Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Old Glory

Stuart Phillips farms 420 acres on arable land at Walton Grange Farm on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, all put down to growing combinable crops alongside 300 finishing 300 cattle which are all kept inside and fed on cereals. As well as that, Stuart also does contract work at a neighbouring 400-acre mixed cereal/beef farm. “Today, a series of John Deere tractors and a JD combine are the workhorses of the farm, but it has not always been like that, we were fully into Ford tractors for 50 years until the local agencies started to disappear,” Stuart explained. “We have had only John Deeres for the past three or four years and it’s worked.” The Phillips family has farmed at Walton Grange since moving there in 1966 from a small farm near…

If the Covid-19 situation stays as it is at present, then the annual charity Bodle Street Vehicle Day and Tingley’s Trundle and Vehicle Day will go ahead on Sunday 4 October at Bodle Street Green Village Hall, East Sussex BN27 4UB, says Peter Love. All vintage vehicle owners of all types are very welcome for this year’s charity event, so bring along your steam engine, model traction engine, tractor, commercial vehicle, car, stationary engine, model static display or other exhibit, even your model railway! Just part of the day is the Tingley’s Trundle Road Run, scheduled to start at 10.15am and return at 1pm. We are looking to beat the 83 tractors that took part in the event in 2019, and we have a lovely green on which to place…

An engine room containing a steam engine restored by the late Fred Dibnah is at risk of being demolished to make way for housing development. The engine room at Wetheriggs Pottery near Penrith, Cumbria, figures in a site proposal given the green light by Eden District Council to be converted to five homes. The pottery closed to business in 2008 and with it the c1890 horizontal single cylinder engine by W C Holmes & Co of Huddersfield which was originally at Stoke Gas Works. The 4hp engine, with a cylinder of 8½in x 1ft 2in, was restored by Fred Dibnah in 1995. The plan is for the pottery kilns to be demolished and the engine stripped out. Since the pottery’s closure, which was due to its parent company being in…

You can catch a boat train from Glasgow to Balloch Pier and take in the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond from the decks of PS Maid of the Loch, on a £12 ticket, despite the preserved ship remaining tied up at Balloch Pier and closed to visitors during the Covid-19 crisis, writes Hugh Dougherty. A sail on Britain’s last railway-built paddle steamer comes on-line thanks to owners the Loch Lomond Steamship Company Limited. The charity has dug into its archives to source fascinating moving and still images for the virtual trip, designed to keep the ship in the public eye and also to go some way towards replacing revenue lost during the lockdown. Chairman John Beveridge said: “The virtual train trip and sail recalls an excursion which was very popular…

A few weeks ago Jim Sarney, Trevor Smallbone, Harry Cotegrave and Tristan Leverett were chatting in Richard Hazell’s workshop over coffee and the subject of Jim’s first engine came up. In the recent Road Locomotive Society journal was an article which mentioned Jim’s first purchase, Burrell SCC traction engine No.2505, which it said was purchased in 1961, Jim said, “I have the original receipt and some photographs somewhere, I will dig them out!” On the following Saturday Jim showed us the original receipt and photographs of the engine which he had in a frame. What was nice was the original receipt for £175, which included the water cart from W W Smith of Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The receipt revealed that Jim had purchased the engine on 13th June 1960 and not…

Whilst 2020 will be remembered for many reasons, not least of all being the fact that it was the year that steam rallies “didn’t happen”, the reopening of pubs has led to a wealth of pub runs, as engine owners take the opportunity to steam up and head for the roads, writes Paul Ritchie. In North Dorset several engine owners assembled around the villages of Stourpaine and Shillingstone over the weekend of 11th and 12th July for a steam and social, and well-needed gettogether. Starting from their relevant stables at nearby owner’s yards the engine’s first stop was at The White Horse at Stourpaine. The pub usually organises a steam-up weekend early in the season, but the lock down prevented it from happening this year, so they were delighted to…

As a follow-up to his nostalgic article in July’s Old Glory, our Technical Advisor Derek Rayner took his 1915 Aveling & Porter steam roller to the North Yorkshire town on the Saturday of what should have been Masham rally weekend. There has been a big void in the life of many traction engine enthusiasts this year as a result of the cancellation of rallies and similar events because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Notwithstanding that, the 55th anniversary of Masham Rally was a milestone that needed to be somehow appropriately celebrated but in order to arrange this within the current social distancing guidelines and the ban of large gatherings of people, it was impossible to achieve. During a discussion with rally organiser Flo Grainger in early July, she mentioned the previous…

