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The Magazine of the National Traction Engine Trust
NATIONAL TRACTION ENGINE TRUST Membership of the National Traction Engine Trust is open to those who, whether engine owners or not, have a genuine interest in the preservation of self propelled steam road vehicles, portable engines etc.
Vice Presidents: Esmond E. Kimbell; Richard N. Parrott. Chairman: E.A. Fillmore, 34 Northwick Park Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2NU. Vice-Chairman: Mrs Sylvia Dudley, 12 Hillway, Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK17 8UL.
The annual subscription is £12.00 for individuals, £14.00 for family membership and £7.50 for pensioners. The Trust's magazine Steaming is sent free to members during the early part of January, April, July and October, and other benefits of membership include advantageous terms for boiler insurance as well as access to advice on technical matters. Membership of the Steam Apprentice Club is available to young people under 21; details available from that section's Chairman (see right).
General Secretary: Mrs Susan Jackson, 153 Micklefield Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP13 7HA. Membership Secretary: J.R. Cook, 25 Ripon Drive, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8UF. Treasurer: C.J.C. Barber, 6 Merrydown, Downley, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP13 5NQ. Chairman, Rally Sub-Committee: A.J. Semple, Penyghent, 8 C.helwink C:Inse, Chi irnh Stretton, Shropshire SY6 7BY. Chairman, Engine Owners Sub-Committee: M.O. Davies, Hill Farm, Avon Dassett, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV33 OAA. Steam Apprentice Club: contact D. Duffill, 181 Foden Road, Great Barr, Birmingham B42 2EH. National Sales Officer: K.D. Shakespeare, 138 Shaw Lane, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4DZ. Insurance Officer: R.J. Blenkinsop, Cornerstones, Church Lane, Claydon, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX17 1EW.
teaming binder Each binder can take up to twelve copies that's three year's issues. Produced in royal blue with the magazine title and club motif nicely blocked in gold on the spine - a fine addition to your bookshelves and an excellent way of keeping your magazines-in-good condition whilst near at hand.
-4411111L
Be wise before the event... The Trust's newly revised
rime pir rinrtv neir lee m a no 6 for the better organisation of Steam Traction Engine Events is now available and is essential reading for all rally organisers and safety officers Price £3.00 each plus £1.50 postage
0.5twat- ttrg.
le- Price £4.95 Wee Available by_post from NTEC Sales, 138 Shaw Lane, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4DZ
from — Mrs Sylvia Dudley 12 Hillway Woburn Sands Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire MK17 8UL
144
The Magazine of the National Traction Engine Trust
Volume 34 Number 3
Summer 1991 Editor: Roger West, 14 Charles Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 9AB Assistant Editor: Derek Rayner, 'Invicta', 9 Beagle Ridge Drive, Acomb, York Y02 3JH Display Advertising: to the Editor Small Ads to the Editor Distribution and Change of Address: John Cook, 25 Ripon Drive, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 8UF The Editor is pleased to consider contributions of suitable articles, shorter items or photographs for inclusion in future issues. All material submitted is voluntary and payment cannot be made for any material published, although expenses incurred may be met. The opinions expressed in the magazine, with the exception of those printed as Trust announcements, are those of the contributors and do not indicate the views of the Trust as a whole. All items are held copyright by the contributors and/or the NTET. Next issue: The press date for any news items, recent photographs and small advertisements is 23rd August 1991. ISSN 0260 - 2962 Published by the National Traction Engine Club (1984) Ltd for the National Traction Engine Trust at 14 Charles St, Market Harborough, Leicestershire. Printed by AB Printers Ltd, Leicester. Tel: 10533) 769921
From the Chairman One of the more pleasing aspects of being Chairman of an organisation is that not infrequently attendance is requested at a function of another body whose activities and interests are not disimilar to our own, and, in some cases, may form a part of them. No less than three such occasions arose during the last few months. It would not be possible for all our members to attend, but it has given me great pleasure to represent all of you on behalf of the Trust at these functions. The first was the official opening of the Burrell Museum at Thetford. This was a fine day with sunshine, traction engines and good company. It is quite amazing what can be achieved by hard work and dedication. The Burrell Museum is an example of this and a location I would recommend every traction engine enthusiast to put on his visiting list. Our vice-president, Richard Parrott, who has been very actively involved in this project land was so on the opening day), must have been well satisfied with the ceremony. Each year British Coal sponsors the Steam Heritage award scheme which takes the form of a cash award or prize to preservation projects that use British coal. A number of awards are involved, which in different sections cover most of the various categories of preserved steam machinery. The awards themselves are presented at an excellent ceremony held at a noted centre; this year this was at the Black Country Museum, Birmingham. I was glad to note that two of the seven winners were for road steam preservation — one of them being the premier award. Further details of the awards are given elsewhere in this issue. (continued on next page)
This issue 117 120 123 124 126 127 128 130 131 132 134 136 148 150 152
The Hackbridge Accident — some facts of a well known mishap The Trust's Driving Course Built in Italy Thirty Years Ago A Day at the Fair Eurosteaming The Incomplete Engine Drivers Mate Whitsun Entertainment A Postcard from Lincoln Irish Intermission Pleasures from a Portable Steaming Around, compiled by Derek Rayner Around the World Letters New Members, Small Ads etc
Alan Martin Raymond Rowe Carrado Aramino Ran Hawthorne John Maund Chris Raworth Ken Kimbell Adrian Booth Lyndon Shearman
Cover The always immaculate LORD ROBERTS, Burrell 7hp road locomotive 3057 of 1.907, basks in the afternoon sunshine, against the background of the Black Country Museum's coal mine headgear and winding engine house, in October 1987. (Roger West) 111
Trust News (continued from previous page) Thirdly, and very much closer to the Trust, was the 25th Anniversary celebrations of one of our closest affiliated clubs — the Banbury Steam Society. I need hardly comment on the excellent relationship between the Trust and the Banbury Society. It gave me great pleasure to attend; in fact it was almost like one of our own committee meetings, as so many of our own officials were present at this excellent anniversary dinner. In my notes of a few months ago, I made reference to 1990 as being a year of consolidation. This has continued into 1991 and I am pleased to report the appointment in May of a new General Secretary for the Trust. She is Mrs Susan Jackson, who brings with her much administrative and secretarial ability and experience. I would take this opportunity of welcoming her to our executive ranks. Mrs Jackson, who has been for some time now a Trust member in her own right, will gradually take over most of the general secretarial duties and so relieve Sylvia Dudley of much of the secretarial work she has so willingly carried out in recent years in addition to her duties of Vice-Chairman. Thank you Sylvia for doing so much for the Trust. Lastly, I would draw all members' attention to the advance notice of this year's Annual General r,Aeeting which appears elsewhere in Trust News. (Eric Fillmore, chairman)
to visit with our hospitality area this summer. Affiliated Club renewal fees became due on 1st April; reminders were sent with invitations to the Spring Conference, but if any club did not receive a notice or has not yet replied I would be glad if they would contact me. Hospitality areas with the Trust's Sales Stand will this year be present at the 25th Banbury Rally; Weeting Rally; Cumbria Steam Gathering; the West of England Steam Club's Rally, the Great Dorset Steam Fair and the NTEC Steam Party. These areas are an excellent chance for us to meet both members of the Trust and the host clubs. I, in company with some other members of the Trust and Committee, will be present and look forward to seeing friends both old and new for a sit-down, a cup of tea or coffee and a chat. Memberships can be renewed, if you wish, which saves the Trust — and you — postage. So don't forget to look out for the Trust logo on the flagpole. Rally Oryanisw s whu have nut yet got their copies of the revised Rally Code of Practice should note they are available from most Trust Sales Stands orice £3.00, or at £4.50 including postage from me — my address is inside the front cover. (Sylvia Dudley, vice-chairman)
Engine Owners Column
May I take this opportunity to welcome our new General Secretary, Susan Jackson, and say how pleased I am that she is going to take care of the paperwork and other duties which I have been fitting in with other commitments over the past 18 months. I hope she will enjoy the work, as I have, and I look forward to introducing Sue to some of you at the rallies she is hoping 112
Raiiy Organisers Column The Rally List Readers chni,Id note alterations to
Engine Driving Course
From the Vice-Chairman
opportunity of hands-on instruction. Six engines were provided by the host club or the course tutors and rganisers, and the site lent itself well to the activities, having a hard surfaced road. The more competent trainees had the opportunity of a final driving session on the A515 road through Draycott and up the hill out of the village towards Lichfield, a good test of both driving, and fire and water management. Evening entertainment took the form of informative and interesting videos and slides of engines in preservation, and at work. The trainees and members are indebted to the host club and to Trust members Michael Davies, Sylvia Dudley, Andrew Semple, Michael Ward, Ian Hewitt, John Blagg, and the crews of the resident engines, Phil Jeffs and Peter Magee, all of whom gave time to provide engines and instruction. (Robert Herring) (A short article, written by one of the participants, appears elsewhere in this issue.)
The first engine driving course organised by the Trust was held recently in ideal dry conditions at Klondyke Mill Steam Centre, Draycottin-the-Clay, Staffordshire. We were the guests of the North Staffs & Cheshire club, to whom our grateful thanks are due for use of the premises and their considerable organisational help. The two day course attracted 25 trainees who were instructed in the art of good engine management and basic working principles and then given the
the details of the Driffield Steam Rally on 10th/11th August — there are expected to be 35 engines present, not as printed, and the contact address is now Mrs C. Hebblewhite, 22 Wilbert Grove, Beverley HU17 OAN.
NTEC Sales Sales Stands 1991 I'M sorry I did not get the (Thence to set down our schedule for 1991 in the last issue of Steaming. This season there are three changes on the sales stands. Firstly, Dave Duffill has
decided to take a year's rest; secondly David Harrop will be taking out a small stand of books, Trust items and membership renewal facilities — this will be alongside his array of Post Office and Royal Mail memorabilia, which some of you will have studied at rallies in 1990. Thirdly we welcome new stand operator Trevor Higgs, who is both a Trust and Steam Apprentice Club member. We wish him well and hope he enjoys rallies from a different side, as he usually rallies his diesel roller. For the rest of the current rally season we hope our Sales Stands will be present at the following events: July — Rempstone (Ken and Edie Beeby/David Harrop); Much Marcie (Trevor Higgs); Weeting (Keith Shakespeare/David) ■; Cumbria (Keith )•; Ross-on-Wye (Trevor/David). August — Wadebridge (Keith); Fairford (Trevor); Harewood House (Mick and Maureen Garrett); Expo Steam '91 (Ken); Bishops Castle (Keith); The Great Dorset Steam Fair (all) ■ . September — Waddesdon (Keith); Haddenham (Trevor); Malpas (Mick/ David); Roxton (Ken/David); Blackpool Airport (Keith); Barleylands (Trevor/ David); NTEC Steam Party (Mick/ David)•. October — NTEC Road Run (Mick/
The dates and further details of these rallies (some have been set down with their more popular names) appeared in the Rally List supplement published in the last issue. Events marked ■ will have the Trust's hospitality tent at them and our thanks go to the organisers of those events for allowing our sales stand to expand to a marquee for the period of their shows, and enable us to offer more to members. We now have available this year's pre-paid admission tickets for the
Great Dorset Steam Fair at Tarrant Hinton, to be held from Wednesday 28th August to Sunday 1st September. The tickets are available by post from our Mail Order address, or in person from our rally stands, £5.00 per adult ticket and £3.00 for children and pensioners. This represents a good discount on gate prices on the day of £6.00 and £4.00. Please note this offer ends on 12th August for mail order applications. Please enclose SAE with applications (Tracey Shakespeare — address inside front cover).
From Alan Martin's Collection
53
We are fortunate that quite a large proportion of engine makers' records have survived to enable us to make studies of various aspects of road steam engines. Less well recorded, perhaps understandably, are the activities of the numerous makers' agents and secondhand dealers in engines, who nevertheless played a very large part in engine history. James Graven of Ely had many steamers through their hands and here we see Aveling & Porter compound tractor 5823 of 1905 (BLO5) posed outside their showroom premises in 1914 prior to despatch to new owner George Page, cartage contractor of Belvedere, Kent, along with two tipping trailers newly built by Gravens. Several items are of particular interest — the tractor's wooden front wheels of the Tangent Wheel Co pattern and the single T-ring rear wheels that have been freshly re-straked, but the Aveling horse looks decidedly dejected, taking a walking rather than the usual prancing attitude — surely not an original/
113
NTEC Steam Party, 28/29th September Inspired by the success of the two NTEC events held in 1989 and 1990, local member Bob Davies and his family are kindly lending us a grass site at Sandhills Farm, Edgioake Lane, Astwood Bank, near Redditch, Worcestershire for our 1991 event. The site has good access roads and close motorway links to the M5, M6, M40 and M42. Trust and SAC members will have free admittance on production of a current membership card. Exhibits will include fifteen plus engines of various types, old time steam fair, organs, barn engines, tractors, cars and commercials, models and craft tents, trade stands and refreshments. On the Saturday there will be live entertainment in the beer tent. If any member would like further details on exhibiting, helping out (this will be very much appreciated)) or just coming to enjoy themselves, please contact me, Tr 0527 575003 in the evenings. (Tracey Shakespeare)
Steam Apprentice Club
H.J.J. van den Broek, Dolland 729204CR, Drachten, The Netherlands.
Steam Heritage Awards The 1991 Steam Heritage Awards were presented at a ceremony at the Black Country Museum, Dudley, in May. Steam Heritage is sponsored by CorBritish Fuels and British poration and is supported by The Transport Trust and the Association of Railway Preservation Societies. The 1991 Awards covered a wide range of steam powered machinery and the Premier Award, with a C3000 prize, was awarded to 'The Quadricycle', acclaimed as the world's oldest running car, which. hi lilt in 1884, even predates the invention of the internal combustion engine. It was made by the inventors Bouton and Trepardoux, under the direction of De Dion, their sixth vehicle. Owner Timothy Moore of Sawston, Cambridge, acquired the vehicle in France in 1987 and has since restored it to full working order. The Rail Award went to the North
Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group for operating steam locos at five different locations and completing the restoration of class Q7 0-8-0 locomotivie. The Coldharbour Mill at Uffculme, Devon, received the Stationary Award; steam narrow-boat PRESIDENT took the Marine Award. Special Merit awards went to the restoration of the steam powered potters mill at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent and THE ENCHANTRESS, an 1899 gentleman's launch from the River Thames. However the category that will mast interest Triist memers is the Road Award and this was~presented, with its £750 prize, to member Andrew Black for the preservation of Aveling & Porter roller 10014. The citation recognised Andrew's efforts as a prime example of what can be achieved by a keen enthusiast without an engineering background, but with a great deal of determination, hard work and help from family and friends. The class A single cylinder six tonner was new to Rothbury District Council and having latterly done 18 years further public service in a local playground, has been thoroughly rebuilt since 1986 — although not named in working days the roller is now known as OLD ANDY in recognition of -Ow.
It is with sadness and shock I record the death of 13 year old SAC member Stuart Solomon from Cornwall. He died after an accident during the restoration of his family's Clayton & Shuttleworth engine PHOENIX. Stuart was an enthusiastic member of the junior section of the Trust and of the local West of England club; his tragic death will come as a areat shock to the steam movement. The Solomon family have chosen to continue the restoration of the engine as a tribute to Stuart. (David DuffiII)
Affiliated Clubs Stoomwalsenclub Nederland We record with sadness the death in May of Rob Gebhard, secretary of Stoomwalsenclub Nederland and editor of their magazine Op Stoom for many years. The secretary is now Mrs H.J.M. Buyl, Ravellan 195-3533 JM, Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the editor is now 114
Marshall's Class S compound roller as illustrated in their catalogue. The picture claimed to represent the 8, 9 and 10 ton models, but although the engine and boiler dimensions were the same for the three sizes, the diameters and widths of the rolls were increased to account for the respective weights.
help given with the restoration by Andy Thompson of Hexham. (Further details of how to enter both the Steam Heritage and the Scania award schemes are available from Sylvia Dudley, address inside front cover.)
Obituary Jim Russell It was Jim Russell who 25 years ago placed a small advertisement in the Banbury Guardian inviting all persons interested in steam engines to gather at the White Lion Hotel, Banbury to discuss the possibility of forming a club. As events have since proved, sufficient numbers of steam enthusiasts attended Jim's meeting to encourage him to lay the foundations for what soon became the Banbury Steam Society. Since few of the dozen or so at that first meeting had much idea of what was required to run a steam club, Jim offered to be Chairman to get the enterprise underway. He had the attributes of a natural leader, so when he suggested holding a steam engine rally in Cropredy fields owned by Richard Crossman MP, the enthusiasm of the members knew no bounds. Never mind the club was in its first year and the only cash in the account was the members' subscriptions, and that few if any of the membership had been involved in the organising of a traction engine rally. With Jim's sure touch the first Banbury rally was a great success — not that any members in those now far off days for one moment considered that Jim's first rally could turn out to be other than a total triumph. This first rally and the publicity that it generated, really put the Banbury club on the map. Steam enthusiasts came to club nights (mostly organised by Jim in those formative times) and, caught up in the magic of it all, became dedicated members. At that time Jim had a photography business just off Banbury High Street in Church Lane (Russell Studios); prior to this he was with the Great Western Railway. In fact such was his understanding of matters of Great Western that Jim was able to produce a book on the rolling stock of that company, not a small publication by any means, but a good size book that would be a definitive guide to any railway modeller worthy of the name. Jim was also able to produce a couple of engines of his own to swell the numbers at our rallies.
