Noted British Test Hills

[RichardB]

Just which is/was steepest ?

http://www.mikeclarke.myzen.co.uk/1920s%20test%20hills.pdf

[DaveH]

Just which is/was steepest ?

http://www.mikeclarke.myzen.co.uk/1920s%20test%20hills.pdf

"The Hill" at Cromford steam rally, used as a display of the power of steam

In this picture from the year 2000 rally a single engine, the Burrell showmans engine "Pride of Worcester" hauls a whole string of vehicles up the hill (yes all of them). the hill isn't that steep, - but steep enough and the drivers in the vehicle chain were instructed to be in neutral and to not brake or resist the haul in any way.

Quite an impressive show.

[DaveH]

"The Hill" at Cromford steam rally, used as a display of the power of steam

In this picture from the year 2000 rally a single engine, the Burrell showmans engine "Pride of Worcester" hauls a whole string of vehicles up the hill (yes all of them). the hill isn't that steep, - but steep enough and the drivers in the vehicle chain were instructed to be in neutral and to not brake or resist the haul in any way.

Quite an impressive show.

In fact this show was so impressive that we repeated it on the otherwise unusable hill at the Sheffield rally (know to the engine men as "the play pen") in our 2001 rally, - and every year since!

This is a copy of my report of the events in Sheffield Steam Society's newsletter.

[DaveH]

In fact this show was so impressive that we repeated it on the otherwise unusable hill at the Sheffield rally (know to the engine men as "the play pen") in our 2001 rally, - and every year since!

This is a copy of my report of the events in Sheffield Steam Society's newsletter.

Then of course there are displays of steam power WITHOUT a hill!

At our rally we used a miniature engine to haul up to 3 full sized steam engines around the arena which only had a very slight gradient. This is also frequently done at Elvaston Castle rally which has a very flat field

Malcolm Woodbine's 6" Burrell hauls 2 heavy haulage engines at Sheffield

At Pickering rally the master showman Frank Lythgoe would use 1 of his 7 colour co-ordinated showman's engines to haul the other 6

At Stamford rally, which had a field next to a concrete works that makes railway sleepers the engine would haul a low loader base loaded up with railway sleepers to weights in excess of 100 tons.

At Lincoln rally they just like to show how heavy haulage would have looked on the road in the heyday of steam on the road, as with this engine towing a very large, heavy factory boiler.

All very impressive displays of power.

The best ones being up a hill.

[RichardB]

"The Hill" at Cromford steam rally, used as a display of the power of steam

In this picture from the year 2000 rally a single engine, the Burrell showmans engine "Pride of Worcester" hauls a whole string of vehicles up the hill (yes all of them). the hill isn't that steep, - but steep enough and the drivers in the vehicle chain were instructed to be in neutral and to not brake or resist the haul in any way.

Quite an impressive show.

I like the understatement "(yes all of them)" !