Hartzell’s Auction Gallery of Bangor in Pennsylvania held a spectacular sale on May 31 of a private collection of over 250 biscuit tins. The sale was held in the USA but the majority of the collection were of British manufacture advertising British products. Mainly they were for biscuits but there were a few from sweet and chocolate producers. The variety of shapes illustrated perfectly the range of models available in the first half of the 20th century. The list of subjects was very comprehensive including windmills, items of furniture, sets of books, animals, churches, houses, children’s games, clocks, post boxes, handbags and even a set of golf clubs. I registered to bid in the auction because of particular interest to me were 58 examples in the shape of objects of…

The Great Working of Steam Engines at Stourpaine Bushes became known just as “Stourpaine” to the regulars, then later, due to a change of site, as The Great Dorset Steam Fair (GDSF) or just “Dorset.” The rally needs no introduction as most people have heard of it even if they have never attended. The first steam gatherings of the newly formed Dorset Steam & Historic Vehicle Club were held in Ted Hine’s garden at Gillingham, he was vice-president of the recentlyformed club and the first rally was held in September 1969 at Stourpaine Bushes. Michael Oliver was vice-chairman of the club and event secretary. Other familiar names involved were Giles ‘Doc’ Romanes as president and Stephen Hubbuck as a committee member. The first Stourpaine rally I attended with my parents…

Holidaymakers and railway enthusiasts looking for accommodation with a view of trains and ferries will soon be able to ‘clock in’ at historic Wemyss Bay Station thanks to a £5,000 grant from the Landmark Trust, a charity which restores holistic buildings for use as holiday lets. Hugh Dougherty reports that the money is funding a feasibility study on restoring a flat originally used for staff accommodation in the station’s clock tower, to offer stays at the iconic ‘A’-listed Caledonian Railway station and steamer pier, designed by famous Scottish railway architect James Miller, and now expertly looked after by the Friends of Wemyss Bay Station. The 1903-built station was designed to replace an earlier structure which was destroyed by fire. The Caledonian Railway designed the new building to handle the vast…

Paddle steamer Medway Queen has been appointed South East Regional Flagship for 2020 by National Historic Ships UK. It puts the ‘Queen’ in good company along with HMS Belfast as National Flagship and with the three other regionals: tall ship Zebu, SS Explorer and MV Spartan. The 2020 awards were tailored in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the maritime heritage sector. The scheme usually reflects the cruising programme or number of visitors of each craft but for 2020 virtual applications were welcomed after ceasing of operations and postponement of events. In Medway Queen’s case, the website gained significant new features including a new virtual tour, coupled with a daily news feed from May 25 to June 5 during the Dunkirk Anniversary period.…

Transport Museum Wythall is offering its long-term stored Leyland Tiger PS1 Stratford Blue single-decker to a new owner free of charge but with the stipulation of continued preservation only. The vehicle was withdrawn from service in 1960 and came to Wythall in the 1980s in very poor condition, lacking its main running units. With a significant number of museum vehicles on the list for rebuild/refurbishment, this Leyland is at the back of the queue and is an ideal project for someone looking for a big but satisfying challenge. The running units were built into a significant number of similar vehicles and are likely to be available within the classic bus movement. These vehicles were Stratford Blue’s first new single-deckers. Ten Leyland Tiger PS1s were built with bodywork built to the…

A modified Ayrshire Road Run took place in south-west Scotland on July 11 with the current Covid-19 epidemic certainly in mind, reports David Reed. This was not the two-day affair that has been a popular event for many years, that saw vehicles hugging the coastline between Ayr and Portpatrick, but a one-day trip taking in around 100 miles of scenic countryside between Lanark and Crumnock. The day started and finished at The Route 674 Truckstop alongside the M74 near Lesmahagow, the site being chosen to avoid the public being there in large numbers during the present conditions. The event attracted around 50 vehicles that ran towards Lanark before taking the scenic route along the B740 towards Crumnock. From there it was back to the truckstop and the end of the…

Hello Peter I am an Allard man of very many years and saw your message to members yesterday. Well, the tentacles of club members stretch in amazing ways! A lady called Glenda lives a mile away from us in Shrewsbury; she is the daughter of Mr Rodgers, the haulage contractor who had the cars built with Sentinel bodywork. Knowing that I have an Allard, one day she leant me a family photo which I have copied. You will see that her father had a “reasonable” sized fleet of haulage trucks! Alas, the quarry which was the ultimate resting place for EAW 673 bears no evidence of its grave. The said quarry is even nearer to where we live than Glenda…a mere half-mile away. If you are ever in the area…

Old Glory magazine is available in digital and printed format and is the world’s biggest selling magazine covering steam, i/c and even electric vehicles from working days to preservation, in its ‘new look’ format. The magazine is now in its 33rd year and every issue is brimming with news, feature articles, up and coming sales and events + a very strong classified section that works! The magazine also covers practical restorations, history and looks back at the early days of preservation, as well as at the current scene, it’s ideal for young and old alike. Subscribe today and get your copy delivered right to your doorstep each month! Do take up, for a limited time only, the order of 6 issues for just £18 – saving 36% on the usual…