He had a very nicely restored Humphries portable, and a Fowler Tiger tractor altered to showmans specification by Jim and named after his daughter JEMIMA. The Fowler had ended its working life in a woodyard near Brailes village and was in very rough shape when it came into Jim's hands. Many and long were the hours that Jim worked on this engine; much of the work was carried out in the workshops of the late Horace Lampitt (one time President of our club) shortly before the premises were swept away during the rebuilding of Banbury. The years rolled by, the BSS grew in size, and in due course Jim retired and moved away to live in the New Forest at Lyndhurst. The club he started bestowed life membership on him and he therefore regularly received a copy of Yardsheet to keep him in touch with the Society he was instrumental in starting a quarter of a century ago. Sadly Jim has passed away in the year that his club celebrates its silver anniversary. It would have been most fitting if at the 25th Anniversary Dinner we could have had the man that started the Society sitting in the company of those who over the years have helped to keep it going. Those of us who were lucky enough to have known Jim Russell will cherish the memory of a man whose foresight and imagination has produced a club rich in the spirit of good fellowship. Rest peacefully Jim old friend, you can be sure that the club you were instrumental in starting has matured to a very fine Vintage. (Ted Sutton)
Steam for Pleasure A short course under the above title is offered by Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology this autumn. A series of six Tuesday evening lectures, from 1st October, will cover theory and practice of steam traction and provides the foundation for a Saturday of first hand experience of firing, oiling up, steering and driving engines. The expert tuition and the engines are being provided by members of the County of Salop Steam Engine Society. Interested readers can obtain further details of the course (fee £30, or £18 for only the talks) from Community Education Organiser, Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology, London Road, Shrewsbury SY2 6PR (sr 0743 231544).
NTEC (1984) Ltd presents
STEAM PARTY and RALLY 28/29th September from 10.00am daily FREE CAR PARKING Tractors, craft tent, barn engines, commercials, steam engines, organs, old time steam fair, trade stands, refreshments, model tent.
Sandhills Farm Edgioake Lane Astwood Bank near Redditch, Worcs (by kind permission of S E Davis & Sons Ltd)
All enquiries: Tracey Shakespeare, 138 Shaw Lane, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcs 860 4DZ 12 0527 575003
Lincolnshire Archives Engineering Records Lincolnshire Archives are moving to new premises at St Rumbold Street, Lincoln, between July and October 1991. Unfortunately, staff are unable to deal with postal enquiries during this period. The records, which include significant holdings of records relating to Lincolnshire traction engine makers such as Robey, Ruston, Foster and Aveling-Barford, have been packed ready for the move and will be inaccessible to staff or readers until afterwards. Staff would like to apologise to those readers with enquiries still in the pipeline; these will be dealt with on a priority basis when it is possible to do so. (Lincolnshire Archives)
Future Dates Annual General Meeting Advance notice is given to all members that this year's Annual General Meeting will be held on 115
Saturday 23rd November 1991 at the Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Brentford in West London. Formal notice together with all relevant information, proxy forms and audited accounts for the year ended 31st March will be sent to all paid-up members of the Trust with the Autumn issue of Steaming. Any member may submit a motion for discussion at the Annual General Meeting and may also submit nominations for the various elections to ho heki. A!! rncrtions must be in writing, signed by the proposer and by a seconder and, in the case of nominations, the member being proposed must also agree in writing to act in the best interests UT the T rust, to attend committee meetings and to abide the Constitution of the Trust; this to be attached to the nomination. Such items for discussion, in order to be on the published Agenda for the Annual General Meeting, must reach the company secretary land vicechairman) Sylvia Dudley not later than Saturday 7th September 1990 (address inside the front cover). Officers to be elected include a president, a chairman and six committee members. In some cases area representation is involved; it is hoped that the areas can continue to be represented. In all cases the foregoing applies only to paid-up members; membership numbers should be quoted.
116
Mike Jones kindly sends this wonderfully atmospheric picture. A Marshall engine is leaving an unknown Denbighshire hillside farm with its threshing drum, dramatically backlit by the crisp early morning light, and scattering the foraging pigs with its noisy progress. The engine is believed to have been owned by J. T. Lloyd of Cyffylliog (see page 186 of our Autumn 1990 issue) and used for a short time in the mid to late 1930s, but further identification is not possible.
STEAMING past OUR MAGAZINE 25 YEARS AGO
Chairman Anthony Heal started the Summer 1966 magazine by spotlighting the work of the Rally subCommittee (Peter Barber, Tom Paisley and Steve Neville). Problems addressed had included clashes of dates and the soundness of engines attending events. At a party in the Chilterns to celebrate the restoration of a Burrell showmans engine owned by one C. Edmonds, it was reported that 'Mr J. Sarney's two old time showmans living vans served as a welcome haven of rest for some of the ladies present'. However, times change, and unconfirmed recent reports indicate that it is not at all advisable for ladies to be even seen near the vans nowadays.
Looking at the past featured in one of the issue's articles — Bill Boddy took members back to 1947 with nnteA nn the lact flinc of marl cteem which he was recording with his Kodak vest-pocket camera. Highlights included Burrell 3483 PERSEVERANCE hauling a train of wagons along the Hogs Back in Surrey. , RCHIJUIIICJ 27627 just finished a morning's work of log sawing at Church Crookham and the Metropolitan Water Board's Aveling tractor at Sunbury on Thames. Steam ploughing had come to an end in West Germany where the Bayer Dampfpflug Genossenschaft (Bavarian Steam Plough Co-operative) had decided to cease business due to ever increasing costs. In a quaintly worded letter the association offered NTEC members the chance to acquire Fowler 1 21 36/1 21 37 and ploughs etc for preservation at a low price — the accompanying Heucke-built examples were not thought to be of interest to British enthusiasts. Though nobody took up the offer, the Fowlers were preserved in the area in which they spent their working days.
The Hackbridge Accident Some facts of a well known mishap Alan Martin (photographs: collection Alan Martin) It is said that bad news travels fastest; such was the case on Saturday, 14th March 1936, when the and third largest electricity transformer, of 125,000hp, made by Hackbridge Electric Construction Co at their Hersham, Surrey, works for the Barking Power Station, was involved in an accident in Seven Hills Road between Walton-on-Thames and Cobham, Surrey. Reporters and photographers were soon at the scene and as a result the accident made both national and local newspapers, with the Sunday Pictorial reporting and illustrating the sad scene in its editions the next day, headlined the '2 miles-an-hour crash'. The accident has been reported and illustrated in several books in more recent times but not always accurately or fully. E.W. Rudd Ltd of Poplar, London E3 was contracted to move three large transformers over a period between 1932 and 1936, from Hersham on the thirty mile or so trip to Barking on the north side of the River Thames in Essex. Each unit weighed around 90 tons, a very considerable weight for those days. As Rudds only had one large road loco, Fowler 7hp 14921 of 1917 (HR4634), they hired or otherwise obtained use of engines owned by J. Hickey & Sons of Richmond, Surrey and Coulson & Co Ltd of Park Royal, London NW to assist with the haulage of these abnormal loads. For the final transformer load Coulsons sent their 8hp Fowler 9904 (MT2430), which acted as double heading engine to 14921, and Hickeys sent their 6hp Burrell 3489 of 1913 (PB9624), which was coupled to the rear bogie of the special double swannecked girder trailer — mainly to act as an additional means of braking. For the first part of the journey, probably to avoid unsuitable bridges, the cavalcade headed south-west towards Cobham before returning along the A3 towards Esher and London.
440401 Oka f ReN/CPYAIR %.1 II lf 1,111001.1 OWN" • ,r11.4.1
Leaving the works — Rudds' Fowler 74921 hauls the third Hackbridge transformer through the gates of their Ilersham works early on the morning of 14th March 1936. Probably to obtain the best manoeuvre the double ended trailer is being drawn out in reverse; the convoy is to proceed on its journey away from the camera.
En route — safely under way, for the moment, Fowlers 9904 and 14921 head the load along Burwood Road, Walton-on-Thames. Burrell 3489 CITY OF LONDON assists in the rear. 117
Disaster — the scene of the accident in Seven Hills Road, Cobham before rescue commenced. Fowler 9904 lies on its side, out of sight, in the ditch behind the front bogie of the transporter whilst 14921 finds itself in a slightly embarrassing 45° position. Already the incident has become a magnet for pedestrians and cyclists.
At about 11am, on the second and steepest hill on the Seven Hills between Hersham and Cobham, a stop was made to apply the brakes on the two bogies of the multi wheeled
trailer. Contemporary reports vary as to whether the trailer brakes were, in fact, applied, but the weight of the trailer and its load (well over 100 tons), resulted in an overrun with the
Dignity restored — the transformer and its engines pictured on Tuesday, 17th March on the A3 near Esher. Hickeys' Burrell 3489 now heads Rudds' Fowler and the latter firms' Scammell brings up the rear. 118
two Fowlers being jack-knifed across the road into the ditch on the opposite side from which they had been travelling. Fortunately the trailer remained upright on the road. Rudds' Fowler was partially overturned but undamaged, but Coulsons' engine suffered a bent crankshaft and superficial damage to its cab and nearside on which it lay in the ditch. The clews of the two Fowlers fortuitously jumped clear, though one man was slightly hurt. Pickfords Ltd of London SE, sent their 7ho Fowler crane loco 12749 of 1911 (XC9654) to help in the recovery operations, arriving late in the afternoon, whilst Rudds' own breakdown tackle arrived a little later. eantime, Ti-,,-, local police had in them closed the Seven Hills Road and put diversions into effect over the weekend, for it was not until midafternoon on the next day that the trailer could be moved to the bottom of the hill, where it remained until the Tuesday afternoon. Rudds' Fowler was extricated from the ditch later on Sunday afternoon. Monday was spent recovering Coulsons' Fowler, after which it was towed to their yard on Coronation Road, Park Royal. A further start to the transformer's journey from Cobham was made on Tuesday afternoon, with Rudds' Fowler again coupled to the front of the trailer. Hickeys' Burrell now acted as the double-heading engine, whilst one of Rudds' Scammell articulated lorries, loaded with 8 tons of ballast
and lifting tackle, was coupled to the rear of the trailer. The convoy reached the eastern end of the Kingston bypass about 8pm, where a stop was made until midnight. Thereafter the convoy proceeded, with Metropolitan Police co-operation, to and through London via Putney Bridge over the River Thames, along Kings Road, Sloane Chelsea Square, to Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Holborn, through the City of London and out to the Mile End Road and the destination at Barking, which was finally reached in the afternoon of Wednesday 18th March, three days later than originally planned. In compiling this article I have to acknowledge contemporary information and newspaper reports kindly given to me by members Keith Brothwell, Brian Freer and Lyn Mileham.
MORE ON RUDDS TRAILER ....
This would seem to be an appropriate time and place to make a few further comments on E.W. Rudd's 100 ton trailer, discussed on page 78 of the last issue, and now featured again in a slightly different guise in Alan Martin's account of the Hackbridge accident. The accompanying drawing of the trailer has been worked up solely from photographs; unfortunately contemporary references at the time of its use do not mention even one
dimension, only weights. So the prime reference has to be assessment of the height of the surrounding average-sized humans. Careful consideration enables a fair representation of the outline and proportion of the trailer to be made. The effective space within the well might have been about 18 feet with some 6Y2 feet width between the girders. The wheelbase of the bogies looks to be about 4 feet with wheels of 2ft 9in diameter. The main girder could be 21in x 9%in section, riveted up with strengthening plates top and bottom, and others in the web. A guess at the overall size of the trailer is about 36 feet length and 10ft 6in or more in width. Constructionally, the rotating superstructure over each bogie consisted of a platform made up of four transverse 10 inch or more deep rolled steel joists, and above that a pair of housings for the main carrying girders. This was riveted up from plate work and angles, each about 2Y2ft high by 2ft wide and stayed across the top by lighter steel angles; it housed the pin mounting to give vertical articulation for the main girders. It was this joint, of course, that was capable of being dismantled to enable the beams to be passed either side of the load and re-erected once everything was in position. Although Motor Transport (see notes from their July 1930 issue in the Spring Steaming) quoted the trailer as 'built by Rudd ... in their Poplar Works' it is probably true to say Rudd's capabilities were not exactly that of sole manufacturer, but more in the way of thinking out the design and having it assembled in his yard after bringing together the various parts perhaps made by close East End associates. Rudd was friendly with Scammells, possibly from earlier days when they traded as G. Scammell & Nephew of Spitalfields, London E (not far from Poplar and Bowl. The wheels of the 100 ton wagon show much similarity with those on many early Scammell petrol lorries and trailers — and
many other heavy trailers of the period come to that, including examples made and pictured in America. In and around London Docks were heavy engineering firms capable of fabricating the steelwork for the bogies and beams — Harland & Wolf's works, for example, were barely 1%2 miles away from Rudd's Bow Common Lane depot. Several books published in more recent preservation years have shown heavy haulage exploits and pictures of Rudd's activities have appeared more than a few times. Close scrutiny of the illustrations of the trailers seems to show that there was but one example, that is, all the illustrations show the same vehicle. However, for the third Hackbridge contract, cranked beams were substituted for the original ones, as can be seen from Alan Martin's pictures in this issue. Perhaps these were necessary to enable the load to sit on the steels, rather than be suspended between them, on account of the greater width of the final Hackbridge transformer. There seems to be no other published pictures of the trailer equipped with the cranked beams — they would of course have considerably increased the overall length of the trailer. We would be pleased to hear of further details any reader may have of this interesting vehicle which appears to have spent a fair amount of its working time coupled to steam road locomotives.
(drawing by Roger West)
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The Trust's Driving Course Raymond Rowe I always look forward to the sally season, when I tour the country in search of the event that allows one to steer an actual traction engine. The smell and the sound of the engine is sufficient, but I do like the opportunity of trying my hand at steering whatever is on offer. However, I have never fired an engine or cleaned the tubes before and I could not believe my eyes when I read in the Winter 1990/91 issue of Steaming that Michael Davies' Engine Owners sub-Committee was to hold a 'Practical Engine Driving Course' in May 1991.
The course was to be held at the Klondyke Mill Steam Centre, Draycottin-the-Clay, Staffordshire by kind permission of the North Staffs & Cheshire Traction Engine Club and was open to anyone with an interest in learning how to drive a traction engine, whatever their level of previous experience. The course attracted much interest and I was one of the lucky twenty-four successful applicants, which included five ladies. I had travelled from Essex and others had come from all over the UK. One couple had travelled from Holland! I arrived at the centre about five on the Saturday evening and received a friendly welcome from site organiser Gordon Stokes. He set the tone for the weekend and I am grateful to him and other members of the North Staffs club for their hospitality, co-operation and help — especially the Sunday evening barbeque. The Klondyke Mill site offered very good facilities for camping and caravaning, although I took the soft option and stayed at a nearby motel in Sudbury. It was there that I met seven other course participants who also took advantage of the 'Ma Larkin' full breakfast prior the 8am start on Sunday! Michael Davies and Sylvia Dudley introduced themselves and stressed that the course and weekend would be very informal and that non-participants were welcome to use the facilities and attend the slide and video sessions each evening in the Club Room. That
Marshall 36575 of 1902, one of the engines used for instruction at the recent NTET course at Klondyke steam centre, Derbyshire. (Barry Job) 120
evening Michael Davies treated us to a slide presentation which was extremely interesting and made the following day's instruction much clearer. On Sunday morning Michael Davies warmly welcomed us to the course and introduced the engine owners and drivers who had given their time to offer us the opportunity of driving their engines, and without whom the course would not have been possible. They were John Blagg with his Marshall 7hp traction 36575 of 1902; John Bosworth with Foster 7hp traction 14410 of 1920; Michael Davies with Fowler 7hp A7 class road locomotive 13141 of 1913; Phil Jeffs with his Fowler DNB class roller 18507 of 1931; Peter Magee with Aveling roller 8316 of 1914 and Andrew Semple with his Ruston 4hp SCD class tractor 52607 of 1918. Last but by no means least, for instruction and enlightenment there was Burrell 2706 of 1904, which was being restored at the Centre. Michael Davies is to be congratulated for organising the attendance of such a variety of engines upon which to practice. It was nice of Eric Fillmore, the Trust's chairman, to drive up from London to meet the course members and to personally thank the engine owners for their participation. Ian Howitt gave a very animated and pragmatic talk on the basic principles of mechanical and boiler operations. He explained the responsibilities of driving a steam engine and emphasised the safety checks which must be carried out as if it were second nature. It made me realise that beneath all those smiling and jovial engine driver's faces that one sees at rallies lips the swim's safetyconscious side to steaming. We were fortunate to have access to the dismantled Burrell 2706 which was being restored; as Ian mentioned an item of net esr Pete, Mayes sowuld appear with it as if by magic and much to the amusement of us all. There was one item that Ian did not relish handling and that was an injector. He confessed that he would not be able to explain how it worked and there was much laughter from engine owners and the rest of us. I watched with interest as Ian indicated on a diagram the principles.of refilling the boiler without using the pump. I believe it was developed by a French engineer called 'Boiling Oil' or something like that! Well, all I can say is that it works and I managed to successfully operate the injectors on each machine I drove, including John Blagg's 'lifter'. I am indebted to Ian for his tuition. After coffee Michael Ward gave us some useful hints on lighting up an
engine and Michael Davies distributed a handout on how to get the best out of your engine, a most useful aide memoire. Throughout the course we were encouraged to ask questions and seek guidance. The help we received proved most valuable when operating the engines. I happened to be standing next to the Ruston tractor's smoke box when Andrew Semple handed me a tube-brush and assured me that he had recently cleaned the tubes of his Ruston. Well, I could have been forgiven for thinking otherwise. Maybe that is one of the benefits to the engine owners! With that task complete my colleagues and I checked the water level, cleared the clinker and ashpan prior to lighting the fire. We had available to us Welsh dry steam coal and were told of its merits as opposed to domestic and anthracite coal. I have had no previous experience of lighting coal fires or using a damper, but despite this we managed to get a good fire first time. We then oiled up and cleaned and polished the engine brass whilst raising steam. We were told the necessity of the cylinder and drain cocks and their use when steaming up from cold. Whilst we waited for the engines to raise steam, Ian Howitt described how the slide valves operated in the compound cylinder block of the Burrell and the relevance of the various systems available to us on the site. Then came the moment to drive the engine for the first time. It was quite a moment, being in charge of this 'living' machine. As I stood on the footplate I took stock of the situation, reminding myself what all the taps and levers were for and trying hard not to forget all the safety measures that we were to take. I do not mind admitting that I was quite apprehensive. What was this? A 'simpling' lever, for use when the compound cylinder will not respond to the regulator valve. I found this a useful device (not applicable on a single cylinder engine where deft use of the reversing lever enables the cylinders to respond to the regulator). Of course I used the flywheel as and when necessary instead of the reversing lever, but I did like the Ruston's simpling lever! I had, of course, to select a gear whilst stationary (unlike a car you do not change gear on the move), and with the correct gear selected it is the steersman's responsibility for removing the blocks from the wheels prior to moving off. As driver, it falls upon me to check tha water level and fire regularly, something easier said than done. The steep hill on the A515 Lichfield to Ashbourne road outside
Andrew Semple's Ruston Lincoln Imp tractor 52607, being driven by the author, Raymond Rowe, at Klondyke. (Ray Rowe)
the Klondyke Mill centre proved the need for maintaining a watch on your water level. Over the two day course I tried my hand at all the engines with the exception of Phill Jeff's road roller; there just was not enough time for that. I found all the engine owners and drivers extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Peter Magee rebuking me quite rightly for assuming that the water gauge level on his roller was a
true reading when I was unfamiliar with the engine. I then operated the water gauge tap and then the injector which made me appreciate the level of safety incumbent upon the driver when responsible for a steam engine. Peter and Phil also gave a demonstration of forge work and displayed their skill in making a bracket from a piece of flat steel, a task made to look so easy.
