Table of contents for November 2020 in Old Glory

He then started to consider the whole process of what he would need to do to become an engine owner. He put a few feelers out, including talking to nearby engine owner and fellow tractor enthusiast Richard Pocock, who suggested he had a chat with boiler inspector Dave Wothers. Dave was particularly helpful as he knew the engine owners and what might be available, or becoming available, and of course had the knowledge on the conditions of the boilers and what work had been carried out over the years. It was thus through Dave that Steve was put in touch with Dave Coombes of Clevedon, who was considering selling his roller, an Aveling & Porter Class C 4nhp single cylinder 8 ton roller No. 12205, to move onto his next…

Well-known Cambridge engineer Edward George has decided to sell his Little Samson models business to allow him time in his retirement to concentrate on his own engineering projects, and running his 6” Fowler Showman’s Road Locomotive Galanthus, writes Paul Ritchie. He built Galanthus in his garage over a 10-year period, finishing it in 1992 when it won a Gold Medal at the Olympia Model Engineering show. For over 30 years Edward has managed the Little Samson models business whilst fulfilling his full-time teaching career, and managed the pattern making, engine design, and castings production through his Savage Little Samson website. But he has decided now a few years into his retirement from teaching to move the business on to new ownership. The new home for the Savage Little Samson design together…

The Great Central Railway in Leicestershire has launched an emergency appeal to assist with navigating the Covid-19 crisis and to be able to continue with essential works planned. The railway commenced 2020 on a firm financial footing after a successful 2019 but inevitably on 23 March all operations closed due to the Covid-9 crisis and remained so until late July. Since then, they have been challenged to generate any reasonable levels of income. At the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the railway’s management made a conscious decision not to mount a crisis appeal similar to that launched by other heritage railways in order to avoid detracting donations away from our other appeals, such as that for the locomotive works. However, as the crisis has gone on, funds set aside for…

On Sunday 6 September during a staycation, Phil Barnes and his wife visited the Isle of Wight Steam Railway to enjoy two round trips over this 5.5 mile line and had the added bonus of a transport rally in the field next to Haven Street station. The rally consisted of a variety of vehicles ranging from vintage cars, motor bikes and commercials to a few custom cars, American cars and some Harley Davidsons! Not to be out done by all these internal combustion machines, road steam was represented by two rollers and a Sentinel steam waggon which wasn’t in the best position for photography. However the two rollers were nicely sited against the side of the field and were photographed basking in the afternoon sun. These machines were the 1923…

MORE MASHAM MEMORIES Dear Editor I was interested to read Derek Rayner’s article in July’s Old Glory (No. 365) “Some Thoughts Around Masham Rally,” and in particular the problems with the leaky fusible plug. Several years ago Stuart Harrison had the same problem with the fusible plug on the 1912 Fowler D2 Road Loco No. 12899 Western Star and asked me if I could help. Eric Robinson and I were, at the time, in the throes of re-boxing our 1927 Wallis & Steevens 10t Advance roller City of York No.3 and, as work related, I knew of a chap in Hull who had a large range of odd sized Heli-Coil equipment. Fortunately he was prepared to lend me the special oversize tap to cut a thread for the BSP Heli-Coil…

I was introduced to Ted Field in the comfort of a local farm shop café by Peter Love, who has known him for many years. I realised straight away that here was a man with a remarkable story to tell, having spent over 60 years of a long and active life working in all weathers and in many places on all manner of farming, forestry and construction plant and equipment. I arranged to go and see him in his home near Heathfield and talk with him about it. Arriving at his house I was shown into his living room and was immediately impressed with the view over the Sussex Weald that could be seen from his window. A vista stretching from Crowborough (Sussex) in the west to Ticehurst (Kent) in…

News has been received from Martin Frey of the Valli-Aarau roller team in Switzerland regarding the restoration of steam rollers and associated equipment in the village of Melchnau in Bern canton. Until 1985, Zettelmeyer roller No 572 of 1930, a type CV 12.6 ton machine, belonged to rolling contractor Franz König & Co in Zofingen. It’s now owned by Andreas Morgenthaler and is street legal in the country. Its restoration commenced in early February 2011 and ended in August 2012. A major internal repair was carried out by a qualified boilersmith, following which it passed all the necessary statutory inspections. Andreas obtained a second Zettelmeyer roller (No 581, also of 1930) from the KIBAG firm in Langenthal. This is generally in good condition but presently requires new boiler tubes and…

www.kelseymarketplace.co.uk HUGE RECORDS SET IN SEPTEMBER Editor says market hugely buoyant right across the board despite of Covid-19. It’s been a record-breaking September with unbelievable prices all-round and it has carried on into October as well. As you read this we will all know by now whether 1932 John Fowler No. 19782 The Lion was sold on 30 October at Bonhams, London, which was estimated at £800,000-1.2 million. If it has sold, then it will certainly set the steam showman’s market alight - it is much in need of a boost of some kind. At present this top-end market is in the doldrums with plenty of availability and choice, but no takers. However, for steam traction engines, wagons, rollers and tractors and miniatures the market has been very good indeed…

