Editing Traction engine (section)

===Ploughing engine===
[[File:Steam ploughing demonstration at the Great Dorset Steam Fair 2014 - geograph.org.uk - 4155713.jpg|thumb|left|A [[John Fowler & Co.]] Ploughing Engine – the winding drum is mounted below the boiler]]
A distinct form of traction engine, characterised by the provision of a large diameter winding drum driven by separate gearing from the steam engine.<ref name=Burton49>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=49|isbn=1856055337}}</ref>   Onto the drum a long length of [[wire rope]] was wound, which was used to haul an implement, such as a [[plough]], across a field, while the engine remained on the [[Headland (agriculture)|headland]].<ref name=Burton49 /> This minimized the area of land subject to [[soil compaction]].

The winding drum was either mounted horizontally (below the boiler), vertically (to one side), or even concentrically, so that it encircled the boiler. The majority were underslung (horizontal), however, and necessitated the use of an extra-long boiler to allow enough space for the drum to fit between the front and back wheels. These designs were the largest and longest traction engines to be built.

Mostly the ploughing engines worked in pairs, one on each side of the field, with the wire rope from each machine fastened to the implement to be hauled.<ref name=Ranieri91 /> The two drivers communicated by signals using the engine whistles.<ref name=Ranieri91 /> The engines in the pairs differed slightly with one designed to feed the cable out on the left side and the other on the right.<ref name=Johnson11>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Brian |title=Classic Plant Machinery |publisher=Boxtree Limited |publication-place=London |date=1998 |isbn=0-7522-2437-9 |page=11}}</ref> Occasionally an alternative system was used where the plough was pulled between a single engine and an anchor.<ref name=Ranieri91>{{cite book |last=Ranieri |first=Malcolm |date=2005 |title=Traction Engine Album |publisher=Crowood Press |page=91|isbn=1861267940}}</ref>

A variety of implements were constructed for use with ploughing engines. The most common were the [[Plough#Balance plough|balance plough]] and the [[cultivator]] – ploughing and cultivating being the most physically demanding jobs to do on an arable farm. Other implements could include a mole drainer, used to create an underground drainage channel or pipe, or a dredger bucket for dredging rivers or moats. The engines were frequently provided with a 'spud tray' on the front axle, to store the 'spuds' which would be fitted to the wheels when travelling across claggy ground.

Ploughing engines were rare in the US; ploughs were usually hauled directly by an agricultural engine or [[steam tractor]].

====History====
The first steam ploughing engine built and trialled was in 1837 when [[John Heathcoat]] MP demonstrated a steam powered vehicle he designed for ploughing very soft ground.<ref>"Heathcote's Steam Plough", ''Chelmsford Chronicle'', 29 December 1837, p. 4</ref><ref name=Haining49>{{cite book |last1=Haining |first1=John|last2=Tyler |first2=John |date=1985 |title=Ploughing by Steam: A History of Steam Cultivation Over the Years |publisher=Ashgrove press |pages=49–58 |isbn=0906798493}}</ref> This used a very early form of [[continuous track]]s, and its twin-cylinder steam engine could be either used for the ploughing winch or for propulsion. Another ploughing engine, devised by [[Peter Drummond-Burrell, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby]], possibly designed by [[Daniel Gooch]] and constructed at [[Swindon Works]], the [[Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland]], awarded £100 out of a possible £500 of its prize for creating a steam ploughing engine,<ref name=Burton38>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=38 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref> {{citation needed span|date=November 2022|was exhibited at the [[Great Exhibition of 1851]] in London}}. Lord Willoughby had indicated that his design could be copied freely, and Fowler had visited [[Grimsthorpe Castle]], the estate where the ploughing engines were deployed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pearson |first1=R. E. |last2=Ruddock |first2=J. G. |title=Lord Willoughby's Railway |publisher=Willoughby Memorial Trust |date= 1986-09-30 |isbn=978-0951165607|at=Chapter 2}}</ref> Between 1855 and 1857 a farmer by the name of William Smith and [[John Fowler (agricultural engineer)|John Fowler]] developed wire driven ploughing engines that were powered by portable engines.<ref name=Haining72>{{cite book |last1=Haining |first1=John|last2=Tyler |first2=John |date=1985 |title=Ploughing by Steam: A History of Steam Cultivation Over the Years |publisher=Ashgrove Press |pages=72–76 |isbn=0906798493}}</ref> By 1863 [[W. Savory and Sons]] had introduced a mobile ploughing engine and were using engines at both ends of the field.<ref name=Haining92 /> Their wire drum was vertical and was mounted around the boiler of the engine.<ref name=Haining92>{{cite book |last1=Haining |first1=John|last2=Tyler |first2=John |date=1985 |title=Ploughing by Steam: A History of Steam Cultivation Over the Years |publisher=Ashgrove press |pages=92–95 |isbn=0906798493}}</ref>

Production took place outside the UK with [[Kemna Bau]] of Germany producing ploughing engines.<ref name=Burton46>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Anthony |date=2000 |title=Traction Engines Two Centuries of Steam Power| publisher=Silverdale Books |page=46 |isbn=1856055337}}</ref>

Peak use in Britain was during World War 1 with a bit over 600 pairs as the country attempted to increase food production.<ref name=Johnson13>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Brian |title=Classic Plant Machinery |publisher=Boxtree Limited |publication-place=London |date=1998 |isbn=0-7522-2437-9 |page=13}}</ref>  Use of ploughing engines declined in the 1920s as internal combustion engine powered tractors took over.<ref name=Ranieri92 /> [[John Fowler & Co.]] stopped producing of ploughing engines in 1935 .<ref name=Burton46 /> Low prices in the aftermath of World War 2 resulted meant a few farmers purchased them and continued to use them into the 1950s.<ref name=Ranieri92>{{cite book |last=Ranieri |first=Malcolm |date=2005 |title=Traction Engine Album |publisher=Crowood Press |page=92 |isbn=1861267940}}</ref> As late as 1998 few engines in preservation were taking the occasional commercial job dredging lakes.<ref name=Johnson13 />
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