Old Glory December 2014

LoTTery cash for ‘sunDeW’ WaLKInG DraGLIne cab Britain’s Best seller for

27

years

DECEMBER 2014

No 298

The sole-surviving Garrett mas t s i r h C Gift Ideas

An Irish curiosity...

S U FFO LK PUN CH

◆ Belfast Barge ◆ Auction results

KATIE

From Cameroon to deepest Kent

Queen Mary causes chaos with broken axle

Perserverance Pays off: The robey TrusT

Contents 72 No 298 | December 2014 NEWS 6-25 News & Events 91 Old Glory in Miniature News

FEATURES 30

Bright as a Burrell Patrick Edwards’ latest stunning restoration started out by just needing a nineinch square firebox patch!

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Perseverance pays off The Robey Trust in Tavistock, Devon, is now a centre of heritage excellence but how did this homage to a Lincoln engine builder come to be situated in the West Country?

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News updates at oldglory.co.uk The Belfast Barge www.facebook.com/ Just down river from Belfast’s ‘Titanic’ exhibition is OldGloryMag moored a maritime and industrial heritage gem that 76 The name’s the same deserves more recognition.

In South Australia there are some familiar ‘preservation The Leviathan of place names’, but at 12,000 Parsonstown miles away, things are An Irish curiosity, this markedly different! restored ‘Leviathan’ at Birr Castle, Co Offaly, was the 92 Maid of Kent largest telescope in the Ian Gilbert’s 4in scale Fowler world between 1845-1917. showman’s engine is back on the rallyfields.

The Garrett ‘Suffolk Punch’ The sole-survivor of one of Garretts of Leiston’s REGULARS commercial failures, which was aptly named The Joker in 28 Underbidder preservation.

46 Vintageworld 50 Enginelines The Rolls Royce of ice 52 Helpline cream 72 Steam Archive The Luca family claim it 80 In to Works serves its ice cream from 86 Christmas Gift Ideas what is believed to be the 97 Events Diary world’s only classic Rolls 106 ‘Tail Lamp Tom’ Royce ice cream van.

Katie: From Cameroon to Kent We track the various fortunes of 1931-built Arn Jung 0-6-0 WT No 3872 Katie and find out how it ended up in the ‘Garden of England.’

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READER SERVICES 36

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56 Front cover: Garrett Suffolk Punch No 33180 of 1919 at Steam Expo, Peterborough, in September 1977. OLD GLORY ARCHIVE This issue was published on Thursday, November 20, 2014. The January 2015 issue of Old Glory (No 299) will be on sale from Thursday, December 18.

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66

Meet the team Derek Rayner

Colin Tyson Editor

Technical Advisor

Mike Dyson

Steve Dean

Correspondent

Correspondent

Colin Smith

Roger Hamlin

Advertising Executive

Correspondent

Malcolm Ranieri Photographer

James Hamilton Photographer

OLD GLORY DECEMbEr 2014 | 5

News&Events Looking stunning is Tom Tynan’s Fowler roller No 16783 of 1926 Annie, more authentic than when it first arrived here.

Work on Irish Fowler now complete EARLIER in the year, we reported on Tom Tynan’s Fowler DNB road roller No 16783 of 1926 that had just had a boiler backhead fitted at Brian Allison’s boiler works near Whitchurch, Shropshire.

The engine set off on its journey back to Co Carlow, Ireland, on October 9, the work on it having been fully completed, reports Peter Love.

This tar-spraying roller with Scottish ancestry, where it had been rather ‘blinged up’ in preservation, has been detuned, at the request of Tom, by Brian and his very talented son James, who works part time with Brian while undertaking engineering college studies.

The roller arrived at the works earlier this year for a retube and tidy-up, but when the boiler inspector arrived, it was discovered that the backhead was too thin and was condemned.

However, the rest was is in good order and after Brian cut the backhead out, a replacement went in. After a retube and various other jobs, the boiler unit underwent a hydraulic and steam test and was passed for 10 years.