On Saturday 29 August Bletsoes held a proper clear-up sale on behalf of T J Freer, Ash Tree Farm, Stoke Albany Road, Desborough, Northamptonshire, well known for timber haulage and Latils. The place was packed with people with as many as 2,000 attending at some time or other. The first 400 lots were swimming in the mud and rather on top of each other. As for most of the large lots, they were placed in the car park field, which was a lot better and these were sold from 1pm. The sale then moved back to the front yard again for the breaker tractors, lorries all for restoration and the Field Marshall Series Two. This tractor was originally with TT Boughton of Amersham and was used on contracting and timber…

The major highlight at the two-day Statfold Barn Railway Road & Rail Festival on 12-13 September was the debut of Martin Pearson’s 1910 Burrell 5hp Devonshire No. 3202 showman’s locomotive. It started life as a road locomotive and was originally known as Bampton Castle, but now on its debut called Princess May, says David Reed Princess May was making its rally debut in showman’s guise, “It is the first time that this engine has been seen for 60 years,” Martin said. The Burrell started life with S Berry & Son at Barnstaple, Devon on timber work, spending most of its life in Devon. It was bought by T B Pink in 1943 and moved to Fareham, Hampshire for threshing duties, working until 1946 when it was sold to Jessie Vine…

In the desert of cancelled summer events a welcome oasis appears! Were you missing the smell of hot oil and steam or the sound of a vintage steam or diesel engine in open fields on a hot summer’s day? Well if so you could have got your fix if you had visited Tinkers Park in East Sussex over the Weekend of August 1st and 2nd, reports David Vaughan. Having suffered the cancellation of their annual steam traction engine rally, which would have been in its 55th year, the Claude Jessett Trust decided to go ahead with the show in August, centred around a model railway exhibition and their 2ft narrow gauge railway and titled ‘Model Railways Plus’. The show also plays host to a bus rally on the Sunday and…

The Statfold Barn Railway is a hidden gem for all types of steam enthusiasts. Situated a few miles north of Tamworth on the Staffordshire/Warwickshire border. In mid-September, Statfold hosted a two-day Road & Rail Festival which attracted a wide range of exhibits encompassing a broad spectrum of transport themes. The Road & Rail Festival was subject to Covid-19 regulations, with all tickets being purchased via the internet in advance to restrict numbers. Social distancing rules were in operation, with hand sanitisers available at numerous locations around the site, and the wearing of face masks was also expected at the indoor areas and on the trains themselves. The railway was certainly the main attraction at the event, with the main station at Statfold Junction being the focus of operations. Taking one…

If you have something for this column please send it to: colin.tyson@kelsey.co.uk ‘GREENFIELD’ HERITAGE LINE CELEBRATES 60 YEARS The very first heritage railway in the world to be built by enthusiasts opened on 27 August 1960, linking the beach and a holiday camp at Humberston, south of the Lincolnshire seaside resort of Cleethorpes, with the terminus of local bus services. That was – and still is – the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway, a short line of less than a mile, built with old rails and rolling stock from the battlefields in France of WW1 and the Nocton Estates Railway, which carried potatoes and sugar beet across the Lincolnshire fens. The foresight of those pioneers led to many similar railways being built around the world (as distinct from reopening lines already…

As described in Part 1, just prior to America’s entry in to World War II, the United States launched a rearmament programme. As a result, in 1941 Manitowoc was awarded major contacts to built 28 submarines said to be valued at over $6 million apiece. During their assembly, the company needed a 60-ton crane, but a crane of this capacity could not be found, so Manitowoc engineers upgraded two of its model 3500 cranes to lift the required loads. The cranes worked perfectly and the upgraded machine became the model 3900, primarily marketed as a heavy-duty lift crane. Later it was available as a dragline with a 4-yard bucket on an 80-foot boom, but with its long and wide undercarriage, it was not suitable to work as a shovel. In…

From Christopher Dean comes news of some rollers which he discovered on a recent visit to Sri Lanka. He was reminded of them when he read the recent item about a Romanian roller find in the country (OG 364). Christopher was on a cycle tour of the island with a mate of his and this discovery happened on a rare non-cycling day. They had hired a tuk-tuk to take them to a tea plantation and when they saw the rollers just by the roadside on the main road about five miles west of the town of Kandy, they couldn’t pass by them without further investigation. The colour schemes are certainly somewhat ‘drastic’ but they are located in a pleasant ‘Roads Museum’ setting with other items of equipment and road signs…