Deep discussion at Klondyke on the occasion of the Trust's driving course — Aveling roller 8316 of 1914 at the right. (Barry Job) 121
The Engine Driving Course owners and participants line up in front of the engines, on the Monday morning. (Ray Rowe)
The 'Practical Engine Driving Course' was a total success! I am most grateful to everyone who took part in the course and look forward to reading in Steaming of the next get your names in now. course
Barry Job, who kindly provided photographs for use with any write up of the course, also adds: 'It would be remiss of me not to say that I found the weekend very informative and interesting, and extremely enjoyable. I
was particularly impressed by the helpful and enthusiastic attitude of the engine owners and instructors. They, and the organisers (especially Michael Davies), should be thanked for the considerable effort that they put into making the event a success, and not forgetting the Klondyke mill team for providing an excellent location. Two of the participants had travelled from Holland, and I am sure all of us thought the event was very worthwhile. I hope the Trust will be sufficiently encouraged by the response to organise similar events in the future.'
'Many readers will learn with regret of the death of Mr Charles Burrell of the well known firm of agricultural engineers Messrs Charles Burrell & Sons Ltd, of St Nicholas Works, Thetford, Norfolk. The deceased gentleman, who was born in 1817 (and had thus attained the advanced age of 89), succeeded his father, when nineteen years of age, in the business, which had been established in 1770, in the days when 'Farmer' George was King. At the time when Mr Charles Burrell assumed control, the problem of the profitable employment of steam power presented much scope for investigation and in this the deceased took a prominent part, with the result that he will always be recognised as one of the pioneers of the portable steam engine. He will also be long remembered as one of the pioneer light Worlds tractor builders.' (from Carriers, August 1906.)
'The clerk to the Halesworth UDC has informed owners of traction engines using the quay that in future they will be held responsible for any damage caused by their engines passing over the drains.' (from Commercial Motor, 28th March 1918.)
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Built in Italy I would like to comment on the information on steam portable engines built in Italy that Walter Venturini offered in the Summer 1990 issue of Steaming, and also to make a correction. In northern Italy there were manufacturers of traction engines and portables, but those were not their principal products. The companies were mainly interested in constructing large stationary steam engines for industry, railway locomotives, steam turbines, heavy industrial machinery and their products were not in the same form as those lighter steam engines of England and Germany such as portable, semi-fixed portables and traction engines. Therefore, from about 1890 there was large scale importation into Italy of these lighter machines. I will list the names of Italian manufacturers of soprattutto locomobili (portables) and trattrici a vapore (traction engines) that I have traced from various published sources. I feel about ten firms were in existence in 1860 and nearly all of them still active about 1890. There may be others I have not identified as yet. Mr Venturini has, I think, confused
Carrado Aramino
The tandem cylindered compound steam ploughing engine design of Pillon of Treviso, as depicted in a publication of about 1880. Perhaps some of our ploughing experts would care to make further comment on the machine.
the Italian company of Mansel of Legnago, which produced threshers and balers, with the English firm of Marshalls of Gainsborough. The latter firm were represented in Milan by a company called Ing. Alberto Riva — there was no licence concession to Legnago. (Member Signore Aramino kindly
Constructors in Italy of portables and steam traction engines, 1850-1910 Milano Almici British style single cylinder portable, 1875 Milano Baccolini Milano Bale & Edwards vertical boilered portable on two wheels, ox drawn, 1878 Milano Bauer Vercelli Amedeo Beninger Torino Fratelli Boltri combined vertical boilered portable and thresher on two wheels, horse drawn, 1875 Salerno Edwin Brunner Bologna Ing. Alessandro Calzoni Milano Cammeo & Montefameglio Cerimedo-Grugnola & Comp, later Societa Italiana Milano Ernesto Breda compound and single cylinder portables of British style, 10hp-75hp, 1905-1915; single cylinder 4 shaft traction engine similar to British practice but with fuel bunkers either side of a
walk up back-end, 1915 Torino Colla & Comp wood wheeled portable of British style, c1865, with cylinder located in upward extension of firebox, similar to a Hornsby D class portable Bologna Cravero Torino Enrico Decker Ing. Giovanni Fiorenzi British style single cylinder portable, c1875 Follonica Officine di Follonica Forli Officine de Forli
sent photocopies of illustrations and
engravings of Italian portables etc, taken from old handbooks, magazines etc. Unfortunately not suitable for further reproduction, a brief description of the various machines depicted has been editorially included as italicised notes to the list of constructors.)
Forli Stablimento Forlivese Treviso Fratelli Giacomelli Torino Ing. Giovanni Enrico Genova Gianolio Giuseppe Guioni, later Bosisio, Milano later Bosisio-Larini-Nathan & Comp single cylinder wood wheel portable with return flue boiler, c1870 Napoli Guppy & Comp Milano S.A. Meccanica Lombarda Torino Luciano & Campo Firenze Ing. C. Malenchini Miami & Venturi, later Miani & Silvestri, Milano, Suzzara later Officine Meccaniche portables of British style in various sizes, 12-30nhp, c 1915 Ing Edouardo di Morsier, later Societa Bologna Italo-Svizzeria Costruzioni Meccaniche tiny two-wheel horizontal boilered portables with complimentary two-wheel thresher, self supporting when their horse shafts were placed and fixed together, advertised 1879-cl 911
Venezia Treviso ploughing engine, tandem cylindered compound with 4 shafts, rope drum mounted horizontally under the boiler, c 1880 Milano Pisani Sestri Levante Nicolo Odero fu Alessandro Tortona Orsi Cay. Pietro Torino C. Rochette & Comp San Giovanni d'Asso Romei Ing. Stefani & Comp Treviso Societa Veneta di Costruzioni Meccaniche San Pier d'Arena Zucca
Neville Pillon
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THIRTY YEARS AGO Ran Hawthorne Thirty years ago several rallies were being held on a regular basis — Appleford, Andover, Woburn, Pickering to name a few with other events in East Anglia, Kent and Cornwall. The preservation of road steam engines was well established, and on a personal note I had in 1960 acquired Fowler roller 14674 (which we still have). But preservation was overlapping commercial use of steam around here in Berkshire and indeed would continue to do so for another five years at least. The Mechanical Tar Spraying & Grouting Co of Meadow Road, Reading, was, apart from a couple of pedestrian controlled pavement rollers, 100% steam. Their star attraction for enthusiasts, Foden tar spraying wagon 13764 of 1930 (TF3106), was in regular if not full time use and four Fowler rollers were also to be seen about their business, following the Foden or other contractors more mundane sprayers. Whilst browsing through some pictures recently I came across these photographs I took of 'Mech Tars' activities perhaps others may like to share them. On 14th June 1961 Harry Williams had 1924 built Fowler 15970 iNVVtiU2) and Bill lion Fowler 17950 of 1930 (CYY424) at work near Streatley, Berkshire, 'chipchasing', as they called it. The first picture shows Bill rolling in reverse, in fast gear. Note the lunch bag on the hula lamp bracket, also the large lumps of coal on the belly tanks. Two days later, on the 16th, I caught up with Harry and Bill in the next village, Moulsford. They were pulled up in a little side road for a lunch break, and I joined them between the two engines for my repast before I had to go about my business, but not before using my camera — Harry's roller half on the grass verge; Bill's engine's chimney is seen further back. A month later the firm was tarspraying in a large council estate at Newbury. The Foden was out in the hands of Fred Thompson, why was about 70 at the time. I photographed the wagon with Fowler 17951 of 1931 (EGP359), with driver Bert Kirk 124
Fowler roller 17950 and driver Bill Dean.
Fowler roller 15970 waiting the end of lunchtime.
Spraying the odd bits at Newbury.
standing on a newly rolled piece of road. My final shot shows how, with the main part of the road sprayed, chipped and rolled, the remaining small areas around the bollards were tackled with a pipe and lance attached to the Foden. Fred is walking towards us on the right. I doubt if any of these drivers had been born in this century. Many of the rollers had been to the other side of the world and back, having been sent to Java by Fowlers when new. The belly tanks had originally been tar tanks, of course, but now they had water lifters and were filled in that manner. The tanks were normally kept full. If water needed to be transferred from fore to back tank, the lift pipe on the tender was brought round and put in the front pocket, there being no interconnecting pipework. 'Mech Tar' was absorbed into the giant ARC company about 1966 and needless to say steam soon disappeared from Berkshire's roads. Still, I'm glad I caught up with them and got to know some of the last real men of steam. Iw
Foden tarsprayer 13764 and Fowler roller 17951 pause for brief photography at Newbury.
All photographs by Ran Hawthorne.
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A Day at the Fair Scenes at the 1990 Great Dorset Steam Fair, pictured by John Maund. The tober is silent and deserted (left) in the early morning sunshine, with the rides and Burrell 2072 THE MASTERPIECE awaiting another hectic day. Later (below) the preparation and grooming begins with Burrell 3847 PRINCESS MARINA receiving her share of the polishing to bedazzle the punters. Many hours later (right) and well into the evening, the crowds have thinned sufficiently to give time for a broadside exposure of (.11JELN MARY, Fowler 15319 of 1918.
find plumbers any more — only heating engineers. The idea was to pipe the entire output from the chimney into the balloon. The condensed steam could be let out through a cock at the bottom leaving the remaining smoke safely un-emitted within the ballon. The smoke could then be taken back to the yard, and bagged for later disposal. As an added bonus Walter had done a deal with the owner of the local fish farm who, having agreed to take the offending effluent, was producing some of the finest smoked salmon outside Scotland. It even eased Walter's conscience a little to know that he was no longer contributing to the levels of acid rain. Once, when thinking about acid rain, he had concluded that by the same token there must be acid snow. How long before statutory health warnings would have to be attached to Snowmen, or approved protective gloves worn during snowball fights? Walter turned his ratchet drill for what seemed like the millionth time. His latest project was fitting the compulsory roll bars to the engine. "Perhaps I could invent the pre-drilled hole" he thought, what a wonderful thing it would be if you could just walk into the local hardware shop and buy a box of holes of whatever size — just like that — over the counter! He realised it could only be a day dream. After all, with all the paperwork, and forms needed to get official approval for such an invention — it wouldn't be worth tha hassle! (We are grateful to the Old Steamers Traction Engine Club for permission to reprint this piece, which originally appeared in its magazine The Smokebox.)
EUROSTEAMING Chris Raworth Walter Scrotebloater was not a steam man. Admittedly he had owned, and rallied, a very tidy little three speed tractor for nigh on twenty years, but in the eyes of those who had been at it a little bit longer he was not a steam man. It didn't worry Walter, for he knew that he would soon be able to sit in his usual corner at the 'Five Ecus' and say of some young whipper snapper — "Oh, he's a pleasant enough chap, but he's not a Steam Man". He'd never really worked out what the formal qualifications were to be a Steam Man. The thing that Walter had prided himself on most was that his engine was one of the few still permitted to be used on the road. Most of the so called Steam Men had to content themselves with going to the one or two remaining rallies that had been able to afford the huge insurance covers that were required for EEC approval. In fact this years list of EEC Approved Rallies was so short that the correspondent for the Europeans Fair newspaper had to find a part time job. The reason that Walter's engine was still on the road was not due to any mechanical skills or expertise that the Steam Men told everyone they had, but more because of his brilliant and innovative brain that could find a way round each new set of rules and regulations (now officially called
legislation). After all, was it not Walter that overcame the new law requiring all vehicles to have seat belts, by simply removing the drivers seat from his engine. Had he not overcome the new greener fuel policy by compressing old newspapers into blocks that fitted neatly into his firebox. He had even won an award for building a newspaper compressing machine that he could. drive from the flywheel by a fully enclosed belt. A recent piece of bumph to have emerged from the great European think tank had given Walter his hardest task yet. Having found the solution he considered it his finest hour — his piece de resistance. The supreme European masters had decreed on smoke emission from vehicles — 'Thou shalt not' they said. Not easy if you run a steam engine. Walter had given the matter a lot of thought, and suddenly, he had remembered that the last time he visited the local recycling depot, formerly Bert's Scrapyard, the now much smartened and VAT registered Bertram had had a couple of ex WD barrage balloons heaped in a corner. Having bought these for what he considered a snip — a mere 10,000 Ecus apiece — Walter had fitted them into a trailer. Some lengths of flue liner from the local heating suppliers had completed the plan. Walter could not help noting that it was impossible to
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Many readers will recall Fsmnnd Kimhell's most readable book The Compleat Traction Engineman, published by Ian Allan in 1973. After he saw the book, Esmond's late brother Ken Kimbell wrote of his own experiences as a teenager, following in his brother's footsteps, and entitled his impressions...
The Incomplete Engine Drivers Mate The Northamptonshire street of red-brick slated houses, well built but uninspiring, including No.20 where I lodged, has long since disappeared. Gone too, all traces of the bawdily but aptly named alley which was once a favourite short cut to a pub, where the face on its board bore little resemblance to any heir to the throne. I am digressing, but the vivid memory of a rude awakening to the coarse clamour of the cheap alarm clock made my sleepy brain realise that the 'early turn' today was mine. Precious mintues were lost putting off the evil moment of leaving such a warm bed at the unearthly hour of yarn. However, with a supreme effort I grabbed my dirty clothes by the light of a battered electric torch, and my driver, who shared the same bed, turned over with a grunt to resume his much envied sleep. Realising, as I was hastily dressing downstairs by the light of a gas jet, that it was too late for making a welcome cup of tea, I left the house by the back door, faintly hearing the snoring of our landlord as I went, he and his wife having the only other room. This man did not "Go work whoil afore seven" — to the comparative luxury of a shoe factory. The rear tyre of my bicycle was flat and did not respond to frantic pumping. The landlady's sit-up-and-beg bike was the only solution, and after a few squeaky pumps in the front tyre of that machine, I rode off on a somewhat erratic course downhill and at speed. The laborious climb up the next hill reduced my straining effort to a walking pace. An unseen moon behind scudding cloud soon gave a ghostly outline of the Volta Tower, an edifice built by a sorrowing but but eccentric parent in memory of his son, lost at sea fifty years before. It vaguely resembled the conning tower of the early iron-clad battleships but was out of place in such rural surroundings so far from the sea. This was the halfway mark on the journey, the last part of which was more or less level going. 128
Destination at the old barn duly arrived at caused a full awakening and the realisation that there was much to be done. The lid was still atop the chimney, and I had hoped the cowman would have removed it for me, but either he was late or I had overlooked buying him a pint when I last saw him in the Prince of Wales. However, with the aid of the drum ladder the omission was soon rectified; the ashpan opened and raked. The remnants of the banked-up fire first showed little signs of life although the boiler was still nice and warm and comforting while I was removing the small and tattered sheet covering the works. The more difficult task was to remove and roll up the drum sheet as neatly as possible, made harder by
stiffening from an overnight frost Putting on and removing various bits and pieces around the tackle with occasional visits to the engine's fire gave me time to relax. Oiling round the drum was a necessary but dirty, awkward and unpleasant job cheered only by the kettle-like singing in the engine's boiler and the now steady rise of black smoke from the chimney. As the day got lighter, men from the farm were beginning to turn up, with only grunts of response to any greetings: but where was the driver? Surely due by now! Pressure was beginning to chnvy nn the gauge, hiit cn I thought the engine would never answer to the regulator. However, ere long, after much heaving on the flywheel she condescended to tickover, then gradually picked up to a cheerful steady beat which increased the heat of the fire as the exhaust pulled its gasses through the tubes. Breaking all strict rules for mates, I made up my mind to start, lest the farmer, seeing it was now seven, knocked us off a quarter-of-a-day for not starting on the dot. Thus I shut off, stood on the wheel and reached for the belt from a farmhand, who had already rolled it out from the drum pulley. A little shoving and grunting and it was on. Luckily the big-end was in the right place for a start without further pulling, and I gingerly tapped the regulator handle with the ball of my hand. To my
An almost timeless threshing scene. Wallis & Steevens 7hp Expansion engine 7664 of 1919 was photographed at work at Cox Green, Berkshire in typical Thames Valley farmyard surroundings. The date? ...February 1960. (Peter Eves)
intense relief the drum began to turn, but with the belt flapping up and down so much, meanwhile, that I marvelled it did not come off. But speeding-up gradually, the familiar humming began with the sieves and riddles moving toand-fro and the belt buckles clicking and clacking. Begrudgingly taking the hint, the farm hands went unwillingly to work, some climbing the long ladder to the nearly completed straw stack while others removed the loose straw covering the stump of the corn stack. Another attached the corn and tailings sacks and pulled the sack-barrow and weighing machine into position. Satisfied that all was in order and even checking the spirit levels — how was I to know these always stayed put when once the drum was set — I mounted on top, searched for the curved serrated band-cutting knife to give to the young lad detailed for this task, jumped in the feeding hole and began to receive the sheaves from him to the familiar tune of 'hum, rattle, cough, thud' as the odd matted sheaf refused to be successfully parted. Both cats and dogs became active as the corn rick got lower. Their prowess in the massacre of mice was even exceeded by the expressionless hawk-eyed hens. The oily smoky engine smell at this time, coupled with the dust, will always be in my memory. The sounds of threshing are mesmeric; thus it was with some surprise that on looking round to see that there was no blowing-off — as I had fired-up so that the engine would go long without attention; the boiler had been full, and I'd left the pump off — I was surprised to see the engine driver had turned up at last and was winding up the bottle-jack, always set in front of the belt-side hind wheel, its top pressing up against a spud bolt. This I should have done after noticing how slackly the belt had gone on, and doubtless the driver was conscious of some slipping at every matted sheaf. By the contented expression on his face and the later lack of criticism for my many shortcomings, I had the unworthy thought of something even more pleasurable than a lay-in and cooked breakfast occuring to him... perhaps the landlord had left the house earlier than usual. The monotony of feeding was relieved by knowing we should soon be finishing and moving on, plus the thought of the local feast that night and a vague date, who had said she might see me on the fairground; would we get into the dark and cozy barn nearby then? But even if not, there was consolation in thinking of a larger than usual intake of beer with an extension to closing time (and the beer
The immediately recognisable lines of a Fowler agricultural engine are shown off at the 1990 Much Marcie rally by 8hp B4 class number 8282 of 1899. (Roger Newbery)
strong and at room temperature, so that it went down well, not ice-cold as it so often is today). When the last sheaf was through I could see the hard square-hatted farmer arguing heatedly with the driver, who had his time-book out and pencil ready. The farmer signed and walked rapidly away, the driver giving me the thumbs down meanwhile. This meant 'No beer money' — a customary but not obligatory part of contract threshing which had the inevitable reaction of an alteration to the sweeping-up method. Instead of the spilled grain going down the drumhole to be dressed, screened, and fall into the farmer's bags, a goodly proportion was swept down another hole, normally covered by a lid which rested secure in a sort of cupboard, until when one day we passed a certain pub. Also on these occasions extra 'going away coal' was hidden on the riddles together with the best dry tindering-wood for a Monday morning light-up. The intricacies of storing the wain belt, bolster-blocks, jack, crowbar and other paraphernalia were then carried out, each item having its own special place so that it did not jostle out on the bumpy journey to the next farm some few miles away. The shunting, chain-coupling, turn-round of drum and direct coupling which followed involved mental as well as physical effort before the whole lot appeared as a train on the road — engine, drum and elevator (sometimes there was a chaff-cutter tool.
