John Crawley continues to delve into his engine archives to bring us some stunning photographs of long-lost Wallis wagons, of which there is just a single survivor.

In this pose of the same wagon, the photograph was aimed at the millers and corn merchant trades.

With the dawning of the twentieth century the steam wagon had arrived with a vengeance with names such as Leyland, Thornycroft and Foden to the fore. Numerous small engineering concerns were designing and building their own wagons with each putting both their capital and their faith into what they thought would bring them greater riches.
Many failed to complete their first vehicle, while others were finding out the hard way that there was more to building a steam wagon than they had ever realised. With their funds running out, many went out of business and others reverted to what they were doing originally.
Meanwhile, a number of the well-known engine builders were keeping an eye on developments, of which Wallis & Steevens was one. I am not aware of the date that the board decided to enter the market, having seen the increasing potential of wagon sales but no doubt hearing that Edwin Foden up at Sandbach had built near on 900 wagons in 1905, had the effect of sharpening their minds on the ever-growing market.
But as soon as the first Wallis & Steevens wagon appeared (No 2904) they found themselves in trouble.
Edwin Foden, for some reason best known to himself, considered that he had a God-given right to be the sole builder of steam wagons with their cylinders mounted on top of the boiler. Acrimonious correspondence thus followed between the two companies’ solicitors to no avail and Edwin thus instigated litigation. As patent rights did not cover him, he lost his case. This apparently didn’t put him off and he decided to appeal, and again he lost - resulting in substantial damages being incurred.
Wagon No 2904 (registered AA 2124) was built on Friday 16 June 1906 and sold to Miller and Lilley of Honiton, Devon (Fig 1).
It is recorded for sale in June 1908, but wasn’t sold, so why this change of heart? Probably more a case of changing the driver! I don’t need to remind any of my traction engine driving readers that an engine with a very small firebox is much more difficult to fire. Tractors and wagons were new and the old drivers didn’t take kindly to new-fangled things. After a lifetime driving traction engines and the like with, in comparison, large fireboxes, they didn’t like being told how to fire and keep steam in a small engine, which required a totally different technique. So it could be quite likely that he mastered the job or was replaced by someone who either listened to the advice given or who had previous experience. By November 1911, it had been sold to the Devon Trading Co Ltd, the last recorded owners.
The first eight wagons utilised the boiler and firebox of the 41¼4-ton tractor but, starting with No 2980, they went over to using that from the 43¼4-ton version.

The new 5-ton wagon (2904) posing for an advertisement to show that it is suitable for the brewing trade.

When their first wagon came out, it was subject to many photographs being taken that showed its suitability for a variety of tasks, in exactly the same way as manufacturers do today.
Fig 2 shows the wagon dressed to appeal to the brewing industry while in Fig 3 it is seen ready to impress the millers and corn merchants.
Fig 4 shows five-ton wagon No 2940 (registered AA 2197), which was built on Friday 19 July and sold to Thomas & Evans of Porth, Glamorgan, where it became No 4 in their fleet. It would seem that it stayed with this company until scrapped, as no other details are recorded. It is seen here loaded with what my generation called fizzy-pop. This firm made the popular Corona - whose delivery men called twice a week to deliver and collect the empty bottles. I recollect that after consuming a fair quantity of this liquid the effect was not dissimilar to that of baked beans with the result that I would be banished to the garden for the benefit of the rest of the family.
Fig 5 is again what I call a ‘live photograph’ - one that shows the men involved with the engine. In this case the crew and the loaders with the gaffer standing to one side to the left, in order that you are left in no doubt as to who was the boss. It is No 2951 (registered AA 2180) and was built on Friday 24 May 1907 and sold to Ashby’s Staines Brewery Ltd. They must have been well satisfied with it as they traded it in with Wallis & Steevens against another new five-tonner, No 7280, on 8 June 1912.
Later that year, it was hired out to G Dodd at Mere Mills of Mere, Wiltshire. This would appear to have been a short-term hire as it was back at the works by 1913. Later in 1913 it was sold and had one more owner after this before being scrapped in 1923.
Our next wagon under the spotlight shows the simple straightforward lines of the Wallis wagon well. This is No 7034, the registration number of which is not recorded.
This is our first illustration showing a wagon fitted with the larger boiler (from the 43¼4-ton tractor) a five-tonner; it was built on Friday 4 June 1908 (Fig 6). It was sold immediately, being hired to WT Robson Ltd of London EC. After being returned to works, it was sold on Friday 12 March 1909 to Smith & Company of Lamberhurst, Kent. In April 1914, it was advertised for sale but it would seem that there were no takers as it was advertised again in December 1915, after which nothing further is recorded.
No 7037 was a five-tonner, built on Monday 18 May 1908, receiving the registration AA 2244 (Fig 7). Sold to the exors of George Balls of Walthamstow, Essex, it was returned to Wallis & Steevens in 1909, probably as a result of the firm being wound up with the death of George Balls. They sold it again the same year to William Willett of Ealing and Hove and by June 1918 it had been acquired by the Ministry of Food.
By February 1921 it had been sold to John Roberts & Sons of Llanrwst, where it received the registration CC 2707; they were the last recorded owners.

End of the On-line article.
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