When Ian and Denise Corfield visited an open day at the Australian Navy’s Cerebus Naval base on the Mornington Peninsula south of Melbourne a few years ago, there were one or two road steam engines on display, including the Navy Steam Club’s own Foden wagon - No 11102 of 1923 - used as a training aid and kept in pristine condition. It was giving rides, as many Australian-based wagons do, having been equipped with a suitable style of body to enable that task to be carried out safely. However, it was a somewhat strangelooking engine which caught the eye; investigations revealed it to be a conversion of an unidentified Clayton & Shuttleworth portable engine having a single cylinder of 10in diameter by 12in stroke - which it’s owner, Kevin Miles,…

This H J Pugh sale was set to take place on the first Saturday in May, but owing to Covid-19 it was reset for the first weekend in September. Brent Thomas set out 637 lots all in original style condition ready for H J Pugh to auction at New House Farm, Pencombe, Bromyard, Herefordshire. Brent had collected so wisely over the last 14 years, he has always bought and sold, but understood the parts book and sorted out the rare and unusual Ferguson parts people want. The sale started at 10am and finished at 5.20pm. What a day it was with strong prices from the off, with bidders all around the world, but Northern Ireland, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, France and Australia being major players, along with England and…

The last of the Elderburn sales in Scotland concluded online at 12 noon Monday 7 September with frantic last-minute bidding on the Pentland Auctions of Kirremuir site under Graham Burke’s leadership on behalf of Joyce and David Symington. It was not going to be easy to sell this fine collection as it consisted of mostly prewar Case tractors, which are unfashionable, but they sold very well proving there is life left in this market. There were a number of records set, including the Fowler VFA crawler, very well restored in the 1990s, that made £12,200 and the 1936 Fordson N water washer at £4,700. Records were also set for a few of the lovely restored Case tractors, particularly the 1951 DC3 at £6,000. Interestingly the well-painted Ferguson Brown A on…

A recent arrival near Faddon, Cornwall at Sam Henwood’s engineering premises, which he is extending dramatically as we speak, is March 1938 Marshall No. 88360 DRO890 Sam that was new to Watford Corporation as a 10 ton road roller then to Dick Woolley, Bucknell, Salop who also used it as a steam roller. The S-type pistonvalve compound 2006 roller conversion was offered at Cheffins, Sutton, Cambridgeshire on 18 October 2014 when it raised £39,000. The engine is now with keen enthusiast Doug Palmer of Vintage Automobilia (www.vintageautomobilia.co.uk), he is the man if you need a restored or unrestored petrol pump, enamel sign and so much more. He exports his wares all around the globe from his base in Honiton, Devon and has unrivalled knowledge on the subject. A new set…

The village of Scrayingham lies in a rural backwater some nine miles to the northeast of York. It has two significant railway connections in that the ‘Railway King’, George Hudson, was buried there in 1871 and it was to be the terminus of the Sand Hutton Light Railway in the early 1920s - but this aspiration never materialised says Derek Rayner. George Hudson was born close-by at Howsham in 1800 and became known as the man who brought the railways to York. He was Lord Mayor three times and became the Chairman of the York & North Midland Railway; by 1844 he controlled over 1000 miles of railway which justifiably gave him the aforementioned title. In 1846 he became MP for Sunderland but three years later, there were suspicions of…

Hugh Dougherty reports that one of the country’s lesser known lines, the ten-and-quarter-inch gauge Wells Harbour Railway which connects the Norfolk resort’s harbour with its beach and holiday park, is determined to survive the ravages of the Covid-19 crisis, despite having been able to re-open only on 4 July. Owner Gary Brecknell, who has operated the line with his co-director wife Alison since 2001, says that passenger numbers are expected to be well down this year on a normal season, when the narrow-gauge line carries around 60,000 passengers, but that they are determined to survive. “We normally run seven days a week from mid-March to the end of the school mid-term holiday in October, so we lost several months this year because of the Covid-19 emergency. We’re looking carefully at…

Making a surprise appearance at a private steam-up of local engines near Piltdown, East Sussex, over the August Bank Holiday weekend was McLaren 8nhp DCC road loco No. 1421 of 1913 Captain Scott, visiting from Cheshire, reports Colin Tyson. Owned by the Woodward family of Buglawton, the engine was low-loaded to the Searle’s yard at Horsham in time to road over under its own steam early Saturday evening, breaking the journey to the event field by calling in at the evening road run destination of The Royal Oak at Newick to join the other engines. Its crew included Jack Dibnah, who had driven down that afternoon to Horsham following a visit that morning by the boiler inspector to look at his narrow gauge rail locomotive. After such a long day,…

