SAMSON - A UNIQUE AVELING SHOWMAN’S ENGINE - ON TWO COUNTS
Our Technical Editor, Derek Rayner, meets up with David Webster and discusses with him the unique engine - Aveling & Porter No. 4885 Samson - which he purchased in the summer of 2021. The engine made its debut with him and his family at the Yorkshire Traction Engine rally at Scampston Hall near Malton in early September; a report of which appeared in OG 381.
THE ENGINE’S EARLY HISTORY
According to Michael Lane’s book on the history of Aveling & Porter, the firm produced only one engine for the use of travelling showmen. This was No. 5635, named , which was exhibited at London’s Smithfield Show in 1904. It was first owned by John Caris & Sons of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and later went to Mrs J Thomas, a stallholder, of Woking in Surrey. As with other manufacturers’ engines, several Avelings were also altered for showland purposes - one notable Aveling example being No. 4882 of 1901 - - owned by Kevin McGivern from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland. Another of these ‘conversions’ was , Fowler No 11108, which was built as an A5 road locomotive in 1909 and later altered to a showman’s engine for fairground use by Percy Cole of Bristol. However, there were also those Avelings in the form of showman’s tractors which definitely worked on the fairs in the days of commercial steam and were used for smaller haulage jobs.
