In 2014 I saw this engine whilst trying to source some info for another engine I had just purchased. The owner was looking to sell it as it had become too big & heavy for him to manage.
Fast forward to early 2015 and the engine appeared on eBay and after a week, we (myself and son Mike)were the successful bidder. It is an engine that we had never heard of and does not appear in Patrick Knights A to Z of British Engines.
It turns out the engine was rescued from the banks of a local drain in about the year 2000, it was resting just above the water line and had only recently been dumped there. The farmer on who’s land it was on said if you can get it out you can have it. Sounds easy until you realise that there is over 300Kg of engine. From what is know the engine was based at a school near Hull for some time, before that it is believed to have been used on a ship to generate electrical power, this is supported by the volt/amp figures on the brass makers plate. It was pure chance that that the rescuer was there, he was collecting something else for someone else and the talk turned to stationary engines and this engine was saved from a watery grave.
The engine is a twin cylinder 10HP & 900RPM type G08 petrol Engine which we believe is from the early 1930’s.
Research on the internet in 2015 has found only one reference to Collingham & Owen of Beeston, Nottinghamshire & that was one line in Graces Guide. This lead to the following information about that company taken from ‘The Engineer’ of 7th July 1911. Copied with the kind permission of Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History.
The 1911 engine shows a 2.1/2 kilowatt direct coupled generating set composed of a Siemens dynamo direct coupled to a 4 brake horse-power paraffin engine made by Messers Collingham & Owen, Beeston, Notts. The engine works on the four cycle principle, and in its design special attention has been directed to the desirable feature of accessibility. A water-cooled cover fits accurately onto the combustion chamber with conical metal to metal joints. This cover contains both the inlet and exhaust valves, and by its removal both the valves, the combustion chamber, and the piston head are fully exposed. By disconnecting the big end of the connecting-rod the latter and the piston can be withdrawn through the cylinder. A casing containing the valve, cam shaft, governor, and magneto is designed to be quickly removed without disturbing the cylinder. The crankshaft is also removable without disturbing the cylinder. The lubrication system is of the splash type, the connecting-rod dipping into an oil trough in which the oil level is kept constant by a pump. The engine is started on petrol and the paraffin vaporiser is heated by the exhaust gases, a sensitive governor being provided to control the vapour supply to the cylinder in direct proportion to the load on the engine. The governor also controls the proportions of the air and paraffin, keeping a correct mixture. Ignition is by means of the Bosch high-tension magneto. As will be observed from the illustration the set is extremely compact. The method of silencing the air suction is somewhat novel, as the air is drawn through a number of holes drilled in the base-plate under the dynamo. From there it goes through the side of the base-plate and up a pipe at the back of the engine, which terminates at the bottom of the cylinder water jacket. It then passes round the side of the cylinder through a passage which appears to be part of the water jacket and is then taken up to the vaporiser by means of the vertical copper pipe seen in the engraving. By this means silent running is obtained and the air charge is also held.
Between the two engines shown above they also manufactured a side valve vertical called the Eclipse Oil Engine of 4HP, a petrol/paraffin fuelled single flywheel engine, unfortunately due to copyright restrictions I cannot include a picture. This information is taken from an advertisement card held by Gloucester archives.
Further research has resulted in a bit more information about the company, it was started in November 1911 by Edwin Basil Collingham and Charles Owen (both been 26 years of age) at Beeston in Nottinghamshire and by 1913 they had supplied the whole Black Lead Compression machinery for the new works of Messer’s Hargreaves Bros of Hull and also the Blue Pressing machinery for Messer’s Coleman’s Ltd. Norwich also supplying oil engines to Messer’s The Pulsometer Pump Co Reading.
Originally trading form part of the old Humber works, in 1932 they where trading from Windsor Street, Beeston and in 1941 trading as Collingham and Owen Ltd. still at Windsor Street. They are known to have been trading in Beeston right through to at least 1967, as they were advertising for foundry workers in the local paper at that time.
Charles Owen retired in 1952 and died in 1955.
Edwin Basil Collingham served an apprenticeship of 3 years with Robey of Lincoln from Oct 1901, before starting an additional 3 year apprenticeship from Sept 1904 with W. H. Allen & Son & Co at Bedford before going into their drawing office. In 1907 still with W. H. Allen in the engineering dept and obtained experience in estimating and quoting for steam engines, condensing and pumping plant. When Edwin retired is unknown but he died in 1970.
Any information about this engine or others from this manufacturer would be very welcome. Is this the only surviving engine from this manufacturer.
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Country: GB