THE BEST OF THE BURRELLS

Having developed mechanical problems during a visit to London from Thetford in Norfolk, the Burrell works demonstrator showman’s engine has been booked into Morland and Anderson for repairs. Unfortunately, nobody in Thetford knew that there was a low bridge just outside Capital Works!

While the policeman has averted a collision, the driver now looks to see if the chimney and safety valves can be dismantled. It is not as if he can let the tyres down!

The first purpose built Showman’s Road Locomotive left Burrell’s St Nicholas Works in 1889 and carried both the name "Monarch" and the number 1451. Of over 4000 traction engines built in Thetford, 207 were Showman’s engines, distinguished by their full length canopies with twisted brass supports, tall chimneys ( to carry away smoke from busy fairgrounds ), gaily painted bodywork and the belt driven dynamo transversely mounted ahead of the smokebox.

As well as hauling dismantled rides from fair to fair in trailers, these Showman’s Road Locomotives could thus light and drive roundabouts and dodgems as well as kinematoscopes in tents, the forerunners of the permanent cinemas that we know today.
Although much more sophisticated than the first horse drawn single cylinder "portable" engines built by Charles Burrell in 1848 to power corn threshers – the Showman’s Road Locomotives would be supplanted by internal combustion lorries and tractors after 1914.

Among the weekend visitors to the Norfolk town seeking out the locations for the classic BBC TV comedy "Dad's Army" will be yet others visiting the Charles Burrell Museum in Minstergate, some of whom may even have contacted the museum c/o Kings House, King Street, (01842) 754247 for copies of engineering drawings.

Burrell's made steam engines of many different kinds, as well as a range of other agricultural machinery. But most importantly Burrell's were always ready to pioneer new ideas,

Burrell's were the first to introduce a practical heavy duty traction engine for use on roads, although it is for the magnificent showman's engines that they are best remembered today.

Joseph Burrell is credited with founding the family business around 1770, well before the advent of steam transport. He set up as a general smith and repairer of agricultural tools at a workshop in the parish of St Cuthbert, Thetford, with ploughs, harrows, and rakes among his products.

Early in the 19th century, with his brothers James and William, he began designing his own patent agricultural machinery and in 1803 his 'improved drill for sowing crushed oat cake manure with wheat, turnips etc.' won a silver cup at the Holkham sheep-shearing festival.

The St Nicholas iron and brass foundry was established in Thetford by James Burrell. One of James's sons, James junior, had a small shop and foundry in King Street, while the other son - Charles - inherited the family firm. Charles (grandson of Joseph) was 20 when he took over in 1837, and was to see the name of Burrell become world-famous during his 69-year 'reign' until his death in 1906.

Sensing an exciting future for steam engines in agriculture, Charles Burrell's company produced their own single cylinder (SC) portable in 1848 and exhibited it at the Royal Agricultural Show. The firm continued to manufacture other agricultural machinery, and produced the first combined threshing and finishing machine at about this time.

The real challenge facing British engineers, however, was the design and construction of a self-moving road engine for pulling loads. Unlike railway locomotives, road engines would have to cope with corners, hills and uneven surfaces, so speed gears and a steering mechanism had to be incorporated.

Early prototypes were unsuccessful because their narrow wheels could not grip soft ground. However, Burrell's were able to produce the first practical traction engine by joining forces with an engineer named James Boydell. He had patented a system called the 'Endless Railway', which foreshadowed the track-laying vehicles of many years later. Six hinged flaps or shoes were attached by links around each wheel. As the wheel turned, one flap was laid down to form a broad weight-bearing surface, then picked up again as the next one took its place. The Endless Railway traction engine built by Burrell's under the Boydell patent in 1856 was a monstrous-looking affair, and is shown on the memorial plaque on the site of the former St. Nicholas Works office in Minstergate, Thetford. It has two cylinders at the chimney end of the boiler, and a flywheel for stationary beltwork (driving agricultural machinery).

The idea uppermost in many engineers' minds was to use traction engines for pulling ploughs as well as heavy loads. This was not really successful as the machines compressed the ground too much, but the notion persisted for some time. Demonstrations of the Burrell-Boydell at Croxton near Thetford and at Brackenborough near Louth were held in 1857 and made a very favourable impression. Several Burrell-made ploughs were drawn at a time behind the engine, which also showed its prowess in hauling loads over soft uneven ground. Burrell's reputation was now established. Then and later, Burrell engines always seemed to have the knack of extricating themselves from awkward situations which defeated other makes.

There are accounts of epic and triumphant trial runs of the engine from Thetford to London in 1857. Heavy loads were towed in a string of Burrell-made wagons so that the whole train might be 120 feet long and weight as much as 40 tons. One trip lasting several days used 91 cwts of coal and over 5000 gallons of water. The latter was usually pumped from roadside streams, but an emergency supply would be towed behind in the 'dandy cart'. The progress of the engines along the Bury or Newmarket roads amazed the local inhabitants, but it was not long before vested interests began putting legal obstacles in the way of the traction engine user.

Orders for Burrell-Boydell engines came in from public and private sources at home and abroad with one being exported to Brazil in 1860. For a few years they enjoyed success, but the Endless Railway proved noisy and unable to stand up to the wear and tear of roadwork. Along with other firms, Burrell's looked around for new ideas, and they produced the first chain-drive engine in 1862, later to be replaced by the geared engine. Thereafter a succession of improvements followed until the basic development of the traction engine was complete by the mid-1870s.