The classic tractor-based site dumper from the 1930s to the 1960s was the Muir-Hill but it had rivals, of which perhaps the best known was the Motor Rail. This unusual name derived from the firm’s earlier speciality of quarry railways. Founded in 1911 as the Motor Rail and Tram Car Co of Simplex Works, Bedford, it made light narrow gauge tracks and the Simplex locos and rolling stock to work on them. Large numbers were supplied to the War Office in 1914–18 for clearing the spoil from trench digging and for building gun emplacements and the like. The fact that they used the same 40hp Dorman 4JO motor as several types of War Office Subsidy Scheme three-ton army lorry helped with the provisioning of spare parts and maintenance personnel. In…

We would love to know about your engine and would be delighted to feature it in Old Glory’s Miniature section - please do get in contact with the editor peterlove@madasafish.com – tel: 01323 833125. I first became interested in steam when I watched the 4472 Flying Scotsman go past the end of our gardens in the early 1970’s. My father was a very keen steam enthusiast, and would take us to all the shows along the south coast. My first ride on a traction engine was during the Queens Jubilee celebrations in 1977 in my village of Barnham, West Sussex, I remember just hanging about all day near the engine, to this day I am not sure what engine it was, and I think they took pity on this 11-year-old…

www.kelseymarketplace.co.uk The markers have now been set post Covid-19 lockdown in various areas of the vintage vehicle movement following the recent Cheffins Vintage Collective on 16-22 July. However I am still convinced that auctioneer-led on-line auctions like the Cheffins Cambridge Machinery Sales, and the recent Aumann and Mecum sales in the USA, go better than on-line timed auctions. We bring you a full report on this sale and we also preview the up and coming Brent Thomas Ferguson sale. Don’t forget, besides your classified advert placed in this magazine it also goes onto our excellent online site www.kelseymarketplace.co.uk Good Start For Post-Lockdown With no public sales of this magnitude envisaged yet in the Covid-19 ‘unlocking’ process, Cheffins decided to stage a number of sales over 16-22 July with viewing on…

AVELING & PORTER David Reed looks at a keen enthusiast and his venerable Aveling & Porter compound, a regular on the Shropshire circuit. SENTINEL ANNIVERSARY ROAD RUN Following the cancellation of the Sentinel Owners Club 2020 Road Run David Reed takes a looks back to the 2015. MANITOWOC Carried over from last month, Old Glory welcomes Keith Haddock who is the world’s leading expert on excavators, and we look at a company that still exists today, Manitowoc. INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS IN THE UK Chris Rowberry’s United Kingdom IHC 1920-30s truck albums bring you the full story on this make in the United Kingdom during the 1920-30s when International trucks were part of everyday life. LITTLE AND LARGE PART 2 David Reed travelled to Shropshire to meet farmer Stuart Phillips and his…

Well, I have been to a number of sales and road runs, thinking particularly of the Weald of Kent Steam Rally event on 2 August around Ashford in east Kent, and to a couple of semi-private events, you could say we are making progress! I have decided to go ahead with my annual charity vehicle day here in Bodle Street Green, East Sussex on Sunday 4th October. All readers and friends are very welcome to come with your veteran, vintage or classic steam engine (large and miniature), tractor, car, commercial vehicle, stationary engine, model (we have the hall to fill). The day will start at 10am and go on to whenever, but the raffie will be drawn at 2.30pm. It all takes place on hard standing and a lovely green…

Dell Boy’s ROAD RUN! Graham Dell and Ted Lakes were due to set out on a 2,500-mile charity expedition around the UK on their tractors in July, starting at the Much Marcle Steam Rally. However the event has been postponed until mid to late September due to Covid-19 restrictions. The pair is still determined to make the fundraising journey a reality and Graham said: “We will do everything we can to make this event happen as long as we have a start off place in September, so we can cover north Scotland before the snowy season starts.” The epic journey will start in the West Midlands and Graham (79) and Ted (82) will cover the length and breadth of the UK, heading into Scotland, the Orkney Isles, Isle of Skye,…

At last we can get out there with likeminded people, to a certain degree at least, and one of the first events to take tentative steps was a road run around the excellent Kent Showground site and some local lanes on Saturday 11 July, says the editor. We should have been enjoying the middle day of the Kent County Show at Detling, Maidstone, Kent, with 40,000-plus people, but that was not the case over the Covid-19 blight that has decimated so much, but we fight on! Through Lucy Hegarty, KCS show manager, and members of the Farming Fayre committee nearly 30 tractors and owners assembled along with a number of vintage and classic vehicles to take part in this event in a celebration of just about being alive! Refreshments were…