I shall always remember with pleasure the start of the journey, akin to an adventurous voyage, fraught with dangers, thrills and anxieties, picking-up water, and knowing where to look for it too; the coughing of the engine when it could only just surmount a rise in top gear; the proud and shining copper chimney top; the slight wobble to and fro of the boiler as one tried to handle the loose and geared-down steering wheel so that non-wavy tracks were not left behind, although only the very skilled could keep a dead even course, tracks serated, with the 'arrow mark' pointing away from the line of travel. It was fine to have a beer topping up after a jostly period of hard road, which improved the thirst no end; and to help the engine's thirst, the injector would go on now and then, starting amidst clouds of steam and gurgling noises. A mate was seldom entrusted to work this instrument — only a proper engine driver knew how to make that go — the pump when threshing was the only waterfeed he ever adjusted. Slight traces of another engine showed on the road ahead of us. A rival? Will he have gone to the farm beyond ours, who have been long awaiting us? These and many other thoughts occupy one's mind, but when returning tired and hungry to the digs it has all been worthwhile. Later, in the armchair you remember the sweeping of the tubes and drawing back the sparkling soot, with its acrid smell which still smoked in its 129
half bucket of water as you walked to dump it well out of the way, and how difficult the smokebox door was to fasten, and how the driver had a fetish for having the handles pointing upwards, when most had them downwards. As you dozed, the twirl of the governors came to view with the bobbing back and forwards of the link motion, and the clipper-clapper, rings of piston clipper-clapper sounded when idling down to stop, after a shut-off. Indeed these
memories never entirely leave one over the years, and even a radio's occasional hiss can jerk one back to cylinder drain taps when starting-up. Esmond Kimbell adds — "These events would have been in 1928 when Ken was 18 and I, the driver, soon to be 21, was no doubt thinking myself 'very experienced' after just two seasons' feeding (second man) and half-a-one driving! The engine would have been 6hp Marshall single 75512,
new to our family's business in 1922, and the drum a 1914 Clayton with large riddle wheel. The drum was then only recently bought, along with a 6hp Burrell single crank, but just then broken down. Brother Ken did only a few weeks at it." (Two articles by Esmond Kimbell on his own early days with steam appeared in the Autumn 1982 and Winter 1982/3 issues of Steaming.)
Whitsun Entertainment These pictures show the misfortune of Aysgarth RDC's steam roller after a terrible thunderstorm that .spread nver the North Yorkshire and Westmorland fells on the afternoon of Wednesday, 3rd June 1908. Severe floods affected scores of villages and at Askrigg in Wensleydale almost every home was flooded with some of the poor cottagers' dwellings entirely ruined, furniture and crockery being swept away. Mercifully no lives were lost. Although three road bridges were damaged and twenty yards of the local railway washed out, it seems communications were soon restored, for by the following Whitsun holiday weekend 'a large number of visitors spent an enjoyable weekend at Askrigg and places of scenery were visited, including wreck left by the flood'. Quite what had happened to the roller is not clear, for the
photographs show the location to be quite high above the valley: the front roll appears to have fallen into a
collapsed culvert. Whoever the photographer was, he twice set up his tripod, for the upper picture shows the Aveling & Porter roller standing in rock and grass debris and flowing water, but the lower scene is dated Monday 8th June, by which time the roller had been cleaned up a little to form a suitable sunny scene in which local folk, in Sunday best, could be photographed. Aysgarth RDC had purchased the Aveling, a 10 ton compound with overhead slide valves, number 4662, in December 1900. It was no doubt back at work shortly after its moment of fame but by 1921 had moved to Herefordshire and the possession of E.S. Chambers of Clifford. Its last owner was R.M. Woolley of Bucknall. Although The Craven Herald gave much cover in two issues to the cloudburst and its aftermath, the plight of the steam roller unfortunately gets no mention of explanation. Our thanks are due to Andrew Craske for sending the pictures.
130
A Postcard from
PO S " Clayton" STEAM MO WAGONS
Lincoln Adrian Booth Several years ago I undertook research into the history of railways used at the various sewage works around Sheffield, the results of which were published in the Industrial Railway Society's Record. During my searches I acquired two old postcards, the subject of this article. The cards were sent by Clayton & Shuttleworth Ltd of Lincoln, and are probably typical of general business practice of their era, being pre-printed acknowledgements of orders placed with the company. Not surprisingly the address side of the card had the dual function of advertising their products. The first postcard illustrated here was addressed to Mr Haworth, the general manager at the Wincobank sewage works at Sheffield and acknowledged an order for two pump discs and also two others which had been returned to Lincoln and were to be credited. Sheffield's order had been dated 13th November 1916; the reply was postmarked Lincoln at 7.30pm on the 14th and the sewage works had dated stamped it in on the 1 5th — the Post Office had worked well for the price of the half-penny stamp. The illustration on the card advertises Clayton steam motor wagons for furniture removals work. Clifford & Son, haulage contractors of Fulham, London were good customers of Claytons. The three repeat orders mentioned on the card were 5 tonners of 1913 and 1914 but having sold these by 1918, Cliffords' took another six new motors at various dates in 1921, though these too saw a relatively short period of service, being returned to Clayton Wagons Ltd after a year or so. The second card, though a completely different printing, was of similar layout to the first and, indeed, acknowledged another order for pump discs. Another overnight postal delivery had taken place from Lincoln, but by this time, six years on in May 1922, the cost had risen threefold to three halfpence ( 1/2 p). The engraving on the front of the card shows one of
THIRD REPEAT ORDER CHASSIS SPECIALLY SPRUNG FOR FURNITURE REMOVERS' WORK
I.
.
a....;:o—r-t-A
Claytons larger single cylinder portables, complete with spark arresting chimney. An interesting feature of both cards is the perforation on three sides
presumably indicating they were produced in blocks of at least six, or maybe in books with counterfoil stubs so that Claytons could retain a duplicate of the acknowledgement.
'For Sale, by Private Treaty, Billingborough. The old established BUSINESS of a THRESHING MACHINE PROPRIETOR. The machinery &c comprises — 2 Traction Engines, 2 Foster Drums, 3 Elevators, 5 knive Clayton Chaff Cutter, large workshop with all Tools and Accessories... The whole of the Machinery is in good working order. The Dwelling House and Yard are rented by the present owner who would ask the landlords to accept Purchaser as Tenant. Purchase
price £1200. An excellent opening for a suitable man. Apply, Simons, Ingamells & Young, Auctioneers & Valuers, Boston, Lincs.' (from the Lincolnshire Standard, 23rd April 1921. Unusually Alan Duke is unable to identify either the engines or owners featuring in this advert, the only owner in Billingborough he has recorded before World War 2 being D. Chapman, who had a 7hp Fowler for sale in 1917. Can any of our Lincolnshire readers make comment?) 131
The noteworthy proportion of over one eighth of the surviving Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies traction engines listed in TER came together at the 1990 Stradbally rally in Eire and, not surprisingly, the owners could not resist the opportunity to line them up and take a photograph for the record. The three machines nearest the camera illustrate how remarkably little Ransomes' design changed over a very long span of years; from the left these engines are: 31100, a 6hp single of 1920; 11412, a 7hp single of 1897 and the oldest surviving Ransornes Sims & Jefferies traction and 44103, a 6hp single of 1936 — surely one of the last tractions to leave the Ipswich works. (courtesy B. O'Gorman)
Irish Interlude
Far left — Sturdy stone buildings lining the main street of Stradbally, Co Laois, witness the passing rumble of Marshall 6hp traction engine 17287. The 1889 machine, owned by J. Rochford of Newton, Co Wexford, was pictured by Bob Payne leaving the town after the 1989 event.
Below — The 1989 Stradbally gathering provided Norman Sixmith of Carlow with a first rally appearance for his newly restored 6hp Marshall traction engine 72446 of 1920. Adding to the spectacle, captured here by Bob Payne, are three very original Marshall built 5 ton traction wagons, loaded with cut timber and owned by Ben O'Gorman of Naas, Co Kildare. k.
Pleasures from a Portable Lyndon Shearman sets down his thoughts and experiences after a decade as owner of a Brown & May 2Y2hp portable engine dating back to 1868. When we bought our little Brown & May portable early in 1981 I started to keep a notebook recording the engine's activities. Now, ten years on, it is interesting to look back. The little engine is historically important because of its great age and simple construction; it almost takes us back to the prehistory of engines and can teach us a lot about how engine driving must have been in the early days. The first entries in the notebook tell of informal steam-ups at my yard, then in West Yorkshire, when I got to know the engine and quickly learned the foibles of the crosshead-driven pump — no wonder they soon went on to eccentric-driven pumps! I also learned how the machine needs to have its unjacketed cylinder thoroughly warmed up before any attempt is made to run. Even when steam is raised, the cylinder casting remains stone cold until warmed by gently blowing steam through the drains for a few minutes. We perhaps underestimate the great step forward made by steam jacketing! The previous owner, Roger Wyeld of Norfolk, told me he had never actually driven anything with the engine, and so at Bramham Park Rally in 1981 I had doubts when asked to drive a stonecrusher. The notebook records that we had great difficulty setting up and getting the belt to stay on. However, with a portable if you don't get it right first time, your subsequent attempts, like the first are made by muscle power, and so we very quickly learned how to get it just right! Running the stonecrusher was hard work for the little engine, and the fire, pulling white hot, reminded me more of a Black 5 locomotive than a small, very old, portable. We crushed about 3 tons of soft magnesium 134
limestone, and the display proved so popular that we repeated it at Bramham Park in 1983 and Harewood in 1984 and 85, crushing much larger quantities of hard carboniferous limestone. However, this really was Cruelty to Engines. We also went to Lightwater Valley's steam workings in 1981 and 82, driving a corn mill with vertical stones, grinding barley for pig food. This was a heavy mill for a small engine, but it plugged steadily away and did the job competently. Perhaps too competently, in fact, for the adjacent display powered by an internal combustion engine kept breaking down, yet had bigger crowds round it than we had. I have noticed this phenomenon many times since — a sweet-running display will attract fewer spectators than a display which keeps breaking down. People do like watching others struggle. By now the little Brown & May was appearing more widely at northern rallies, often being towed around a rally field in steam by another engine. That practise can often lead to problems. When a self-moving engine approaches a downhill grade, you can put some more water in the boiler, but you can't do that with a portable, so you have to make sure you have enough water in to start with. On occasions, waiting in an arena, we have shoved our suction hose into the water tank of a nearby engine and sucked some out! During the winter of 1985/86, during the off season lay-up, I found the firebox doorplate was wearing very thin. It irked that my boiler
surveyor had passed the firebox as alright when it needed attention, so it was clearly time to part with him and his company. As the crownplate was also getting thin, I decided that a new firebox would solve the problem once and for all, and I found a boilermaker to do the job. However, after he had had the engine in his works for twelve months, he still had not started! By that time we were living in Wolverhampton, and were fortunate to locate the Midland Rolling & Haulage Co who were well-versed in boiler repairs, and who agreed to take on the job. I designed a new firebox, had the drawings approved by a new inspection company, and Midland Rolling set to work making and fitting the new box under the boiler surveyor's supervision. Eventually, early in 1988, we went to the works where we were to steam the engine, but we were too late, for the staff had already raised steam and as we arrived Mr Snodin was just opening the stop valve! Only those who have been without their engine for a long time while heavy repairs were done can appreciate our joy at seeing the old girl in steam again. Over the years we had driven a variety of machines since first tackling the stonecrusher at Bramham. We had driven various corn mills, a cake
Author Lyndon Shearman tending his Brown & May portable at home in Halifax at Easter 1983. The engine used to be kept in the back garden, looked over by St. Pauls Church. (M. Brannigan)
might well have been marketed as a fire extinguishant, we still managed to steam on the stuff. One of these days I'll fire her on old bricks and lumps of iron — I'm sure she'll make steam! These last ten years have seen many changes in our personal circumstances, and through all the ups and downs that little engine has been a great companion. It lives in the garage now (the car sleeps outl, and I often nip in for a moment on my way to or from work and wipe off an imaginary streak of nil or dust. Then, in the springtime, off we go around the local rallies — the 'threshing round' — and the engine once again does what Roger Wyeld promised it would: it makes friends wherever it goes. R,
In June 1983 the engine, supported by the Leeds & District TE Club, was placed on the back of a lorry — in steam — and paraded through the streets of Leeds as part of the Lord Mayor's Show. Afterwards, the helpers, still in their unlikely variety of dress, gathered around for a group photograph. Lyndon is at the higher level at the back; not the one picking his nose! (collection Lyndon Shearman)
crusher, a turnip chopper (great fun that — bits of turnips flying in all directions!), a pump and a dynamo. The old lass is certainly versatile. In 1990, however, came a red letter day when for the first time in nearly sixty years, the engine was again belted to a threshing machine. It had driven a small thresher for a living years ago, and now I had bought a small Dania thresher, and at Shareshill rally we ran the Dania for the first time. We got several bales of straw and 'threshed' them, and it was all great fun. We also managed to get in a bit of sawing at Robert Bate's steam party and that was historically significant because sawing had been the engine's other jnh during its working life. Someone said we weren't running fast enough to thresh or saw properly, but I'm not prepared to belt the daylights out of her. She had proved her worth on that crusher at Bramham, and as one old lad had commented, an engine that age doesn't have anything to prove anyway! If the engine is versatile in what it drives it is equally unfussy about its choice of fuel. We have run on coke, wood, compressed straw logs, and some pretty foul species of coal, and always had enough steam. At Harewood in 1984, while most other engines were struggling with the Polish anthracite provided, we were running the stonecrusher and the engine was steaming her head off all day long. At a folk museum in York-
shire, some black muck which would not burn on the blacksmith's hearth or the house fires was gratefully consumed and made ample steam. And at a West Midlands rally where the coal
'Traction Engine and Weighing Machine. A heavy traction engine drawing a load of show wagons, was passing through Warrington on the way to Burslem recently. At Bridge Foot the engine was driven on to the weighing machine, which collapsed, and the engine fell through on to the large water pipes beneath, breaking them. The result was that the water supply to several large works, the baths and the park was cut off, a great deal of water being wasted.' (from The Worlds Carriers, July 1906.)
Victorian family and engine. At the Blists Hill Museum, Shropshire, in July 1984 the engine spent a weekend driving a small cornmill, and here the Shearman family sit for a nicely posed vignette. (collection Lyndon Shearman) 135
Steaming Around Compiled from members notes and reports by Derek Rayner
The few responses there were to my question in the last issue on the content or format of this section of the magazine were of one accord — keep Steaming Around as it is. I can only presume that the very many hundreds of members who did not take time and trouble to put pen to paper are satisfied with what they read. The basic format will therefore stay the same. It was gratifying to learn that after,
perhaps, the small adverts, Steaming Around is highest on most members' priorities for the next area of Steaming to browse through. To those readers who commented "There's never much from my part of the country" — I can only reiterate that this is a club magazine and we can only put in it that which is sent. If the chimney cap fits, wear it! I am extremely grateful to those members who did write to me and for the helpful
observations made. Should anyone have anything further to add, I am always pleased to receive comments and criticisms. This quarter's issue is always the one with less news and this is reflected by the relatively small number of contributors who have written to me. I am, nevertheless, grateful for the information they have passed on. Letters, cuttings and magazines etc from which these notes have been compiled have been received from the following: Banbury Steam Society, Hollycombe Steam Collection, Road Roller Association, Scottish TES, Somerset TEC, Southern Counties HVPT, Steam Plough Club, West of England SES and Reg Bosley, Richard Bridge, Ian Dean, Mrs E. Finch, Pat Freeman, Geoff Gilbert, Andrew Hall, Peter Haywood, Martin Longdon, Henry Marshall, John Reeves, Doug Roseaman, Lyndon Shearman, Alan Thomas, David Wallis, Michael Watts and Geoff Wheeler. Press date for the next issue is the last day of July. Information, news and happenings by then please to D.A. Rayner, 'Invicta', 9 Beagle Ridge Drive, Acomb, York YO2 3J H. Press dates for future issues are the last days of October 1991 and January 1992.
