Old Glory September 2014

s6: THE sENTiNEls THAT WENT TO ArGENTiNA Britain’s Best seller for

27

years

No 295

sEPTEmBEr 2014

T DOWrTsiE mE! sHO

124 PAG E

Bu m P E r is suE

GREAT DORSET GREAT DISPLAYS GREAT WAR G ●

●

shand nd mason ● Pedler centenary

You wait all day for a bus...

◆ SteamtugPortwey Steam tug Portwey ◆ Mac’s Dorsetdeadline Dorset deadline ◆ ReynoldsMuseum ◆ Wallis:steamandi/c ◆ ADodmanin4inch oldglory.co.uk

steam shovel restored

£4.10

Contents 44 No 295 | September 2014 NEWS 6-29 News & Events 99 Old Glory in Miniature News

FEATURES 32

A Wallis returns to Warwickshire A school reunion provided the perfect excuse to take a motor roller to its old working day haunts.

38

Smith family Wallis and Marshall We spotlight Mark Smith and his family with their Wallis & Steevens ‘expansion’ engine and their more recent Marshall compound engine.

44

54

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The Argentine connection With Sentinel having ceased 84 Pedler’s Progress production of the S Type in The centenary of Wallis & 1938, it wasn’t until early Steevens’ expansion traction 1949 that it received an order engine No 7248. for 100 S6 tippers from the Argentine government.

92 All hooves to the pump The Jubilee Fire Museum in Mac’s Dorset Deadline Masterton, New Zealand, It’s a race to the finish for and its 127-year-old Shand Neil Gough with the Mason steam fire pump. restoration of his McLaren road loco No 1332 of 1912 Gigantic to make it in time REGULARS for the Great Dorset...

26 50 52 78 88 91 96 50 years of Stradbally rally 104 The Irish Steam Preservation 122 Society recently celebrated 50 glorious years.

The 46th Great Dorset Steam Fair We give you a taste of what to expect at this year’s show, which includes a First World War centenary tribute.

Stan Reynolds: vision and determination How one man amassed a million items in his museum and then donated it all to the state.

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92

Underbidder Enginelines Helpline Vintageworld Steam Archive Reviews Museum Guide Events Diary ‘Tail Lamp Tom’

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Welcome

High summer and it’s‘Pimms o’clock’for Wallis & Steevens‘Advance’roller No 8047 of 1930 Endeavour at the Wiston Steam Rally, West Sussex on July 5, 2014.

ALAN BARNES

Road run, road run, road run

THE majority of us will get to the Great Dorset Steam Fair rather quicker that engineman Andrew Waling, who is planning to undertake a road run from his home base at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, to this year’s event by driving his family’s 1927 Foster tractor Lord of the Isles for the 200-mile journey.

The crew is planning to leave Wisbech on Friday, August 22 at first light and arrive at the Dorset showground on Sunday, August 24 at lunch time. This is quite a task for Andrew and his crew as they will have to make the journey by steam in less than three days, avoiding motorways and busy roads. This monumental and dedicated effort will include frequent stops to refill with coal, water and oil. All this while averaging a steady speed of 14mph.

Andrew is raising money for Myeloma UK. Myeloma is the second most common form of bone marrow cancer, with approximately 4700 people diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK. Andrew chose this charity as his grandfather and former owner of the traction engine lost his battle to the disease in February 2007.

Martin Oliver, managing director, Great

Dorset Steam Fair, has put £1000 towards the collection – thus giving the fundraising a great start. Martin said: “Over the 46-year history of the Great Dorset Steam Fair we have been privileged to help raise funds for many national charities. We are delighted to be supporting Myeloma UK this year and wish Andrew and his crew all the very best in raising money for this very worthwhile charity”.

To donate please visit www.justgiving.com/andrew-waling All money raised shall go to finding a cure for this disease and to support the families that it affects.

Making even more of a spectacle was a publicity road run by the steam fair itself, when a First World War 80ft long road train leaves Bovington for Dorset via Blandford town centre on August 16 including two McLarens hauling a Pickfords trailer with a 1914 Holt 75hp Gun Tractor load. We’ll bring you pictures of this extraordinary sight next issue. ‘Nothing too heavy or too difficult’ is the motto of Les Searle and his heavy haulage team – and they all wore appropriate dress to add to the fun as well!

The Dorset themed war display is shaping up to be a very exciting prospect and will be one of the cherries on the cake for what has been an excellent vintage year for most events.

