After what has felt like an incredibly dull, damp and dreary winter, Myself and a whole load of engine enthusiasts descend on an unsuspecting industrial estate in deepest Somerset for an event that sends any winter blues a-running, the Tarmonkey Spring Crank up. What seems like a small do on paper has turned into one of the premier engine gatherings of the year, without question the best single day show! Hosted by David Lacey at his work premises, David and his team of helpers set out to display and run his entire collection of wonderful engines. Pair this with a heap of visiting engines, hot drinks, food and a raffle to raise money for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, it’s no wonder some people travel 6+ hours to be there.
Around 115 engines were in attendance, split between visitors and the Tarmonkeys collection, it’s hard to know where to start from! Even narrowing the engines down into groups still doesn’t make it any easier. You’ve got the mighty row of Petter 2 strokes of every shape and size, the Blackstones running like clockwork, Listers from the H-R range or the herd of early D types!
Well, given you’ve read the title of this article; you already know where this is going… This is going to be about the French-built engines that were present! The quirky French engineering isn’t new to engine shows, but it seems like they have had an up-take in popularity in the last few years which is fine by me, I’m all for seeing more of strange engineering ideas from across the Channel. So, in order of manufacture examples:
Moteur-Japy! with four examples representing the brand, three type 13’s and a lone type 11. One of the prettiest French brands, narrow domed cylinders, flick magnetos, tank or brass radiator cooled. One of the type 13’s, exhibited by Nigel Scorse has a ‘Bleu de France’ livery from one of the engines retailers.
Bernard-Moteurs! Possibly the most familiar of the manufactures in this article. Three of which made it to the show. The earliest being the mushroom-topped D1 with its cooling tubes spiralling inside the flywheel! Superb to see a W1 on display, one of the lesser seen engines in the W-series. The youngest of the three being the W13 with its almost Brutalist look.
Moteurs-Millot! Two wildly different from the factory in Gray. (Near Dijon) The smaller of the two a model L2 making its first public appearance. The less pretty of the two sold under the name ‘Atlantic’ is now part of my own collection!
Next up is the singular engines, paired together;
Two non-starters first up. The brass tanked engine is a Moteur-Tosello, build in Liancourt, north of Paris. Visually similar to the Japy engines seen earlier. Going between owners was the solid-flywheeled Moteur-Bugaud out of St. Germain-Sur-Morin to the east of Paris.
In the lovely burgundy livery is a Moteur-Pan, a builder I can find very little about but the engine has some wonderful design features, including one of the most satisfying flick mag mechanisms.
And, built under license from Petter is a Le Pratic, built by Ets. William Kent in 1929.
And the final pairing is a 1910 Moteur-Cérès and the very unique CLM with its opposed pistons in a single cylinder!
The attached video to this article will provide a soundtrack to what these weird and wonderful engines sound like. The CLM has one of the most unique engine notes in the hobby!
Appreciate y’all reading!
-Spooner
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Country: GB