BEDFORDSHIRE American built twin cylinder Buffalo Pitts traction engine 299 reported for sale in last issue's Yorkshire notes, has gone to the Ted Wootton collection at Ravensden. Garth Holman's Clayton & Shuttleworth convertible 46817 of 1914 (YA2095) has now been bought by the Shuttleworth Collection and has gone to their premises at Old Warden, near Biggleswade. Pete Johnson's 1924 Fowler roller 16175 INW81981 is at Maskell's having a new firebox fitted and Barry Two has had a new tender made for his diminutive Wallis roller 2660 of 1903 (CJ4816), following an accident with a push pole. Dave and Colin Piggott's two Burrells are well on the way to being finished for the start of the season; Colin's traction 1522 of 1891 (CF3579) — which he bought last year — has been given a name and Dave's engine, 3017 of 1908 IKE27391, has been reboxed and has had rubbers fitted to the wheels. David Scott's fine looking Fowler estate engine 15466 of 1920 (PF7364) has been stripped down in readiness for a new firebox to be fitted. A roller to appear in the area is 136
Would suit Aveling owner On the market for the first time in 72 years is Court Lodge, Ruckinge, Kent, the one time home of Thomas Aveling, who started his business there. Although the house is said to date from the 18th century, parts of it are much older. The owner has copies of a lease — in Latin — dated September 1396, when the rent was £24 for 168 acres and the house. The building was much altered in the 1960s.
Avelino 10916 of 1924 (MB5721) which has been purchased by John Saunders from Clive Flack in Cambridgeshire. John Forshaw's 1930 Foden steam wagon 13764 (TF3106) has been in steam several times after having had a new front tube plate and smokebox fitted. It was necessary to steam the boiler to find out where caulking was needed, and at the time of writing a hydraulic test was imminent. Chairmanship of the Bedford SPS has passed to Bob Pentlow, Alec Ibbott having relinquished the position after a fourteen year term of office. At the society's AGM grateful thanks were expressed to Alec for his good work during that time.
BERKSHIRE Jim Hutchens has reluctantly decided to give up rallying and, as a result, his three engines have been offered for sale: the unique Garrett Suffolk Punch tractor 33180 of 1919 (BJ4483); Aveling conversion 7612 of 1912 (F5218) and Burrell roller 4040 of 1926 ITT79171 HEATHER. All are well known attenders on southern rally fields. The roller has gone to Hertfordshire although the new owner is not yet known.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE An open day at Ed Bolton's impressive Power of the Past Collection was an eye opening surprise. There were stationary engines of all shapes and sizes as well as several steam engines under restoration or merely just visiting. In the latter category was Steve Dean's 1912 Burrell traction 3368 ITA1849), and Aveling tractor 9225 of 1920 (l:J41bU) belonging to l'eter Williams. Under restoration was Ed's 1915 Garrett showmans tractor 32762 (AD8954) whilst also being worked on was a recent import from the Antipodes — 1903 built Foden compound traction 664. This engine sports a plate on the smokebox door showing it to have been supplied by 'The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co Ltd.' The Foden has subsequently been offered for sale. Several portable engines were also to be seen and these included another former Australasian engine, Hornsby single 6239 of 1882.
CHESHIRE There is more comment on the coupling of the nameplate PRIDE OF SOMERSET and 1925 Burrell roller 4004 (Y132010), owned by Arthur and Richard Bridge, which was disputed on page 36 of our Winter 1990/91 issue. The roller was pictured in a
Burrell roller 4004 of 1925 was photographed, probably in 1958, whilst engaged on road works at Taunton. The brass plates on the motion sheets were pictured at the same time. (collection R. Bridge) 1959 issue of Model Engineer at work in Taunton, captioned as PRIDE OF SOMERSET, although the photograph was of the flywheel side. However Richard Bridge has been able to have loan of the original negatives for the published picture, and the next frame on the strip — obviously taken at the same time thirty years ago — shows the nameplate and Kings' owners plate. So it is clear that for at least five years of the roller's working life — and probably longer — Burrell roller 4004 was PRIDE OF SOMERSET. In the unlikely event of the nameplate turning up it is perhaps a moot point as to which of the two rollers — a single crank compound 3411 or the double crank owned by the Bridge's — has the best claim to have it refastened to its motion side sheet.
CORNWALL More engines have come into the area to increase the Duchy's ranks by another three. The first crept in about a year ago, with very few knowing much about it. This was 1903 Ransomes portable 14704, owned by John Woolley. It has lately been in use for an unusual purpose, providing steam to assist in the shaping of timbers for the restoration of an 1892 wood-hulled yacht at the owners' yard. It was preserved in Norfolk in days gone by and was latterly in Devon. During March, John Nicholls fulfilled an ambition to become an engine owner once more. In the 1960s and early 70s, John owned a Marshall
roller and has recently purchased (VVVV 1 444, 192 / bowler roller 1b9 previously with John Pattinson of Derbyshire. The machine came complete with Eddison living van and watercart and an early trip on the country lanes proved it to be quite a fast machine. John intends renaming her — she has always been called DOROTHY after the original owner's wife. The final engine of the trio of newcomers is a real gem, being one of the few unrestored showmans engines. Burrell 2351 of 1901 (AL9309) EPHRAIM has come into the ownership of Graham Vincent, who has been waiting patiently to become an engine owner when the right engine came along. It will be a while before EPHRAIM graces the rally fields since a complete rebuild is required. Certainly when completed she will be an engine of real character for all the attributes of the earlier Burrell design of showmans road loco are there — 137
new chimney base made for their 1923 Burrell traction 3918 (PU578) and new front wheel bearings are also to be fitted. Another husband and wife team, Ian and Wendy Beard, have had the canopy removed from their Fowler conversion 17290 of 1927 (AV1045) so that attention can be given to the crankshaft bearings and gearing. Finally, Bernard True's 1914 Aveling roller 8301 (FX7026), kept at the same yard, successfully passed its boiler test and promptly went off for a trundle around local lanes to celebrate.
CUMBRIA
The programme for the July 1959 rally at Rempstone noted entry number 6, Burrell 8hp showmans road loco 2351 of 1901, as 'in use today for timber sawing etc' by its owner R. Bramley of East Leake. This is David Walker's picture of one of EPHRAIM's few excursions to the rally field, where it is attended by admirers in contemporary casual clothing — who probably arrived in Morris Minors and Ford Anglias.
7-foot rear wheels, small flywheel with wide face and narrow belly tanks and cab. Further notes on this engine appear in the Leicestershire section. During the winter months, much activity has been going on with engines around the county. Dennis Warren has fitted new rubbers all round and a new chimney to his 1924 Foden wagon 11208 (YA7952). A new chimney now also graces Paul Wills' Aveling roller 11216 of 1925 (TT4018). David Goodwin has dismantled his well known West Country engine, Burrell showmans 3159 THE GLADIATOR in order to iron out the various problems encountered during
1990. The engine should have these sorted out and be fully rebuilt later in the year to enable participation in events during late summer. Don Hussey is busy renewing firebox stays and generally tidying up his recently acquired 1926 Aveling roller 11448 (NP7791); a canopy will be added during the restoration. That roller's previous owner, Raymond Hoskin, has been busy dismantling his new charge, 1929 Fowler roller 17481 (YC7438), the tender having been removed and the old tubes burnt out. A visit from the boiler inspector is next on the agenda. David and Kay Hicks are having a
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The major overhaul on Dick Ransome's former Cumberland County Council 1914 Marshall 10 ton roller 65822 IA06199) is now on its way to completion after two and a half years. During that time the boiler has had new stays fitted under the throat plate, new tubes and been hydraulically tested to 270 lbs. The saddle has been removed and the wasted area of the integral cast iron chimney base cut away and a new cast iron section fitted. The engine has received new main and big end bearings and the crank journals lapped to remove 0.012 in wear. New wrist pins have been made, valve gear trunnions skimmed and new bushes fitted, slide valves bored out and internal sleeves fitted, with all eccentric sheave butt faces flycut and lapped on eccentrics. The high pressure cylinder bore has been lapped to remove 0.020 in wear and a new high pressure gland bush fitted. One very interesting problem was how to reface the regulator valve port face, as this is, of course, set down in the cylinder some 3in and partly offset under a cast iron lip. The problem was resolved (after much head scratching)
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by making up a flycutting machine tool, using redundant slides off Roger Mallinson's old lathe and mounting it on the top face of the block. The machine was then powered by nothing less than a 1/2 in Wolf drill and a 2 1/2 :1 reduction to give the correct cutter speed. Roger and Dick set the machine up and had the job completed in about an hour. Roger had brought his rotary burr with him and to complete the job he cut run-off reliefs around the newly machined face. Dick made a pattern, had a new regulator valve cast and machined, and scraped and fitted it; it wee fni Ind to he watertight when the boiler was hydrauliced. Other work to the roller has included fitting new rear rolls lex Colin West's Marshall), differential planet wheel pins renewed, and planet wheel bushes machined to suit the new pins. Roger very kindly machined the differential centre casting pin bosses on his horizontal borer. Outstanding work remaining includes making new high pressure piston and rings and cleaning, painting and lining which will be completed as time and Dick's job as Manager/ Engineer on steam yacht GONDOLA on Coniston permits. He is planning to return to the rally circuit during 1992, after ten years absence from rallying.
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DORSET Dave Allen has sold his 1923 Clayton & Shuttleworth roller 48751 (YA6182), as he has bought Len Crane's Burrell crane engine 3197 of 1910 (AB8904). This ex Screen Bros road loco was expected to come south by mid May. It may be rallied in its present state of nicely weathered original paintwork, before embarking on a restoration programme. Nick Baker has acquired another engine. Garrett showmans style tractor 32969 of 1917 (13J3280) has come from Turners Merry go Round Museum at Northampton and joins his other Garrett 4CD tractor, 33278 of 1918 (DP4479), which is currently dismantled for 'firebox worm' eradication, Nick also owns• a third engine, Burrell traction 4049 of 1926 (TW5228). Other Dorset news is that Jimmer Marsh, after years of tending engines belonging to other people, has now acquired one of his own. This is Wallis Oilbath tractor 7641 of 1920 (BW4668) formerly with Jack Field of Hampshire; Jimmer is intending to rebuild it. Cyril Finch and 'Lew' Lewis are working on the boiler and firebox of 'Dobbin' Warren's Marshall Universal roller 85060 of 1929 (VX2427).
The story of Armstrong Whitworth's exercise in building steam rollers is intriguing — and probably not yet fully recorded. Unable to sell all that they built in the mid 1920s, the makers formed their own hiring company for the machines. Number 10R26, the 10 tonner in our picture, was registered NE2270 in June 1925 and probably then hired out to the Lancashire Road Roller Co of Broadheath, Manchester. About 1931, when the Armstrong hire fleet was sold up, they bought it as their No 112. It is seen here, however, owned by Wm. Prestwich & Sons Ltd of Cron field, Yorkshire and engaged on airfield work in July 194b. I hat date seems late for war work but certainly aircraft propellers can be seen over the wall behind the driver. The latter's home comforts of fireside and makeshift table can be seen by his living van. (collection Ran Hawthorne) 139
ESSEX A small steam up was held at Barleylands Museum, Billericay over the Easter weekend. Jim Stanley was there with 1917 Aveling 10 ton roller 8837 (NO 1221), as were Roy Chapman and Ruth Atkinson with 8 ton Aveling 10994 of 1924 (WT6042). Burrell traction 2855 of 1906 (NO 1463) belonging to the Keeling family put in a welcome appearance and another Burrell was Mike Kettle's 1921 agricultural 3882 (AH7306). Clayton & Shuttleworth general purpose 46823 of 1914 (KE4173) was shown by father and son team Francis and Aubrey Titmarsh; they acquired it last year from Dave Storey. Aubrey also owns Fowler roller 15813 of 1921 (WR8965), which spent its working life in Yorkshire. Two Garrett tractors in the area are being worked on. Don Doncaster has rebored the cylinders of his engine, 33612 of 1919 (BJ4484), and has also fitted a new canopy, but work is still required on the valve gear. John Smith's similar 4CD tractor, 33829 of 1920 (BJ5157), requires work on the firebox. Alan White's Burrell traction 1606 of 1892 (N02533) has just had all the lagging removed for the first time in fourteen years and the 99 year old boiler has passed its visual and ultrasonic tests, much to the delight of her owner, and is ready for steam tests. The engine has been in the White family for some 70 years, having had one previous owner before then, a relation, G. Bartrupt of Ford End. After working on his Ransomes
agricultural 42013 of 1931 (TL1874) all winter, Terry Swann has completed a very thorough overhaul in time for the new season. Work carried out included a new smokebox, tubes, bearings, tender floor and all boiler studs. When the engine was obtained from the Isle of Wight, she was in a brown livery; Terry has now restored the original colour of green with red wheels, with lining in the original colours. The engine's first planned outing was May Bank Holiday at the Young Farmers' show at Great Leighs. An engine noted for sale was 1915 Burrell agricultural 3636 (CF3476) GEORGE, an engine which has not seen the light of day for a good many years and was owned by George Hockley. This has gone north, it is believed to Yorkshire. HAMPSHIRE Hollycombe's 21st season started well over the Easter weekend with large crowds enjoying their visit despite the indifferent weather, and many enthusiasts undoubtedly coming to view the Razzle Dazzle and Steam Yacht. Unfortunately both steam engines associated with these rides, the Savage in the Razzle and Burrell 3356 of 1912 in the yacht are both presently in non-steamable condition but as with the Tidman engine in the gallopers, they are provided with steam by Charlie Russell's Farmers Foundry portable 36 of 1910. It is a full test of the driver's firing ability to keep pressure up for all these three rides during busy periods. The Big Wheel, however, did not have such a successful start, since
NTET Coal Supplies The Trust has again arranged low priced coal for use by rally organisers, clubs or individual owners In association with Arscott Collieries, Coal Factors and Merchants, Gateway Chambers, 26 Castle Street, Shrewsbury SY! 2BJ • pre-packed 25kg plastic bags • haulage can be arranged to any rally site • ring John Watkiss on 0743 362482 to discuss your requirements and haulage cost, anywhere in Britain DRY STEAM COAL (when available)
£106.00 per tonne ex Shrewsbury Bituminous also available Cash on collection or pre-payment Please order early to obtain supply of steam coal
140
WELSH DAY SlEAH COAL
f'l
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there were problems with the drive train between Clayton & Shuttleworth portable 44140 of 1911 and the actual wheel. Three sets of pulley combinations had to be used before a satisfactory match was found. Having got that sorted out, the ride now provides excellent views over the gardens and fairground at the Collection. One of the Collection's engines earned its keep during the erection of the wheel. This was overseen by its previous owner, Ron Taylor. Garrett showmans style tractor 33348 of 1918 ISZ100) LEISTON TOWN was used to generate for the electric winch used in the building up process. At times, the engine was generating in excess of 100 amps and handling the task easily. The other Clayton portable belonging to the Collection, 50010 of 1926 has passed its steam test having just received a new boiler and firebox along the road at Bicknell's workshops. It is now awaiting painting. Burrell tractor 3815 of 1919 (BP5757) SUNSET II has been completely repainted during the winter by Gerald Whittaker, and at the time of writing, Mann's tractor 1260 of 1917 (U4298) is also receiving similar attention. KENT The Road Roller Association AGM weekend convention was held at Chatham in early March, close by Rochester Airport. To greet visitors to the hotel where the AGM was held, John Brice's 1922 Ruston & Hornsby roller 115123 (XM6374) steamed gently in early spring sunshine in the car park. A Sunday visit to the Chatham Steam Centre saw Aveling roller 8455 of 1914 (NM971) in steam outside — this, since April, now in the ownership of David Wallis — together with Aveling geared tramway loco 9449 of 1926 and Robin Monday's 1923 Robey conversion 40991 IDS78191. Inside the workshops were very many engines either just wintering or being worked on — an impressive sight for anyone not previously privileged to have seen it. Three engines have been noted for sale in the area — Philip Sidey's 1948 Aveling-Barford roller AH162 (JXH 174) OMEGA has been advertised due to a change in personal circumstances, whilst another roller for disposal is Fowler 18503 of 1931 (G05298), belonging to Terry Benn. The third machine, or rather part of, is an incomplete Garrett QL wagon. LANCASHIRE Robey tandem roller 41602 of 1924 (FE6319) owned by D. White
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THOSE NEEDING ECONOMICAL REPAIRS ON THEIR TRACTION ENGINES
B. 8, C. Reconditioning (Gears) Ltd PINIONS
SPURS
BEVELS
All types and makes of bevel gears, spur pinions, spur wheels, helical gears etc rebuilt to standard
Our address is:
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141
Burrell class A 10 ton single cylinder roller 3942 of 1923 at the Waldershare Park event, near Dover, in June 1990. (Peter Love)
has been noted for sale — the asking price for this very clean machine was £25,000.
