Portable steam engines were used to drive belt driven machinery of various types, in agricultural use this would have mainly been to drive threshing machines. Built by French company of Merlin et Cie, Vierzon (Cher) in 1924, this machine was bought from a vintage car dealer near Le Mans, and came to the Pallot Steam & Motor Museum for restoration in 1984. Unlike a traction engine, it cannot move itself, so had to be drawn from place to place by horses. Many makers built portables (they were cheaper than traction engines) and this charming example – with a second model under restoration – are thought to be the only two of their kind in the British Isles. |
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