Sommaire pour November 2016 de Old Glory

EXHIBITORS and visitors to the Malpas Yesteryear Rally were able to enjoy a dry and sunny weekend of September 10-11 for the 43rd event staged by Malpas Vintage Machinery Association at Hampton Heath, Cheshire, reports Brian Dobbs. This ever-popular event again drew together an impressive selection of full-size and miniature steam and examples of most forms of machinery from across the vintage preservation movement. Regular and informative commentator David Bradbury and his colleagues add a zest to the arena events and to the atmosphere. A hallmark of the Malpas event for many years and first up in the top arena on both mornings was the charity public steering event, in exchange for a donation to a charity of the organisers’ choice. More than 30 full-size steamers were on display, with…

CUMBRIA Steam & Vintage Society held its annual Gathering at the eminently suitable former Cark Airfield site at Flookburgh, west of Grange-over-Sands, reports David Warren. A total of 22 full-size engines were on show, a surprise being the appearance of Robey tandem roller No 41953, which was at its first rally after considerable boiler and firebox work following an absence of several years – a few finishing touches to its restoration have yet to be undertaken. The largest engines present were a very impressive pair of Fowler AA7 ploughing engines belonging to Alex Sharphouse. Although they have been together all their lives, No 15563 worked until 1963 whereas sister engine No 15564 was laid up in 1949 and was only restored to working order last year. They were presented in…

THE Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway will host a gathering of strange and wonderful vehicles mounted on narrow gauge rails, entitled Quirks and Curiosities II over the May Bank Holiday weekend of April 28 to May 1, 2017. It follows the hugely successful first event in 2010 and the railway has had many requests since for a sequel. This will be a showcase for light rail and engineering vehicles in rather unusual ways and designs. The railway’s regular fleet of locomotives will of course be in attendance providing an intensive train service over all three days. A gravity slate train will also be in operation. This event will also present a rare opportunity to visit the railway’s works at Boston Lodge which will be open to the public for the…

IN AUGUST 2011 Alistair Cook was awarded the ‘Young Engineer of the Year’ award by the Northern Association of Model Engineers and in November the same year the NTET Steam Apprentice Club’s ‘Technical Achievement Award’ – presented by its then new president, Andrew Semple. The May 2012 issue of Old Glory featured a report by Colin Tyson detailing the activities of the Audley End Miniature Railway in Essex. The article concluded with the prophecy that young engineer Alistair Cook was destined for great things. Alistair had built a 4in scale traction wagon as his GCSE project and been awarded several plaudits for it, as well as obtaining the targeted GCSE pass. The story was brought up to date in OG 310 by an article marking the completion of a three-year…

The year 2014 was always going to be one of uncertainty. My 1876 Shand Mason steam fire engine St. George was due for its 10-year exam. I wasn’t expecting any trouble, since the ancient beast had always sailed through previous annual inspections, but one never knows. Although a new firebox was installed 20 years ago, it was always possible that something evil might be lurking within the confines of the boiler. I had compiled a list of rallies to be attended which included the prospect of taking the engine and boiler apart in September after we had supplied water to the engines on the NTET road run at Old Warden. Attending Lady Judy McAlpine’s 70th birthday celebration at Fawley Hill and having sunk the caravan and car into the Chiltern…

Any further development of Wallis & Steevens’ road-going 3-ton steam tractor was abandoned following the increase by a ton in the permitted weight. However it was arguably the 3-ton tractor which had laid the foundation for the subsequent success of the larger Wallis tractors and the development of the use of the oil bath in their design. It is believed that the initial impetus for the Basingstoke company’s development of the light steam tractor came from a visit by Frank and Alfred Wallis to the 1896 Motor Car Show at Crystal Palace, London. Although there were only six machines on display (three motor vehicles and three steam powered) Frank Wallis concluded in his report on the event that “these Motor Cars are not sufficiently developed to prove immediately a commercial…