LEICESTERSHIRE East Leake, situated on the Leics/ Notts border provided would-be buyers with a rare opportunity in late March. Burrell 8hp showmans locomotive 2351 EPHRAIM (AL9309), new to Fred Cox on 27th February 1901, was being offered for sale by the family of the late Bob Bramley. The engine had stood, open to the elements, for a good number of years after making appearances at Rempstone rallies in the late 1950s — one in steam and one not. Bob quite often used to steam the engine in his yard to drive a small saw bench. Once an excursion was made, reminiscent of war time activities of other showmans engines, to pull down some houses in the village. The engine, which must be one of the last unrestored showmans engines, has now moved to a new home in Cornwall. Aveling roller 6091 of 1906 (AY9526), owned by Paul Wheat of Mountsorrel, is understood to be open to offers. This big compound 15 ton roller was formerly owned by the late Tom Burton, at Market Harborough. Fred Dockray has had a large 142
number of Foster transfers reproduced and should anyone require one for his engine, or merely for decoration purposes, further details can be obtained from Fred's home in Long Whatton.
LINCOLNSHIRE Directly after Christmas, Geoff Kitching undertook a half day's threshing with his recently overhauled 1903 7hp Marshall agricultural 38977 (HR3775). A new firebox has been fitted to the engine at Horace Smith's. The threshing took place at Harris's farm at Epworth, using John Selby's Foster, machine fitted with a Marshall drum and concave. Mr Lynigar has received the new firebox made for his 6hp Marshall traction 23803 of 1894 (6E7795), but so far it has not been fitted. Bill Hambleton is well on the way to completing one of his pair of 1919 Fowler ploughing engines; the other one is coming along well. The engines are 1 541 6/1 541 7 (6E7517/75161. Bill found them to be in a very poor state and has done a really good job. With the departure of Clayton traction 46817 of 1914 (YA2095), Ray Haxby has sold his last steam engine. Engine fireboxes are in the news
locally. Pete Gull's Marshall tractor 62387 of 1913 (SL9940) has a new one made by Stewart Woodbine and Pete hopes to get it into the engine later this year. One of the ploughing engines at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, Fowler 16054 of 19251E1355191 is now on the short list for a new firebox and it is hoped to progress with this in the near future; the other of the set, 16053, took part in demonstrations during 1990 at Haddenham and Barleylands and it will be good to get them back in working order as a pair, so they can perform such demonstrations in Lincolnshire. The Museum's 1884 Ruston Proctor 10hp portable 10743 also is in need of a new firebox. This engine is unusual in that it has a wooden front axle. Richard Hornsby traction 7297 of 1892, an 8hp engine which came back from Tasmania to the Museum in Lincoln, is dismantled. Repair work is due to commence shortly and will entail new firebox, smokebox and partial replacement of the boiler barrel to start with. The engine stood for some twenty years in a children's playground down under before its historical significance was realised; during this time it lost such important features as governors, injector, pump and most of the boiler fittings. It is possible that substantial work will be needed on the gearing to enable the engine to function once more. It is also reported that Jack Quincy's 1923 Ruston & Hornsby traction 122160 1E135670) had a new firebox in the winter of 1989/90. A recent newcomer to the county, an engine which has seen little or no rally activity, is Aveling roller 8679 of 1916 (BT8812), a former East Riding County Council machine, purchased by Steve Corston last year from East Yorkshire. The engine is having attention to the valve rods and pump ram. A huge roller this, said to be a convertible and which is fitted with a rope drum.
NORFOLK In March the long awaited opening of the Burrell Museum at Thetford took place amid scenes of great excitement and lots of steam provided by engines built there many years ago. The opening ceremony was performed by Mrs Gillian Shephard, Minister of State at the Treasury and MP for SouthWest Norfolk. Mrs Shephard arrived at the Museum on the footplate of the oldest surviving Burrell traction, 748 of 1877 (CF3667) CENTURY, owned by Richard Parrott, and later unveiled a commemorative cast iron plaque. The Museum is situated in Minstergate, close by the old Al 1 road and the
town's Tesco supermarket. There were other dignitaries present as well as Thetford produced engines, including showmans 4000 EX-MAYOR, owned by the Saunders family; Jim Rochester's 1914 Gold Medal tractor 3626 (AH221); Richard Parrott's 1903 traction 2626 (TB3717); Barry Freeman's agricultural 4088 of 1930 (VF9646) and one of the ploughing engines from the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. Indeed, it was a good representative selection of Burrell products, with only a roller, portable and an impossible wagon missing. Open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm, the Museum will become a mecca for Burrell enthusiasts everywhere. A 1926 Burrell roller noted for sale in the county is Mark Seago's 8 ton compound 4044 (YB7730).
STEAM on VIDEO
EMS&PARTRIDGE
TRACTIOn MGM/ GALORE
STOCKBRIDGE (formerly Pearsons and Prudential Agricultural)
SPRING AUCTION SALE Thruxton Circuit, near Andover Hampshire STEAM ENGINES — VINTAGE TRACTORS STATIONARY ENGINES COMMERCIAL — HORSE DRAWN BARN & FARM MACHINERY — SPARES, MANUALS — FARM, DOMESTIC & TRADE BYGONES
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Saturday 28th September 1991
A 1926 Aveling F type roller has been advertised for sale in the county — this is believed to be Nick Le Count's 11583 (RP2948). Another machine on offer, and one not rallied for a good number of years is Clayton & Shuttleworth 48215 of 1919 (PT19161, owned by Eric James. The last public appearance of this machine was at the 1974 Welford Rally.
Entry form, catalogues (f3.50) in due course and applications for inclusion in our comprehensive mailing list to:
Evans & Partridge, Agriculture House, High Street, Stockbridge, Hampshire S020 6HF v 0264 810702
Mixed Rallies Vol 4 includes _ direct steam ploughing ai Castellon 1959; Waddeaton Steam Working Rally 1990; Henham rally 1990; Leeds S pec ldi - • 199^V, Witney Road Run, near Oxford 1990 Running time approx 2 hours Price £15 inc post Mixed Rallies Vols 1 and 2 still available, Approx 2 hours Price f15 each inc post
Mixed Rallies Vol 3 — see the last Steaming for details 01911 The Official Video of the 5th Lincolnshire Steam and Vintage Rally 2 hours f15 inc post S. Coupland, 52 Sea Road, St Leonards, Chapel St. Leonards, Skegness, Lincs PE24 5SA 73- 0754 72600
OXFORDSHIRE Engines noted for sale have been Peter Court's Fowler Z7 ploughing engines 14367/14368 from the Banbury area and a 1927 8 ton Aveling roller. The asking price of the latter was £8500.
SCOTLAND A recent press report showed the 5ummerlee Museum's 1928 howler roller 17251 (DS7206) engaged in unusual activity. Councillor Malcolm Green, chairman of Strathclyde Council aeneral purposes committee sought publicity by borrowing the steam roller to crush a pile of video nasties which the region's Department of Consumer Protection had confiscated from dubious sources in the Strathclyde area. The department are said to be proceeding full steam ahead to prosecute offending traders.
SOMERSET Further details are to hand on the saga of John Cooper's Burrell Gold Medal tractor 3245 of 1910 (AH054) and his Christmas 1990 trip. After the Taunton run mentioned in the last issue, he took the engine to Coldharbour Mill and on New Year's Day, when Gerry Stoneman's former Kings' Foden wagon 12388 of 1926 (TU31 13) was in steam and complete,
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at Exmouth. GLADIATOR was returned to Exmouth on Good Friday and was steamed for the first time on Easter Sunday. It is anticipated that the engine will be steamed regularly throughout the summer and the display is open everyday, 10am-5pm, until October.
STAFFORDSHIRE
Two unusual showmans engines Engines used in showland weren't always massive compounds, sporting extensive brass decoration, as these two pictures, kindly sent by John Middlemiss, illustrate. The straggling nine-vehicle train in the top picture is the equipment of E. Hill & Sons of Bristol, on the road near Hereford about 1894. The game little traction engine heading the wonderful procession is Robey 5811, a 7hp single cylinder machine of 1880. The galloper loads are a Reynolds & King machine. The lower picture was taken in Hepworth's boiler yard at Castle ford, West Yorkshire in April 1936. It shows Fowler 6375, an unsprung single cylinder engine new in 1891 to W.H. Marshall of Bradford, SONNY BOY No 1. By 1905 it had been sold to W.H. Church; he took it to Hepworths for a new firebox but failed to collect it when the work was done, and £112 was due!
John drove the tractor home in torrential rain, at least as far as Fenny Bridges near Honiton. Brave man! At the end of March, Alan Fry, owner of Burrell showmans 2879 144
PRINCESS ROYAL, completed the restoration of another Burrell, this being Special Scenic 3884 of 1921 (XH5728) GLADIATOR owned by John Lee of the World of Country Life
At Klondyke Mill, Phil Jeff's Fowler roller 18507 of 1931 (SM88321 is finally complete and was the guest of honour at an informal weekend at the Mill, staged by Phil and his wife Janet, to celebrate its long awaited return to steam. The North Staffs & Cheshire Club's Aveling roller 8316 of 1914 (E5335) had an early season outing to Rugeley and back to fetch custodian Peter Magee's newly refurbished living van from his family premises where it has been undergoing restoration. This van was one of two that Phil and Pete rescued from the wilds of Scotland and which, together with a coal cart, formed the Fowler roller's original equipment all those years ago — quite a collection! Burrell traction 2706 of 1904 (TB 2845) THE ADMIRAL has finally had its tubeplate successfully extracted and gloom has turned to joy at the declaration by the boiler inspector that the barrel should outlast at least one set of new tubes. A new tubeplate is on order and Des Hutton and Bob Wormington have since been seen to smile on several occasions. There is little progress to report on Andrew Hall's 1929 Aveling roller 12081 (RF5715). Haste is being made slowly and it unfortunately looks as though the barrel may need replacing. If this is the case, Andrew shouldn't have to worry about it again for another 50-odd years.
Cruise the beautiful sedochs and canals of Scotland in an original coal-fired Clyde Puffer. Good food, comfortable accommodation. -•• - •. • -• .
•
Send large SAE for free brochure to Rachel and Nick Walker, The Change House, Crinan Ferry, Lochgdphead, Argyll PA31 8QH (Tel 054 65 232).
(MK5128) 1926 of 11520 CRUSADER came to join the Shearman's 1860s Brown & May portable, a vintage Leyland lorry and a selection of miniature steam engines. Barbara Shearman catered for the 40-50 visitors to her usual high standard and bottles of fizzy plonk had over high flying corks the CRUSADER's cab to help it all along. At the end of April, Joe Davies held his steam fayre at the Compton Boys Club and Lyndon's Brown & May joined Jane Crane's 1925 Marshall roller 79087 (NR6120) and a fresh engine, Ransomes agricultural 27524 of 1918 (E5123), newly acquired by Ray Preece. The roller and traction subsequently returned to Len Crane's, ready for a trip to the Black Country Museum at Dudley.
YORKSHIRE SUFFOLK In January, Geoff Wheeler's 1920 Ruston & Hornsby traction 113043 (CE7977) OLIVER saw duty, as in the previous year, driving a threshing drum belonging to near neighbour Pat Murray at his farm. The drum, a 54 inch heavy duty Ransomes, has been in the Murray family at Market Weston since new and lives, along with much other old farm tackle in premises which have been mainly bypassed by modern day developments. Each year, the threshing drum is used to thresh wheat cut by the family's baler. It was not such a big rick as the previous year's and this enabled the engine to get away in daylight. Some attention to the engine's stop valve was needed and so it went to Jonathan Wheeler's place afterwards to enable this to be carried out together with the fitting of a new smokebox door. The Ruston returned to her normal home, Bardwick Mill , in April to art. as transport for a sixtieth birthday boy to his party. The old fellow was expecting a taxi to turn up, but instead, there was 'OLIVER the engine', as he is affectionately known by the local children. Back in time to Christmas when a novel approach was given to the Santa's sleigh story. Geoff Wheeler organised a Crack o' Dawn Christmas Morning Parcel Delivery Service for charity. Folk in the village paid a pound a parcel to have old Santa come and visit them and their youngsters with the parcels being carried around the village on OLIVER. It really was a crack of dawn job, for the crew were on their way by eight o'clock and met with good Christmas cheer everywhere they went. Certainly a different and
worthwhile seasonal steam-up.
SUSSEX Ian Dean, whose wife owns 1918 McLaren traction 1642 (6E8739) has recently purchased a Marshall 54 inch threshing drum, wooden framed and on iron wheels, together with a Clayton & Shuttleworth chaff cutter on a three wheeled undercarriage. Both these items came from the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton. The drum is a bit dishevelled but basically sound, only the forecarriage needing major work. The chaff cutter on the °ther hand dues need an appreciable amount of work on it but is an unusual item and it is quite a reasonable size to take on the road. Even in the snow, engine restoration continued in the county. In February, Peter Love's team who are helping with work on his 1913 Marshall traction 61880 (FL394 9) were not deterred by a few flakes of falling snow. The engine is having a new barrel fitted in the garden outside Peter's home and such was the enthusiasm that drilling of the holes for rivets continued, despite the inclement weather. Drilling was undertaken using a drill with a magnetic base powered through a 110v transformer.
WEST MIDLANDS Lyndon Shearman held a steam party at his home on Easter Sunday to celebrate the beginning of the new rally season. Just as Robert Bate's party in October celebrates the end of the steam year, so does Lyndon's start off the season and this year's was the best one yet. Robert's Aveling roller
The engine ranks in the county have been swelled by two A fresh Clayton & Shuttleworth roller has been reported as having been seen in the south of the county, whilst Ann and Chris Rhodes have purchased a Wallis Advance roller. This is 7962 of 1928 (0T81171 SMOKEY, previously owned by Jock Murray in Kent. Tony Hunt's 1921 Burrell 3849 (TA905) MARSHAL FOCH has been receiving a new firebox at Newtons in Bradford. The boiler was returned to Tony at the turn of the year and rebuilding is proceeding apace.
ROAD ROLLER ASSOCIATION
to R.R.A.
The Association's AGM weekend in Chatham included a visit to the Industrial Museum in the centre of the naval town where an Aveling & Porter oil-engined roller is under renovation. This interesting machine, 11192 of 1925, used to stand in a children's playground in nearby Strood, having been previously owned by the local council. A recent committee meeting of the RRA discussed the rare Greens of Leeds steam roller owned by Staffordshire County Council and presently on display at Shugborough Hall. The single cylinder machine, 2054 of 1927 (RF3309) and one of only five by this maker listed in Traction Engine Register, is currently 'on display', entirely exposed and unprotected in the museum's courtyard. It is reported that there are plans for it to be cosmetically restored and placed on display outside a Council building. The RRA committee decided to draw the council's attention to the rarity of the 145
roller and suggest that it should be cared for in a right and proper manner. Two training courses were run by the RRA at the end of April at the Leicester Museum of Technology's Abbey Pumping Station. One was on roller handling and care, the other on road making. During the tidying up operation after the latter course, an incident occurred in which a diesel roller collided with railings. No one was hurt, but the roller was slightly damaged and railings broken. The Association will enquire into the incident to establish the cause, in the hope that this will prevent any further such incidents.
SENTINEL DRIVERS CLUB
When Alley & MacLellan set up their new works at Shrewsbury in 1915, they needed a test route to test out new waggons before delivery. (Note: Sentinels always spelt the word with two g's.) A run was needed that 146
The number of steam wagons that are restored into original condition, with authentic owners livery and lettering of the period, is regrettably small, but those that have been so presented make striking exhibits at rallies and other events. Sentinel S6 wagon 8821 was new to Tarmac Ltd of Ettingshall, Wolverhampton, in 1933, painted in a gloss black livery with sign writing in gold leaf. The lorry, accurately restored, is seen here partaking in the Shropshire club's 21st anniversary road run from Church Stretton to Bishops Castle in August 1982. (Bob Payne)
would test their products, fully loaded, to make sure that each was up to the high standard required of Sentinels. The route chosen was what is now the A5 from Shrewsbury via West Felton, Whittington, Gobowen and Chirk and on to Llangollen and then to the summit of the Horseshoe Pass. It was also used to test prototypes and was used by Commercial Motor for their published road tests. On Saturday 24th August 1991, the Sentinel Drivers Club are organising a re-enactment of test runs on this route in its complete form. We have entries from all types of Sentinels produced, from the early Standard up to the diesel models of the early fifties. Included in the entry is the unique shaft drive prototype of Ian Woollett, the only survivor of many of the
development models built. The only deviation from the original road tests is that all wagons will be empty, as the Ministry of Transport would not look too kindly on preserved vehicles carrying a load. The route will follow the original as far as possible, including travelling via West Felton, Whittington and Gobowen. The distance is approximately 35 miles and wagons will be leaving from the rear of the Perkins factory (the present owners of the old works) at 10 minute intervals from about 8 am. The first entries should arrive at the summit from 11am onwards. The journey is very interesting with some spectacular views on the Horseshoe Pass. The pass is a real test for these preserved machines with a four mile climb from
Llangollen, some sections at 1 in 5. After the road run the Sentinels will travel to the Bishops Castle rally for what should be one of the largest collections of assembled Sentinels. (Mick Tux worth, chairman and run organiser)
STEAM PLOUGH CLUB The Steam Plough Club celebrated its Silver Jubilee in fine style at the end of May when its members were presented with an absolute feast of engines and implements at a private event near Witney, Oxfordshire. It was a unique assembly which included many engines not before seen in public, or arriving for the first time in preservation. The occasion was only possible by the wholehearted support of members who provided engines and tackle and who travelled many miles at their own expense. This truly exemplifies the spirit of co-operation which the club features in its membership. Ploughing engines attending were Burrell 8hp single 777 of 1879, not often seen so far from its home at the Museum of East Anglian Life at Stowmarket, Suffolk; McLaren 16hp compound 1552 of 1919 owned by
the Daniel brothers of Nanstallon, Cornwall; Fowler/Burrell single crank compound 2620 or 3448 owned by Bob Whitehead (this being possibly the first time the engine had been out of Kent since it went to Burrell's works in 1920 to have the compound cylinder fitted); Fowler 12hp single 1641 of 1871 owned by Beeby Bros; Fowler 14hp 2269 of 1874 owned by T. Hammond; Fowler 8hp single 3195 of 1876 owned by Peter Stanier and Richard Pierce — this was the engine's first appearance following an extensive but rapid rebuild after being out of use for over fifty years; Fowler B4 class 14hp compound 11637 of 1909, the earliest surviving compound Fowler ploughing engine, and again a machine being seen in public for the first time after a lengthy rebuild by owner Richard Vernon; Fowler AA6 class 16hp 1387 of 1917 owned by Peter Stanier; Fowler DDS class 8hp
single 13910 of 1914 another unique survivor all the way from County Durham, owned by John Bainbridge; Fowler T1 class 10hp compound 14253 of 1916, the only remaining example, owned by John Keeley; Fowler/McLaren diesel conversions 14379/14380 owned by Jeremy Walker and Fowler/Mercedes diesel conversions 1 51 98/1 51 99 owned by Basil Gibbons. The BB class was represented by 14hp compound 14712 of 1917, which Charlie Reeves has owned for over thirty years; two BB1 compounds attended, these being 16hp 15142 of 1918 owned by John Collins and 15333 of 1919 owned by Jonathan Garman. Michael Davies and David Adkins supplied 22hp Z7 class compounds 15670 and 15673, both of 1922. Joe Challis brought along his 2 inch scale Fowler BB1 class engine with 6 furrow anti balance plough.
