Old Glory March 2015 Preview

AXE FALLS ON SNIBSTON DISCOVERY MUSEUM Britain’s Best seller for

27

years

MARCH 2015

No 301

STE AM O L P E T R Howard’s century of change

From to

NOW 116 PAGES

Pop e s W h e e l s VATICAN TRANSPORT

on

COLLECTION

Ra l l y w i n s

Lotter y!

A UK first?

Return of the

CRANLEIGH BELLE

Second life for a Hindley horizontal engine The role of a transport museum conservator Farewell to engineman Len Crane

JACK RUSSELL MBE

England cricketer’s classic commericals

Contents 70 No 301 | March 2015 NEWS 6-25 News & Events 99 Old Glory in Miniature News

FEATURES 28

The Cranleigh Belle The story of Burrell Gold Medal Tractor No 4072 The Cranleigh Belle, which returned to the rally field last year.

34

Popes on Wheels!

The transport museum in the Vatican, dedicated to the many vehicles that have kept our popes on the move.

38

Bowled over by commercials Former County and England cricketer Jack Russell and his collection of classic News updates at oldglory.co.uk commercial vehicles. www.facebook.com/ OldGloryMag Transport museum conservator A day in the varied life of a 94 Know your engines professional transport Injectors – thermodynamics museum conservator. or magic?

A Marshall comes home 100 Six-inch Burrell The restoration of Marshall Showman’s engine traction engine William Scott Peter Bowles’ miniature has begun in earnest again. masterpiece comes under the spotlight.

J & F Howard of Bedford From steam and agricultural implements to petrol locomotives, the story of one REGULARS of our greatest engineering 70 Steam Archive pioneers.

74 Vintageworld 78 Enginelines New home for a Hindley 80 Helpline Horizontal engine 92 Reviews A rare 1860s survivor from 104 Events Diary Hindley of Bourton has a new life at Sherborne Steam 114 Tail Lamp Tom & Watermill Centre.

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48

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88

Bradford’s illustrious history in profile Yorkshire’s first industrial museum celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The signwriter’s art The skills of the signwriter as he adds the final flourish to restored vehicles.

4 | MARCH 2015 OLD GLORY

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55 Front Cover: Howard ploughing engine No 110 ‘The Farmers Engine’. ALAN BARNES This issue was published on Thursday, February 19, 2015. The April 2015 issue of Old Glory (No 302) will be on sale from Thursday, March 19.

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86

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 MARCH 2015 | 5

News&Events Frank Atkinson

BEAMISH founder Frank Atkinson died aged 90 on December 30. He spent 20 years pushing the case for the open air heritage museum in Co Durham, which now attracts 600,000 visitors a year.

Neath show move

THE Neath Steam & Vintage Show, to be held on May 1617, has moved from its Cefn Coed Colliery base and will be held nearby at Llwynfelish Farm, Neath Road, Crynant SA10 8SP. All enquiries to Ian Davies, 07971 167651.

Matt’s new job

THE National Traction Engine Trust has appointed Matt Shipton to head up its PR & Communications team. He will be supported in the role by Jamie Allen and Os Smith. Matt has a creative background in both organising events, publicity and writing and has many ideas for enhancing the trust’s profile.

See the Queen

WITH 2015 being the Dunkirk 75th anniversary, PS Medway Queen and Visitor Centre will be open from 11am-4pm every Saturday until December at Gillingham Pier, Kent ME7 1RX. Ship access is subject to operational requirements of the restoration so please check first on 01634 575717 if travelling any distance.

Stapleford Steam

AFTER 20 years at Stapleford Park, near Melton Mowbray, it has been announced that the event will no longer take place due to falling visitor numbers.

Over the years the event has raised £85,000 for LOROS, the Leicestershire Hospice Charity.

The 10¼in gauge miniature railway will be open on June 13-14 for a new running weekend to complement the popular August Bank Holiday event.

12 | MARCH 2015 OLD GLORY

Brothers complete IHC lorry restoration project

THE Rowberry brothers, and their father, Vernon, are very keen on International Harvester Co products, particularly tractors, and have carried out some amazing restorations, writes Peter Love.