Just before you settle down into October, and the last of the season ‘bashes’, there’s the NTET’s 60th anniversary road run to look forward to. We won’t say exactly how many entrants there are (a lot!) but the spectacle of so many engines in a relatively small area of Bedfordshire and west Cambridgeshire on one day is a mouth-watering thought. The start and finish point is Shuttleworth Park, home of the Beds rally, and is being hosted for the NTET by BSEPS. Catch them at the park or out on the run but beware – some engines will be on the road by 6am!

Have a great month, whatever you’re doing.

Colin Tyson Editor

ctyson@mortons.co.uk

OLD GLORY SEPTEMBER 2014 | 3

Underbidder

On the Case at Cheffins summer sale

£230

0

This 1949 Bedford OLBD tipper was stored in a barn 40 years ago and generated considerable interest.

£16,000 Dating from 1904 this Case 60hp traction engine received a new boiler barrel and firebox in 2000.

HERE we are, well into the rally season and someone’s turned the thermostat up to ‘scorchio’.

Underbidder considered going to Cheffins midsummer sale in beach wear but then saw the weather forecast predicting thunderstorms of biblical proportions and packed the sou’wester just in case. Other folk just stayed at home!

Now, the problem is, dear reader, that given the truly staggering number of lots in the April sale, it all seemed a bit on the ‘thin’ side to return to this rather modest level of entries. The attendance was also a tad depleted. Still, at least one didn’t need to revisit the sardine routine of a few months ago and at least you could park in the same county as the auction!

Balanced reporting is what we media types are all about, so let’s make it abundantly clear this was still a big sale and depending on your particular collecting fetish there were gems to be found in every corner.

“Like what?”, Underbidder hears you cry. Start with 100 cast iron implement seats in the building and some delightful very old AA badges in the marquee. From across the pond we had a Stanley steam car and a 1904 Case traction engine.

For those who like a real restoration challenge there was a 1952 Land Rover Series 1 and a 1949 Bedford OLBD tipper lorry.

Both these vehicles had been tucked away in a barn for over 30

years. As for the tractor boys, give them a 1916 ‘Overtime’ tractor to study and then just watch them go into a bidding frenzy.

The cast iron seat collectors took root in the building and struggled to stay awake given the humidity.

It was easy to nod off as seats were knocked down for £10 and £20 each. Wake-up calls came with the realisation that some bids were getting a spurt-on. A Victory seat romped away to secure £560 and an E & H Roberts, Deanshanger Works, Stony Stratford example secured £420. Close behind a Davey Sleep & Co. seat took £380 and variants from Orion and Drake & Fletcher, Maidstone took £260 apiece.

Just about everyone had spotted the selection of scarce AA badges and all agreed they would be strongly bid. They were not wrong. A hardwood glazed case containing three badges dating from 1909, 1912 and 1914 set the scene by taking £520. Then a single AA Committee Member badge bearing the Stenson Cooke signature and black enamelled pendant to the top was hotly contested to secure £450. This was followed by a 1914-1915 AA ‘Cycle’ badge with blue enamel renewal plaque that sold for £300.

The automobilia collectors were obviously enjoying themselves.

Original documents show that the Stanley steam car 1909 Model 735B was a Californian vehicle and had been owned by a succession of US owners before eventually coming to the UK.

UNSOLD Originally supplied to a Californian customer in 1919 this Stanley 735B steam car was offered with boiler certificate and in full running order but failed to meet its reserve.

26 | SEPTEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY

£520 Dating from 1909, 1912 and 1914, these AA badges mounted in a hardwood case pleased the automobilia guys.

Cheffins, Sutton, Cambridgeshire, July 19

£34,500 Believed to be the oldest‘Overtime’in existence. This 1916 Model‘R’(Style‘H’) single speed two-cylinder tractor took the auction’s highest successful bid.

A range of Lister engines at cold start prices.

It was sold by Cheffins in April 2012 and had undergone a great deal of further restoration since. It was offered for sale with boiler certification and in full running order. With Jerry Curzon on the rostrum we all listened to a full and thorough introduction before bidding commenced with an opening offer at £30,000.

Jerry had to work hard but slowly the bidding moved up. It was clear that as we passed £40,000 we were getting close but needed to go a little higher. Finally at £43,000 it was declared unsold.

If your ‘bucket list’ includes a Stanley steam car it could be worth a phone call.

Outside a 1952 Series 1 Land Rover was getting lots of interest.

The fact that it had been barn stored for some 30 years whetted the appetite of potential buyers and the guide price of £1000£1500 was not considered unreasonable. As is always the case with auctions it only takes a few interested parties and bids can start to fly. To prove the point it managed to take a winning bid of £3100.