Repatriated from the Henry Ford Museum in America earlier this year by Richard Vernon of Lutterworth, Leicestershire, is the sole surviving Howard ploughing engine. For years the machine had lain outside the museum suffering from a broken axle — a new one was speedily made and fitted following the engine's arrival in England to enable a surprise unveiling at the Steam Plough Club Witney event in May. We look forward to the day when the rear mounted cable drums on the Howard can work again and fascinate all steam plough enthusiasts. (Roger West)
147
Last but by no means least in the engine line up was the first appearance in preservation days in the UK of the only surviving Howard ploughing engine in the world. This was reimported in January from the Ford museum in Detroit by present owner Richard Vernon. of This collection extensive engines was accompanied by an equally important selection of implements, living vans and a water cart.
This included disc harrows, a spring tine cultivator, a combination implement (all rare or unique) and mole drainers as well as ploughs and cultivators. Engines worked during the weekend using coal provided by the SPC. Little of the above could have been achieved had it not been for the help so willingly given by club members and the kindness and preparation of the site by host Jeremy Walker and his
Around ilcitipito the ;44 World The Editor gratefully acknow- (USA); Stoomwalsenclub Nederlands; ledges receipt of magazines etc from The South Canterbury club (New Iron Men Album (USA); The Heritage Zealand) and from other correspondEagle (USA); The Stanley Museum ents as credited individually.
son Mark. Because of its nature and the costs incurred by many individuals it is most unlikely that such a gathering of tackle will ever be repeated. The club continues with its 25th anniversary celebrations by the publication later in the year of a commemorative booklet of photographs (free to members) and a lunch to be held in central London on 7th December. (John &Hard, Steam Plough Club)
AUSTRALIA Ross Goodman, boiler inspector to the Powerhouse Industrial Museum at Sydney, New South Wales, sends details of exploratory work on McLaren 6hp compound 815 of 1906. The two speed unsprung engine has been owned by the museum for a number of years, kept in store. The boiler cladding has recently been removed, which involved sending the engine by rail to an asbestos removal plant for the work to be done under controlled conditions. The boiler barrel and outer firebox proved to be in good condition, but the inner firebox and maybe the front tubeplate will need renewal; it has not yet been decided if this will be done.
FRANCE The unusual Tarpin portable (pictured on page 138 of our Summer 1988 issue) appears to have been victim of redevelopment of the area of Lyon where it was displayed, it not now being visible from passing trains. Can anyone report that the Lyon-built machine has been preserved elsewhere?
ICELAND Aveling & Porter 6 ton single cylinder roller 7752 of 1912 has been on outdoor display at Reykjavik for some years, but H. Pryer reports the machine now benefits from being inside the museum at Arbaejarhvern, an eastern suburb of the capital city.
NEW ZEALAND
McLaren 6hp traction 815 of 1906, after removal of asbestos boiler lagging at Sydney, Australia. (Ross Goodman) 148
The South Canterbury Club resumed rally organisation, after a four year gap, with their Pleasant Point rally at Easter 1991. The committee worked under something of a disadvantage, finding that the records of previous rallies seemed to have disappeared — a handicap that anyone who has organised two or more rallies will sympathise with, for past files are worth their weight in gold for ensuing events. Rain spoilt ground conditions
for the first day, stopping engine movement, but a more serious circumstance was the curtailment of the engine line up through many owners not being able to have their machines ready because of revised boiler regulations. Engines entered were six Fowler tractions, six Burrell tractions — including 8hp double crank compound 3348 of 1911, formerly owned in the area and returned for a short visit as promised by its present owner Jack Readman of Rangiora — and a Marshall traction engine. John Kyle's 1910 Burrell 3255 performed the New Zealand rally scene's party piece of hauling its travelling threshing set comprising mill, cook shop and two stinkies (surely, no explanation necessary of these!) in a tight circle until the train is almost nose to tail. Proceeds from the rally should enable the doubling in size of the Club's shed accommodation at their Seadown site. A small rally at Tuamarina in February 1991 saw Burrell 8hp single 3132 working and two Marshalls (under restoration) on exhibition — 6hp compound traction 45908 of 1906, rescued from a local flax works and a portable said to date from the 1860s. Waimate Historical Society have been steaming Hornsby 8hp single cylinder portable 6236 of 1888 at their museum; it last saw use at a sawmill in 1927. (South Canterbury club newsletter)
SWITZERLAND Derek Rayner reports from a late Easter holiday in this country. NTET member Jakob Heusser in the Zurich area was pleased to show his collection of five engines housed in a barn near his home. Prime exhibits are a huge pair of German built ploughing engines, numbers 457/458 by Rheinmetall of Dusseldorf in 1922. These were previously owned by the well-known Bavarian ploughing contractors Ottomeyer of Bad Pyrmont (where two derelict examples survive, see Steaming Spring 1990). Herr Heusser's machines were acquired in the mid 1960s, together with two anti-balance ploughs — one a six furrow type, the other a large single furrow example. Two German built portables in the collection are Heinrich Lanz 4974 of 1895 and Lutz of Darmstadt 1686 of 1912 — the latter sports a canopy. The group of five is completed by Zettelmeyer single cylinder roller 176 of 1924, previously owned by a Swiss road contractor Strub AG. Two further rollers are in the same ownership, but kept elsewhere — Zettelmeyer compound
588 of 1922 and Fowler compound 10150 of 1905, formerly with St Gallen town council. Another steam roller from that town is exhibited at the Technorama Museum at Winterthur. This is Aveling 3302 of 1893 (see our Summer 1990 issue, page 126) now the possessor of several features strange to British eyes: it is fitted with a large towing bracket, securely fixed through the forecarriage/smokebox bolts; a pump fitted with a pressure dome to even out the pressure fluctuations; a continental type mechanical lubricator arid high level handrails on the underside of the canopy. The latter also provides a route for a rodoperated chimney top damper. The Winterthur museum also houses an unidentified portable of rather massive construction and Swiss built semiportable Escher-Wyss 4636 of 1901. At Luzern the Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus) houses Garrett roller 29763 of 1911, though it is lacking the description labels accorded to most other exhibits. South from Luzern, after a pleasant lakeside walk
from Stanstaad station (and past a dusty concrete plant), the unidentified roller still stands at Rotzloch. Fowler single roller 9283 of 1903 remains on display outside the yard of Strub AG at Zofingen. This firm is said to keep another steam roller at their yard at Aarau.
USA Intending visitors to America often have difficulty in finding details of steam events that might be taking place during their time in the country. The annually published Steam & Gas Shuvir Dir6ctoty c-uotains 144 pages of lists and advertisements for shows throughout the States. Copies of the 1991 Directory are available from Stemgas Publishing Co, PO Box 328, Lancaster PA 17603 USA — remittance of the sum of US$7.00 should cover the cost plus transatlantic postage. From the Steam Plough Club comes news of ploughing engines in North America. Dave Anton visited Fred Heidrich in California — Fred owns Fowler K5 engine 10460 of
Aveling & Porter single cylinder roller 3302 of 1893, displayed at Winterthur, Switzerland. (Derek Rayner)
about 1906 and also 11300. The former has just had new tubes, tender and smokebox and a new connecting rod. Further north in Canada (editorial apologies for grouping this under USA!) the Matthews family near Toronto own BB1 engines 15138 and 15149 — the respective pairs of these machines survive in our own country and are both owned in the Cheshire 15139 with Richard Metcalfe area and 15148 with Denis Priestner.
ZIMBABWE John Toy reports road steam engines seen or reported at various museums during a tour of the country in 1990. Outside the National Archives building in Harare is Burrell 8hp single cylinder traction engine 2554 of 1903; it has been there since 1970. The Natural History Museum in Bulawayo exhibits Marshall single portable 54197, formerly at Tjolotjo Sawmills, whilst Ruston & Hornsby
class PX compound portable 179063 is part of the collection (it includes three railway locos) at an outdoor museum on the outskirts of Kadoma. Other engines are to be found at Gweru — S steam roller — and at Mutare. The latter museum is the home of the enormous Bow, McLachlan road engine, formerly displayed at Bulawayo, and featured in the RLS Journal for May 1988 and May 1990.
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Letters
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The Defence of the Realm I was most interested to read the article in our Spring issue about the permit issued to Alexander Gray under the Road Transport Order 1918. As is mentioned, our Foden 1742 carried a similar Transport Registration number and in restoring the wagon we faithfully reproduced this lettering without any clear idea as to its origin. The picture of 1742 included with the article was taken in the railway goods yard at Tiverton circa 1924, the tall man nearest the wagon was Bill Woodward and his companion F. Ball. Bill Woodward had driven for Starkey Knight & Ford from about 1918, first with 1742 and later with its replacement HH type 5 tonner 13928, and it is thanks to him, for information that he gave us shortly before he died, that we know so much of the history of 1742. During World War 1 1742 had been requisitioned for Government timber haulage during which time the original mahogany built box body was badly damaged. The brewery got her back in late 1918 .and a new Brickwood type body was fitted by Woodgates of Tiverton. So it would be soon after this she was registered S EXE 52/2. Probably these registration numbers were superseded by the 150
The makers photograph of Foden 1742 when new in 1908. (collection W.A. Briggs)
Foden 4542 was able to be splendidly decorated for the 1924 Tiverton Carnival with very topical phrases — 'Latest Results' and 'First Prize Brewers Exhibition Yesterday' told the onlookers of the brewery's latest honours. The lettering of the company's name on the engine side sheets seems to have become a little work-worn and needed emphasis in chalk. (collection W.A. Briggs)
provisions of the Roads Act 1920, for I see from an old registration book that I have for 1742 that she was registered under the provisions of this Act on 2nd February 1921. The continuation book I have, dated February 1925, shows the road tax payable for use with a trailer as £32 per annum, being increased to £54 per annum from January 1927. Finally I enclose two photographs. The first is a copy of the works photograph of 1742 at Elworth before dispatch showing the original body which Foden's described in the order book as 'Special Body £12 extra' and 'lettering as Idris wagon'. The second picture, which was found by my friend David Williams, depicts Starkey Knight & Ford's 3 tonner 4542 in the 1924 Tiverton Carnival. Here again we can see the lettering for the 1918 regulations — in this case S EXE 52/1. This was described In the Tiverton Gazette as follows: 'Successes at the Brewers Exhibition in 1921-22-23 were advertised by Messrs Starkey Knight & Ford by a well arranged steam wagon which bore the inscription 'Starkey's Unapproachable, Still keeps its tail up'. Sheaves of barley and a sack of malt testified to the purity of the ingredients of the firm's ales, while a number of beer barrels represented the finished product. J. Chilcott and J. Britton were the drivers. A pictorial representation of the firm's trademark, an
unapproachable horse, was a centre figure. The firm came first in its class.' Bill Briggs
Knutsford, Cheshire
An unidentified Sentinel Since I became aware early in 1990 of the preserved Sentinel Super wagon in Colombo, Sri Lanka (a photograph and report of the location appeared on page 45 of our Winter 1990/91 issue► , I have made extensive enquiries, with the help of that country's embassy, to addresses in Colombo, in an attempt to find out which of the six wagons delivered to the city's Municipality the preserved example actually is. Letters from me have also been published in the various transport enthusiasts magazine in this country, but all enquiries have been to no avail. I have details of 137 Sentinel steam wagons known to remain in existence world wide and am anxious to know the identity of this presently anonymous Colombo example, the only unidentified one among the 137. Could I ask that any reader able to help please contact me, or that someone who may be visiting Colombo might care to visit the Municipal transport offices in the hope they may have archives that could provide the works number for the survivor. Joe Thomas
5 Minett Avenue, Rush wick, Worcester WR2 5TQ
Brown & Tawse's fleet Readers may like to know that the petrol lorry posed with the Clayton steam wagons (page 102 of the last issue) is a Hallford, built by J. & E. Hall, marine refrigeration plant and lift makers of Dartford, Kent. The truck was probably ex War Department stock. Michael Worthington-Williams Newcastle Emlyn, Dyfed
A Ransomes' load I refer to the photograph on page 60 of the Spring issue of Steaming. As always , this is of interest, but the statement that the load behind the Ransomes engine is baled hay is not correct. It does in fact consist of trusses of hay which have been cut from a hay stack with a special large knife and tied with twine. Possibly the trusses were held In a hand worked press for tying, thereby increasing the density but in no way should they be confused with the bales made on the perpetual system and tied by wire in a steam driven baling press. If hay was new, that is until Michaelmas Day, the accepted truss weight was 561bs. After this date the hay was considered old and the truss weight 601bs. A bale of hay would weigh about 1201bs, depending upon the exact setting of the pressure mechanism of the machine. Geoff Gilbert
Wood Walton, Cambridgeshire
WORLD'S FAIR The outdoor entertainment weekly incorporating
MR 44
47' tTERrtiEaVR:EAiOiN
Rallies, News, Reports and Advertising
Place a regular order NOW with your newsagent. Something to sell? An event to promote? For all your advertising requirements there is no better publication. For advertising and subscription details contact: 061-624 3687 The World's Fair Ltd., P.O. Box 57, Oldham OL1 4BB. 1 51
New Members A sincere welcome is extended to the following new members who have joined the Trust during the last three months. We hope they will all gain much friendship, information and enjoyment from their membership over a period of many years.
D.W. Elms, 161 Tunnel Hill, Worcester. (Family member: Pamela.) D.C. Venn, 2 High Grove Court, Rushden, Northamptonshire. H.S. Rivers, 2 Southdale Road, Oxford. A.J. Young, The Bungalow, Meadow Lane, Earith, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. S.G. Lathwell, 4 Ashwell Street, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. R.W. Bell, 54 Smeath Road, Underwood, Nottinghamshire. A. Furness, Quatford Nurseries, Quatford, Bridgnorth, Shropshire. (Family members: Valerie, Craig and Allison.) D. Earnsworth, The Lilacs, Northfield Lane, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire. G.K. Taylor, 57 Desborough Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire. J.J. Parfitt, Peniche Johanna, Mailly la Ville, France. L. Stephens, 16321 Pacific Coast, Space 178, Pacific Palisades, USA. K.A. Rawcliffe, 13 Conington Avenue, Beverley, North Humberside. B. Heruot, 3 Rue de Fresnay, 28000 Chartres, France. P.W. Bradbury, 14 Seascale Crescent, Wigan, Lancashire. I. Bromley, 95 Victoria Road, Bridgnorth, Shropshire. (Family member: Francis.) R.A.F. Smith, 7 Temple Road, Liss Forest, Liss, Hampshire. K.J. Knight, Sydney House, Cwrt Sart, Briton Ferry, Neath, West Glamorgan. 152
Burrell 5hp traction engine 3917 of 1921 tows a racksaw bench through Worminghall village in Buckinghamshire after the rally there in August 1990. (John Maund)
A.R. Tuck, 15 Jameson Road, Winton, Bournemouth, Dorset. R.W. Boden, 10 Cherry Tree Gardens, Ramsgate, Kent. S.A. Moritz, 65 Folkestone Road, South Brighton, South Australia 5048, Australia. G. Parry, 43 Southwell, Portland, Dorset. (Family members: Jane and Benjamin) S.J. Hoyle, 11 Little Church Lane, Methley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. D.V. Corby, Insleneun, Church Road, Havenstreet, Isle of Wight. T.M. Jones, 116 Lowestoft Road, Gorleston, Norfolk. (Family members: Adrian, Philip and Rosanna) J. Eaton, The Firs, West End, Kingham, Oxfordshire. M.J. Sheldon, Martin Lodge, Cemetery Road, Bicker, Boston, Lincolnshire. M. Harris, 93 High Street, Treorchy, Mid-Glamorgan. (Family members: Elizabeth, Phillip and Stephen) E.S. Collyer, Orchard Cottage, Ilketshall St Margarets, Bungay, Suffolk. K.S. Shelton, 16 Meadow Way, Attleborough, Norfolk. J.S. Marter, The Moot, 46 Hadrian Way, Ashington Park, Corfe Mullen, Dorset. A. Causer, 3 Hexham Road, West Dulwich, London. V.A. Childs, 57 Somerville Close, Waddington, Lincoln. (Family members: David, Christopher and Steven.) J.C. Jasper, 2 Mill Cottages, Coldharbour, Uffculme, Cullompton, Devon. R.G. Baker, 45 Morrison Terrace, Ferryhill, County Durham. G.E. Bennett, 17 Beechwood, Higher Downs, Knutsford, Cheshire. D. Hutton, The Nook, Snelsmoor Lane, Chellaston, Derby. J.E. Walker, 65 Llwyn Ynn, Talybont, Barmouth, Gwynedd. H.M. Gordon, 72 Glenarm Road, London. Long Shop Museum, Leiston, Suffolk. B. Dando, The Cottage, Wapley, Chipping Sodbury, Bristol. (Family members: Shirley, Dominic and Berkeley.)
