Indice dei contenuti per August 2022 in Old Glory

The Great Dorset Steam Fair is pleased to announce that local brewery Gritchie Brewing Company are to sponsor the 2022 event. Gritchie Brewing Co, who are based in Ashmore, just on the Dorset/Wiltshire border, only a few miles away from the show site in Tarrant Hinton, was founded by Guy Ritchie, the famous film director, producer and screenwriter. Gritchie Brewing Co have six core principal beers: English Lore, Moon Lore, Sun Lore, Angel’s Lore, Session Lore and Winter Lore. The term ‘Lore,’ which means the passingon of knowledge and legacy, is part of the Brewery’s beer story to honour traditions whilst creating something that can be shared. Excitingly, as part of their sponsorship package, Gritchie Brewing Co will be bringing their purposebuilt outdoor bar, a converted 1972 vintage Bedford TK…

It was great to see the investment being poured in to the Strumpshaw Steam Museum, Norfolk, which now features a full concrete floor in its new extension and the area was in use during the recent June rally. It’s suggested the gallopers are a product of Walkers of Tewkesbury, but owner Malcolm Potts says he’s not really sure on that. But it’s believed to have been commissioned in 1896 by George Beach with a set of dragons, cockerels and ostriches. Its working history is clouded in much mystery, but after WW2 it was with John Levett who used it at Colwyn Bay and Burnham Beeches, Buckinghamshire. In the early 80s the ride was used in various films: Watcher In The Woods, The Fifteen Streets and Enid Blyton’s Famous Five. Also…

The Friends of Summerlee are inviting readers to come along on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 August to their first steam fair at the Coatbridge industrial museum since Covid-19 struck. Summerlee’s own Fowler road roller and 4in scale traction engine Tigger will be in steam, and be joined by at least seven miniature engines, with several full-sized engines yet to be confirmed. Friends stalwart, fair organiser, and engineman, Trevor Rees, who has been with Summerlee since the museum opened in 1988, said: “It’s full steam ahead for us once again. We’re delighted to be back with what has traditionally been a very successful event. I’m sure anyone who comes along will be delighted at the live steam in action, while Scotland’s only operational heritage tramway will be in action, and…

Got a story? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com• Tel: 01323 833125 The 300th anniversary of the opening of Scotland’s oldest railway was marked on Saturday 7 May when members of the 1722 Waggonway Project held a ceremony on the course of the Tranent Cockenzie Waggonway’s trackbed, to recall the opening of the pioneering line which was built with wooden rails and sleepers for coal transport. Volunteers in period dress brought their replica railway wagon out of its usual home at the project’s museum and pushed it along the course of the line, without the help of rails! Chairman Ed Bethune said: “We decided to mark this significant event in as visual a way as possible as the opening of the first railway in Scotland was a really important historical…

The 26th Westbury Transport & Vintage Gathering was held at Bratton, near Westbury, Wiltshire on April 23 and 24, reports Joseph Lewis. Organised by Keith Miller and family, the large, single-field set-up held a variety of interest from a classic site dumper and agricultural tractors to vintage commercials. The 1960 Barford Bantam owned by Guy Blake from Edington was painted an intriguing orange colour. This was explained by the Bantam’s former ownership by the MOD collecting targets so the dumper would not be shot at. The Lister single-cylinder diesel engine ran well with no wear at all on the ¾-ton capacity, manual tip model. A selection of tractors included a Ferguson TEF 20 still with an auctioneer’s label on the bonnet and a Fordson Power Major supplied by T H…

PART 3 ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD Mention was previously made about a Sentinel bus going to Europe, in that Škoda in Czechoslovakia was the recipient of one from Shrewsbury in the mid-1920s. The Škoda firm also built several steam waggons of the Sentinel type in their works at Plzeň - under licence from the Shropshire firm. However, steam buses were also constructed in France and in Germany. In the very early days of this type of vehicle, France was not constrained by the ‘Red Flag Act’ and consequently Amédée Bollée was able to produce and operate several designs of early steam buses the later years of the century, including L’Obéissante of 1873 which is now on display in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. Another example of Bollée’s…

A group of railways and the Terrier Trust are working on a programme of events later in the year to celebrate 150 years since the first LB&SCR ‘A1’ 0-6-0T Terrier was built. Fifty Terriers were built between 1872 and 1880 and, amazingly, no less than ten examples have been preserved. All of them were preserved in working condition, rather than rescued from scrapyards, equalling 20% of the class. That is an incredible proportion when you consider that all other Victorian classes can only boast one or two examples reaching preservation. Only three other LBSCR engines are preserved; Gladstone (preserved as early as 1927), the Bluebell’s Birch Grove and the Isle of Wight Railway’s E1 Burgundy. Those currently in working order include Bressingham Steam Museum’s SR green No. B662 (ex-Martello); The…