14 | DECEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY

Brian and James Allison bolt the front stays back on the roof.

It was also decided that the rolls be taken out and rubbered, giving the engine a cushioned ride, which Brian and James road tested on the newly laid road outside their premises before the engine returned to Co Carlow.

Various chrome-plated items were removed and the canopy rebuilt to original specification.

Work was undertaken on the belly tanks as well. The unoriginal green/red livery was removed and Ian Hewitt’s Heritage Painting was brought in to repaint the engine in correct Fowler livery. This is one of the first road steam engines that this

Heritage Painting came up with an efficient job tackling Fowler 16783, which took two weeks to paint.

firm has tackled, being more accustomed to painting full-size engines from the NRM: Rocket, Mallard and others, including the A1 Trust’s Tornado.

At present, Heritage Painting (07740 282479) is working on a very famous road engine with the name of Onward.

It took just two weeks to complete the job and Ian says he’s delighted to undertake full hand repainting of engines. The company is using Craftmaster Paints (01954 231308) and getting on very well with them. I was very impressed with the lining and finish achieved on this engine.

On October 9, Annie is about to be pushed on to the low-loader by a British-made Case IH power tractor, as it prepares to head back across the water. ALL: PETER LOVE

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Tipperary debut for Fowell’s return ALEC Crosse’s 1909 Fowell 7hp traction engine No 98 Reliance was back in steam on August 31, 2014, at Dualla, Co Tipperary.

The engine arrived at Bicknell’s Boiler Works near Liphook late last year for a 10year service and hydraulic test, writes Peter Love.

The boiler tubes were replaced as well as a new smokebox, smokebox door, ring and chimney fitted. The main bearing brasses were recast and machined and fitted to the crankshaft at the same time.

The Crosse family have owned this engine for several decades and have been through some tough times with it as well.

Interestingly, when based in

The Fowell seen at Bicknell’s works in late March 2014.

Smallfield, Surrey, at one time it carried a green livery before travelling across the water.

This winter will see the engine repainted and a final tidy-up undertaken before it features at the June 2015 Innishannon rally, Co Cork.

All back together and a unique example in the Republic of Ireland.

ALEC CROSSE

Irish engines move on to new owners

Spotted at Stradbally in August is 1912 Marshall traction engine No 59435, now in new ownership.

THE Irish steam engine scene is very buoyant at the moment and a number of engines have moved on to new owners, writes Peter Love.

These include 1911 Aveling & Porter 10R road roller No 7234 of 1911 Irish Rover – now owned by truck body builder and commercial vehicle dealer Pat Lobby of Johnstown, Co Kilkenny.

New to Dublin City Council, the engine has all been sorted out, has full certification and looked a treat at the 50th Stradbally rally held in August.

Another engine to change hands and leave Kent, England, is the ex-Richard Francis 1912 Marshall 7hp GP traction engine No 59435 of 1912 that’s with Ben Thomkins now and has been doing the Irish rally circuit this year. Some work has already been done on the engine and it’s possibly going to be repainted during this winter.

It was once part of famous Sussex contractor Hobden’s fleet before ending up owned and used by its driver on the Sussex/Surrey border. The engine was rallied in the 1950s by the Hardings of Edenbridge at the Paddock Wood rally before having a raft of other owners and then being rallied by Richard in the 1990s.

Jason Lobby is seen at Stradbally at the controls of their newly purchased Aveling & Porter roller No 7234.

Pat Lobby gets used to the controls of Aveling No 7234, the first steamer in their extensive vintage collection. ALL: PETER LOVE OLD GLORY DECEMBER 2014 | 15

STEAM TRACTION

BRIGHT as a

BURRELL

Alan Barnes talks to Patrick Edwards about his latest stunning restoration – Burrell traction engine No 2159 – an ‘overhaul’ that started with it just needing a nineinch square firebox patch!

