Innehållsförteckning för June 2025 från Old Glory

Easter Sunday saw 242 vintage and classic tractors hit the roads of Suffolk watched by 100s of people along the 35-mile route of the 36th National Vintage Tractor Road Run. It started from Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham and headed to The Museum of Food, Stowmarket (formerly The Museum of East Anglian Life) where Lisa Harris and her team made the tractors and crews very welcome indeed. The Museum also saw one of its biggest crowds come to the site to see the tractors, which arrived just on 1pm and left at 3.30pm to head back to Blackthorpe Barn with the last arriving back at 6pm. The crowds in the villages they went through, particularly in the afternoon, were amazing. It had certainly been a very full day. Turn to page 40…

An engine that has been on the market for some time has finally been sold. October 1912 Burrell DCC No. 3423 7hp showman’s Star has found a new home in Scotland. This engine started out as a road locomotive to Greensmith & Sons Ltd of Burton-on-Trent and then in 1919 with Herefordshire Brick & Tile Co where it is said it hauled 6,000 bricks daily. She was bought by Charles Openshaw of Reading in 1922 who converted her to a showman’s specification and was with Thomas Pettigrove of Stonebridge Park, Middlesex at the 1925 Olympia Show and was very much part of the pre-war London circuit. She was eventually rescued from Pettigrove’s yard, from the bushes. However the Burrell was in a more parlous state and was purchased by Doctor…

At the 82nd Goodwood Members Meeting held over 12-13 April, of interest to Old Glory readers were the S F Edge Trophy races which featured cars from the Veteran and Edwardian era 1903-1918. As per usual in these races, on the Saturday Julian Majzub shot away in the 1916 Sunbeam Indianapolis car, (it was found in a scrapyard as a wreck in 1985). He had a good lead on the first lap as pole sitter by half a second from Mark Walker on his 1905 Darracq 200hp racer, who always has problems getting away from the line owing to its high gearing. In the six-lap race Walker in his racing leathers, sitting high up as you do in this car was gaining on Julian all the time, but Julian retired…

OG 412 carried the details of the 2023 visit to Dresden by PTG and the paddle steamers which are based there, amongst many other historical attractions around this city in Saxony. A tour was organised in 2024 to include similar attractions, including the opportunity to take a cruise on one of the vessels back from Bad Schandau to the group’s base in Dresden. However, fate intervened on this occasion in late September since the Carolabrückeover the River Elbe in the centre of Dresden collapsed without warning in the night hours, only around 15 minutes after a tram had passed over it. This unexpected act could have resulted in a major catastrophe had it happened in the middle of the day when the bridge would have been carrying its usual high…

When Michael Ward was driving through the town of Nový Jicˇín in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic (Czechia) he found himself slightly lost following taking a wrong turn. As a result, he unexpectedly came across a steam roller at the side of the road which, by its looks, he initially thought was an ‘Advance’ example from the Basingstoke firm of Wallis & Steevens. Naturally, having an interest in such things, he stopped and then discovered that it was a German-built Ruthemeyer roller, No. 581 of 1928 and it was plinthed outside an office of the SSMSK (Road Administration of the Moravia-Silesian Region). It looked very smart in its green, silver and red paint scheme; this is in stark contrast to the rather shabby appearance of the machine which…

Well the season has certainly been so good early on, with good crowds and a fine selection of engines out in so many places chugging away, which is pleasing to see. Thank you engine people for coming to Bodle Street Green on 6 April, it was greatly appreciated. We do have room for another five or six engines there next year and the date will be later in April, so maybe think about joining us. There has been a good selection of new engines on the scene as well, which has made life interesting. One way to get interesting engines out of the cupboard, so to speak, is by having themed events, but obviously don’t exclude others that support the event and don’t have an engine of that make. Well,…

Saturday 5 April saw dull weather at the start of the Detling Heritage Show, staged by the Kent Agricultural Society’s Kent Show Heritage section, on their famous ex WW2 fighter base, just off the busy A249. As the day went on, brilliant sunshine came through, but the cold wind stayed unfortunately. An excellent crowd was seen here with over 5,000 on site. The entry was superb in all quarters, with a good selection of quality trade stands. As usual there was a select stationary engine section, where Ruston and Hornsby was number one. There is always a stationary engine section at the Kent County Show on 4-6 July and if you have never been, well why not take your engine there, info@kentshowground.co.uk…

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…

Wallis & Steevens compound W4 5T No. 7720 that has been brilliantly re-created by John Lambert of Bridport Foundry, Dorchester has moved on to a new owner. The project was started in 2004 with others, but as they faded away John made it all happen. It was certainly a challenge and the end result is just excellent. Since its appearance last year at the Abbey Hill Rally other things have consumed the Bridport team’s efforts. There is one other example of a Wallis & Steevens steam wagon, No. 7279 of 1912, which is part of the Milestones setup at Basingstoke. This engine was found by Tom Redfern and John Butler and a tree was found growing through it, later it was with Hardwicks in preservation times, but it’s never been…

It was announced in March that the Shuttleworth Collection had acquired from the defunct Frank Loft Moretonhamstead Motor Museum, Dorothy Shuttleworth’s 1905 Wolseley X-type 5hp two-seater Phaeton which is one of just two survivors of this type of ‘baby’ Wolseley. They were made to an Indian specification although less than 15 actually went there out of a batch of 50 made. The X22 was first purchased by the Shuttleworth family in approximately 1929 from Earls Colne, Essex, for 15 shillings. It became a regular participant in the early days of the London to Brighton Run before the family exchanged it for a 1899 Margot Gardon quadricycle in 1935. Owned by pioneer collector Francis Hutton-Stott, it took part in the final Brooklands veteran motor race prior to the outbreak of the…