The Schienenzeppelin was designed by German aircraft engineer and inventor Franz Friedrich Kruckenberg (1882-1965). The vehicle rode on four wheels, could accommodate 40 passengers in smoking and non-smoking sections, and had a centrally placed buffet, a luggage room and a lavatory. Due to the speeds at which the Schienenzeppelin was intended to operate, most of the windows were non-opening; air circulation being provided by a ventilation system. Kruckenberg’s preoccupations with lightness and speed were reflected in the railcar’s spartan, Bauhaus-designed interior, which included canvas-covered seats. Kruckenberg even dismissed sound-baffling as gratuitous. Power was provided by a pair of 230hp water-cooled BMW IV six-cylinder aircraft engines, which turned (via compressed air) a rear-mounted propeller made of ash wood. The driveshaft and prop were angled forward at seven degrees to provide downward…

This year Scania AB celebrates its 125th anniversary and with the release of its new range of trucks due later in the year the company seems certain to build on an already impressive heritage. Neither of the two companies, which would eventually come together, started life as truck manufacturers; indeed when one of the firms, Vabis, was formed in 1891 the motor vehicle was very much in its infancy. Vabis had been established as a privately owned company to produce railway wagons and had opened a works at Sodertalje. Also in 1891 a British firm, Humber Cycles, with a view to expanding into the wider European market, had opened a bicycle production factory in Malmo in southern Sweden. Humber Cycles sold the rights to produce its machines in 1900 to…

WHILE Andy Plunkett was in Queensland visiting Charters Towers, it was with some difficulty that he tracked down the site of the town’s former steam-powered water pumping station, located in the scrubland beside the Burdekin River. This pumping station’s initial construction period was between 1887 and 1891. The engines are Hathorn Davey & Co inverted-compound non-rotative machines, built in Leeds and coupled to a two-stage pumping system which had a capacity of 20,000 gallons per hour. The second engine was installed in 1896 to cope with growing demand. Steam was initially obtained from coal-fired Lancashire boilers with timber-burning furnaces added later. In 1915-16, second-hand Cornish boilers from a gold mine replaced the Lancashire types. It is believed that these Hathorn Davey inverted cross-compound non-rotative pumping engines are the only survivors…

LAST YEAR the village of Hassmoor, in the Schleswig-Holstein district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, between Rendsburg and Kiel in northern Germany, celebrated its centenary with a steam and country show coupled with a traditional tractor-pulling event, writes Christoph Beyer. Organised by Technikfreunde Hassmoor, it included a steam ploughing demonstration with a pair of Fowler engines from Kirchheim unter Teck, Baden-Württemberg close to Stuttgart in the south of Germany. This year, the organisers went one better with their arrangements and used a pair of German-built 20-ton Heucke steam ploughing engines, Nos 743 and 744 of 1928, manufactured at Gatersleben. The pair of engines belong to the Agrarbildungszentrum Landshut-Schönbrunn at Landshut, about 50 miles north-east of Munich. This is a school for agricultural engineering, owned by the local regional authority Bundesland Bayern. Other steam…

TRADITIONAL fine weather asserted itself for the 24th Model Engineers’ Day at Forncett, Norfolk, on October 2. In addition to the indoor displays, the event has become an end-of-season gathering for miniature road steam, reports Bill Starling. Eighteen engines took part this time, ranging from a 2in Durham & North Yorkshire agricultural to no less than five 6in models. These covered Burrell, Garrett and Ruston Proctor prototypes including the one-off Burrell vertical-boilered steam wagon. However 4in scale was the most popular, with examples of Burrell, Foster and Dodman agricultural engines plus a fine Fowler DCC R3 road loco. Two 3in entrants with no strict prototype were a ‘Minnie’ and an agricultural of unknown history stating P J Lanchester, Diss, Norfolk on its smokebox door. Keeping the miniatures company were a…