Though portables were still being made, a range of self-moving engines was now available, and these were produced by many different firms. The basic agricultural engine as manufactured by Burrell's and others was a useful general purpose locomotive engine. It could haul implements or loads such as manure, timber and stone, or it could be used to drive stationary machinery such as saw benches and threshers. For these a belt was attached around the rim of the flywheel. Burrell's also made the necessary tackle, including threshing drums and straw elevators. In order to keep the engine at a uniform speed during beltwork, a steam-control device of 2 or 3 spinning metal balls of top of the cylinder casing, called a 'governor', was required. One of the successful Burrell patents was for their Patent Governor.

Soon after 1860 indirect ploughing was introduced, whereby the traction engine stood at the side of the field and the plough was drawn across by means of a steel cable. This was done either by the roundabout system, using one engine and a cable stretching right round the field, or by a pair of engines drawing the plough between them. The firm of John Fowler in Leeds was paramount in the production of ploughing engines, but some were built by Burrell's under licence to Fowler.

They were powerful engines, recognisable by the horizontal winding drum for the cable, situated under the boiler. In 1875 a single Burrell ploughing engine with tackle would sell for about £800, but they usually came in pairs for working together. Steam ploughing was carried our by contractors, who employed a team of four men and a boy (as cook) to travel from farm to farm. The farmer was expected to provide coal and water. The men lived a rough life, sharing a small living van during the season, and were paid off to find other work in the winter.

Another type of engine, the road locomotive engine, was adapted for hauling large loads and travelling long distances. Its special features included a compound (two cylinder) engine, a 'belly tank' for carrying extra water, and a three-quarter length cab. Springs and solid rubber tyres were later additions. Charles Burrell took out a patent for rubber tyres protected by steel clips in 1871, the year of his first high-speed road engine. Other patents representing technical improvements over the years covered further wheel refinements, clutch gearing, and Burrell's famous single crank compound (SCC) system of 1889. Compound engines had high and low pressure cylinders for increased efficiency of operation, and the pistons were normally linked by separate connecting rods to double cranks. Frederick Burrell, one of Charles's sons and a talented inventor-draughtsman, simplified the arrangement to include a common connecting rod and crank. This allowed more room for a heavy duty crankshaft and bearings.

Frederick, Robert and Charles junior were senior partners with their father, and each contributed his own particular talent. Charles junior (1847-1929) was to take over as Chairman in 1900 from his father, who died in 1906, and like him to play a prominent part in the life of the town. He was Mayor several times and his own sons also entered the firm. Frederick was a designer and craftsman; Robert was an engineer and businessman, and travelled the world.

Following on from successful Burrell marine engines, steel launches were built for a short time from 1884, and tramway engines were also supplied by Burrell's. Road rollers were not made at Thetford until 1891, but the local firm of Doran's continued to operate a fleet of them long after the works had closed.

Meanwhile the St. Nicholas Works had expanded to cover a three-acre site stretching from St. Nicholas Street across Minstergate to the Little Ouse river. The clamour of the iron foundry, turnery, erecting shop and boiler shop became a familiar feature of that part of town. The pattern-making, paint and carpentry shops, the small brass foundry, stores, administrative and drawing offices completed the layout. Some of these still stand. Several hundred workmen and a apprentices, and some of the best designers and draughtsmen in the field, were employed.

Each traction engine was craftsman-made and the customer's special requirements always considered. It was said that no two engines were exactly alike. So wide was the Burrell capacity for imagination and experimentation, that Thetford people had an exciting time, never knowing what new engine might next appear for testing on their roads. The firm became a public liability company, Charles Burrell & Sons Limited, in 1884. By now there was also a London office. In 1887 a Hiring Company was started to finance the sale of engines to clients.

Burrell's made 207 showman's engines, not counting the many conversions made from road locomotives and steam tractors, which was far more than any other firm. They were built for fast travel over long distances. 100 miles in 12 hours being possible where not hampered by tiresome local regulations about the times of day at which they could travel. The old double crank compound (DCC) system was used from 1897, and later models had solid rubber tyres and three-speed gears. Most magnificent of all were the 8 n.h.p. special scenic locomotives of the 1920s, equipped with auxiliary dynamo for energising the field coils of the main dynamo. This supplied the necessary current to the motor driving the scenic railway or some other ride or roundabout.

In fact a 'Duo-Directional Roundabout' was made by Burrell's themselves in 1890, for the Locomotive Merry-go-round Company Ltd. It had three-abreast gallopers (made elsewhere) turning clockwise on the outside, and a locomotive and carriages turning anticlockwise on the inside.

At the beginning of the 20th century the coming of the motor car occasioned a relaxation of speed restrictions. Engines under 5 tons were allowed to proceed at a dizzy speed of 5 mph (though road locomotives had long been capable of much higher speeds). This encouraged the development of light steam tractors for one-man crews, such as the Burrell Gold Medal Tractor. In 1911 Burrell's built their first steam wagons, curious hybrids of lorry and traction engine which enjoyed success for a time.

From 1928 the firm was wound down and finally closed completely in 1930, when the plant and equipment at St. Nicholas Works were auctioned. It was a sad blow to the town, which felt the loss of its major industry with so many jobs very deeply. The last engine to be finished at Thetford was no.4088, a 7 n.h.p. SC traction engine. Spares and unfinished orders were transferred to Richard Garrett & Sons of Leiston in Suffolk, where the last Burrell of all, the 8 n.h.p. SC traction engine no.4094, was completed in 1932.

Nothing was preserved at Thetford, but in 1954 the Burrell Memorial Trust was formed to erect and maintain the commemorative plaque already mentioned. Executed by G. Moray-Smith, it was unveiled in 1958 by a former apprentice at Burrell's.