In 1921 the Lanz Bulldog tractor was introduced, with a single-cylinder twostroke engine that relied on heat rather than compression for combustion. It could run on almost anything – as well as diesel, paraffin or even creosote could be used! A bulb was located on the cylinder which was heated with a blowlamp to start the tractor. This bulb looked a little like the head of a bulldog, which is believed to have given rise to the name. A 1931 Lanz Bulldog 15/30 tractor has also been modelled [6]. These were imported to the UK at the time by the Locomobile Engineering Co. of 68 Victoria Street, London SW1. John Deere became a majority shareholder of Lanz in 1956, and took over ownership in 1960. Sticking with German tractors, you…

Not far away was the very knowledgeable Phil Scarborough from Retford, Nottinghamshire, with his 4in Garrett single-cylinder traction engine called Lady Lucy, which started life in 1994. Phil has carried out various modifications over the years, including gearing up the engine, which will now do 12mph instead of seven as standard, he says. Modifications have been made to the water pump, and various grease nipples have been fitted instead of oilers. Not far away was Tim Allen, who was having fun with the J. I. Case 65hp North American outline traction engine, with its Canadian-style blue boiler lagging. Also close by were Black Bess and its partner Black Beauty, a very detailed pair of beautiful 3in Fowler single-cylinder, Church valve, ploughing engines of S. Leedham. Looking a little stressed in…

There can be little doubt that most of us will remember the year 2020 for the unprecedented events that have taken place with the current worldwide coronavirus pandemic, and for both steam and classic plant enthusiasts alike the cancellation of most of the major attractions including working events have made an impact upon us all. With this in mind, Jeremy Rowland was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Link Club working event at Sibbertoft was still able to take place during the weekend of 1213 September. This annual event is hosted in a former quarry that is now used by a 4x4 adventure club, the land being contoured to provide an off road driving course for such vehicles. This also makes an ideal place for the operation and use of…

The most prominent man in the road steam movement in Italy died during the summer. Franco Risi lived at San Giovanni in Persiceto, about 15 miles north-west of Bologna and, back in the day, his father was involved in steam ploughing. Franco has an engineering business and had spent a considerable time in the past looking for examples of Fowler ploughing engines in the country, especially the late-build ‘Superba’ types, but without success. He eventually purchased a pair of partly-restored BB engines (Nos 14381 and 14382 of 1917) plus implements from the late Mick Smith, near Reading, in 1996. Whilst visiting there, he also took a shine to a large 20hp Marshall duplex portable engine, ex-Ireland, (No 57622 of 1911) which was minus one set of motion which he also…

The sailing vessel Lagaren was built in 1894 in the yard of W Lindbergs Verkstadsoch AB Varfs (Sodra Varvet) in Sweden as hull No 21 and its original use was as the Swedish lightship Svinbaden No 17, writes Phil Barnes. This craft is quite a rare survivor these days because it has a riveted iron hull which gave it a displacement of around 300 tons for a gross tonnage of 245. The 34-metre long by 6.7-metre wide vessel served in this role until around 1960 when it was converted to a sailing ship and it then saw use as an auxiliary training vessel. It was at that time that she was also named Lagaren. As part of the conversion, which saw her rigged as a schooner, she was also fitted…

H & H Classics have an excellent reputation for good sales and that was the case on Wednesday 16 September 2020, says Bob Moorman. As always the sale featured number plates, automobilia, motor-cycles, veteran, vintage and classic cars and a range of commercial vehicles. These had mostly come from the former High Peak Motor Museum, Derbyshire. Much of it laid outside totally unloved. It included a 1927 Morris Cowley 5cwt flatbed commercial PF6953. These vehicles featured the Hotchkiss fourcylinder 11.9hp side-valve engine and the ‘Bullnose’ round radiator was replaced in late 1925 with a flat honeycomb version. However the vehicle needs a total restoration and went on to sell for an amazing £9,582. A vehicle that the editor has seen at a rally in the late 70s was 1929 Leyland…

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW, OUT: Friday 27 November! Tel: 01959 541444 – shop.kelsey.co.uk MORE ON TED FIELD The amazing 94-year old tells us about his interesting life and what he got up to along the way. WE SAY GOODBYE TO KERR’S Hugh Dougherty pays tribute to a miniature railway that has just closed after being in operation since the 1930s. SWAGS Wendy Webb tells us about her Facebook ladies steam group - join up and enjoy your partner’s interest from the other side! MARSHALL No. 61880 STORY The editor tells his own story on Marshall traction engine No. 61880 which he owned for 36 years. Plus • Letters • News • Models • Sales Scene • Vintage World and much more!! These features are all planned at the time of…