Table of contents for April 2023 in Old Glory

You are ALL welcome to join in, please do! If you have a story or pictures no matter what, do get in touch peterlove@madasafish.com Tel: 01323 833125. David Reed Editor-at-large - Former York school teacher who has worked with the editor since 1995 and has a wealth of knowledge on steam, commercials and tractors. Derek Rayner Technical and Vintage World Editor - Derek’s knowledge is extensive, a steam roller owner since the 1960s and a world traveller in search of nothing but the best. Bob Moorman Rally Archive Editor-This former engineering inspector is a fount of knowledge and has been rallying since the 70s. His own restos are award winners, as his ex-Kings 1927 Foden will be now that it’s finished! Mike Neale Diecast Models Editor – It’s a great…

The 1923 Fowler B6 8hp compound three-speed Big Lion colonial road locomotive No. 15861 (drawing No. E5993/B2224) was only purchased on the 25 November 2019 by Gary of Forgedale, Kurwongbah, Queensland, Australia. After three years restoration it was in steam and out of the shed on 2 December and its first road outing was on 11 December 2022. The Fowler was based in the McLucas suburbs of Toowoomba in Queensland in 2018 when Gary went to look at it with the thought of buying it. The engine was largely intact and was able to be driven. When new it did less than 30 years work, and was eventually ousted by combustion-engined alternatives. Luckily the wear in the driving gears and the motion was not significant. Since 1960 it was often…

Got a story? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com • Tel: 01323 833125 The Friends of King Alfred Buses (FoKAB) in Winchester has, thanks to a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous, taken ownership of a fully restored Leyland Lion PLSC3 built in 1929. This vehicle, registered RU 8678, was B268 in the fleet of Hants & Dorset Motor Services (H&D) from 1929 until 1948 and is believed to be the only operational pre-war H&D bus still in existence. The bus has been based since 2003 at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum (SVBM) at Lathalmond where the late Dougie Scoular and his son Ross, the previous owners, had rebuilt the vehicle. The bus is being repainted into the green and ivory livery of King Alfred Motor Services, but the long-term…

Got a story? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com • Tel: 01323 833125 On Sunday 2 October 2022 the world was a sadder place as Les Vince passed away. Les reached his 80th birthday in September, leaving a loving, supporting wife of more than 50 years. He was a kind, gentle, quiet and helpful person to all that knew him and will be deeply missed, writes Steven Clarke. Les spent his teen years growing up on a farm helping with horses and working alongside his family in Stisted. At the time of Les working on the farm alongside his uncle George, the farmer also owned Burrell No. 2319 Finem Respice. Les’s uncle looked after the engine for a number of years, attending many rallies, also this engine helped in the…

The editor is always delighted to receive your e-mails, letters, photographs and more on any subject you like! But please be sensible and courteous to everyone when you write in. Letters published are not the views of the publisher or editor. Thank you! Peter Love, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL Tel: 01323 833125 peterlove@madasafish.com TRACTOR GRAVEYARD Dear Editor I thought you might be interested in this tractor graveyard I spotted on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands. There were at least ten Fergies and Massey Ferguson tractors in varying stages of rusting away. D Hayne via e-mail CROPMASTER MEMORIES Dear Editor Going through some old photos recently I came across this picture of my father driving a David Brown Cropmaster…

The three-day event, the ‘Lister Stationary Engine Rally’ began on Friday 24 June with exhibitors arriving and setting their engines up for display at the site of the former Great Dock, now a grassed-over level area beside the River Tamar. By midday most had arrived and were up and running, the smell of diesel and petrol was on the air and the intermittent ‘phutting and putting’ sounds of the running engines could be heard. The owners gathered around each other’s engines, earnestly inspecting, admiring and discussing the finer details. There was, however, a distinct lack of public attendance. Not surprisingly as there was no promotion of the event, not even on Morwellham’s website. It was an enjoyable social event for the engine owners and those in the know, and a…

I am the fourth generation of my family to have worked at Marshalls. I was brought up with an interest in all of the products built by Marshalls and in June 2019, I became head of the Marshall Club, where I publish a quarterly A4 colour magazine called the Britannia News. When I received a copy of an engineer’s notebook, on the development of the first Marshall oil tractor, held in the Gainsborough Heritage Association archives, I decided to do some further research. With the help from the late Peter Anderson and period reports from the Commercial Motor magazines, I have been able to create a 64-page booklet covering all the types of Marshall oil tractors built between 1906 and 1914. This article is a brief description of the contents…