National Traction Engine Club (1984) Ltd
Small advertisements for private SALES, WANTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS, and appertaining to road steam engines or associated items, are free of charge to National Traction Engine Trust members, subject to a maximum of 75 words, excluding name, address and telephone. Advertisements should be written clearly and concisely, and to ensure publication must be accompanied by the advertiser's NTET membership number. Non-members rates for small adverts are 10p per word, with a minimum charge of £1.50, payable in advance. Members wishing to use these columns for trade purposes may do so at 5p per word, minimum charge F1.50, payable in advance. The publishers retain the right to refuse or withdraw advertisements at their discretion and do not accept liability for clerical or printers' errors, although every care is taken to avoid mistakes. ALL SMALL ADVERTISEMENTS TO BE SENT TO THE EDITOR; SEE TITLE PAGE OF EACH ISSUE FOR PRESS DATE.
Mail Order ki Many books, model kits and other items of interest to traction engine enthusiasts are available from the Sales section. Readers are urged to take advantage of this service (which also benefits Trust funds) for trouble free and economical postal shopping. Just tick the box for items you require and fill in the address slip.
TRACTION ENGINE READING New Triumphs of Transport (Boughton) hard E13.95 soft £9.95 £1.99 New Steam Heritage Yearbook New Vintage Steam Albums (Sawford) £4.95 D 5. Road Locomotives
1. Allchin of Northampton
Mill engine SARA in steam at Providence Mill, Earlsheaton, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire on September 21st/22nd plus rally of Miniature Traction Engines. Admission free. Contact Martin Hallows (Tr 0274 665210) if you are interested in bringing a miniature engine. Attention - re my advert in Steaming Autumn 1988: will the person, believed from Midlands, who purchased the Leyland Journals please contact me as I have found several more volumes - M..I. Green, St Albans Tr 0727 860948. For sale - Steaming, Vol 5 No3 to Vol 23 No4; offers, purchaser to collect. Wanted, Vols 1, 2 and 3 of Steaming. J. Parkinson, 124 London Road, Long Sutton, Spalding, Lincs PE12 9EE (13. 0406 362388). For sale - 4ft 6in Marshall thrashing drum A2, number 23024, III yuod WUI MI uitiel, 12750, Cidy LUI I Ca Shoinevvol III power chaff critter in working order, f350; Cooks straw elevator (chains require some work, otherwise good order), £250; Bat tyer (knotter requires attention but complete), £75. - Daytime 13` Gainsborough 612301, home Tr Corringham 83 795 or write onnopier Mnnr Groan, High Street, rnrriogham, nainqhorolIgh, Lincs DN21 5QN. Steaming back numbers, including some complete volumes. Area specials £2.80, others £2 post paid. - G. Ran Hawthorne, 69 West Chiltern, Woodcote, Reading RG8 OSG (72 0491 680484). Wanted - scarifier to fit 10 ton Wallis Advance roller, also transfers for belly tanks with Wallis emblem. Also photos of 7962 of 1928 (0T8117) in working days. - a Castleford 0977 518905. For sale - Garrett water pump patterns, 12 items, £25; 1%in, 1'/sin and 2Yz in pitch chains, all used but serviceable; some back issues of Steaming, early ones for exchange. I P. Bowers Ts 0344 require Vol 1, Not 1 4, Vol 2 Nos 1/2. 21286 Ascot. Wanted - any books, photos etc on any Sentinel products, road rail, sea or machines. - P. Bowers Tr 0344 21286 Ascot. New Fowler parts - firehole door (11 x 9); chimney base ID, 861); smokebox door makers plates (13B1 brass); cast iron toolbox; firebars; water line plate; wire bound suction hose; tube brushes. - Dorothea Restorations Ltd, New Road, Whaley Bridge, Stockport, Cheshire SK12 7QW (Tr 0663 733544).
£4.95 El
6. Steam Rollers New British Traction Engine Builders (Middlemiss/Sawford) New Whilst I Live I'll Crow (Wilkes) Wood, Wurlitzers and Wesley (Sanders) Steam in the Veins (Boughton)
hard £12.95 soft £9.95 £5.50 E13.95 hard E12.95 soft
£8.95 £6.50 £6.00
I Kept a Troshin (Nicholson) The Old Guard (Harding/Bullman) Vintage Steam Albums (Sawford) 1. Ploughing Engines 2, Agricultural Engines
E3.95 £3.95
3. Showmans Road Locomotives
£4.95
4. Steam Tractors Scale Traction Engine Building MINNIE
£3.95 £11.95
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Small Adverts
Hull and East Riding - Early Days on the road in photos (Dodsworth)
[4,95 D
rairground Heritage Vol 2 - the steam age (Wilkes)
£8.50 ❑ £6.75 D
Iron Men of the Road (McTaggart) Fairground Heritage (Wilkes) Steam in My Family (Newton)
£8.50 ❑ £5.50 ❑ £4.95 El
Traction Engines and the Law (Tew) non members
£2.25 0 £2,75 El
The Great Nottingham Goose Fair
£17.95 ❑ E9.95
Steam Engine Builders of Norfolk (Clark) Steam on the Road (Gladwin) Aveling & Porter (Preston)
E3.00
[12.95 The Sentinel Volume 2 (Thomas) £9.95 Fowler Steam Cultivation £11.00 non members Machinery1900-1930 now only [3.95 Sentinel Diesel Lorries now only £3.95 A Zoo on Wheels (Middlemiss) £4.00
Traction Engines of Rutland Historic Fairground Scenes (Ware) Steam Wagons (Sawford) Steam Power, Farm and Highway non-members Steam Threshing in the Cotswolds (Thexton) non members
£7.99 £2.95 F1000 £12.95 ❑ £6.25 £7.50
continued overleaf
European Traction Engine Register: now published following information gleaned from pervious requests in these pages. Additional copies of this illustrated booklet now available, £2.50 - Derek Rayner, 9 Beagle Ridge Drive, Acomb, York Y02 3JH.
KITS FOR MODELMAKERS
For Faller, Preiser, Carnival and other fairground model kits and white metal kits tel 0527 575003 for details and availability.
Wanted - The Rise and Fall of the Steam Driven Omnibus by C.E. Lee. - M.A. Poole, 89 Glebelands, Pulborough, West Sussex RH2O 2JH.
Wileso models and kits with 10% discount to members on makers recommended prices, also spare parts available- Telephone as above for details.
For sale - books on steam engines (some rare), also some on vintage cars. Please send SAE for full list. - H.F.G. Cox, No 2 Buckgrove, St Giles, Torrington, Devon EX38 7JB.
STEAMING back numbers Vol 29, all issues (1986) Vol 30, all issues (1987) Vol 31, all issues (1988)
per copy non members members £2.00 £3.00 £2.00 £3.00 £2.00 £3.50
Vol 32, all issues (1989)
£2.50 £2.50
Vol 33, No. 1, 2 (1990)
❑ ❑ ❑
£4.00
❑
£4.50
❑
CLUB ITEMS: (all with NTEC logo and/or lettering) Steaming binder T Shirts, navy blue with white logo, 'Engine drivers do it Under Pressure' (members)
Sizes XL and XXL only
(non-members) Sweat Shirts, navy blue with NTET logo Sizes XL and XXL only (non members)
£4.95 ❑
£5.00 ❑ £5.95 ❑ £13,50 ❑ f16.00 ❑
New member, Coventry area, would like to contact any owners in N. Warwickshire requiring help with restoring/running engines. Previous experience with Aveling 6 ton compound roller and 7hp Burrell traction. Have access to substantial workshop facilities. - A. Boothman tr 0203 412477. New pressure gauges to 300Ibs, flange mounted, £18.50; Duplex test gauge in leather case with fittings, £80; steam wheel valves from £18; some are old type with square not hexagon topped bodies; gate valves, plumbing quality, %in, £1.50; engineering quality, various sizes, new; non-return valves and strainers. Tr 0789 778451 Warwickshire or call at the stall by the tractor ring at Marcie Steam Rally, 13/14th July. Wanted and For sale - books, catalogues on farm and construction machinery, steam or diesel/tvo. Collections purchased. - A,C. Mole Tr 0844 238 (Dorton, Bucks). Road Roller Association for all interested in steam or motor rollers, road making machines, practices and history. Quarterly journal ROLLING. Subscription £7.00 per year. - Membership Secretary, Mrs Alison Arrowsmith, 7 Worcester Close, Lichfield, Staffordshire WS13 7SP.
Special NTET badges, all priced at 95p each
For sale - Bomford living van, good condition, on solid rubber tyres; Burrell water pump and gland; Fowler big end brasses; chimney base flanges, overlapping type; %in wire rope, new; Yin and %in injectors, Penberthy; Sentinel knight figure; Sentinel apron plates; Marshall brass plates; Fowler spares catalogue; various brass glands; wheel and non-return steam valves. - L.J. Lambe, 84 Redditch Road, Stoke Heath, Bromsgrove B60 4JR (17 0527 313981,
❑ Tractor VILLAGE QUEEN ❑ ❑ Crane engine ❑ Showmans EVENING STAR ❑ Showmans VICTORY ❑ Showmans LIGHTNING ❑ Whites Gavoli Organ ❑
Steam Plough Club - for all interested in steam cultivation, offering regular newsletter, events, visits, history and technical advice. Subscription £8.00 per year, OAP's £2.00 - John Billard, Old Station House, Twyford, Berkshire RG10 9NA.
£1.25 ❑ £15.50 ❑ £0.50 ❑
Members badge Car badge Car stickers - member - I love traction engines
£0.25 ❑
Showmans QUO VADIS Showmans SUPREME
For sale - pair of Fowler ploughing engines, plus a selection of tackle if required. The engines have been restored over the last ten years to a high standard. Can be seen at work. For more details Tr 0455 552811. To claim post-free for UK members please enclose current membership card, Non-members please enclose £2.50 postage per order. Overseas members please enclose £5.00 postage per order (European); £7.50 (rest of world). PO/Cheques (in sterling please) to be made payable to: National Traction Engine Club (19841 Ltd. Visa, Access and Mastercard accepted; please state card number, expiry date and name on card, or phone 0527 575003 evenings. Orders to be sent to: NTEC Sales, 138 Shaw Lane, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4DZ Please allow 28 days for delivery. Name
Steam engineering services - milling, turning (up to 12in dial etc - G.R. Hawthorne TS' 0491 680484. For sale - reducing my collection of road and rail items, including brass makers plates from 1878 Fowler ploughing (very rare), whistle, pressure gauges, Fowler oil headlamp, railway plates etc. Quite an interesting selection to appeal to collectors. Please send 9 x 4 SAE for list. - R. Parkinson, 6 Okefield Ridge, Crediton, Devon EX17 2EG. Wanted - 11/4 in and 2in tube expanders, also any large open-ended spanners - contact F. Titmarsh, 96 Field Road, Forest Gate, London E7 9DL (Tr 081 555 4247). For sale - Aveling & Porter road locomotive 1914, extensive work carried out in recent years. In excellent condition; offers invited around £55000. sir 0948 73257 day, 0948 2747 night.
Address
Membership No.
Wanted - Howard self moving anchor, cultivating tackle and any information and assistance in restoring Howard double drum Farmers Engine - the one purchased by Henry Ford in 1929 for £45 from Baldwin Bros Ltd, Wadhurst (see Steaming Vol 25 No 2). For more details please tr R. Vernon 0455 552811.
Amount Enclosed List 23, Summer 1990/91
Makers catalogues - reprints for sale: Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Engines and Threshing Machines £1; Foden Wagons, 1904 £2.95; Foster Traction and Road Locos, c1911 £1.95; Naylor Hereford Wagons £1.50; post free from Road Locomotive Society Sales, Foxgrove, Burnt Common Lane, Ripley, Surrey GU24 6HD.
National Vintage Tractor and Engine Club - caters for all enthusiasts (3500 members nationwide). 28 local groups organise meetings with illustrated talks and help for members. Club magazine Vaporising with articles of interest and free ads to members. Basic membership £10. Details from Mrs P.E. Sims, 1 Hall Farm Cottages, Church Lane, Swarkestone, Derby DE7 1JB (sae please, sample magazine £1.00 stamps). Threshing by steam show and ploughing match at Oasby, near Grantham, Lincolnshire, 29th September, commencing 10am. — Royce Longland, Maryland, Oasby, near Grantham, Lincs NG32 3ND (Tr 05295 442). For sale — Marshall living van, suit steam roller, needs tidying and painting. — sr Anthony Cowell 0772 663669. For sale — traction engine books and Steamings. SAE for full list to Anthony Cowell, Threemile Cross Farm, Longridge Road, Grimsargh, Preston, Lanes PR2 5SA. Wanted — traction engine, threshing machine makers catalogues or literature etc. — Anthony Cowell 0772 653569. For sale — 2in scale model of THETFORD TOWN showmans engine, 60% complete, all drawings and castings (included in price) to complete model. No boiler certificate with boiler; £850. — J.R. Clarke, 144 St Johns Ave, Kidderminster, Worcs DY11 6AU (sr 0562 747048). Sentinel steam wagon for sale. Lightweight Super. Ready to rally. Full boiler certificate, recent repaint. — I. Ridley, 18 Green Lane, Radnage, Bucks (v 0494 482184). Traction trailer for sale; good original condition (scruffy!) Aveling trailer, solid rubbers and springs £250; Weir pump in fair order plus small vertical water pump ideal for engine mounting, £150. Part exchange on any of above for a decent living van. I also have for sale delightful Weeks orchard sprayer, but the editor does not want me to mention that! — W. Day, v 0622 890 211 (Kent). For sale — 4in scale Foster traction engine (Y3 full size), built 1988 and rallied for three seasons. Great hauler, current boiler certificate, reason for selling — I'm building a half size engine and need the dash! Can deliver anywhere. Best sensible offer secures this fine engine. if Rod 0579-84012 (Cornwall). For sale — Garrett 4CD showmans tractor; new firebox, boiler etc, immaculate condition throughout, full boiler certificate. Substantial offers required, for appointment write with SAE to — R. Newton, 33 Thesiger Street, Lincoln LN5 7UW. Wanted — pair of BB1 ploughing engines in good condition. — R. Newton, address as above advert.
For sale 1926 8 ton Aveling & Porter roller; new firebox, barrel, tube plate, tubes, gearing, 14 bearings. Excellent current boiler certificate. Also 300 gallon bowser with steal racks to hold 5 cwt coal and 1980 ERF sleeper cab tractor unit plus King low loader; only genuine realistic offers considered. Various sizes hollow phosphor bronze bearing billets. — Fred Whitehead, Gorwel Deg, Tregarth, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 4AL la 0248 600896). For sale — roller type living van, 75% restored, mounted on Tasker chassis with over-run brakes and 750 x 16 tyres. Also original iron wheels, axles and forecarriage for above. Showmans Hostess stove with oven, three rings and small back boiler — Darlington 333743. Wanted — NTEC members lapel badges (tractor, general purpose, wagon); The Dorset Steam & Vintage Vehicle Club and Pickering Traction Engine Club lapel badges. — M.A. Poole, 89 Glebelands, Pulborough, West Sussex RH2O 2JH. For sale — Marshall 8hp portable 8839 of 1881, believed the oldest working Marshall to survive; full boiler certificate, runs like a watch, for sale because of completion of traction engine rebuild. See our Autumn 1989 issue for picture, p196. — Richard Hesbrook if 0432 71 526 evenings. For sale — Burrell 41/2 in traction engine, professional copper boiler with certificate, excellent condition. Also 3in Burrell with trailer and certificate. For price ring Paul on a 0942 492901. Volute springs wanted, similar to illustration. They arc needed to make up spring drawbars to complete the restoration of two traction wagons. I have tried for years to obtain some without success. Any help to locate springs would be very much appreciated. — John Sawle, Beacon Cottage Farm, St Agnes, Cornwall TR5 ONU la 087 255 2347). Gauge glasses — many sizes available. Send for list. — Ray Hooley, 16 Alexandre Avenue, North Hykeham, Lincoln (Tel 0522-6824061. Ruston Hornsby transfers — full range of designs and sizes; send for list. Engines dated gratis. Full sets of publications available for most models. — Ray Hooley, 16 Alexandre Avenue, North Hykeham, Lincoln (Tel 0522-682406).
For sale — books by R.H. Clark; Steam Engine Builders of Lincolnshire; Norfolk and Suffolk Essex and Cambridgeshire; Traction Engine Miscellany; The Development of the English Traction Enoine. Offers. Two conies of Chronicles of a Country Works, £130 each, mint. — R. Newton, address as above advert. For sale — Dyson low loader, 21 tons gross, knock-out rear end, 16ft bed. Needs tidying and testing. Good strong and handy trailer, ideal for traction engine or steam tractor. Will scrap if not sold, £260 ono. Dick Ransome, Emlin Hell, Torver, near Coniston, Cumbria LA21 8BJ Iv 05394 41301 evenings only). Wanted — for 3hp Marshall portable. Genuine pattern displacement lubricator; brass oil cups; flanged cylinder drain cocks — flange size 2 1/2 in x 1% in. — Richard Willcox, Ravenna Cottage, Stanley Downton, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire lap 045 382 4133). Wanted — scarifier for Aveling & Porter 10 ton E type roller, would prefer Price patent, but anything considered. I have for sale a Price scarifier to fit an 8 ton Aveling. R.A. Goulby, 25 Kirkley Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk (v 0502 573930). For sale — one pair Lucas King of the Road headlamps, £75; one ditto £45; one Dietz brass lamp complete £70; Carter Bros elevator £100; Albion 5A binder £300. — v 0452 741243. For sale — roller living van, £700; brass smokebox ring cast from Burrell showmans MASTERPIECE (reads THE BURRELL PATENT ENGINE), £80 — R. Hazel!, 25 Priestlands, Romsey, Hampshire S051 8FJ. For sale — 1921 Marshall compound steam roller, differential, winding drum, 12 ton, drawings and parts book. Dismantled for restoration; never rallied. Also living van. Offers — v 0494 711629.
'Confound those 30 mile limits — I'll never be home tonight!' — a cartoon from Commercial Motor, 4th November 1938, at a time when the speed restrictions were relatively new. (courtesy A. Bennison) 155
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