Students driving around the Museum site and enjoying the Suffolk countryside
The Museum of East Anglian Life is offering the chance to learn how to drive a steam traction engine.
The two day course set to run in August will teach you the basics on how the engines work, how to drive them and how to maintain and manage the engine.
Culture24 spoke to the museum to find out more about these magnificent machines and the challenges faced in manoeuvring them.
Collections Manager Lisa Harris has been driving traction engines for the last seven years and she will be helping to put the latest batch of enthusiasts through their paces on the driving course.
Students attempting the Traction Engine Assault Course – can you get the wheel on the block?
“The first thing I had to do when I joined the museum was learn about the traction engines and driving them so I could manage the museum volunteers,” said Lisa.
“Driving the engines is pretty challenging as you are in charge of a big hulk of metal with no brakes, or brakes that take a bit of time to work. There are members of the public around and sometimes they don’t understand how the engines work and might not move out of the way in time.
“You have to keep an eye on what’s going on around you and, because of the size of the engine, you don’t necessarily have the best visibility. You really have to work as a team with the other person on the engine and from my point of view, strength can sometimes be an issue.”
Students enjoying themselves on the engine ‘Old Peculiar’
The comprehensive course packs in workshops on driving, maintaining and firing up the steam driven mammoths.
“We take the students through the entire process of getting the engine ready, from taking off the sheets to checking the engine to make sure everything is in the right place and that there is enough water when you are pressuring the engine up. We also think about cleaning the engine down and polishing the brasses.”
Once the students have learnt the basics and the engines have steamed up, they steam out to a special assault course that reveals the challenges of keeping an engine under control.
“It’s a bit like doing dog agility – we get people to drive in and out of cones and we set up blocks where they have to get their back left wheel onto it and stop or their front right wheel, which is really difficult. People see how hard it is to drive one of these engines on the roads today – when they were built the traffic was nothing like it is now.
Engine owners and students discussing the steering on ‘Sir Douglas’ - a very large Fowler engine
“We operate a bus stop system where you drive one engine, hop off, and then have a go at driving the next one. All the engines drive slightly differently so it’s a great opportunity to see the different ways of working.
“We also give everyone an information pack full of background information, history and advice on how to work on engines so that if they work on another engine they can go back and check how to do things.”
And any images you have of the course being dominated by a load of boiler suit clad Fred Dibnah types are not true.
Lisa explained: “We always get a wide cross section of people on the courses - we have people who have always wanted an engine but can’t afford one – engines could go from £70,000 upwards and a big show engine could be around £300,000.
“There are people that have always wanted to have a go at driving a steam engine – two years ago we had a guy who was obsessed with steam engines and his wife had bought him the course for a wedding present and from the time he arrived to the time he left he had the biggest grin on his face.
“It’s not just men that do the course either, we have women enthusiasts and some are just keen to find out more about what their partners are interested in.”
She added: “Most of all, the course is great fun and we have a good laugh as well as learning about all the serious stuff.”
Students celebrating after the course
To attend the course you must be over 21 years of age and hold a full UK driving license. The cost of the course is £155 and this covers the cost of coal, engine owner’s minimal expenses, course training notes and a certificate of attendance.
For more information or to book a place on the course contact Lisa Harris at the museum for a booking form on 01449 612229 or email and for more information on the museum go to the museums website