PART 2 Between the two engine houses stands the boiler house which originally contained five boilers supplied by Stevenson of Preston. These were replaced with five identical Lancashire boilers with two firetubes which continue to provide the steam at the pumping station to this day. The hot gasses from the fire passes through the boiler in the two tubes, and then through a chamber under the boiler before returning along both sides in the side tubes, with the hot gasses being used three times. They were built by John Thompson of Wolverhampton and fitted in 1936/7, the boilers were replaced in rotation so ensuring that a constant supply of steam was maintained. The original boilers were hand-fired, but Bennis stokers powered by an overhead line were fitted in 1902, which…

James Wren Davis has informed us he will be roading 1904 Burrell 8hp showman’s road locomotive No.2668 from the Thames Valley to Tarrant Hinton in the week leading up to the event over 25-29 August. It will be steered by the excellent Della Fagg who can show you how to do the job properly! Keep your eyes out for the road train coming your way.…

JCB machines from landmark years of Her Majesty the Queen’s 70-year reign took centre stage on June 5 at the spectacular Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London. The five diggers paraded down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace past members of the Royal Family and tens of thousands of cheering spectators who were lining the route. On Monday June 6 the team of operators driving the JCB machines spoke of their pride and emotion at being involved in the tribute to The Queen as they drove machines manufactured in The Queen’s jubilee years of 1977, 2002, 2012 and 2022 – and one made in her coronation year 1953. JCB Backhoe Loader Product Marketing Manager Julian Carder, 46, of Uttoxeter was driving a 1977 JCB backhoe from the year of the Queen’s Silver…

Meet Tim Jenkins, PS Waverley’s new first engineer. Tim came to the rescue of the world’s only sea-going paddle steamer when he responded to an appeal for a steam-ticketed chief engineer, without whom the 75-year-old paddler was going nowhere this season. “After 28 years with P&O Cruises, during which I’d worked on the Canberra, and even been in charge of the QMII’s machinery, I decided I’d like a change and when I saw the advert for the job with Waverley, I applied and landed it. I’d gained my all-important steam ticket by going back to marine college in South Shields, as I wanted to be steam and diesel qualified,” said career marine engineer Tim, who hails from Swansea. “I was relieved when Tim got in touch in response to a…

On Sunday 24 April Nathan Tompsett brought his original style Fordson E27N tractor back to the farm where it worked in its early life, Toll Farm, Bodle Street Green, East Sussex. It was greeted by farmer Geoff Holt and family who just loved having the tractor back on their property for a few minutes, as it ticked over on paraffin. The tractor was registered new to Homestead Farm, High Hurstwood in January 1948 and DPN 72 is thought to have been supplied by Sussex Tractors at Uckfield, who were also Ferguson dealers at the time. It was later with the Keeleys at Toll Farm, Bodle Street Green. In fact there are two farms very close to each other in Bodle Street Green which are farmed by Keeleys or their descendants…

Exactly 100 years to the day after Scammell Lorries Ltd opened its Tolpits Lane factory in Watford, on 1 May 1922, one of the largest Scammell-only gatherings took place just down the road to celebrate the milestone anniversary. Zack Stiling went along to see the mighty truck up close. Thanks to the generosity and co-operation of Watford Borough Council, the Scammell Register commandeered the King George V Playing Fields for a rally which saw 27 Scammells congregate over the bank holiday weekend, plus a solitary Austin A40 van in the livery of Parker Bent, the haulage contractor and Scammell service agent. Scammell’s origins actually go back much further than 1922. It was in the late 19th century that George Scammell founded G Scammell & Nephew on Fashion Street in Spitalfields…

On the evening of Thursday 16 May the venerable October 1895 Fowler A4 6hp single-cylinder traction engine No. 7459, BW4506, Endurance, took to the roads of East Sussex again on its own wheels heading towards the superb High Weald Steam Working Weekend site opposite Heaven Farm, Furners Green, Danehill. The 127-year-old engine is coming together well after its major overhaul, but was running very silently without its gears as it was towed by 1901 Fowler B5 8hp crane engine No.8920, SG4713 The Great North in rather dull and overcast evening conditions. The road train was completed by Bob Langley’s Britannia-boilered 1907 Marshall 8hp portable, No. 47053, which was repatriated from Argentina in 2002. With Ian Langley at the controls, this 18 ton load behind The Great North was made to…

This report from David Vaughan is mainly about a traction engine from the Claude Jessett Trust that made the journey, under its own steam from East Sussex to Crystal Palace and back down to Brighton, for the 2022 HCVS London to Brighton Commercial vehicle road run. More particularly it is about the fact that it was crewed by a group of young steam enthusiasts who represent the next generation to take up the mantle of preserving Britain’s steam heritage in what looks to be shaping up to a very challenging period of our steam preservation history. The engine in question is well known to Old Glory readers as it is a regular attendee at southern rallies and is always roaded to events. Engine No. 7899 is an Aveling & Porter…

