Wm. Foster and Company, Limited.
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Exhibit :-1908 Model " Wellington " Tractor.
A large number of steam tractors are now employed for hauling garden produce to the Covent Garden Market, and the users of such machines have found that, by their aid, a not-inconsiderable saving over the old system of horse haulage can be effected. " Wellington " tractors, built by Wm. Foster and Company, Limited, of the Wellington Foundry, Firth Road, Lincoln, may often be seen, in the early hours of the morning, hauling heavily_ laden trailers that are destined for that famous market. Messrs. W. J. Lobjoit and Son, of Heston Farm, Hounslow, have three tractors of this make, and their satisfactory performance has led to the placing of a fourth order.
The new tractor is exhibited on Stand No. to, and it is one of the latest models that has issued from the Wellington foundry. This machine is fitted with the maker's new type of cylinder and slide valves, by the use of which the steam distribution has been improved, and considerable economy in the water consumption has been effected. This economy has led the company to re-design the saddle tanks, and to fit new ones of neater design. This adds greatly to the general appearance of the tractor, and makes certain parts
of the engine more accessible. Al
though the new tanks are of smaller capacity than were those of the old design, the machine is, on account of the increased economy in steam consumption, still able to take its full load a distance of 30 miles along a normal road before stopping to take in a fresh supply of water.
A feature of this tractor is the feedwater control valves, by which the quantity of water delivered to the boiler may be regulated to suit the requirements of the boiler. The water is fed by a geared plunger pump. Economical working has been most carefully studied, and, wherever it has been possible to effect a saving, the closest attention has been given by this maker. One of the several fuel-saving devices that are fitted to this tractor is a very efficient exhaust feed-water heater, which consists of a long cylindrical vessel, through which a Row's indented, copper tube passes. The exhaust steam is led through this indented tube, and the space between it and the external cylinder is filled up with feed water ; this, as delivered from the pump, enters the feed-water heater at one end, and, from the other end, it passes, through a check valve, to the boiler. This tractor is mounted on wood-shod road wheels, as illustrated.