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Steam and savings at the Old Glory Marquee!

We will again have a range of money-saving show offers including magazines, subscriptions, bookazines, clothing, DVDs and our brand new calendar for 2011. We will be the only stand on site offering the brand new DVD Behind the Moon & The Sledgehammer – a must for film fans and lovers of the off-beat original fly-on-the-wall story of an engine-owning family (see reviews, this issue). The original film will of course also be available.

Just outside the OG marquee will be two special Wm Allchin engines that are both celebrating their birthdays with us – one at 120 years old and one at 100 years old!

Stephen Hubbuck’s Allchin 7nhp General Purpose Engine No 669 of 1890 Bess was built for Charles Kewell of Portslade, West Sussex and from 1921 was owned by Henry Hobden of Isfield, East Sussex. Owned for three years by Allan Pronger of Wivelsfield and in 1957 by Roland Page (of The Moon & The Sledgehammer film), Chiddingly, East Sussex. Bought by Charles Russell in 1963, being his first engine. Put up for auction after his death in April 1999. Stephen has had extensive boiler work and a full overhaul carried out and has repainted in Allchin’s 1925 colours and lining. The engine featured on the cover of OG 245.

Celebrating its centenary is Richard Poole’s Allchin 7nhp General Purpose Engine No 1499 of 1910 Evedon Lad. Supplied new to Arthur Welborne, a threshing contractor at Waltham on the Wolds, Leicestershire. In 1926 H Birkett of Lincoln sold the engine to F Newton. In 1944 H Thurlby of Evedon bought it. During the 1960s the engine was restored by Mr Taylor who rallied it until 1983 when it was sold at auction. In 1993 it was purchased by present owners who have spent many hours restoring it to its present condition including its correct livery and works transfer.

Inside the marquee, from Anglesey we welcome John Phillips’ Mann Patent Steam Cart & Wagon Co steam tractor No 1325 of 1918 Myfanwy. The 5-ton 4nhp slide valve compound 4-shaft engine was new to Llanfair Agricultural Society in 1918 and worked the farms bordering the Menai Straights at Anglesey, threshing corn. It later moved across the Island to Carmel and was used by a contractor there until around 1948.

Purchased for preservation by the late Captain Hewitt of Cemlin, Anglesey, he stored it in a shed at the bottom of his yard until everything was disposed of after his death.
John has owned this engine since 1975 and after a near ten-year gap off the road, it has just been totally rebuilt for the second time, which includes chimney, smokebox, barrel, tubes, throatplate, backhead and hornplates.

At the time of writing, it is also possible that the boiler of the Wallis & Steevens tractor that was exhibited in ‘hedgerow’ condition last year in the Old Glory marquee will return in order to see ‘work in progress’ being undertaken by Ross Anderson and friends at Cobham.

Alongside our own sales stands we welcome for the first few days of the show Willem Middlemiss of auctioneers Cheffins, who will be on hand to advise the best way of going about the auction route should you wish to dispose of your steam engine or vintage item. Willem can also conduct private treaty sales for those who would favour anonimity.

For those who are restoring, rather than selling, then representatives from heritage paint suppliers TR Williamson will be on hand in the marquee. This is their first visit to Dorset but as they were founded in 1775, supplied varnish to Stephenson’s Locomotion No 1 and the paint specifications to Fowler’s Steam Plough Works then it can be safely assumed that they know what they are doing by now!

Better than that, they will be bringing their spectrometer, which will enable a representative to go and see your engine or exhibit and take a reading in order to produce a paint livery as near as original as possible for you.

Painting demonstrations with TR Williamson’s paints will be given in the marquee by Ted Hannon. Ted was born in the late 1940s at the height of the age of steam and at the dawning of the commercial vehicle and the thrust of the combustion engine.

He served his initial time as a mechanical engineer but as specialist coachbuilders were brought in from time to time he was seconded to these tradesmen and began learning the intricate skills of working word and cab building. Showing a natural flair he quickly started learning about metal fabrication, welding and the workings of the engine. At barely 17 he fast tracked and started to understand the art of a liner, of colour and how to work paint.

Ted is not just a good brush man, he understands the guts and the soul of the vehicles he paints. Many of his works are from strip down to rebuild and repaint, the full monty.