THE Bedfordshire Steam Engine Preservation Society (BSEPS) was formed on February 27, 1956 by the late John Crawley and a few stalwart steam enthusiasts and this year marks the 60th anniversary of what has grown to become one of the largest regional preservation societies in Britain. The society’s annual steam rallies began in 1957 when the first event was held in association with the National Traction Engine Club at Woburn Park. The annual rally has become the main event of society activities and the show has grown considerably from a gathering of a few locally based engines to a steam extravaganza which attracts exhibits not only from all over Great Britain and Ireland but from Europe and even New Zealand. Themed events have proved popular in recent years and for…

THE Gloucestershire Vintage & Country Extravaganza, organised by the Stroud Vintage Transport & Engine Club, saw its best-yet attendance, approaching 20,000 over the three days of August 5-7, writes Malcolm Ranieri. Seventy road steam engines were sourced by section leader Peter Brown and a fine sight was the gathering of three steam rollers, all new to the firm of Barnes Brothers. All Avelings, these were No 10448 of 1922, owned by Jeff Bond for 20 years, half spent in restoration and two from 1929, Nos 14001 Dick Turpin and 14002 Jimmy, owned respectively by M Coombes from 2010 and totally refurbished, and Charlie Cribbes for 15 years and some boiler work done. Founded by Thomas Barnes in the 1890s as a steam threshing contractor, in the mid-1890s the firm also…

THE 54th Shrewsbury Steam Rally at Onslow Park enjoyed reasonable weather over the weekend of August 28-29, reports Malcolm Ranieri. Because of the Sentinel connection, there is always a fine collection of those iconic waggons on display, and 2016 was no exception, with around a dozen of them on show. They included Andrew Wheeler of Craven Arms’ 1921 Sentinel Standard No 3976, in the stunning red livery of RM Woolley, Contractor, Bucknell, Salop. Andrew is a local steam user, enthusiast and saviour of several engines now in preservation. Another red Sentinel was the 1934 S4 waggon, No 8980, currently in Douglas Gas Light Co livery. This waggon was new to Enfield Brick & Terracotta Co Ltd, Accrington, supplied to a Liverpool contractor in 1939, and was in effect scrapped in…

THIS year the Laughton Autumn Show celebrated its 21st anniversary and while on a smaller scale than the same organiser’s long-established Cuckoo Fayre held each May, this East Sussex event has much to offer with a wide range of exhibits, writes Alan Barnes. The organisers had set out to make sure this was an event worthy of the occasion and as the programme noted: “This year will see our largest collection of vehicles representing our transport heritage from the humble pedal cycle to the mighty steam-powered traction engines. We have a display of over 100 years of farming history with tractors, stationary engines and farm implements.” The show, held on September 10-11, was a ‘game of two halves’ with visitors on the Sunday enjoying the best of the weather. Most…

THE FIFTH biennial Half Cabs and Bonnets road run saw 22 pre-1966 buses and lorries cover 60 miles in and around Belfast on September 10 to mark 120 years of Leyland, reports Hugh Dougherty. Organiser Jonathan Miller was delighted with the turnout which included a trio of Shelvoke & Drewry refuse vehicles, two from Belfast’s Peter Johnston, who also brought along his replica Belfast Corporation horse-drawn refuse cart, and one which crossed the Irish Sea for the day thanks to Mike Cooper of Maybole, whose wife, Annette, and grandson, five-year-old Harvey, made up the lorry’s ‘crew’. Ulsterbus driver, Tommy Moore, was at the wheel of his company’s 1942, utility-bodied Bedford OB, while Ian Molloy brought his CIE ‘C’ Leyland Leopard north from Dublin. Vehicles from individuals and societies such as…

The period leading up to the outbreak of the First World War is often described as a golden age for British fairgrounds. The development of exciting new attractions with the introduction of rides such as the Scenic Railways gave showmen the opportunity to provide some spectacular entertainments. The National Fairground Archive has once again kindly allowed the use of images from its collection to illustrate the impact that the war had on the fairground. Certainly the years immediately before the war were a time of prosperity for the leading showland families – with many of the established names adding new rides to their travelling shows. The likes of Pat Collins, Jacob Studt and Marshall Hill all expanded the range of fairs that their shows attended and by 1914 had some…

These waggons were purchased by Wynns not only to meet particular needs of the business but also as a source of parts to keep other waggons on the road and while they appear on the fleet list it seems quite likely that not all of the Sentinels actually entered service with the company. Only four of the Sentinel waggons were bought new – the first of these being Super Sentinel No 6605. This waggon was built as an articulated 6-wheeler in August 1928 and, registered as UX 3240, was used by Sentinel as a demonstrator for a short time until it was sold to Robert Wynn & Sons at the end of 1927. Although there are no records of any subsequent owners’ details from the Wynn archives, the Sentinel had…

Thomas Green’s many and varied products ranged from washing machines, steam trams, vertical boilers and engines, hand rollers, steam and motor rollers, pub tables, agricultural rollers, steam-powered lighting engines, lawnmowers and railway locomotives. The firm’s story has been told in detail by Leeds author John Pease in his 2014 book, The History of Thomas Green & Son Ltd (ISBN 13: 978 1899889 81 5) published by Lightmoor Press. In this publication, John takes the reader back to the very early days of the company and describes the construction of a multitude of equipment of all types that came out of the Smithfield Iron Works on North Street in Leeds. Rollers, along with lawnmowers, were made right through to the latter days of the company’s existence when motor roller production was…

READER Terry Jepson visited Australia and came across a couple of locally produced McDonald motor rollers at two widely spaced locations. The first of these was in a children’s playground known as Steamroller Park on Mount Barker Road, Stirling, in the Adelaide Hills. It’s an A H McDonald Imperial Super Diesel roller, manufactured in Melbourne, and, according to its worksplate, is No 429. Unfortunately there was no indication of the roller’s date of manufacture but from its looks, it could have been produced in the 1920s or 1930s. A plaque indicated that the roller was operated for many years by the late John Howard, an esteemed employee and subsequently overseer of works of the district council of Stirling, in whose memory the plaque was erected on May 5, 1965. Later,…

FOLLOWING a railway-orientated visit to Lebanon, Thomas Kautzor advises that there were two major railway gauges in the country, the 1050mm gauge line from Beirut and the 1435mm standard gauge line from Homs which joined at Rayak where a major railway workshop was built. As well as the workshops, there was also a two-road loco shed. During the war, the site was occupied by the Syrian Army and subsequently the whole has just been left in the condition it was after the Syrians pulled out in 2005 – but with considerably more undergrowth among those items that remain. There are a total of 20 steam locomotives (13 of 1050mm gauge and seven standard gauge) as well as various other items of rolling stock, together with a 1050mm gauge four-wheel hand…

WHEN the three-quarters of a mile long Perrygrove Railway opened to the public on August 1, 1996 it did so with newly constructed 0-6-0T Spirit of Adventure, built by Exmoor Steam Railway, providing the steam motive power. The offer by Exmoor SR’s Trevor and Tony Stirland to build the 15in gauge loco for the line’s founder, Michael Croft, made the decision on what gauge the new line should be very straightforward! The reason why David and Katherine Nelson-Brown, who bought the railway in spring 2014, opted for an Exmoor Extravaganza theme for the gala to celebrate the line’s 20th anniversary over September 17-18 becomes clear, reinforced by the event also being the occasion for the public debut in steam at Perrygrove of Exmoor 0-6-2T No 323 of 2004. This locomotive,…

FOLLOWING months preparing for an important MCA (Maritime & Coastguard Agency) certification the 1903 Daniel Adamson steam ship has now passed and as a celebration was able to cruise with passengers along the River Weaver, which has been enabled through the work of the Canal & River Trust. The ‘Danny’ left Ellesmere Port on September 30 for a cruise along the River Weaver. Not only was it her first trip with the public, it was also her first trip along the River Weaver after the Canal & River Trust completed its dredging programme, making the trip possible. The destination was the Little Leigh Steam Party at Acton Bridge over the weekend of October 1-2, and she returned to Ellesmere Port on October 3. Chairman of The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society,…