The famous Bromley Pageant of Motoring, which featured many stationary engines and which decades ago was run by Patrick Knight, was basically decimated and lost income for everyone involved, when the Mayor of London introduced the LEZ, and other restrictions. However, last year, the event moved to the South of England Ardingly Showground, Haywards Heath, Sussex, on the last weekend in July and it was a great success. It has now been decided that this year a stationary engine section will be included again and Alan and Lynne Cullen have agreed to run it. The date of the event is 26-27 July. The editor has negotiated that there will be no entry free for tractors or stationary engines. Further details from Pippa of A-ME Event Management, tel: 07917 026903 or…

For the second year, members of the Veteran Car Club’s South-East Centre inaugurated the new rally season with a visit to Les and Dee Searle at Horsham and a look round their fascinating complex of sheds on Saturday 5 April, says Zack Stiling. The sheds house not only a quintet of traction engines and a Foden steam bus – several of which were being fired up for the amusement of visitors, but also an array of pre-war motorcycles and commercial vehicles, and a varied selection of cars dating back to a 1903 Renault. Since it was a VCC event, members turned up with an assortment of some 20 or so antique vehicles, including four from the Veteran and Edwardian periods. Clive and Elinor Boothman’s 1902 Napier 12hp was commendably driven…

RUBY TOYS The latest versions of Ruby Toys’ Dennis Pax box van are in dark blue Lyons Swiss Rolls livery (1) and green Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky livery, each selling for £59.95. The casting for these 1/48 scale Dinky-style diecast vehicles originated in the Ruby Toys range produced by the late John Hope, whose legacy is now maintained by Promod Diecast. John and Raymond Dennis built their first commercial vehicle in 1904. The normal control Dennis Pax was in production for 11 years from 1945-56, powered either by a Dennis 3.77-litre sidevalve petrol engine or a Perkins P6 diesel mounted ahead of the front axle, resulting in the lorry’s distinctive protruding bonnet, which gave it the nickname of ‘flying pig.’ PROMOD Promod’s 1/43 scale white metal Austin/Rover Maestro van has…

THOUGHTS ON GIESL Dear Editor Simon Colbeck’s article in the August Old Glory about the Giesl ejector in Hunslet Austerity No 18 makes fascinating reading. I am hoping that readers might be able to enlighten me as to how the Giesl blastpipe arrangement could result in the efficiencies claimed by Dr Giesl, of up to 12%. E S Cox goes into great detail about the BR experiences with it in his books Locomotive Panorama and British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives. The latter is referred to by W A Tuplin in British Steam Since 1900. The National Coal Board were very forward-looking with their locomotives, as noted by Simon Colbeck. They also converted some 74 Austerities to the L D Porta gas producer system. Most of the losses in a conventional…

Every now and then, when searching on the internet, one comes across something of major interest. Such was the experience of Old Glory reader David Parfitt, when he discovered the adjacent images on a Brazilian website. The name on the engine’s plate rang a bell with him just then - but not exactly why. In addition, the looks of the pictured engine were also familiar and he was able, relatively easily, to identify the engine as a Kemna-EM type of ‘gun tractor’, many of which were ordered by the German Government towards the cessation of hostilities in November 1918. Because of the urgency with which these tractors were required, the construction of them was sub-contracted to several other firms in Germany in addition to Kemna but that of Gronemeyer &…

KELLOGG Daniel Kellogg of Battle Creek, Michigan, USA took out an 1873 US patent. The details imply practical knowledge, such as detachable chains on wheels instead of cleats for improved road performance. There were also ingenious clutches, one of which disconnected a rear wheel when turning. Battle Creek became home to numerous threshing machine and traction engine firms including Case & Willard and Nichols & Shepard (whose employees Elon Marsh and Minard LaFever later worked for Upton, forerunners of Port Huron and Advance). Several Kellogg families were farmers in Michigan who congregated in Battle Creek, Daniel’s parents having moved there in 1856 when he was aged four. Another branch invented cornflakes in 1894 for the local sanatorium, marketing them twelve years later as Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flakes before the…

It was a great pleasure to have professional engineer Brian Hope from Kent, bring along some of his Stuart models to the Bodle Street Green event on Sunday 6 April. These included a circa 1926 slide bar (cast trunk guide from 1935) No.5 vertical 1.5hp engine which is in for repair for a customer, it cost new £7.10s 0d. He also brought over a Stuart Turner No.6 6in x 12in vertical boiler, which he had carried out some repairs to late on Saturday, to make it to the show in time. Also on display was the vertical water pump and hand water pump all placed on the base of the display. This was just one of a number of models that Brian showed in the village hall, with the many…

Simon Gooderham conducted the Cheffins 174 lot stationary sale in dry and reasonable warm conditions for this time of year, commencing at 9am on Saturday 26 April at the Cheffins HQ machinery sales site at Sutton, Cambridge. In fact, there were to be six sales over 25-26 April, made up of 3,851 lots. There were two SE collections that made up much of the lots offered. There was a good crowd; both live and on-line, as Simon kicked it all off with Henry Dixon from Pembrokeshire’s imported restored 1928 John Deere K type 1.5hp, which he has owned for 16 years. It was run up just as it was sold and ran well as always, it was knocked down at £1,600. It possibly could do with a repaint, to bring…