Skip to main content
Collection, Preservation and Display of Old Lawn Mowers

Steam mower

Enter a word or two to search the forum section and click the Search Forum button.

Hello all.    A while back there was a post entitled STEAM MOWER SPOTTED

(     http://www.oldlawnmowerclub.co.uk/news/steam-mower-spotted   )

which claimed that someone had seen a steam mower in a secret location.

I would like to make two points:

Firstly, it is not a secret location, it is the black country living museum

(     http://www.bclm.co.uk/    ) and I sam the machine when I visited.

Secondly, it is not a mower, but a tar spreader made by thomas colman & Co derby

(the slightly later one with rubber tires). I wish it was a steam mower but sadly it isn`t

I also notise that the post is dated the first of April so I think that it was a clever april fools joke.

did anyone else notise this.    on a more serios note I think that the hall & duck trust has a greens steam mower, can anyone confirm this?

Seb.

brummy_joe Sat, 13/10/2012

Hi Seb,

interesting point. I have very fond childhood memories of the Black Country Museum, not least of which was watching it grow year by year. Helping leg it on a barge in the tunnels under Castle Hill was fantastic & I wonder if they are still able to let kids do that in today's cotton wool environment.

Steam mowers (or not) aside, the museum is definitely worth a visit if only for the full size Newcomen Engingine replica that they have; an awesome beast.

 

Joe

Clive1997 Sun, 14/10/2012

Hi all

Must admit I assumed that was an April fool (as in the past I have done a few on people) but on the subject of steam mowers I have a bit of info on them, in particular the Coldwell from USA including the full spec. Some brief figures, it carried 60 gallons of water & 10 gallons of gasolene. It was said that for an 8 run the water would last but require 15 gallons of gasolene. Apparently a polo field of 900ft x 450ft would take 8 houirs to cut & roll.A good days work I think.

Anyway I have a photograph of one in action on a cemetary in the US, one of the few photo's I think of one under full steam.(there is a posed photo of a steam mower in front of the Whitehouse that appears on the web, but NO steam). The photograph was just general view so the mower was quite distant but identifiable as a Coldwell

There is an article on Steam Mowers in Grassbox 71.

Off to get steam up on mine now KETTLE that is!