THE Crich Tramway Village annual Tram Day on September 10 included the official handover of Oporto works car No 65 from the Derbyshire venue to Beamish Museum, reports David Vaughan. No 65 was built in 1933 at the workshops of CCFP (Public Transport Company of Porto) and was used to transport coal from a mine at St Pedro da Cova to a power plant at Massarelos. Following its withdrawal from service it was acquired by Crich in 2005 in generally good condition, but was put into store pending restoration work. Works cars in preservation are, by their very nature, a rare thing but the Oporto car is unique insofar as it is the only known surviving example of a tram that was used to carry coal for an electricity generating…

THE Michael Oliver Memorial Cup for Best Exhibit at the 2016 Great Dorset Steam Fair was presented to Nigel Myers and ‘Organ Square.’ ‘Organ Square’ was a collection of 12 organs presented by members of The Mechanical Organ Owners Society (MOOS), led by Nigel Myers and the magnificent De Grote Gavioli, an original 89-key G4 scale Gavioli organ built in Waldkirk c1906 together with the ex-Margaret Cook 93-keyless Ruth Organ and 1921 Burrell 8nhp Showman’s Scenic Engine General Gough. The exhibit is made up of organs from all over the UK and also from Holland. Nigel Myers has been taking the 89-Key De Grote Gavioli Organ to the steam fair since restoration work was completed in 1999. The original 89-Key G4 Scale Gavioli Organ was built for use on the…

Peter’s Railway Rain, Steam and Speed and Grandpa Goes Bananas AUTHOR Chris Vine’s lovely little series of children’s books continues its popular run with two pre-Christmas releases for little ones that are learning to read. Rain, Steam and Speed is for children six and upwards and is based on an incredible but true story. The driver, Bill Hoole, never told it publicly during his lifetime, he knew he had gone too far. However the story was first told at his funeral – he reckoned he would be safe by then! Grandpa Goes Bananas is aimed at children from three years and tells the tale of a fantastic adventure for Grandpa and the children spending a night in a railway museum and they all agree that it’s a great shame that…

CLYDE-BUILT TS Queen Mary entered Garvel dry dock in Greenock on September 6 for a full hull inspection and repaint, the first time the ship has been dry docked since 1997. The docking was made possible by a combined grant of £150,000 from the Landfill Communities Fund, EB Scotland and Clydesdale Bank PLC. Specialised paint for the hull has been donated by AkzoNobel Marine Coatings UK and Jotum to enable the ship to sit at her Clyde berth as a floating education, arts, culture and maritime heritage venue for many years to come. Following dry docking and repainting, the Clyde steamer was due to return to her Greenock berth to allow her full £2m restoration to get under way.…

THE Pallot family held an open weekend at their Steam, Motor & General Museum in Jersey in September, which included live steam threshing demonstrations, reports Paul King. Founded by the late Lyndon ‘Don’ Pallot, who spent his early days as a trainee engineer on the old Jersey Railway, the Pallot family still own and run the long-standing museum where twice a year they throw their doors open to the public to view some Jersey steam history. Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies 7nhp traction engine No 15740 of 1904 Dolly May, named after the late Mrs Pallot, had pride of place at the weekend. Belted to a French-built threshing machine, the engine attracted large crowds. Readers may recall that the Ransomes last left the island in 1997 to attend the Great Dorset…

The Steam Plough Club (SPC) was founded in 1966 by the late Harold Bonnett, steam enthusiast and author, and the SPC committee decided that this milestone, the golden jubilee of the club, should be celebrated in appropriate style to the aims of the club. From this grew the celebration of steam cultivation, held over four days in early September at Crockey Hill, near York, invited to do so by the Society of Ploughmen as part of its annual World Ploughing Championships. The site at Crockey Hill is a huge, flat area, containing not only the grounds for the World Ploughing Championships with classes for modern, classic and vintage ploughing including horse power, but also 65 acres allotted to the SPC’s celebration of steam cultivation, these being divided into suitable plots…