W

ork on his Burrell almost complete Patrick Edwards had to decide whether or not to return it to the rally field. The Weeting Steam Rally would prove an ideal opportunity.

“With the restoration more or less completed, we thought it appropriate to have the Burrell make its return to the rally field at Weeting in July – especially as the engine was once part of Richard Parrott’s collection at Fengate Farm for many years,” Patrick Edwards explained.

The Weeting appearance of Burrell General Purpose Traction Engine No 2159 of 1899 was followed by a trip to the Great Dorset Steam Fair and the engine’s first visit to the Bedfordshire Steam & Country Fayre at Shuttleworth Park in September. In between some vigorous bouts of polishing at the BSEPS rally, Patrick told me about the work carried out since he bought the engine in 2008.

The single-cylinder 7nhp Burrell was built in March 1899 and delivered new to James Bale of Winmarleigh in Lancashire. However, some additional information about the engine recently came to light. “We took the engine to the Great Dorset Steam Fair and during our visit we were talking to Anthony Cowell who had some knowledge of the engines which had worked on the various farms in the Winmarleigh area. It transpired that the name James Bale was unknown to him – either as an engine owner, contractor or operator – and he thought maybe a handwritten detail either on the build sheet or in later records had been read as ‘Bale’ when it should have been ‘Ball’.

JOHN BALL LINK?

With its stunning paintwork, Burrell General Purpose Traction Engine No 2159 of 1899 returned to the rally field in July 2014. ALAN BARNES

“Certainly Isaac Ball and John Ball used a number of engines in their separate agricultural contracting businesses and worked the Winmarleigh area and there seemed to be a possibility that No 2159 was actually bought new by John Ball. However, at the moment this is speculation and the investigation will no

Patrick Edwards celebrated completion of his‘new’ engine with the purchase of a new bowler hat!

doubt continue but I find it interesting that snippets of information (or indeed misinformation) often come to light, even for the most well-documented engines.”

With Patrick having raised this question about the engine’s early history, I contacted Bryan Rawstrone, the great grandson of Isaac Ball, and he was able to provide further details.

“Firstly, I have never heard any mention of a J Bale either as a firm or an individual. There were a few contractors in the area but none resembling the name Bale, so I think we can assume that this detail stems from a misread of an early handwritten document.

“Over the years we have compiled various pieces of information about Isaac Ball and his brother John and their respective businesses. I can confirm that Burrell No 2159 was one of John Ball’s early engines but as far as we know he did not keep it very long. John had a yard at Winmarleigh Hall in what was then the estate’s home farm and he later moved to Forton where he built a workshop and yard to accommodate his growing fleet of engines and equipment.”  OLD GLORY DECEMBER 2014 | 31

VINTAGE TRANSPORT

The Rolls-Royce ready for the road in the yard at Musselburgh.

ALL: HUGH DOUGHERTY

THE ROLLS-ROYCE of

ice cream

At Musselburgh, just outside Edinburgh, the Luca family claim it has the ‘RollsRoyce’ of ice cream, served from what’s believed to be the world’s only Rolls-Royce ice cream van, says Hugh Dougherty

T

he family has been making ice cream since 1908, when Luca Scappaticcio, fresh from his native Italy, set up shop. The family soon found that it was easier for locals to pronounce Luca’s first name, and it was Luca who went on to buy the company’s iconic Rolls-Royce in 1937. It’s been a vital part of the business ever since.

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Company events manager, Clark Whitehead, who married into the family, said: “Our RollsRoyce 20hp was originally built as a limousine for the Marquis of San Miguel in Spain in 1923. It was then owned by Viscount Scarsdale and passed through a succession of owners until Luca bought it in 1937 from the Southern Motor Co in London. He converted it into an ice cream van and it’s been with us ever since.”

