3" Savage Steam Wagon

Back in the day Savage's of Kings Lynn were best known for building fairground rides and centre engines, their gallopers forming the centre piece of many Victorian travelling fairs both in the UK and abroad. At the request of their customers the company also turned their hand to building traction engines and road steam engines, however with relatively small numbers produced only one original survives.

In more modern times most people know the name Savages due to the Little Samson Steam Tractor which is often seen in various scales on the rally field. The plans and castings for this Savage "Universal Carrier" seen here were produced by the same very talented engineer and are now available through Live Steam Models.

To the Wagon itself, going by its Victorian appearance you would expect it to be a somewhat simple design, in fact what you find underneath is a technically advanced and capable compound steam engine with an enclosed crank cased close coupled to a two speed gearbox. It would be fair to call the design a complicated build which would explain why this is believed to be one of only 4 examples to be built to date. The chances are you wont see another one of the rallyfield!

We had a fun afternoon steaming the Wagon around the yard and I would call it an impressive little engine, the compound engine is powerful and free revving and once you get the boiler and all the pipework hot it steams well. One feature we particularly liked was the water/condensation relief valve on the exhaust pipework so you didn't get a shower of water when first pulling away or running the engine (a common issue with under-type wagons)

The vertical boiler runs at 150psi and is commercially built we CE marking, it is water fed through a crank driven pump and hand pump which is neatly hidden in one of the front coal boxes. Being a vertical boiler it is great for use on the rally field as the firebox crown is always covered regardless if you are going down or uphill. The boiler is reported to be in sound condition with minimal recorded wastage. Although built in 2016, looking over the reports it was only sporadically steam tested 3 times over the years so we expect it has seen little use.

Overall then a rare, capable and interesting Steam Wagon which is ready to rally and enjoy. Unlike most 3" engines you can sit on this which makes transport and use so much easier rather than faffing about with riding trailers. With the chimney removed it will fit in the back of most family cars (150cm long x 45cm wide )

As always the engine comes with a full set of firing irons, coal, oil, steam raising blower and a days tuition included if required. For more information or to arrange a viewing please do not hesitate to contact us.