Editing Traction engine (section)

=== Preservation ===
[[File:Wallis and Steevens Lena rv.jpg|thumb|[[Wallis & Steevens]] 3 ton traction engine ''Lena'']]
Perhaps the first organisation to take a general interest in traction engine preservation was the [[Road Locomotive Society]] formed in 1937.<ref name=Burton131>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=131 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref>

From the 1950s, the 'preservation movement' started to build as enthusiasts realised that traction engines were in danger of dying out. Many of the remaining engines were bought by enthusiasts, and restored to working order. Traction engine rallies began, initially as races between engine owners and their charges, later developing into the significant tourist attractions that take place in many locations each year.{{CN|date=October 2024}}

The Traction Engine Register records the details of traction engines, steam road rollers, steam wagons, steam fire engines and portable engines that are known to survive in the United Kingdom and Irish Republic. It recorded 2,851 self moving engines and wagons, 687 portable engines (non-self moving), 160 steam fire engines existing in 2016. A new edition of the Register is planned in 2020.{{update inline|date=August 2021}} It was previously estimated in May 2011 by an unknown source that over 2,000 traction engines have been preserved. This figure may include engines preserved elsewhere in the world, particularly the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but if so, is an underestimate. Comprehensive information on past UK manufacturers and their production is recorded by the Road Locomotive Society based in the UK.{{CN|date=October 2024}}