Worcestershire-based Chris Rowberry purchased from eBay in August 2010 this 1932 International A5, which is classed as a five-six tonner and is a relatively large truck. It carries the excellent IHC six-cylinder ohv engine with the five forward speed gearbox.

The lorry had been with Arthur Neale, former MD of International Harvester Co (UK) and was used on his farm at Balsham, Cambs, until 1954. The original logbook still exists and the last tax cost £18.

The Rowberrys picked up the vehicle from Martin Clack at Heathrow, who had bought it in a poor dismantled state. Martin started the restoration by relining the brakes, rebushing the shackles and replacing the shackle pins.

New oil seals went in the rear axle and new kingpins were made for the front axle. The running boards were replaced and it was then put back together and given a coat of black gloss paint.

Back in Worcestershire, the Rowberrys assembled a party tent in their yard, placed the IHC inside and promptly started the strip down. The first thing to do was set up the excellent brakes, then an engine and gearbox full cork gasket set was ordered from the US. The whole vehicle had oil

The first test on road and field after getting it all together again.

leaks everywhere, as the previous cork seals had all dried out. The engine was tidied up and the carburettor rebuilt. While the engine and gearbox were out they were painted, as was the chassis which was also wire-wheeled down.

The oak cab was repaired and where needed 20 gauge sheet metal was applied to the cab and doors. It was then painted before being placed back on the chassis.

A new windscreen and door windows were made and the radiator surround rechromed. A new dynamo and regulator box was purchased and a new wiring loom made up. However, they were able to retain the original gauges and the speedo shows 24,000 miles, which is believed to be the correct original mileage.

‘Intense’restoration: Working in their‘tent shed’in Worcestershire.

The boys found a suitable fuel tank at a farm sale, and a new exhaust system made by A44 Exhaust Shop turned out very well. There are still things to finish, such as finding or making a new front bumper and some suitable 10in headlights – can you help? Then there is the flat bodywork to be made of kerowin when time permits.

This very interesting and important British lorry is now back on the road and as Chris says, it’s fun to drive and cruises at 25-30mph. It is thought to be the only known A5 to exist today in the UK, unless you know different. It’s pleasing to see these young lads in their twenties taking on an old commercial and restoring it to a very high standard on a limited budget.

Wire-wheeling down, all the paintwork was in relatively good condition. Look at the size of those rear hubs.

Got a story? Tell Old Glory 01507 529306 | ctyson@mortons.co.uk

The students at the conclusion of their EHSI presentations in front of Preston’s 110/112 Gavioli organ. DEREK RAYNER

Major success for Lottery’s young engineers AN END-of-term presentation, the last in a series of similar ceremonies, took place at the Preston Collection at Hutton Rudby, North Yorkshire, in mid-January, reports Derek Rayner.

The event was the culmination of several years’ hard work by apprentices of the Engineering Heritage Skills Initiative, an organisation set up in the North as a result of major assistance from a Heritage Lottery Fund grant. The initiative’s purpose was to find young people, place them with a suitable firm and train them to acquire the necessary skills to enable them to be employed in the heritage sector.

Some 22 firms have been involved in this scheme, including Beamish Museum; North Bay Railway, Scarborough; HMS Trincomalee;

Stangate Restorations; Rusty Bug Workshop; Kirklees Light Railway; Stephenson Railway Museum; Windermere Steamboat Museum; North Yorkshire Moors Railway; Vintage Vehicles, Shildon; South Tynedale Railway; NRM Locomotion; Adam Dalgleish Engineering; North East Maritime Trust and William Lane.

Some 172 projects have been worked on by trainees and those receiving awards gave a short presentation of their training activities.

Sadly, the initiative for the heritage field is coming to an end after four years, as a result of it being funded by the finite Lottery grant.

There have been major success stories as a result of the amount of work put into the initiative, not only by the students but also by their advisors and firms concerned. Some 91%

of the students are now in employment – 62% were unemployed when recruited and 60% of the trainees had no engineering qualifications when they joined the scheme.

One, perhaps unexpected feature, is that half of the trainees are now volunteering in the heritage sector.

The presentations were made by Daren Priday, manager of the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, RAF Museum, Cosford.

