A Showman's road locomotive or showman's engine is a steam-powered road-going 'locomotive' designed to provide power and transport for a travelling fair or circus. Similar to other road-going traction engines, showman's engines were normally distinguished by the addition of a full-length canopy, a dynamo mounted in front of the chimney, and brightly coloured paintwork with ornate decorations. The dynamo was used to generate electricity to illuminate and power various fairground rides. Although originally the ride's motion was powered by an internal steam engine, some later rides were driven direct from the showman's engine via a belt drive.
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One of the earliest engines ordered directly from the manufacturers by a showman was a Burrell No.1451 Monarch, built in 1889. Before the advent of these showman's road locomotives all of the rides were drawn in transit by teams of horses, this was very labour-intensive, and substantially restricted the size of the rides.
Characteristic features
In general, showman's road locomotives share much the same design and technology as other road-going traction engines; however, certain features set the showman's engine apart:
- Highly decorated
To match the rides?
- Dynamo
Generating large currents from a belt drive at 110 Volts.
- Full-length canopy
Most road locomotives have some kind of roof or canopy fitted, covering the man stand (where the driver operates the controls) and the crankshaft area. The canopy of a showman's engine extends forward of the chimney to protect the dynamo from rain ingress.
- Extension chimney
An extra 6ft? tube is carried for extending the chimney when stationary. The chimney tube is carried on purpose-made brackets on the roof. The extra length of chimey improves the draft through the fire, and reduces the risk of smoke and smuts being blown around nearby fair-goers.
- Barley twist roof supports
Most engines have simple steel rods for roof supports, but showman's engines employ a more flamboyent 'twisted' design
- Crane
Most engines are not so modified, but those that are are usually supplied with a simple slot-in crane boom arm. Others make use of the winch, a high-level wheel behind the 'cab' being provided in place of the upper arm of the crane.
Sub-types
Showman's tractors
Showman's tractors were basically miniaturized versions of their larger counterparts. Many were constructed following government legislation increasing weight limits at seven tons, so at between 5 and 7 tons these engines were very popular. Again Burrell was a prolific manufacturer as was William Foster, but the market leader was probably Garrett's of Leiston with a showman's engine based on their popular 4CD tractor design.
"Scenic" showman's locomotives
Scenic showman's engines were perhaps the ultimate development of the showman's road locomotive. Built almost solely by Burrell's of Thetford (Fowler built just one experimental engine) these were developed for the heavier rides that were emerging. Basically a scenic engine has a second dynamo located behind the chimney, known as an exciter. This extra dynamo helped to start the heavy new scenic rides. The first engine to be built new as a 'scenic' was No. 3827 Victory. Supplied to Charles Thurston of Norwich in 1920, this fine engine is now preserved in the Thursford Collection in Norfolk.
Showman's steam wagons
Although less common than the tractors or larger locomotives, showman soon cottoned on to the idea of converting the conventional steam wagons for showland use. Foden's were probably the most popular choice, Burrell's only ever sold one wagon specifically built for a showman: no. 3883 Electra was built in 1921 for Charles Summers of Norwich, it was later sold to an operator in Plymouth, but was later destroyed in the Nazi Blitz of the city.
Manufacturers
One of the most prolific manufacturers of these vehicles was Charles Burrell of Thetford Norfolk. Their later 8nhp engines were held in very high regard by their operators. Other major manufacturers included John Fowler of Leeds and William Foster of Lincoln. Other manufacturers made lesser ventures into the showman's engine market, these included Wallis and Stevens of Basingstoke, Foden's of Sandbach and Aveling and Porter of Rochester, Kent.
Fowler B6 "Super Lion"
In the early 1930s when steam on the roads was in decline, Fowler's, under advice from Sidney Harrison of Burrell's produced four of the most sophisticated showman's road locomotives ever constructed. Incorporating many features of the popular Burrell design they were steam's finale. The first was No.19782 The Lion was built in March 1932 for Anderton and Rowland of Bristol, in April of the same year No. 19783 'King Carnival II' was supplied to Frank Mcconville of West Hartlepool. The third engine No. 19989 Onward was built for Samuel Ingham of Cheshire. The last of the four, and indeed the last showmans engine ever constructed was No. 20223 Supreme built in March 1934 for Mrs A.Deakin. Three of these engines survived into preservation, with Supreme and King Carnival II on road haulage duties for their last days in commercial use. Onward was the unlucky engines being cut up in 1946, however plans for a replica to be built have been suggested.
Famous showmen owners
Although hundreds of showland families operated showmans engines a few are worthy of note.
Pat Collins and family operated well over 25 showman's engines, although predominantly Burrell's he also owned various Fowler's and other makes
Charles Thurston and family operated a large number of engines from both Burrell's and Foster's. A number of their engines have been preserved. Foster's Admiral Beatty and Burrell's Britannia were owned by William Thurston. A unique set of four of Charles Thurston's engines have been preserved at the Thursford Collection in Norfolk. These are all Burrell's: King Edward VII of 1905, Victory of 1920, Unity and Alexandra
George Thomas Tuby operated a fleet of seven Burrell showman's engines, most of which carried names according to the position of Tuby in the local government. These included Councillor, Alderman, Mayor and surviving Ex-Mayor
Preservation
The last showman's engine in commercial showland use was in 1958, before this engines were being sold for scrap for next-to-nothing. George Cushing, Founder of the Thursford collection bought Victory,Alexandra and Unity for around £40 each, (For comparison, a similar engine No. 3865 No. 1 was sold at auction in 2003 for £320,000.) Towards the end of the 1930s engines were simply becoming out-of-date. With the ending of the Second World War came hundreds of cheap and powerful ex-Army lorries which replaced the showman's engines, making them obsolete. Although many of these engines were scrapped, a good number of them have survived into preservation. Many appear at rallies all over the UK, others are in museums such as Thursford, or the Hollycombe Collection.