Around 40 years ago a 1949 Bedford OLBD wooden bodied tipper lorry was driven into a barn and had not been started since.

Covered in dust and looking tired the catalogue guide price

suggested that somewhere around £500 would secure a sale. Keen restorers had more determined ideas and strong bidding took it all the way to £2300 before the gavel dropped.

Sandwiched between the barn finds was an older restoration of 1947 Morris 8 Series ‘E’ 2-door saloon that had been driven 50 miles to the sale. It was offered with a full file of MOTs, V5, bills and photographic records. All of which helped it find a buyer at £3000, but a left hand drive 1925 Ford Model TT truck offered without UK road documentation ran out of bids at £3600.

American traction engines do not have a big following on this side of the Atlantic although they cause a lot of interest at rallies.

Today’s example was a Case rated at 60hp and built in 1904. It was fitted with a new boiler barrel and firebox in 2000 although it hadn’t been used for the past five years.

Bill King struggled for an opening

bid and it initially looked like there was no interest at all. Finally an opening offer of £10,000 came and this slowly crept to £16,000.

Bill could see there was no further interest and to everyone’s surprise said he would take the bid on a provisional basis. Underbidder can inform you that later in the day a deal was concluded at this price.

Submerged in the crowd was what is believed to be the oldest ‘Overtime’ tractor in the UK. Built as No 1728 it was renumbered as 1747 and shipped in 1916 as part of a batch to the L J Martin of London agency. This single-speed, two-cylinder petrol tractor was a Model ‘R’ (Style ‘H’) fitted with detachable cylinder head and optional horizontal tank. In 1916 the price tag was £285 so the opening bid of £20,000 put things in perspective. Just when it appeared the gavel was about to fall a new bidder raised the stakes to £28,000. Bidding continued and finally secured £34,500.

£560 Porter Johnny Nissen had to hold this‘Victory’cast iron implement seat up for longer than the others.

The bidding ran out of puff and so had the front tyres – it reached £3600 but that wasn’t enough to secure this 1925 Ford Model TT truck.

OLD GLORY SEPTEMBER 2014 | 27

STEAM TRACTION

“

“With the hammer eventually coming down, we congratulated John on another fine addition to the Saunders Collection. We were amazed when he said: ‘It’s not mine – your dad’s bought it.’”

”

Other than routine maintenance the engine needed no other attention and Mark and the boys enjoyed a couple of rally seasons with their new engine.

In 2009 several cracks were found in some of the firebars and it fell to James to remove all the old ones and fit the new bars when they had been cast. That year also saw further major work carried out on the Wallis with the fitting of a new set of bearings. Again it was down to James to dismantle the engine and remove the old bearings. A new set of main and big end bearings were made and machined by Maskells which were duly fitted by James. Two years later the engine was dismantled to allow boiler inspector Alan Hines to carry out a thorough inspection and once again James was given the task of taking the Wallis apart although this time he had assistance from Ross Clark. The inspection revealed that there was some thinning to the front of the barrel and while the engine was in pieces the remedial work was carried out by Maskells. The old tubes were removed, the tubeplate was in good condition and was re-fitted along with a new set of tubes and the thin areas on the barrel were made good. They also machined the valve faces, rebored the cylinder, replaced the gaskets, fitted

James Smith and Ross Clark head for the St Albans rallyfield with the Wallis.

the cylinder block, made and fitted a new piston and set up the trunk guides. As James told me “When Maskells had completed their work it was down to Ross and I to put the Wallis back together again in time for the rally season. Since then the only major work carried out has been to replace the rubber tyres on the rear wheels, which was done a couple of years ago”.

I felt that James had experienced more than enough of my photographic ‘fannying about’ on that occasion so instead I decided to add his brother Tom, who was in charge of the Marshall at St Albans, to my list of ‘victims’.

I found Tom Smith, Sarah Worbey and Stuart Brock busying themselves with cleaning and oiling-up and although there was a good

supply of cleaning cloths I managed to resist Tom’s kind invitation to help with the polishing.

The Marshall is a well known engine having been worked and rallied for over 40 years by Albert Fensom and his family and Mark Smith bought the Marshall in July 2012 from Sandra Rogan, Albert’s daughter. As Mark told me: “Since buying the Wallis a few years ago I had been keen to add another full sized traction engine to our ‘stable’ and when I heard that the Marshall was available it was far too good an opportunity to let pass by.”

The Marshall was delivered new to G Swingler of Stanion, Northamptonshire, and subsequently passed through two more local owners, W Beeby at Brigstock and then

Above: Wallis cylinder detail. MARK SMITH Left: A plaque on the Wallis’boiler details the engine’s previous owners – only leaving Suffolk in 1979.