Brent Thomas’ detailed knowledge of what fits what is amazing. His inspiration was John Farnworth’s Ferguson Implements and Accessories book he says (still available from Classic Tractor Books). Brent is supported so well by his wife Jo (an excellent cook!) who is very much part of all that goes on behind the scenes here. Brent Thomas is a farmer and has been collecting for over 25 years, he’s a regular exhibitor at Tractor World Malvern. He says he wants more time to develop the farm and land in various ways and now is the time to change direction. Fergusons were very much part of the farm in his dad’s time, even though the first tractor he drove was a Ford Force 2000 supplied by Ravenhill’s in 1972. In fact classic…

Glasgow’s Finnieston crane looks to be all-set for a £7m makeover which will ensure its survival as an icon of the city’s industrial heritage and past, if an ambitious restoration plan comes to fruition, reports Hugh Dougherty. Also known as the Stobcross Cran, as Glaswegians have traditionally dropped the ‘e’ on crane, the giant cantilever structure was built in 1931 by Cowans, Sheldon & Co, and the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company. It hoisted thousands of Glasgow-built steam and diesel locomotives on to ships at Stobcross Quay for export round the world until the North British Locomotive Company closed in 1962. Now, community interest company the Big Cran Co plans to build a restaurant at the base of the 152-foot-high steel giant, as well as a visitor centre and a…

Britain was the world pioneer of railways, but the development of the narrow gauges is more of an international phenomenon. Rails of a narrower width were used where terrain was more tricky, such as mountainous regions, across rough ground – such as forested areas or supplying the trenches during wartime – and for lines in more rural, lesser populated areas, due to their lower construction and operating costs. There have been many innovations and some quite novel solutions both in Britain and overseas and a good deal of those pioneering lines are still with us today as part of our heritage scene, while others were ripped up and are now distant memories. This new bookazine from the publishers of Old Glory isn’t so much a history lesson – the histories…

Hello Peter Very interesting to talk to you on the phone the other evening – I noted the letter in the March issue of Old Glory regarding Joe Kingdom and I knew you would be the man to put John Smith right and I just had to contact you over it. Thank you Ken (Gibb), yes John Smith has it correct it’s Joe Kingdom and I illustrate a picture of him taken by my late father W S Love at Sonning Common, Oxon with Burrell William V on 21 July 1955, when Joe still owned the Scenic. He was a blacksmith by trade, but didn’t settle down very well in the 50s. I last saw him as a 10-year-old boy at the 1962 Appleford Rally where he was running a…

On Sunday 14 June an engine was hard at work on a farm in Suffolk. This was August 1905 Burrell 6hp single-crank compound single-drive, sprung mounted No. 2770, PC9300, Sir Gordon. The engine was new to Walter Loxley of Bookham, who had other Burrells in their fleet, then to G H Cookson of Weybridge, also in Surrey. In 1926 she was with J O Lugg & Son, Billingshurst, West Sussex. The former site here is now an upper-class housing estate and since that time Billingshurst has now undergone another massive change with a huge housing complex being built as we speak on the edge of what was a sleepy county town. Towards the end of the Second World War, the engine was damaged by a nearby bomb strike, whereupon she…

Henry Jones & Son The Jones family were a Cornish showland family originally operating a marionette show. Henry Jones was based at St Blazey near St Austell. William Elworthy of Tiverton took delivery of 6nhp compound road engine No 3212 named Princess Victoria. It was purchased by Henry Jones in 1932. After an overhaul it was converted to a showman’s engine to be used with a speedway ark. It continued in use throughout the 1930s until scrapped sometime during the war. Joseph Brewer Joe Brewer, whose father was also Joe, had worked as an engine driver and then a manager for Anderton & Rowlands. He later took over his father’s set of gallopers. Initially, they used two Fowler engines: Nos 7910 Empress of the West and 10695 General French. Burrells…

A marvellous roller find in Morocco When he went on a holiday with Arena Tours, Phil Jervis perhaps did not expect to come across a couple of very rare steam rollers in Morocco. The group had travelled to Spain by rail, including a change of gauge at the Spanish border on the modern slidingaxle rolling stock and thence by ferry to Tangier. A couple of hours coach drive from Tangier, Phil persuaded the tour manager to stop for a short while whilst he photographed a couple of steam rollers he’d spotted at the side of the road about a mile outside the little ‘blue-painted’ town of Chefchaouen at the foot of the Rif Valley. Having seen them from the coach when he approached, camera in hand, he was delighted to…