Thanks were expressed by Bill Griffiths, head of programme, while others in attendance were Jo Wylie, National Heritage Lottery Fund; Graham Bell – North of England Civic Trust and Andie Harris; John Stelling; Kevin Malone and Stuart Hines – the initiative’s co-ordinators – and, of course, the students, families and invited guests.

Two Saunders’ engines undergoing overhaul IN THE Saunders’ Stotfold, Bedfordshire, works, Wallis & Steevens traction engine No 7666 of 1919 Wheatsheaf and Burrell showman’s No 3890 of 1922 Majestic are currently undergoing overhauls, advises Adrian White.

Majestic is undergoing a major and extensive overhaul by H Maskill & Son Limited. It has so far received a new boiler barrel, repairs to the firebox, a new tubeplate, built-up throatplate and a D patch added to part of the backplate, as well as overhaul of most other components. Work also continues on the restoration of Wallis & Steevens’ tractor No 2952 of 1902 Lady May with the hope that it will be ready for the local Stotfold Mill Steam Fair in May. Right: Team Majestic: Burrell showman’s No 3890 of 1922 under overhaul

by Maskills in Saunders’works on December 29, 2014. ADRIAN WHITE OLD GLORY MARCH 2015 | 13

MUSEUMS

Popes on Wheels Millions visit the Vatican and its museums every year to be dazzled by the sheer range of artistic treasures on show. But fewer make it to the Pope’s very own transport museum down in the basement, writes Hugh Dougherty

B

elow the better-known and more-visited galleries sits the Vatican Carriage and Automobile Museum – to give its official name. It’s a fine collection of wheels, from the magnificent, sixhorse ceremonial carriage once used by Pope Leo XII, to the last Volkswagen Beetle made in Mexico in 2004 and sent to the Vatican as a Papal present.

There’s the Fiat open jeep, in which John Paul II nearly met his death when shot by would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca in St Peter’s Square in 1981, and its replacement, an

The shortest international railway system in the world; the Vatican station, with its Papal platforms, seen from the city walls. ALL: HUGH DOUGHERTY, UNLESS STATED

all-enclosed ‘Popemobile’. Sadly, not on show is the six-wheeler Albion, specially built for the Papal visit to Scotland in 1982, which was finally bought by a Dublin night club in 2012 after languishing in Scotland for some years.

If you’re into luxury car marques, such as Graham Paige, Citroen and Mercedes, as once

used by the bishops of Rome, then you’ll be either fascinated, or, like me (and I can say this as a lifelong, paid-up Catholic) repelled by their opulence, and an opulence rejected by the present Pope Francis, better known for driving around in far humbler models that are more in tune with his lifestyle and that of ordinary motorists.

Indeed, taking pride of place is a 30-year-old Renault 4, presented to Pope Francis in 2013

by Father Renzo Zocca, as an appropriate car for a pontiff whose vision is of a church for the poor. Vatican security guards became concerned when, as soon as Father Zocca handed the keys over, a delighted Pope Francis jumped in with the priest and took the car for a test drive. Pope Leo XII, riding in the pomp and ceremony of his carriage, would probably not have approved.

VATICAN RAILWAY

Holy smoke! The Caritas steam special at the Papal platform in May 2011, hauled by preserved Italian State Railways (FS) 686 class 089, before leaving for Orvieto. COURTESY CARITAS

34 | MARCH 2015 OLD GLORY

Rather more formal, but no less interesting, is a model of an Italian Railways SF735 class 210 2-8-0 steam locomotive which hauled the first train into the Vatican’s then-new railway station in 1932. For, few people know that the Vatican City, following the Lateran Treaty with Mussolini in 1929, which let the Pope officially leave the confines of the Vatican, got the goahead for its own railway connection to the Italian national network, and that the station still functions today.

Visitors on the Vatican City walls can look down on the unique station which, with just 300 metres of track and no rolling stock of its own, comprises the world’s smallest international railway system. The Papal

In the museum is a model of the first steam engine to enter the Vatican railway station in 1932.

Six-horse-power‘Popemobile’; Leo XII’s magnificent coach welcomes visitors.

The Pope’s wheels: the craft of the wheelwright on display.

