James Seward Steam Engine Anecdotes

My name is James Seward, my father was Walter Seward who started his Engineer and Haulage Contractors business in Petersfield, Hampshire in 1886. At the time I was seven years old and remember being fascinated by the traction engines and the specialist tools my father had to maintain these machines.

As soon as I was old enough to drive the engines, there was no holding me back.

Here are a few anecdotes about my father and my experiences driving the engines.

In the early 1900s my father bought the late J.B. Carter Esquire’s single cylinder De Dee-on car, which was one of the first about here. He had had an accident with it and damaged the body, so he asked my father if he would like to buy it, which he did (I think for £10). My father repaired the body of the car etc., and himself ran the car for several years. Also, J.B. Carter had a steam car about the same time which my father also repaired the steam boiler for him.

With our engines I have had several nasty moments with greasy roads, and the only thing you can do in this case is get the brakes off as quickly as possible and put on steam to start your wheels turning.

Another incident with a steam roller was coming down Brockwood Hill, just east of Bramdean in Hampshire, when my reversing gear gave out. I managed to keep her in the road but she ran away with me so instead of taking the right turn for the Petersfield Road, I went left onto the Bramdean Road on account of the better turn. I might add we came down the hill like a train.

One time we were at the top of Adhurst Hill, near Sheet in Hampshire, with our loco when Earl Russell was coming down towards Adhurst Hill in his car when his brakes gave out and he ran into our front wheel of the engine. Also the late Dr. Leachman’s wagonette was passing the engine at that moment and he collided with that as well.

I think one of my worst experiences with our road loco and three trailers was at East Meon in Hampshire. We were turning a left hand corner when I saw a young lady riding a cycle, with a wicker holdall crossways on the carrier, wobbling about. I slowed and thought to myself, she’s coming off, which she did and fell between the back wheel and front wheel on to the steering chains. As she fell I pulled up dead and much to my relief she was between the wheels. I lifted her out and she was not hurt. Had I not stopped dead she would have been killed.

I remember a very different travel day with the road houses and cafes. I was on a 200 mile journey with the road loco and a very heavy load, and out of all that distance I only found two decent landlords. One kept the Hotel at Burgess Hill, West Sussex, where he kindly let me put up for the night (rather late too!) but he got us some tea and asked what time we wanted to be called in the morning and he would get us some breakfast before we left. That was the first drink of tea we had had for three days (tea time) (all the other landlords said you can have beer if you like). On this return journey on Sunday the next decent landlord was at Cowfold in West Sussex, and although we woke him up from his Sunday afternoon nap he was very willing to get us some tea and we stayed the night and came away very early in the morning. The worst journey I ever had on the road and I have done thousands of miles.

I hope you found these anecdotes interesting. They come from notes I gave to Jack and Archie Cole and found their way into the historical documents my great-grandson and his family have about W Seward and Son, Engineers and Haulage Contractors, Petersfield, Hampshire.