I first met Jonathan Vartan at a local rally where I was a commentator and rally marshal. He had not long been the owner of Hermes, Fowler DNC 4nhp compound road roller No. 21833 built in 1936, and I was pleased to note that the engine was in fine order. I met up with Jonathan at the New Inn at Hadlow Down, often the haunt of Sussex engine owners, and we soon fell into conversation reminiscing about his years with Hermes on the rally circuit. I knew a bit about the Fowler’s history but I was keen to learn more, so I started by asking Jonathan how and when he first acquired it. JV In 1982 Goff Radcliff was selling off part of his extensive collection of steam engines and…

Got a story? Contact Old Glory • Email: peterlove@madasafish.com• Tel: 01323 833125 The Waterworks Museum at Broomy Hill in Hereford has been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE. The Waterworks Museum was opened in 1974. The museum is one of Herefordshire’s leading visitor attractions and is wholly run by volunteers. It is ‘A working museum which makes the story of drinking water spring to life.’ Based in a Grade II* listed building, the museum is home to the UK’s oldest in-situ working tripleexpansion steam engine and it has one of the widest ranges of working pumping engines in the UK. This includes exhibits in The Tangye House, Leominster’s…

Following a pandemic-induced two-year absence, the sleepy fields of the show site are once again gearing up for the world’s largest heritage event to assemble across the 600-acre site. The year-round working farm will be transformed as a platform to showcase historic and classic motor vehicles, tractor power, vintage and classic plant, the majesty of the heavy horses, rural displays and countryside attractions in juxtaposition to the stunt displays and modern fun fair. Famed as THE working show, the living museum and its renowned special sections includes notability for the 2022 event as follows; The WW1 area will soon host not only the authentic Western Front trench and tunnel system from 1914-1918 conflict but for 2022 the WW2 display will feature a recreation of a blitzed small English town from…

PART TWO The seats and upright pillars for the roof support were bolted back in position, any new bolts went into the lathe and the heads were re-profiled to look old, and square stainless steel nuts were used. A complete new roof was next on the list. We formed the two top outer rails out of solid ash. We were able to repair the frames of the front and rear cab tops but had to cut all new arched roof cross-members out of Douglas fir to match the original profile. We assembled the roof in two sections because of available space. The cab tops were planked in Douglas fir tongue-and-bead, varnished underneath and covered on top with Firestone rubber membrane that will outlast canvas. The middle section is covered with…

Dick Bodily travelled to Camborne to take in the Trevithick Day festivities and soak up some of the local history. The district around Camborne, Redruth and St Day is steeped in industrial history. It’s not like the Cornwall that tourists see, it’s more like the areas of northern England that were once famed for coal mining. The mining here though was for copper, tin and other precious minerals. A square mile near St Day and Gwennap was at one time said to be the richest square mile in the world such was the value of copper being raised there. Although nowadays a quiet old mining village, St Day was a rough and ready place during its copper mining boom, so much so that a deputation of armed God-fearing respectable men…

PART TWO THE TITAN AT SPARWOOD In 1978, the Titan was moved from Eagle Mountain Mine to Kaiser Resources’ Balmer open pit coal mine near Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada. There it joined a fleet of other world record-beating, outsize machines including a fleet of 20 Unit Rig 200-ton capacity M-200 haulers, then the world’s largest, and the four P&H 2800 30-yard electric shovels, the largest built by P&H at that time. In 1983, the mine’s maintenance department carried out several modifications to the Terex Titan following the actual purchase of the unit from General Motors. Up to this time, the truck was leased from GM, and still considered a prototype vehicle. The mine’s decision to purchase the Titan was based on the fact that with a payload of 350 tons…

If you have something for this column please send it to: colinjtyson@hotmail.com RARE GWR NAMEPLATES DISCOVERED IN ‘CHESHIRE HOARD’ A railwayana collection amassed by a deceased former Tyseley steam fitter included four rare GWR nameplates not known to exist. The four; from a King, Castle, County and Grange, were among 80 items removed for auction, which also included a rare cast iron sign from the Severn & Wye Railway. The railwayman, who has not been named, had set his heart on acquiring the nameplate from No. 6853 Morehampton Grange, a Tyseley ‘favourite’ and paid BR up front for the plate three years prior to the loco’s withdrawal. The other three nameplates were all purchased direct from Swindon Works. They are from No. 1009 County of Carmarthen, No. 6005 King George…

PART TWO Paul left the industry at a time when, he says, British manufacturing began to decline. He eventually retrained as a social worker. Retirement brought him back to engineering. He built and equipped a small workshop and began re-learning his skills. “I set about re-learning many of the engineering skills from my earlier apprenticeship days in order to make an adolescent’s dream of building a model traction engine become an old man’s reality,” says Paul, who admits to losing half the bits to the scrap bin when he started out. He bought a full set of unmachined castings from Edward George of Little Samson Models and purchased a steel boiler from AJB Engineering Ltd. “The model took three years to complete during which time I came across many problems…