car, a Stanley Steamer."

Being a conscientious editor, I gazed in awe at photos of land leviathan relics of the industrial revolution and asked for further detail, to add color to the story. "Send photo of beer tent, thx," and got a Stanley Steamer instead, "Didn't think you'd want a photo of the beer tent. My bad." 

Mutinous correspondents aside, the Stanley Steamer was an American car, with regular models capable of 75 mph. A Stanley even set the world land speed record in 1906, clocking 150 mph before it crashed at Daytona. And what can we say? Steam cars are awesome, I want one.

Who knows, perhaps they'll suddenly become an imperative when gas becomes totally unaffordable for all but the very rich who rule us. And isn't America famous for its machine shops?

Your Pal,

LSP