Dignity and impudence: This Papal Mercedes limo contrasts with Pope Francis’more humble Renault 4 in the background.

platform handles both passenger and goods traffic, including waste removal trains, and has been used by recent Popes to set out on train journeys within Italy.

It has also been used to load charity relief goods donated by the Vatican for transport to weather-stricken parts of Italy. As all regular trains have been electric-powered in recent years, ‘white smoke’, the traditional signal for a new Pope being elected, is never normally seen on the Vatican railway.

But some trains are hauled by vintage steam locomotives – to highlight charity events – the most recent being a steam special for the worldwide Catholic Caritas charity in 2011 which ran to Orvieto. Pope Francis, the son of

The Fiat NuovaCampagnola Popemobile in which Pope John Paul II nearly met his end at the hand of an assassin.

an Italian railway worker who went to Argentina in 1929, is said to be favourably disposed towards the station and railway, as well as the transport collection. His predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, famously, and appropriately, left by train from the Vatican station to attend a rally of Italian railway shunters.

Opened fully in 2012, the Vatican’s unique transport collection (unofficially dubbed ‘Popes on Wheels’) owes its existence to Sandro Barbagallo, art critic of the Vatican’s own newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, who saw the potential of putting the exhibits on

show in one area, arguing that, like all preserved transport exhibits in museums the world over, they tell a vital story, in this case, about the Papacy and how it got around, over the centuries.

So, if you’re in Rome, make sure you ‘Pope’ down to the Vatican Museum basement and visit this fine collection. It’s open daily and admission is included in the main Vatican Museums ticket.

It’s a must-see for anyone with an interest in Popes in transit as well as anyone who appreciates vintage transport, well-restored and presented in the very heart of the Vatican City, proof positive that the Popes have, literally, moved with the times. ■

Holy Volkswagen; the last one built in Mexico.

Humble Popepower: The current Pope’s Renault 4.

Note the registration – the Vatican City registers its own vehicles, with Mercedes G Wagen behind.

TRANSPORT COLLECTION

OLD GLORY MARCH 2015 | 35

J & F HOWARD of Bedford

Alan Barnes tells the story of one of England’s greatest agricultural engineering pioneers

A

nyone who has seen the nicely restored petrol engined rail locomotive trundling along the sidings at Horsted Keynes on the Bluebell Railway may be forgiven if they did not associate this loco with pioneering agricultural engineering and the introduction and development of steam ploughing.

The ploughing engine and this railway loco may be separated by over 70 years of engineering development, but both are the products of J & F Howard of Bedford. While Howard No 957, the rail loco, represented one of the last machines to be produced before the company closed, the firm’s involvement with development of agricultural machinery can be traced back to the 1800s.

Although it would be James and Frederick Howard who would develop the firm, it was their father, John, who had founded the family ironmongery and foundry business at premises in Bedford’s High Street. John was born in 1791 and had served an apprenticeship at an ironmongery business in Olney before starting his own business in Bedford in 1813. 

Above: Britannia Ironworks, from the north side, in the early 1860s, showing its good links to rail and water transport.

Top: A Bedford-built machine at the Bedford rally: Howard‘Farmer’s Engine’No 110 at Old Warden 2006. BSEPS OLD GLORY MARCH 2015 | 55

J & F HOWARD OF BEDFORD The works expansion during construction.

“

Crucial to the success of the business was the introduction of the new iron and steel plough The surviving gateway to Howard’s Britannia Iron Works in Bedford. BSEPS

”

Howard steam plough system using windlass.

Here a range of domestic and agricultural implements were produced and the various types of plough proved to be very popular. He was later joined in the business by his two sons and it would seem that it was James who was the more dynamic of the two and by his late teens was eager to try new designs and methods of production.

Crucial to the continued success of the business and its future development was the introduction of a new plough, built entirely of iron and steel, which was unusual at that time.

It seems that such a plough had been made by a blacksmith in Wilstead probably around 1839 and James had used this design as a basis for a new plough of his own. The first of these ploughs was made in 1840 and James arranged to demonstrate the new implement at trials which were being held at the Royal Agricultural Society’s show at Liverpool Racecourse.

Records from that time would appear to indicate that his father was not entirely in favour of this venture but fortunately did not stop James from attending the event.

James, using a pair of unfamiliar horses to pull the iron and steel plough, completed a successful demonstration and was awarded first prize in the category which he had entered. He enjoyed similar success the following year at a show in Bristol and by then the new plough was in full production. What had started as an idea in a blacksmith’s had been developed by James into a commercially viable piece of agricultural equipment. By the late 1840s James was keen to expand and looked to move the firm away from the original foundry premises. In 1847 a parcel of land was bought from the Caudwell Priory Estate and it was here that the new Britannia Iron Works would be built.

WELL-SITED WORKS

Self-moving anchor exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Show, Bedford, in July 1874.

56 | MARCH 2015 OLD GLORY

The site was well chosen; large enough to accommodate an extensive works and with good transport links to rail and waterways. At this time John Howard was still in control of the firm but by 1850 he had retired and James was joined by his brother Frederick. While it would seem that he lacked his brother’s dynamic qualities he proved himself to be an able administrator and perhaps provided something of a ‘reality check’ to some of James’ more outlandish ideas.

The two brothers worked well together and the business, based on the production of

O

Building Tower Bridge FIRST, congratulations on your superb 300th issue – a fantastic mix of contents! The article on Steam Sphere unlocked a few memories. I also purchased this publication and you are correct in the assumption that it also started to cater for the area of fairground amusements.

However, I now cannot recollect if this was because a fairground publication (seem to recall there was at least one in print) went bust, or because a specialised writer just changed allegiance. As to the question of issues, I certainly got all that were available, but cannot remember how many. I saved them, but it will take me time to search my ‘archive!’

As John Golding posits in his comments on the photographs showing the building of Tower Bridge, he is indeed completely wrong in his assumptions! Three of the photos clearly show what the structure alongside the brick building is – one of the embankment based ‘Anchor’ Towers under construction. The arch looks wider than the others because of the perspective of the shorter focal length lens used to compose this photograph – the depth of field and short foreground being indicators here. A quick look at some Victorian ‘street plans’ clearly indicate the structure being at right angles to the embankment, perspective again playing a role.

Glenn Middleton, Rawdon, Leeds.

JOHN Golding (OG 300) is wrong. The lower picture on page 54 is the northern entry arch with St Catherine’s dock warehouses on the right and the castellated wall of the Tower on the left. In fact the arch itself can be seen on the extreme right of the picture at the top of page 55.

Roger Dennis, via email.

Apprentices: a fair day’s pay TONY HICKS seems to have concluded that I am somehow employed by the Severn Valley Railway in a financial capacity (OG 300). Nothing could be further from the truth. By training, I am a chemist and was employed in an R&D function of around 80 scientists, engineers and technicians. We encouraged our technicians to go on day-release courses and I was responsible for liaising between our students and the local colleges.

Improved qualifications were rewarded with upgrading and promotion. Some were successful in gaining external degrees. This now seems like a golden age before the greed and risks of bankers resulted in the global financial crash of 2008.

The world of work has changed beyond recognition with many well-qualified people having to accept jobs for which they are over qualified. The point I was making was that faced with the choice between shelf stacking on a zero-hours contract or a salaried job on an admittedly less-than-generous salary, I believe that most people would choose the latter. I know I would, although I was fortunate in not having to face such a dilemma. I firmly believe in a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. So you see, Mr Hicks, we are on the same side!

Tony Bond, via email.

Cosmetically restored and plinthed at Hastings.

COLIN TYSON The Maryport lifeboat (Priscilla MacBean) and its crew.

MARYPORT MARITIME MUSEUM

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GLO RY

Engine

LD

Useful rivet counters BEING born in Sept 1943, I feel that I am more than qualified to comment on the inane comments made by Tail Lamp Tom in OG 299.

I personally know of two instances where the good intentions of a ‘rivet counter’ prevented what could have been catastrophic accidents. Strangely, in the light of the article on keys and keyways, both instances involved the incorrect assembly of retaining cotters and keys in highenergy rotating machinery.