The pride and joy of Michael, one of the third generation of the family, XP 3326, complete with its three gears and cable brakes on the rear wheels, is every inch a thoroughbred. Michael does all the maintenance and bestows loving care on it before sallying forth, well stocked with ice cream, cold drinks and sweets, to delight local palates. “It is something of an art form driving

Clark Whitehead shows off the world’s poshest ice cream van.

it,” he concedes, “but it’s very reliable and is much loved locally. The Rolls is a real asset to our business.”

When not on the road, either down at the beach at nearby North Berwick or selling ices at Musselburgh Racecourse on race days, the Rolls is hired out for weddings and other functions and is a familiar sight on the roads round the Scottish Borders. “Folk there, especially, seem to love having Rolls-Royce ice cream delivery at their weddings,” smiled Clark. “It’s adept at climbing those Border hills, even though it is over 90!”

POLISHED TO PERFECTION

The Rolls is polished to perfection and is garaged at the rear of the company’s Musselburgh cafe on the town’s main street.

Open the driver’s door and you’re struck by the tiny and not-too-comfortable driver’s seat, the smell of leather, woodwork and petrol, so characteristic of vehicles of its vintage; and, above all, by the space surrounding the controls and original Rolls-Royce dials, knobs and window winders. 

You can’t lick Luca’s for ice cream: Clark serves one up from the Rolls.

OLD GLORY DECEMBER 2014 | 63

Back on the rally scene in May 2014 after a sevenyear absence is Ian Gilbert’s 4in Fowler showman’s engine. ALL: ALAN BARNES

The view from the top.

The engine is fitted with an 110v DC electrical system.

92 | DECEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY

The Fowler now carries the‘patina’of a working engine.

Footplate detail.

In Miniature

4in Fowler Showman’s

MAID OF KENT

Ian Gilbert is well known on the rally circuit with his full size new-build Foster Wellington Tractor. Rallying this meant that his 4in Fowler showman’s had taken a seven-year sabbatical, until 2014 when the overhauled engine returned, writes Alan Barnes

A

The tidy water lifter and hose.

mong the miniature engines at the Steam in the Park Trevithick celebrations held in Dartford last May was Ian Gilbert’s exquisite 4in scale Fowler Showman’s engine.

The engine had once been something of a ‘rally regular’ and this was the first public outing for the scale showman’s engine for over seven years.

As Ian explained: “Having rallied the showman’s for a few years I must confess that the engine rather got pushed aside in our enthusiasm for our new ‘toy’ – the new build Foster Wellington tractor. Obviously a great deal of the family’s time and resources had been concentrated on the Foster project and when the Foster was completed it became the engine of choice to steam at events during the past few rally seasons.

“The scale Fowler also needed some work but having originally intended to lay the engine up for only a short while the showman’s spell of ‘retirement’ did become rather protracted while we played with the Foster.

However, it is such a splendid looking engine and had obviously been built by a craftsman who certainly knew his ‘stuff ’ it seemed rather a pity to have it hidden away in the shed.

“Towards the end of last year and still feeling rather guilty about the neglected showman’s I decided that it would be extracted and overhauled in time for the 2014 season. I spoke to Mick Harrington a skilled model steam engineer about the work required and he agreed to sort out the engine for me. Mick has recently decided to continue his model traction engine business on a full time basis and has already taken on work for a number of different clients. The services he can offer the miniature engine owner range from general maintenance work, boiler re-tubing, repairing engines as well as the building of complete

engines. I have known Mick for a number of years and his work is always of the highest standard so I had no hesitation in entrusting my engine to him.”

The builder of Ian’s engine based the model on the Fowler B6 Lion and Super Lion. The flywheel which is fitted being made to the later design used on Supreme which is a Super Lion and the canopy is also based around the one fitted to Supreme. The design of the roof also includes cut outs which allows for easy access for driving and maintenance. The engine is built to 4in scale and it has two high pressure cylinders with a working pressure of 140psi and is fitted with an 110v DC electrical system.