The writing seemed to be on the wall for the town’s heritage fleet of trams when the system was modernised in 2012 and the swish five-car Flexity2 trams took to the tracks. But the heritage fleet is not just getting a look-in but is actively being reconstructed, overhauled, maintained and run – to the delight of visitors and enthusiasts. The recent spectacular event over the weekend of September 24-25 was no exception. Around 20 trams were out on the promenade over the weekend, including the ‘Persil’ white modernised Balloon No 718. This tram is now bereft of its previous all-over Vodka advertisement, but not yet repainted into traditional livery. In addition Balloons Nos 700, 701, 710, 711, 715, 717, 719 and 723 were all seen out, the latter serving as…

I met Peter Williams of Ross-on-Wye at the Fairford rally last August, where he was at work with his handsome restored and rare 1970 David Brown 1200 Selectamatic 4WD (four-wheel drive) tractor – taking part in a demonstration ploughing event. I must admit to not realising at the time that the tractor was a very rare model from this prolific family owned (at the time) British engineering factory until Peter informed me of its history. Peter found his 1200 4WD on German eBay in 2006, having imported several German specification David Browns via this route. This was made possible by a tractor enthusiast friend who travelled to Germany with his lorry on a regular basis. In its ‘as found’ state it had been used to roll silage clamps and was…

NEILSONS OF GLASGOW built a series of 22 2-4-0T locos between 1874 and 1880 for export to New Zealand, advises Phil Barnes. Seven of the 3ft 6in gauge D class locos are now preserved and D16 (No 2306 of 1878) was the first of the presently two operational Ds to re-enter service. This class of 17-ton locos were originally used on light freight and passenger duties and, due to their exceptional capability for this type of work, were added to with a further 11 locos built by Scott Brothers of Christchurch between 1887 and 1890. In 1913, D16 was reboilered and in 1918 she was sold to the NZ Refrigeration Co at Pukeuri on the South Island, where she worked until 1973. Other D class locos also went into private…

AN EIMCO compressed air-powered locomotive, believed to be the first loco of this type to arrive in Europe, was demonstrated in action at Lea Bailey Light Railway’s September 17-18 open days, reports Cliff Thomas. Owned by Nick Kelly, the Eimco 401 loco (No 401-216 of 1968) has a Type 200 5-cylinder rotary air motor. It was purchased from a mine in British Columbia and brought to Britain earlier this year. It is understood to be a late design and only produced in relatively small numbers, a few hundred at most. The type saw use in the US, Mexico, Canada and Japan and there are believed to be just two other surviving examples, one in the US, the other in British Columbia, Canada. After being initially stored at the Lavender Line…

In the days of steam there were some very famous showmen’s families who were able to adapt and innovate with their equipment in the latest technologies of the day to take the travelling fair to new heights. Amusements ranged from the introduction of steam roundabouts to the earliest cinemas and electric lighting to thrills based on the latest fashion for speed and excitement, such as the Moonrocket. Transport moved from horses and railways to road locos, eventually giving way to diesel lorries in the 1930s. At the forefront of all these developments were a group of showland families each based in a different part of the country. The Midlands were dominated by the Collins family, the west of England by Anderton & Rowland and eastern England by the Thurstons. The…

This impressive engine makes for a very pleasant sight as it frequently steams along the streets when not on local rally fields. The steam tractor was built over two years by Bob Whitehead of Syresham, Northamptonshire, and was completed in late 2005, when Ivor purchased it. The boiler, with a capacity of 50 litres, was manufactured by Bells of Gloucester in 2004 and is number BB90. Its working pressure is 200psi, and is hydraulic tested to 400psi. With a weight of 1100kgs, this 4nhp compound engine is a powerful machine which makes easy work of the local gradients, running comfortably with a load of passengers at 6-7mph. Ivor named the engine Topsy, his pet name for his wife Jeanette, to whom he has been married for more than 50 years.…