Information on incorrect colour, livery or typeface etc, all depends on how the ‘owner’ describes the ‘restoration’. I have come across people who state that the ‘restoration has recreated the exact engine that was driven into storage in 1939 and forgotten about’. If one has information that this is not so, then the matter deserves to be put straight.

Years ago an acquaintance purchased an old Foden truck and subsequently did a nice restoration on it in the livery of the first purchaser. Sadly, he started the work by having the big lumps grit blasted and when it was pointed out that the colour of the chassis was not originally black, as in the restoration, he had not got a leg to stand on. All evidence ended up in the used grit and the so-called photographic expert who had assessed the old mono photographs of the original livery, had failed to realise that the original plate negatives were not taken on panchromatic film. The chassis and underpinnings were eventually repainted and my acquaintance made sure his research on his many subsequent restorations was correct and adequate.

Glenn Middleton, Rawdon, Leeds.

Lower leg overhaul

IAN RUSSELL and Jill Cohen would like to send huge thanks to all their wonderful friends for their messages and support during Ian’s late-summer visit to the engine shed for refurbishment and replacement of his lower right leg!

His new drive pin has been fitted and he’s coming on in leaps and bounds and we hope to be out and about again next season. Thanks to Bridget and all those who signed the Dorset book. May we wish everyone all the best for the 2015 season.

Ian Russell, Jill Cohen and Fowler ‘Poor Joe’, Andover, Hampshire.

Lifeboat Priscilla MacBean I WAS very pleased to see the news story regarding the final resting place in Hastings of the lifeboat Priscilla MacBean in OG 300. It’s surprising what comes up in Old Glory! It is a 35ft x 8ft 6in self-righter (motor) built by J Samuel White & Co Ltd, Cowes, in 1921 at a total cost of £6622-13s-10d – through the legacy of Mr E McBean of Helensburgh.

The boat was at Eastbourne from 1921-1926 and at Maryport from 19311934 when it was sold out of service. During its service it was launched 21 times and saved 25 lives (18 at Maryport) and during retirement on Lake Windermere (and being renamed Laurita) saved two further lives.

John Hepper of Leeds purchased it in 1956 and it was powered by a Ford 4D diesel.

I enclose a photograph of the boat at Maryport from our archive.

John Whitwell, Maryport Maritime Museum.

Got somethinG to say? old Glory, Po Box 43, horncastle, Lincolnshire Ln9 6JR | ctyson@mortons.co.uk

Mourning the loss of the local garage I REALLY enjoyed Alan Barnes’ article The Demise of the Local Garage (OG 299). Back in the 1950s I grew up next door to one, Kingstons of Blakesley, Northants.

My dad worked there as storeman cum pump attendant and he could take a short cut home through the workshop window into our back yard! There were two pumps, selling a choice of twostar or four-star Mobilgas. Many customers opted for a three-star mixture of two gallons from each pump.

The proprietor, Phil Kingston, had a brother who was in turn a joint proprietor of the local bus company, K&W Coaches. Dad ran a well-stocked WITH 51 years in the motor trade, the photograph on page 63 of OG 299 brought back many memories (reproduced right, Ed) Lawson Pigott Motors Ltd was located in East Barnet Road, New Barnet, Hertfordshire, between Kingston Road and Henry Road. I worked there for about a year before being called up for National Service in November 1947. The man in the foreground of the photograph in the smock coat is Mr Phillips, who was in charge of the commercial vehicle repair department. The man in the background is Mr Bell, our nextdoor neighbour in Kingston Road.

Most of the people who worked there were ex-servicemen (with lots of tales to tell!) including my eldest brother who is now nearly 90, an ex-petty officer and motor mechanic who was employed reconditioning the Bedford engines.

Thanks for a wonderful magazine.

Gordon A Daniels, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

store of parts for Austin, Morris, Wolseley and Riley vehicles as Kingstons was an agent for what became the BMC group. The garage took on all sorts of repairs and if he had to phone for a part from one of the motor factors in Northampton it would be taken by its van to the Mayorhold bus terminus and delivered to Kingstons by a regular K&W bus service.