40 | SEPTEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY

New rear rubbers were also fitted at the time.

MARK SMITH

The Wallis awaits new lagging in March 2012… MARK SMITH

…a month later and the lagging is in place. MARK SMITH

W Beeby at Long Buckby. It was around this time that the engine was first registered for use on the road and in 1936 the engine changed hands once again – passing to a Mr Perkins in Old Northants who only kept the engine for a few months as the following year, 1937, the engine was acquired by the Tate Brothers at Farthingstone.

FENSOM OWNERSHIP

In 1944 the Marshall was included in an auction sale and the engine along with Allchin 7nhp traction engine No 933 was bought by T C Fensom & Son of Colmworth, Bedfordshire.

The engine was used by the family for threshing duties and contract work in and around Bedfordshire until 1947 when the Marshall was finally retired. Named Winifred, the Marshall attended all the early Bedford Steam Engine Preservation Society events including the 1956 parade through Bedford, which helped to kick start the society, as well as all the early Hertfordshire Steam Club events.

In 1962 the Marshall also appeared in the film The Iron Maiden as a background ‘extra’ although it did appear in most of the rally scenes. The Fensom family continued to rally the engine for many years and some six generations of the family have stood on the footplate of this Marshall before it was finally sold to Mark in 2012.

Addition to the family: Marshall 6nhp compound traction engine No 43560 of 1905, as bought at auction, and arriving at Mark Smith’s yard. MARK SMITH

ST ALBANS RALLY

With the Marshall now polished, oiled and with steam up, the engine was ready to be moved to its place on the rally field. It was unfortunate that the ground conditions on the field and in the arena were considered to be too soft to allow engine movement on the Saturday of the event. However, the engine did have to travel a few hundred yards from the college grounds to the field and with Tom’s cooperation that would provide an opportunity for some photographs.

With Tom and Sarah on the footplate the Marshall was moved to several different locations while it made its way to the rally field and when we stopped in front of the college buildings even the crew were tempted to climb down to have a look at the result of all that polishing as the engine stood gleaming in the sunshine. 

Named Winifred, the Marshall was already in good condition when purchased.

OLD GLORY SEPTEMBER 2014 | 41

In Miniature

A DoDDy in four inch

Among the fine miniature traction engines to be seen at the vintage show in Kelso organised by the Border Vintage Agricultural Association was an engine based on the less familiar manufacturer of Alfred Dodman of King’s Lynn. Alan Barnes talks to owner Malcolm Kirby

W

ith no full size survivors and from the scant information available, Peter Filby designed and built a 4in scale model Dodman engine which he completed in 1996. His design drawings and manufacturing rights were 100 | SEPTEMBER 2014 OLD GLORY

subsequently sold to well known model engineer Steve Baldock of Kettering, who later produced a number of castings.

Malcolm Kirby bought his engine in late 2009 and explains to Alan: “It is something a bit different, which is half the appeal and it is certainly a very well built engine. This 4in

Dodman was built by Bernie Fairbanks of Marton Moss, Blackpool, between 2004 and 2006. I bought the engine from him in the autumn of 2009, with the deal being concluded at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

“I have long been interested in steam but it’s hard to say when that first started. I grew up in

The 4in scale Alfred Dodman single crank compound engine of 1894 at Kelso rally 2014.

ALL: ALAN BARNES

Many of the Dodman engines boasted a strengthened wooden front axle, a most singular feature that is faithfully replicated on the scale models.

Above: Footplate and motion detail.

Right: Rear detail, with Dodman cast wheel hubs.

Below: With Dodman trying to modify and improve the Burrell product, the HP cylinder is mounted vertically above the LP cylinder.

Reading and when I was about eight or nine a friend gave me a stationary engine and a roller – which were both meths-powered and must have been a precursor to the Mamod models. I still have them both. Later, and having grown somewhat, I was allowed to steer the full size engine Busy Bee, then owned by Ran Hawthorne. That was my introduction to steam – both little and large.

“I had a small workshop at home and progressed to the stage of buying the plans for a 1½in scale Allchin which were published in Model Engineer. However, education and work seemed to intervene and I moved rather more permanently than planned to Edinburgh.

“Almost 20 years ago, when I started my last job as a quality assurance test engineer, I met the man responsible for my steam ‘revival’. He is a railway enthusiast and also heavily involved with his local steam preservation society and model engineering club. 

The cylinders worked a single slide valve and connecting rod. Dodman got cold feet when Burrell threatened him for infringing its patent.

OLD GLORY SEPTEMBER 2014 | 101

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