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The Banbury Rally at Bloxham over
the weekend 25th/26th June was once again blessed with
excellent weather after the rain that fell throughout the Friday night.
As well as the many SPC members that visited were committee members Jonathan
Garman, Simon Fisher, Dick Eastwood, Richard Playdon, Richard Jackson, Peter
Longfoot, Mike Beeby and Michael Davies.
Five ploughing engines were present:
● Michael Davies’ Fowler Z7 no. 15673 of
1922 (supplied new to the Sena Sugar Estates, Mozambique, and repatriated in
1977)
● Mark Jones’ Fowler K7 no. 14257 of 1916
‘Linkey’
● Peter Wilson’s Fowler BB1 no. 15183 of
1918 ‘Ajax’
● Hal & Guy Debes’ Fowler 14nhp single
cylinder no. 2528 of 1875 ‘The Chief’ (rebuilt from an engine dismantled in
the 1920’s for spare parts for the Beeby Brothers working sets, and rescued
in 1988 from the scrap merchant by Charles Daniels)
● Paul Ransley’s Fowler no. 1908 of 1873
Paul Ransley presented his work-in-progress – the
rebuild of Fowler 12nhp single cylinder ploughing engine no. 1908. The
engine was new to Harman Visger of Chiseldon, Wilts., in February 1873, and
could originally have been fitted with a clip-drum or double-drum for single
engine working. It was later fitted with the standard rope drum of the
period and paired with engine no. 2299 – the pair remaining together
throughout their working lives until 1944. The boilers of both engines were
subsequently used to sterilise soil in greenhouses. A substantial number of
parts have been acquired and added to what was left of the original engine,
casting patterns produced from Paul’s drawings are being used to reproduce
major components, and Paul is fabricating the remainder as time and money
permit. Paul Ransley was rightly awarded a certificate for his outstanding
recreation’.
Harry Williams’
superb Kitson and Hewitson 2 inch scale ploughing
engine fitted with Burton clip-drum
was present and set up with fully automatic
anchor carriage, anchor and 4-wheel cultivator to demonstrate the
single-engine working system. Harry described how he had discovered the
secret of how to accommodate the variations in the length of the rope
required due to irregularities in the headland - the slack-gear arrangement
- as illustrated in The Story of the Steam Plough Works by Michael Lane.
4 wheel cultivator
Single Engine System
Head's patent anchor carriage
Kitson Hewitson PE
Rain! |