Dad didn’t like using that new-fangled invention the telephone and when he had to ring up for parts from BMC’s main dealers spare parts department he would often get keyed up and just stammer ‘Hello’ down the phone to which a reply would invariably come back “Is that you again, Harry. Just give us the

part reference number and we’ll do the rest”.

Customer service 1950s style.

One reason for the possible demise was that he was finding it difficult to get tanker deliveries for the relatively small tanks of the old garage, they didn’t want to continue delivering every week to a place five miles from the nearest A-road.

As a humourous final note, another old garage and filling station at Toddington, Beds, was converted into a dentist’s practice which was officially named ‘The Old Filling Station’.

Dick Bodily, Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Reader Gordon Daniels worked for Lawson Pigott and has identified his colleagues in this photo. STILLTIME ARCHIVE I was apprentice at a local garage in the early 1960s. This establishment was a friendly and welcoming community with people always willing to share information with us youngsters entering the trade.

The facilities were abysmal, cold in winter and hot in summer. Our boss and part owner was the most amazing person – strict but fair. As apprentices, we were allowed to go on day release at the local technical college and as such were expected to gain qualifications.

We were lucky as our inspection pit was under cover, others were not so lucky with inspection ramps outside.

The pit was a damp ungodly area and covered by railway sleepers. Entry was gained by removing the sleepers and pulling a vehicle over – leaving no escape in the event of something going wrong. In winter this area was filled with water and sometimes needed pumping out before work started. Winter working under the ramp

ISAAC LEVERDICK

with snow blowing in under our overalls was an accepted process.

The business would accept anything through the doors from a broken pram to a Rolls-Royce. We would weld, fabricate and mend anything. Locals even called in with their broken kettles.

In those days mechanics would serve petrol and face the customer – no ‘front of house’ then.

We attended accidents to recover vehicles and witnessed some horrific scenes. The fire service was not equipped in those days so it was down to the local garage to separate the carnage.

We were not down hearted with our wages and conditions, we had a laugh and had fun, there was no Health and Safety and I wouldn’t have missed one bit.

Good on you Alan for reviving a few good memories.

Tony Hicks, via email.

by Pete Wilford

OLD GLORY MARCH 2015 | 79

Peter Bowles attends to his half-size Burrell showman’s road locomotive at its debut rally last year.

The Burrell’s boiler arrives at Peter’s double garage workshop.

100 | MARCH 2015 OLD GLORY

Items such as the tender were laser cut locally.

Six-inch

In Miniature

Burrell Showman’S

Making its debut rally appearance last spring was the 6in scale Burrell Showman’s Road Locomotive built by Peter Bowles, who talks to Alan Barnes about the project

T

he building of the Burrell began in 2008 and although Peter encountered a few problems during the project, the result of all his hard work is a truly impressive scale engine. As Peter told me: “I have always thought that the showman’s engines have a kind of majesty about them and having seen a couple of the half-scale Burrell Scenic engines at rallies, I decided that I should get around to building one while I could still cope with the weight of all the parts, and let me tell you that some of the parts are pretty heavy.

‘DISTURBING INTEREST’

Peter had looked forward to constructing the canopy as he is a fan of carpentry. It is constructed from tulipwood.

“From an early age I had what my parents called an over-enthusiastic and sometimes disturbing interest in fire and water. Dad spent his working life as a gas fitter and like many working-class families of the time, he was faced with financial constraints that meant that he turned his hand to a range of ‘routine’ maintenance. This included work on the house as well as cars and really anything else that needed fixing. In those days it was a case of doing it yourself because you couldn’t afford to ‘get a man in’. I suppose that’s where I got my early training and interest in mechanical objects.

“Like many boys, my first models were Airfix plastic kits and as well as building them I also had fun in modifying some of the models and even more fun blowing some of them up. I was also introduced to the wonders of Meccano at an early age, but one of my first real loves was steam railways. I started building a live steam locomotive but it was never finished and even now some 23 years later the part-built model is still in the workshop awaiting completion.

“I think that because of the limitation of the locos and the necessity for track to run them on, I turned to building my first traction engine and oddly enough the appeal was to make the copper boiler. I was sure I could cope with the work because of all the years of soldering copper pipes with my dad. I started on a 2in scale Fowler A7 boiler and that went

well, so I bought my first lathe and got stuck into the manufacture.

“Having completed the Fowler I started looking for my next project and I was introduced to a 3in scale McLaren by a good friend, the late Mick Beadle. I suppose I’ve always thought that big is best so a deal was done on a set of castings for a 4in scale model. That was 11 years ago and that model is still going strong. I also have a half-built 4in scale Fowler ploughing engine but completion of that engine seems to have been sidetracked by work on the 6in Burrell, which started early in 2008.

“My double garage is fitted out as my workshop and I currently have one large lathe and a medium-size lathe, which are both Colchesters, and there is also a vertical and a horizontal mill. I say currently because the collection of machines seems to grow in size, if not in quantity, to suit the models in progress.

With the machinery that I have, I have managed to do all that is required for the Burrell and have only had to sub-contract the turning of the flywheel and the gear cutting.

“I’d placed an order for the boiler which was promised in 12 weeks but actually arrived three and a half years later! Although the delay was frustrating and certainly lengthened the time of the build it is a very good boiler. 

“

the appeal of building a steam miniature was to make the copper boiler, following years of working with copper pipes with dad

”

OLD GLORY MARCH 2015 | 101

Tail lampTom Telling iT like iT is

Rallying then and now I WAS looking at some photos recently depicting engines at Cornish rallies in the early 1960s. A couple showed arena events and one thing that stood out were the huge crowds of spectators ring-side, something you no longer see.

How the rally scene has changed over the years. I dug out a copy of a programme for the two-day Yelverton rally in May 1973. There were full size steamers and one solitary miniature (which, if memory serves right, was towing a water carrier in the shape of a beer barrel upon which a black and white Jack Russell was riding).

Also listed in the 10p programme as present were organs, a model tent, veteran and vintage plus thoroughbred cars, motorcycles and three-wheelers, tractors, agricultural implements plus a 1937 Stothert & Pitt Steam Crane which was ‘due to appear if repairs had been completed in time’.

Events were held on both afternoons: grand parade and commentary of all vehicles, musical chairs for engines, slow race for engines, beer in the bucket, ladies steering, tug of war – engine versus the public, an event by the Motor Cycles, display by ‘The Spooners’ and West Dartmoor Pony Club and (Sunday only) the Lostwithiel Youth Band.

The peculiar thing about this weekend rally

was that it was not officially opened until 2.30pm on the Sunday – by The Lord Roborough, Lord Lieutenant of Devon. Prior to the official opening a short religious service was held at 2.15pm on the Sunday by the president and padre of the Devon Traction Engine Veteran and Vintage Car Club the Rev H G Tucker.

Fast forward to Torbay Steam Fair, held over three days at the beginning of August.

Attractions included full size and miniature steam engines, veteran vintage & classic cars, commercial vehicles, motorcycles, stationary engines, steam car, working section, fairground organs, vintage tractors, military vehicles, model & craft tent, beer tent, owl display, awning displays, cider press, donkey rides, laser clay pigeon shooting and archery, fairground vehicles, fairground rides & equipment and parrot rescue. The programme cost £2 and was money well spent.

The ring events were parades of all classes at various times during the day. No official opening ceremony and no religious service on the Sunday.

The differences between the two rallies, besides the fact that Yelverton was only a few miles north of the Plymouth catchment area, was that there were more visitors to Torbay (although spread over a wider area) and the

Crowds of spectators at an early Yorkshire rally. GYTEC ARCHIVE

exhibits were more varied – local engines attended Yelverton whereas engines and exhibits now come from far and wide to Torbay. As an example, The Mighty Verbeeck Organs Victory and Locomotion, owned by Willem Kelders and family from Holland, came in 2013.

Torbay had larger car parks than Yelverton.

The catering and more importantly toilet facilities were better at Torbay.

If I had a time machine, I would still go back to the Yelverton rally. It was not so ‘commercialised’ and the visitor seemed to be more part of the rally itself. Of course, Torbay has had to move with the times in order to be attractive to families and to survive. To this end it is a commercial success and long may it reign.

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

NEXT MONTH

▲ NewZealand’sbushrailways

▲ Cornwall’s mining heritage

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