My late father-in-law had a small farm just out of Kyneton for his spare time. Mostly it was for sheep and cattle. So he didn’t have a tractor but he did have what we called a traction engine but which others might call a steam roller. It had previously been used in the construction of local roads.
I had my driving lessons in that car,
Not all the time was spent playing with the engine though. Animals need attention.
But then it was back to the traction engine. What could be more useful for supplying the home with the unlimited pile of wood needed for the wood stove, and the wood fires, and the wood copper, and for the fuel to run the steam engine which worked the steamroller. No petrol needed. This can be seen in this 1959 home movie clip for those who like fuzzy images of things moving up and down and round and round.
Other people’s engines can be found on this week’s Sepia Saturday
Bound for Australia 
What a great home movie B! I wonder how he got the machine on to the farm. Would he have driven it on the roads?
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I really should finish my research before posting. Norm was involved with the building of the silos near Kyneton Railway Station and while there was offered a job building silos in Germany which he refused. One of the builders on the job had the steamroller for sale. Norm bought it and first stored it in a shed at the Racecourse where he steamrolled the track in preparation for each Race Day. Later it was used on his own farm. I think he would have had to shift it by driving on the roads.
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I enjoyed the movie. I never saw a traction engine before. It is quite a beast.
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That is a great picture with the old shears.
We lived in Kyneton for a couple of years when I was little. The most vivid memories are of bad weather…..cold, frost bite, snow and hail stones!
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First driving lessons on a tractor engine? Wow, did you take it on the road? You would not have had to worry about speeding, more the opposite!
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No, the driving lessons were in the car, seen parked beside the stemaroller. Driving lessons and honing ones skills on double de-clutching when changing gears 🙂 Please don’t ask me to explain that term. (Secret old people’s business )
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Ah sorry, didn’t notice the car in the shade there. I should be more observant. I know what double de-clutching is.
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I’m so envious of your home movie, how I wish I had some of those! The steam engine would not be out of place at The Great Dorset Steam Fair a yearly event close to where we live http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/topic/great-dorset-steam-fair/
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County fairs where I live often have lots of old steam equipment on display — always fascinating.
Love the expression on that sheep’s face — so relaxed like he just had a good massage.
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Oh my, that traction engine, steam roller looks very similar to the machine that I found to share on my blog. Thanks for the great video that shows so much about it!
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Terrific trifecta of photos, video, and story. I imagine that those early traction engines must have seemed a very practical machine around a farm, especially when purchased at a discount.
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We heated our homes with a woodstove for years. Luckily we’ve always lived in an area where wood & wood permits were easy to come by – though the actual cutting was done with a chain saw, & chopping down to stove size was done with an axe. The video was fun & reminded me of the time my father needed to bring a tree down in an exact spot on the lot where we were building a cabin. He notched the tree just so, laid in the cut, then pulled it into the perfect position with our station wagon. I wish I had a video of it, but we didn’t have a movie camera, darn it.
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Your steamroller looks grand but I really like the photo of your father (or whoever he was) with the sheep.
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