The boiler was built to a design produced originally by the late Morris Sedgwick and the cylinders, which were built by R Blackburn, were also a Sedgwick design. This well-crafted engine was built by Don English of Normanton, West Yorkshire, who took five years and 10 months to build it, completed in April 1996.

WATER EFFICIENT

The tender and belly tanks hold 18-20 gallons of water and the boiler holds 10-12 gallons which give the engine a reasonable steaming range without the need to take on water.

During the build Don called on the services of a number of firms and individuals and these included R & B Engineering at Edgerton for the gears, metal plate work from Ron White’s Vulcan Foundry, City Electrics in Wakefield, J Hirst Motors which provided the dynamo, J Sedgwick made the patterns and the signwriting was completed by J W Johnson.

For the paintwork on the boiler lagging, tender dynamo and platform Humbrol enamel was used while cellulose was used on the flywheel and the belly tank and toolbox were painted with two pack.  OLD GLORY DECEMBER 2014 | 93

Tail lampTom Telling iT like iT is

The lion, monkey, snake, elephant… and Tritandem!

MANY enthusiasts are interested in certain types or makes of engine. My personal interests lie with the Tritandem road roller design and over the past few years have studied them in depth – particularly the three Robey Tandem Rollers which were rebuilt as Tritandems in the mid to late 1930s.

All three engines were owned by Wirksworth Quarries Ltd which was bought by Inns & Co. in 1935.

Of the three rebuilds, two survive in preservation today, No 44084 of 1930 and its more illustrious brother No 45655 of 1930, which is now owned by the Robey Tritandem Partnership and is based in Tavistock, Devon (see page 38).

A couple of years ago I appealed for photographs of these three engines during their working lives. One photo of particular interest came via Leslie Freathy and shows No 43755 of 1929 (VL 1412) at work on Wethersfield Drome in March 1951. I was

intrigued by the caption and decided to undertake some research into its location.

Wethersfield Aerodrome is around six miles northwest of Braintree, Essex, and was constructed during the Second World War. The intention was to build an aerodrome with three ‘Class A’ runways at 60º to each other so that it would be usable whatever the wind direction. It was intended to hand over the aerodrome to USAAF for it to use as a base for its B-29 bombers – these being considerably larger than our own Wellingtons and Lancasters. In fact, a Wellington weighed less than a Robey Tritandem roller!

The aerodrome was supposed to open in December 1942 however, due to shortages of manpower and materials it was not fully operational until January 1944.

The aerodrome was used variously by the USAAF and the RAF until July 1946 when it was closed due to the poor condition

Robey Tritandem No 43755 rolling Wethersfield Aerodrome, Essex, on March 27, 1951. COURTESY LESLIE FREATHY

of the runways. The aerodrome was maintained on a Care and Maintenance basis until 1951 when it was decided that owing to the perceived threat to our national security by the Cold War that the base would be upgraded and re-opened and once again it would be handed over to the USAAF for them to use as a base.

They moved in on May 31, 1952, and didn’t hand the base back to the RAF until July 3, 1990.

The runways were each 150ft wide and you can imagine how long it would have taken to roll

them using Robey Tritandems – as the width of the rolls on the latter engines are only 43in.

From 1946 until 1951, a former fighter pilot was allowed to use the base as camp for his exotic animals during the winter. The name of the pilot was Jimmy Chipperfield of Chipperfield’s Circus. The hangars became an elephant house and the lions, tigers, monkeys and snakes were housed in the former offices.

And all this was going on while the Tritandem was rolling the runway surface…

The views expressed by ‘Tail Lamp Tom’ are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

NEXT MONTH

▲ ContractorIsaacBallofWharles

▲ The demise of the local garage

l Steam contractors Baker’s of Kellington l Burrell showman’s Progress l Rally Claiming Dates 2015 l January issue on sale from Thursday, December 18 l Save money and subscribe – see page 36 106 | DECEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY