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Book review: July 2010

An album of Sentinel Works Photographs No 2

By Anthony R Thomas, 176pp, hardback, £24.50 incl p&p from AR Thomas, Woodpecker Publications, Woodpecker Lodge, Barneshall Avenue, Worcester WR5 3EU. Cheques payable to AR Thomas.

IN 1992 Anthony Thomas and his father published their Sentinel Works Photographs No 1 and by 1995 a good many pictures of the DG & S type waggons for the proposed second album had already been selected. The plans for that second volume were impacted by the election of Anthony as Records Officer for the Sentinel Drivers Club and the sad death of his father.

However Album No 2 remained simmering gently on the back burner and the long-awaited volume has now been published. What a rare treat this new book is and it will no doubt quickly take its place on the bookshelves of Sentinel enthusiasts everywhere. Expanded from the original concept to cover the DG and S Type it also includes the diesel lorries, buses and railway locomotives produced by the company and it was not until I read the book that I learnt that Sentinel also built Bren Gun carriers during WWII.

The collection of mono archive photographs are reproduced to a very high standard and with, at most, three pictures to a page are large enough to show a good amount of detail.

The majority of the steam waggon photographs are works pictures taken at various favourite sites around the Shrewsbury Works and used for promotional purposes. They also include some unusual waggons, for example an S6 Steam Tractor which never went into production and the photograph would seem to be a publicity mock-up. The railway locomotives are a good mix of works images and in service pictures – I particularly liked the shots of LNER railcars.

This is not just a ‘picture book’ as there is a wealth of information within. Each detailed caption contains technical details as well as a history of the vehicle. There are five appendices which include a complete production list of all the DG and S Type waggons and also lists of all known surviving steam wagons, lorries and buses.

Appendix 3 has details of all the Sentinel railway locomotives and railcars built between 1923 and 1952 while Appendix 4 lists those known to have survived.

Much of the information has been painstakingly compiled from the records kept by the late Alan Duke and which, before his death, he made available to Anthony.
The standard of the production is first class with high quality paper being used throughout and a rather nice painting of Stuart Gray’s Castle Firebrlck Sentinel S4 in colour on the cover. A photograph of another superbly restored Sentinel, Barry Cousins Lyons Tea, DG6 graces the back cover.

Anthony includes the notation “I apologise to all those who bought Album No 1 for the considerable wait for this companion volume. I hope you feel the wait was worthwhile.” In my view he has no need to apologise but I am glad that the waiting is now over and I cannot recommend this new volume highly enough and out of a five-star rating I would give it a most definite six. AB.

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Fowler handbook for engine drivers

Reprint, £10 plus £1.50 p&p available from The Owston Ferry Pumping Engine Preservation Society, (cheques payable to the society) c/o 101 Station Street, Misterton, North Nottinghamshire DN10 4DB.

A VERY USEFUL initiative from the organisation set up to preserve and return the Owston Ferry Pumping Station in northern Lincolnshire to working order is a reprint of an original Fowler handbook produced by the firm and entitled ‘Instructions for working “Fowler” traction engines, rollers, &c.’ A copy of this booklet was provided to new engine owners for their drivers.

It comprises chapters on the staff required for operating different types of engine in different locations, how to receive, unload and re-erect a new engine, preparing for a journey, on the journey and practical hints for engine drivers.

Many of the details in the well-reproduced book are just as pertinent for enginemen of today as they were when Fowlers produced the book in the working days – whether they own Fowler engines or not.

There are many relevant diagrams and illustrations, although the original Fowler works photos have suffered from the relatively poor quality of reproduction – as in the original book. This booklet is recommended reading for all engine owners, whether of the old school or new recruits to the hobby. There is always something to learn.