Got a story?: Contributions welcomed by Derek Rayner, email: derekinvicta1915@gmail.com By post: Old Glory, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding, Kent ME18 6AL KIMBERLEY’S BIG HOLE MUSEUM Most people will have heard of the Big Hole at Kimberley, South Africa - the large excavation from which over fourteen million carats of diamonds were extracted by De Beers over a very long period-something which made them very rich! The hole is some 215m (700ft) deep and ceased to be worked in 1914. Part of the adjacent Big Hole Museum is a ‘replica’ small town and there is quite a wonderful array of fascinating industrial equipment dotted around there which is now available to view by visitors. Some of the steam-related items to be seen include a fire engine, three…

MAY 2023 ISSUE OUT ON FRIDAY 28 APRIL - ORDER YOUR COPY NOW! Tel: 01959 541444 – shop.kelsey.co.uk DESMOND P2 We conclude this fascinating story on an engine that’s just been given a new lease of life in Australia. BACK TO WHERE IT WAS SOLD We look at a Fordson E27N tractor that went back to where it was first sold on New Year’s Day, and its subsequent history. AVELING SINGLE ROAD LOCOMOTIVES With Part 2 of Old Glory’s Road Locomotive series out at the end of April we look at Aveling & Porter single-cylinder road locomotives with their 7ft wheels and more. EVENTS DIARY PART 2 Don’t forget to send your 2023 events information now. Whether it’s small or large we want to hear about it for our famous…

Got astory? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com • Tel: 01323 833125 Show organiser Gordon Carson says the 2023 Stradsett Park Vintage Rally is to be held at Stradsett Park Stradsett Hall, Stradsett near Kings Lynn PE33 9HH over Sunday 30 April and Monday 1 May. The show is organised by the National Vintage Tractor & Engine Club East Anglia Group and has been running for well over 40 years now. Their 2022 rally raised an amazing £18,000, the most it has ever made for local charities thanks to the volunteers and of course the paying public for attending. The rally takes you back in time to when you worked on your own car, commercial or tractor long before microchips and PCB boards. In 2023 you will get to see…

Following the success of the 2022 Gathering, the 2023 Leyland Society Gathering will be held at the Buckingham Railway Centre at Quainton, near Aylesbury, HP22 4BY on Sunday 2 July 2023. The Centre has many attractions for visitors including the opportunity for steam train rides, a miniature railway, restoration workshop, a Post Office mail sorting carriage and a café where food and drinks can be purchased. Overnight parking will be available if you plan to travel a long distance to the event and there will also be facilities for transporter unloading so please indicate on your entry form if you need them. Please note that entry is free for people bringing preserved vehicles to the event and covers up to 6 people in the vehicle. Any additional passengers will be…

We are sorry to have to advise the passing of Hugh(ie) Dudley Simmons at 75. He was born on Frog Lane Farm, Coalpit Heath in South Gloucestershire and lived there all his life. His busines was as a groundworks contractor, but often the groundworks were for clients like the Avon Valley Railway or the local playing field. The price charged in some cases was rather less than it could have been. He was an artist with a machine. His Volvo HGV with a demoutable container could carry his machine or spoil away, which meant that only Hughie was needed to do the whole job. It was significant that he never needed to advertise and even his lorry was unwritten. It was suprising how useful the lorry proved for other projects!…

Derek Rayner reports that North Yorkshire lost one of it’s well-regarded enginemen in early January with the unexpected death at the age of 78 of John Bolton who lived near Knaresborough, just outside Harrogate. John owned an ex-Leamington Spa Fowler roller in partnership with locally-based Ian Jackson which was purchased in 1980. Between them, they also bought 1901 Marshall traction engine No. 35554 Old Lass about five years later and this was rallied for a while and then John set about a full restoration of the machine. This took him around twelve years and was only concluded some three years ago. He hailed from Lancashire and, in his younger days in the early 1960s, was bass guitarist with the local Knaresborough rock group, Barry Corbett and his 65 Mustang and,…

Our sales listing features agricultural, commercial, steam and bygones old and new, which are being offered at auction. If you have something coming up and it’s not currently listed, please contact us jaynelove@btinternet.com – 01323 833125. MARCH 23 to 25 – Spring Classic – Tractors, Vintage Trucks, Road Art & Relics. Bend XPO 922 Mississippi Parkway, East Moline, IL, USA. Mecum Auctions, www.mecum.com 23 to 25 – Timed Online Machinery Sale. Clitheroe Auction Mart, tel: 01200 423325 to book a slot. 24 - Plant, Machinery & Sundry Items Auction. Brightwells Auction Site, Stoney Street, Madley, Herefordshire HR2 9NH. Brightwells, tel: 01981 250642. 24 to 29 – Timed Online Auction. York Auction Centre, www.ylc.co.uk 25 – Auction of Classic Car, Car Spares & Automobilia. Hazle Meadows Auction Centre, Ross Road, Ledbury,…

