Vintage steam wagon gets auction-goers hot under the collar

The ERF flatbed truck (Image: Archant)

The five-ton wagon, made by English firm Foden, in 1913, was the star lot at the vintage and classic auction run by Cheffins at the Sutton showground.

The Colonial model wagon was supplied brand new to CH Curtis of New South Wales, in Australia, shortly after it was built and was used for carting stone in a local quarry and general haulage.

The wagon spent its entire working life in Australia before being snapped up and brought back to England in the 1970s for restoration.

Willy's Overland Whippet (Image: Archant)

Work to preserve the wagon has been ongoing since then, and it has even spent some time on display in Germany, before making its way back to the UK in 2004, where it was repainted red and brown to match the look it would have had when it left Forden’s more than a century ago.

A Marshall traction engine dating from 1938 also fetched a handsome £39,000 price at the auction. The engine started life as a 10-ton steam roller before being converted to a traction engine in its retirement.

Willy’s Overland Whippet, a classic Australian car, built around 1928, fetched £10,200 from enthusiasts and is believed to have had only three owners in its 86-year existence.

And a 1937 ERF flatbed truck fetched £30,200.

The Marshall traction engine (Image: Archant)

The truck was purchased new by Alexander Brown of Symington, Lanarkshire, and was apparently named Liddle.

Later the vehicle went through two showmans hands before it was bought for restoration in the 1980s.

According to Cheffins, the vehicle has covered only 2,000 miles since its restoration.