Undiscovered Scotland

 

"The Traction Engine in Scotland" by Alexander Hayward is a wonderfully evocative book about the story of the rise and fall of steam traction in Scotland from the middle of the 1800s to the 1960s. Steam traction came to be used across Scotland for a very wide range of tasks, including road haulage, powering threshing machines, ploughing and road rolling. The starting point and in many ways the focus of the book is the 1907 Marshall traction engine in the collection of the National Museum of Scotland. After an extensive period of restoration this was returned to full working order in its centenary year, 2007, and the introduction of the book sets the traction engine in its historical context.

The book is wonderfully illustrated throughout, and adding to the value of the illustrations is their detailed captions. Many of the illustrations have never before been published, and some have dramatic resonance. A section entitled "The technology of the Sutherland land reclamations" reproduces illustrations and commentaries from contemporary engineering magazines looking at machines used to "improve" the land in the aftermath of the Highland clearances, though for us the most arresting photograph was one of the steam threshing complex at Waterstone Farm in West Lothian. We have many times driven along the B8046 past the farm and always wondered what the chimney was for...

The book itself is far more than a collection of illustrations, however fascinating they are. One section covers the manufacturing of traction engines in Scotland, looking in detail at the output of different manufacturers. Another looks at the promotion and selling of steam traction engines, covering field trials and demonstrations; while the third section looks at working with steam and the uses and users of traction engines, covering everything from hauling and ploughing to threshing. The final part of this excellent book looks at the preservation of Scottish traction engines and at examples in museums, bringing the story bang up to date.