Andrew Rothe Photography

Andrew Rothe Photography Photographer with a passion for vintage transport and industrial heritage.

One engine that's been the talk of the road steam world in the past 24 hours is this one; Burrell Special Scenic 'Ex-Ma...
13/02/2025



One engine that's been the talk of the road steam world in the past 24 hours is this one; Burrell Special Scenic 'Ex-Mayor' (Works No.4000 of 1925), which celebrates her 100th birthday today. The engine has also just reached the end of an incredibly heavy overhaul, which has lasted for around 6 years and involved many hundreds of hours of work from various parties to bring the engine back to her former glory.

To mark her centenary, the engine is going on a little tour this weekend; Starting today with a visit to her birthplace in Thetford, followed by a trip to the iconic King's Lynn Mart (recreating her original journey there from the Burrell works). She will be in attendance at the Mart on Friday 14th and then moves on to Leeds Valentine Fair for Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th.

Here we 'Ex-Mayor' during one of her many visits to Weeting Steam Rally, catching the sun next to Jimmy Bowry's iconic Skid. I look forward to taking some new photos of the engine when she graces rally fields this summer.

It's been eagerly anticipated for some time now, but she's finally finished. Welcome back No. 4000!

Another event that I'm looking forward to in the coming months is Strumpshaw Steam Engine Rally, a 3-day event which tak...
11/02/2025

Another event that I'm looking forward to in the coming months is Strumpshaw Steam Engine Rally, a 3-day event which takes place at Strumpshaw Steam Museum over the Spring Bank Holiday from May 24th to 26th.

The event usually enjoys warm Spring sunshine, but sadly last year's rally was beset by heavy rain in the first few days, which turned much of the rally field into a muddy quagmire!
I'm sure we're all hoping for drier conditions this year, which should allow the various exhibits to move around the site and put on an impressive display for visitors.

In this shot from the final few hours of last year's rally, we can see Terry Maynard's ex-W. J. King 5-horse Burrell 'Queen Mary' (Works No.3777 of 1917) heading through the rally field towards the low-loader park, with the mud clearly visible in the background!

East Anglian Traction Engine Society

Another event in my 2025 heritage calendar is the wonderful Weeting Rally, held in mid-July at Fengate Farm on the Norf...
06/02/2025



Another event in my 2025 heritage calendar is the wonderful Weeting Rally, held in mid-July at Fengate Farm on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. It's one of my favourite steam rallies, and regularly boasts an impressive line up of road steam exhibits as well as a wide variety of other vintage vehicles and machines, many of which are put through their paces in the various working areas found throughout the rally fields.

An engine that usually takes centre stage at Weeting is this one; Burrell traction engine 'Century' (Works No. 748 of 1877), widely believed to be the oldest working Burrell traction engine in the world and arguably the pride of the fleet of engines that reside at Fengate Farm in the collection of rally host Richard Parrott (although Century's shedmate 'Dreadnought' might just hold that title if you asked Richard himself!).

Century is seen here at last year's Weeting Rally, leading the engine parade and towing a Burrell threshing drum around the main ring. Let's hope we would all be faring so well if we reached 148 years of age!

For more details about Weeting rally, please go to their website https://www.weetingrally.co.uk/ where you can also book tickets, camping and even buy some rally merchandise!

East Anglian Traction Engine Society

One of the first events in my 2025 calendar is the Spectacle of Steam at Statfold Barn Railway & Museum on March 8th & 9...
04/02/2025

One of the first events in my 2025 calendar is the Spectacle of Steam at Statfold Barn Railway & Museum on March 8th & 9th.

A wide variety of Statfold's impressive narrow gauge locomotive fleet will be in steam, and those not in steam will most likely be on display in the collection's marvellous roundhouse building. The exact roster of motive power will hopefully be made available closer to the time.

On my last visit there in 2021, Fowler 0-4-2 'Saccharine' (Works No.13355 of 1914) was one of the many locomotives hauling trains, and is seen here working services with visiting 1863 George England 0-4-0 'Prince'.

For more details about the Spectacle of Steam and to book tickets, please go to https://www.statfold.com/spectacle-of-steam/

Statfold Country Park

As January draws to a close, more and more events are being announced to fill out the 2025 heritage calendar. Some are o...
30/01/2025

As January draws to a close, more and more events are being announced to fill out the 2025 heritage calendar. Some are old favourites, some are brand new and several of them have a significant anniversary to mark or celebrate.

An event that I'm looking forward to attending once again is the Thursford Collection's Gala Day on July 6th. This event will be enjoying its fifth year in 2025, and has grown year-on-year since the inaugural gala was held in the summer of 2021.

One exhibit that is sure to be in attendance is Thursford's own flagship engine, Burrell scenic showmans engine 'Victory' (Works No. 3827 of 1920), which was returned to steam in 2022 after many years on static display.

If you've got a vintage vehicle or similar exhibit and you'd like to attend Thursford's Gala Day, please drop me a message and I can put you in contact with the organisers, who are always happy to hear from potential new exhibitors!

We all have our favourites, and when it comes to railway locomotives, this is mine; The BR Standard Class 7 Pacific, bet...
28/01/2025

We all have our favourites, and when it comes to railway locomotives, this is mine; The BR Standard Class 7 Pacific, better known to many as the 'Britannia' Class after the name of the first example to be built..

And this is that very first locomotive; No.70000 'Britannia', which was built at Crewe in 1951 and delivered to the Eastern region to work express trains on the Great Eastern Mainline between Norwich Thorpe and London Liverpool Street.