WELCOME! To the 2023 OLD GLORY EVENTS GUIDE! It’s that time of year, we all need to leave behind the cold winter and start looking forward to the upcoming preservation events, which will be taking place all over the UK. These Old Glory Events Guide books are essential to plan your season ahead, when we can take to the roads and fields of our green and pleasant lands. At the same time, we will be enjoying the skills of the restorers which are hopefully being passed on to the younger generation as we want them to continue this rich preservation heritage. We in the UK and Ireland are the world leaders in such work, which contributes immensely to our economy in so many positive ways However, our public events are…

With the season just around the corner, the team have been working hard on our pocket sized Old Glory Heritage 2023 Event Guides P1 and 2. The first part is free with this issue of the magazine and the second part (August – December) will be included with your May magazine, out on Friday 28 April. If you have not sent in your event information yet, for the second half of the year, whether it be a road run, rally, county show, museum special event, club gathering, ploughing match, toy fair or model show and it’s to do with heritage road or rail, please get in touch: peterlove@madasafish.com. Owing to the recent Wildfire resin coal alternative trials, which were held in late February, we have had to drop our miniature…

The Northampton & Lamport railway is appealing for donations to help restore a genuine piece of Northampton’s history back to life. The Northampton & Lamport Railway CIO is the proud owner and custodian of Allchin road roller No. 1131, also known as ‘The County Borough of Northampton Highways Department No.1.‘ No. 1131 was built in 1899 by William Allchin at the company’s 'Globe Works' on the southern banks of the River Nene in Cotton End, Northampton. The roller was built for Northampton Borough Council and was used by the Highways Department for road-making and street repairs until the 1960s. After retirement, it took part in the Northampton Carnival Parades each year. Unfortunately, sometime in the 1970s, the roller fell into disuse and it was left in a dismantled state in…

Got a story? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com • Tel: 01323 833125 On Saturday 15 April, Woodhouse Farm, Wheatsheaf Road, Albrighton, Sussex BN5 9BA, Colin and Gil are holding their excellent spring ploughing match and are also, for the first time, opening their sheds to their private tractor collection and rural exhibition. Colin has just finished this 1967 David Brown 770 12-speed Selectamatic which is just like he drove in the 'swinging sixties.' There are other delights here including an ex military Track-Marshall which goes better than it looks. Do make a date and go along, you will be made very welcome and the event comes recommended, further details, tel: 07831 864687.…

Restoration progress The major project in recent weeks has been rebuilding the starboard paddle box fascia, which was found to be suffering from the effects of weather. In the position where Medway Queen is moored little direct sun falls on the starboard side and it doesn’t always dry out properly between wet days, with the inevitable result. The port side suffers much less as it is in direct sunlight whenever that is available. Timber for the reconstruction was purchased from Morgan’s Timber and delivered to the pier. Our volunteers produced a “lofted” full size drawing of the fascia in the workshop and have created the necessary parts to produce the “fan” around the central crest, which has also been recreated. From the lofted drawing, templates and jigs were prepared for…

Mike Neale takes his monthly look at recently released diecast and resin models of- tractors, trucks, vans, public service vehicles and traction engines in 1/32, 1/43, 1/76, 1/120 and 1/148 scale. OXFORD DIECAST – 1/120 SCALE Oxford Diecast have gone slightly off-piste and introduced a new range of 1/120 scale models to go with TT Gauge model railways. ‘TT’ signifies ‘Table Top’, originating in the USA, before spreading to central and Eastern Europe, and more recently to the UK, with trains now produced by Hornby. Well now you can have some British vehicles to go with them. Six models have been released by Oxford to begin with. There is a Bedford OB coach in ‘blood and custard’ (officially Crimson Lake and Cream) British Railways livery [8], priced at £7.95. The OB…

Most of us have enjoyed a trip to the fairground at some time or other. Imagine the excitement when a showman’s engine and a line of trailers was the main form of transportation and, when the fair was in operation, the bright electric lights to those who lived by gaslight must have been amazing. During the 1960s, I always looked forward to early May and September when the showmen rolled into my town, and I watched with amazement as the rides were slowly constructed in the main street. Then came the opening night and the chance to experience the rides themselves, flashing lights and loud music, those were the days. For those who also remember with affection the old traditional rides and attractions that made up their local fair, Dingles…

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