As the autumn light fades over the yard and the first frost begins to silver the hedgerows, Lady Sylvia stands patiently in her bay – a proud but well-worked traction engine awaiting her winter spruce-up. For months she’s been the star of rallies, road runs and steam gatherings up and down the country. Now, as another season draws to a close, it’s time for a little rest, reflection and repair.

Lady Sylvia is no ordinary machine. Built in 1910 by the Foster & Co. works of Lincoln, she’s a 7-nhp compound agricultural engine, designed for hauling threshing machinery, ploughing and general farm work. Weighing nearly 10 tons with a 6-foot rear wheel diameter, she’s a magnificent example of Edwardian engineering…solid, stately and unmistakably British.

She earned her name, Lady Sylvia, from the daughter of her first owner, a Lincolnshire farmer who bought her straight from the Great Northern Show that year. For decades, she toiled across the flat fenland fields, her rhythmic exhaust beat echoing across the wide skies. Like many of her kind, she was retired to a barn in the 1950s as tractors took over, only to be rediscovered in the 1970s by a local preservationist who recognised her worth and gave her a second life.

Since then, Lady Sylvia has been lovingly maintained by a small team of enthusiasts. Her deep blue livery with polished brass work gleams under showground lights, her safety valve sings with confidence and children still stare in awe at the mighty flywheel as it spins. But even a lady of her stature needs a little care from time to time.

This winter, her team has booked her in for a full mechanical and cosmetic refresh – the vintage equivalent of a spa retreat. Her tender (the water and coal carrier that follows faithfully behind) has developed a few age-related leaks, so she’ll receive new steel plates and rivets. The feed water pump and injector will be stripped, cleaned and recalibrated to ensure a perfect, steady feed to the boiler. The boiler tubes will be descaled, gauges tested, and bearings checked for wear. Finally, her paintwork will be touched up, brass polished, and motion oiled until she gleams once more.

“Everything we do is about preservation, not alteration,” says SAC Chairman, Paul Stingmore. “Lady Sylvia has earned every one of her rivets. We just make sure she stays fit to steam safely for years to come.”

Come spring, when the rallies begin again, she’ll roll out of the shed with steam curling from her safety valve, gleaming in the sunshine as though she’s just left the works. Her whistle – that familiar, cheerful note – will announce her return to the road.

For over a century, Lady Sylvia has been a symbol of British craftsmanship, patience and pride. This winter’s spruce-up isn’t just maintenance; it’s the continuation of a story that began in another age, when power came from coal and water and machines were built to last a lifetime.

So, as she settles in for her winter rest, we can almost hear her sigh, content, knowing that a fresh season of steam, smiles and slow, steady progress awaits her on the open road once again.