6 inch Scale Savage "Little Samson" 5 ton steam tractor

A 6 inch scale Savage "Little Samson" 5 ton steam tractor to the highly regarded design by Edward George, latterly acquired by Steam Traction World.

Originally well-built, the engine has suffered in recent times from rather more use than maintenance. On the plus side the boiler is in good condition - it's had ultrasonic survey, internal inspection and hydraulic test with new certification issued.

Following hydraulic test, some basic servicing work allowed us to steam the engine, including resetting the mechanical lubricator so that it pumped oil, and freeing off the injector steam and blowdown valves.

With that done, it proved to steam freely and actually go surprisingly well - a tribute to the quality of build in the first place. It's a useful size at just over eight feet long and a little under a ton, allowing for side-by-side driver and passenger seats mounted on the tender - a companionable arrangement, and ideal for teaching a beginner.

We'd class this one as something of a running restoration - the work required needing more by way of workshop time than expenditure, including:

• shim RH crank bearing, which is loose in its housing
• replace worn little end bearing
• service water pump, which currently only works intermittently
• service water gauge, leaks badly, isolating cocks seized
• 3 spokes in the RH rear wheel loose at Tee ring and hub
• 1 spoke in the LH rear wheel loose, at Tee ring and hub
• replace worn rear wheel bushes
• replace boiler blowdown with larger valve - the existing one is too small for the size of boiler, with a 1/4 inch outlet pipe
• re-route regulator rod, which rubs on the expansion link in reverse, closing the regulator

The engine runs on rubber tyres, it's road-registered, with V5 document.

Complete with firing irons and a canopy with associated stays.