The locomotive has passed through several owners in preservation but is currently in the care of the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust, and primarily operates out of her birthplace of Crewe.

'Britannia' is seen here outside the National Railway Museum at York in March 2020 after arriving in the city with a railtour, one of the final UK railtours to run before Covid Lockdowns began later that month.

It's Friday, so let's look at a Fowler. The setting is the 2024 Henham Steam and Country Show, held during late Septemb...
24/01/2025



It's Friday, so let's look at a Fowler. The setting is the 2024 Henham Steam and Country Show, held during late September every year in the picturesque Henham Park in Suffolk.

The event pretty much marks the end of the steam rally season in East Anglia, and usually enjoys good weather, with the whole rallyfield often bathed in bright, golden autumn sunshine.

It's in that golden sunshine that we can see Fowler K7 Ploughing Engine 'Esmeralda' (Works No.13831 of 1913). Purchased in 2021 and subjected to a thorough rebuild, the engine went from a pile of parts to a working ploughing engine in only a matter of months, and is a credit to her owners.

'Esmeralda' is currently for sale, so if you like the look of her and fancy having your very own ploughing engine, please go to https://www.legacyvehicles.co.uk/Team/fowler-k7-ploughing-engine for further details.

2025 will see the marking of several important anniversaries in the railway world, many of which are being celebrated th...
22/01/2025

2025 will see the marking of several important anniversaries in the railway world, many of which are being celebrated throughout the year with much pomp and ceremony.

On the North Norfolk Railway, one locomotive in their fleet will mark its 100th birthday this year; S&DJR 7F No.53809, which was constructed by Robert Stephenson & Company in Darlington in July 1925.

Spending its working life at Bath (Green Park) shed, hauling various goods trains and passengers services around the Somerset & Dorset regions, the locomotive currently resides on the NNR, taking tourists and holidaymakers between Sheringham, Weybourne and Holt throughout the year.

The engine is seen here on the 1-in-80 gradient at Windpump Crossing during the 2021 NNR Autumn Gala, working a passenger service towards Holt.

53809's birthday will be celebrated in February, with the locomotive rostered to work services during Feb Half Term (See https://nnrailway.co.uk/halfterm-steam-trains/ for details) and a Valentine's Day Diner on February 14th (Book tickets at https://nnrailway.co.uk/portfolio-items/valentines-evening/).

The Rochester-based firm of Aveling & Porter manufactured various types of machinery, but will probably always be best k...
21/01/2025

The Rochester-based firm of Aveling & Porter manufactured various types of machinery, but will probably always be best known for their steamrollers. Thousands of them were built and exported around the world, being used to build roads in a wide variety of climates and environments.

At the 2024 Haddenham Steam Rally, we can see three very different examples of an Aveling & Porter roller, all of which reside in East Anglia and regularly attend steam rallies and shows in the region.

Nearest the camera is 'Gentle Annie', a 6-ton A-type (Works No.11556 of 1926). Behind it is 6-ton BLD 'Bostin' (Works No.7080 of 1911) and at the back is the much bigger 10-ton BS 'William' (Works No.9246 of 1920).

East Anglian Traction Engine Society

The third Monday in January is sometimes referred to as 'Blue Monday', and it's apparently said to be the most depressin...
20/01/2025

The third Monday in January is sometimes referred to as 'Blue Monday', and it's apparently said to be the most depressing day of the year. While I can't deny that it's still dark and cold out there, the heritage calendar for the year ahead is starting to fill up nicely and there are many wonderful, brighter summer days to look forward to.

But on the theme of , here's something blue!
Peckett 0-4-0 tank engine "Lytham St. Anne's"* (Works No.2111 of 1949), looking resplendent following an overhaul and seen here at the Midland Railway - Butterley in April 2017.

* - I'll let the grammar pedants get into a passionate debate about the presence of the apostrophe in the loco's name; I'm just copying what's signwritten on the saddle tank!

There are many wonderful heritage events to look forward to in the coming months, but it's also worth looking back at th...
19/01/2025

There are many wonderful heritage events to look forward to in the coming months, but it's also worth looking back at the various rallies and galas that sadly no longer take place.

The annual visit of Carters Steam Fair to Pinkneys Green, near Maidenhead, was popular with many steam and fairground enthusiasts, and is a greatly missed element of the road steam calendar.

During the Pinkneys Green Weekend, the Saturday morning road run into Maidenhead & back was a particular highlight, and gave the visiting steam showmans engines (and the Carters' own old commercial lorries) a lovely opportunity to stretch their legs on the public roads.

In this shot from the 2017 road run, we can see a pair of showmans engines: The Horsham Traction Company's big McLaren road locomotive (No.1652 of 1919), which was wearing its Corrigan showmans fittings and thus carrying the name 'Gigantic', leading ex-Deakin Fowler B6 Super Lion 'Supreme' (No.20223 of 1934), which was towing one of the Carters fairground trailers.

For many steam enthusiasts, the Great Central Railway's Winter Gala, held on the final weekend of January, is one of the...
18/01/2025

For many steam enthusiasts, the Great Central Railway's Winter Gala, held on the final weekend of January, is one of the first big heritage railway events of the year.

The gala usually includes multiple visiting locomotives, working alongside the GCR's own impressive home fleet, on a variety of goods trains and passenger services, and provides many wonderful photo opportunities at different points along the line between Loughborough Central and Leicester North.

At the 2023 event, one of the star attractions was the Bluebell Railway's BR Standard 5 No.73082 'Camelot', which is seen here passing through Quorn & Woodhouse hauling the GCR's iconic Windcutter rake.

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