Martin Luther Steam Tractor

About this place

The Martin Luther Steam Tractor is a huge old machine standing in a small building on the edge of Swakopmund, at the desert's edge. Its story has become an amusing one, as it is the tractor that never covered the route it came for. It makes a short and amusing stop on the way out of town, suiting lovers of old machines and unusual history. It was built by J & H McLaren of Leeds in Britain in November 1895. First Lieutenant Edmund Troost brought it to the country to haul freight between Swakopmund and the interior, as drought was killing many of the oxen on the route. But it did not last long in the desert sand and was abandoned about 4 km from the town centre, which sealed its fate. Today you see the black machine with its big iron wheels, cylinder and mechanical parts, on a platform inside an open building that protects it from the sea air. Panels on the walls tell its story in pictures and words, with some old parts displayed to one side. The mass looks very large when you stand beside it, especially the wheels. It is about 3 km in a straight line from central Swakopmund, reached by car on the eastern road towards Windhoek. It needs no more than a quarter of an hour, so combine it with the town's jetty and beach. Do not climb on the machine, and ask in town about hours, as we found no official published times.