Over the weekend 13-14 August Steam Plough Club’s Hands-on event took place at Goblands Farm in Kent, James Hamilton went along to see the ‘apprentices’ at work.

One of the women on the course receives instruction from Mike Goodman on the Fowler five-furrow anti balance plough.

The Steam Plough Club’s Hands-on event is a weekend for members wishing to have a go at steam ploughing, with instruction and guidance from those with more experience. At his premises, Goblands Farm in Kent, Richard Pierce was host to a dozen students of the plough and almost an equal number of instructors. Three visiting engines joined the two resident at the farm.

This year’s crop had been harvested and a large level field, within a short distance of the farm’s amenities, was chosen for the students to practice upon. All the ploughing equipment used was manufactured by the Leeds firm of Fowlers, but by no means was it all of the same age. The two resident engines are single-cylinder veterans, dating from 1876 and 1877.

Although the same in appearance their manufacture numbers 2861 and 3195 reveal they were not constructed as a pair, they did, however, spend their working lives together. The three other engines present raised the stakes in terms of size, with two types, BB and AA6, both built in 1917, weighing in at 16 tons, topping that was the 1918 built AA7 model at 21 tons.

Fowler AA6 ploughing engine No 13877 of 1917 Sir John, owned by Peter Stanier, pictured with Richard Pierce’s Fowler five-furrow anti balance plough.

All the engines were local, coming from Kent and Sussex, as were the crews offering instruction on their use. Except for one long distance traveller, Sean Symons from Devon, recently in the news pages of Old Glory for acquiring a pair of AA7 engines at auction. Sean was gaining preparatory experience for his by looking after the AA7 ploughing engine belonging to Robert James of Billingshurst. The two ploughs used were of different age and type. The oldest was a four-furrow balance plough, constructed at the turn of the century. It was found with the Fowler singles when they themselves were discovered in undergrowth, and is thought to have worked with them all its life.

The comparatively more recent five-furrow anti balance was a ploughing technology advancement. It has an axle that shifts to either side of the balance point – as it is pulled the extra weight is transferred to the working half, assisting the plough shears to maintain the desired depth of furrow. The balance plough ‘see saws’ on the wheels’ axle and partly relies on the additional weight of the riding ploughmen to keep an even depth of cut. Before all that could be experienced by the students the engines needed to be prepared. Sunday morning fire lighting took place at 9am.

Four of the engines were together in an open ended shed, at first their fires produced a black fog of sulphurous smoke that had people coughing as they emerged into the fresh air. Bob Watts, looking after the BB Wilbur, had even acquired a gothic application of coal dust face make up. When enough pressure registered on the gauges it must have been a relief for the crews to move their charges into the fresh air of the farmyard. After a student briefing, four of the engines moved around to the field partly ploughed the previous day. The fifth, Wilbur, was used, for the most part of the day to practice manouvering about the restrictive roadways of the farm. In the ploughing field the other engines were quickly positioned.

The plough was hitched between them and work started. It is usual practice to use engine whistles for communication across the field, to avoid confusion one pair opted for flag signals. Conditions for ploughing were good, rain during the proceeding week had softened the sun-baked soil, easing the ploughs’ progress. A strong north-easterly wind kept the temperature down at a comfortable level, and carried clouds that provided welcome, temporary shade from the sun but, on both afternoons, the clouds delivered not so welcome drenchings.
Those on the engines could gain some shelter puddling close to the warmth of the engines boiler, out of the wind-blown rain. The poor souls riding the plough as it made slow progress across the open expanse of field, had to just grin and bear it.

Fowler BB ploughing engine No 14712 of 1917 Wilbur, owned by the Burgess family, was in the care of Bob and Sally Watts for the weekend.

End of the On-line article.
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