The Hobart Vintage Machinery Society (HVMS) was established in 1985 and are now the custodians of the Robey Traction Engine and the Aveling and Porter Steamroller. Both exhibits remain housed at the Tasmanian Transport Museum until undercover storage is built at the Hobart Vintage Machinery Society depot at Penna. You can find out more about the by visiting their Facebook page. Click here.
Robey Traction Engine
The engine (builders number 44100 of 1928) was constructed by Robey & Co of Lincoln in England and delivered to the Public Work Department in Tasmania in January 1929. It is a 10 hp single cylinder engine which weighs in at around 17.5t. It was claimed at the time to be the largest Traction Engine to be imported into Tasmania by that time. It generally worked driving crushing plants on road projects around the state but no specific details are known until 1943 when it was working on the construction of the Floating Bridge in Hobart. Following that it was relocated to the West Coast where it worked with a mobile crushing plant and other activities on various road projects in the area. In 1956 it was been abandoned at the quarry near Rosebery where it had last worked.
In the late 1970s or early 1980s it was recovered by the then Department of Main Roads (now State Roads) and returned to Hobart for use as an apprentice training project, with assistance from others in the community. Following restoration the engine was placed on loan to the Tasmanian Transport Museum and was kept in operational use and has regularly participated in displays and parades. As of 2022, the Robey is now under loan from State Roads to the Hobart Vintage Machinery Society.
Aveling and Porter Steam Roller
The steamroller arrived at the museum in 1990 and is an Aveling and Porter “Type F” and it was built in 1928 with builders number 12046, and weighs approximately 10 tons. Aveling and Porter was a British agricultural engine and steam-roller manufacturer. Thomas Aveling and Richard Thomas Porter entered into partnership in 1862, and developed a steam engine three years later in 1865. The company became the largest manufacturer of steam rollers in the world. Although the roller at the museum it is generally complete, it is unlikely to be restored to operation. In August 2020 the roller was removed from storage to allow it to be turned and allow for the roof to be removed.
As of 2022, the roller has been transferred to the custodianship of the Hobart Vintage Machinery Society.
