No doubt many will have heard of Internal Fire Museum, be that because of their appearances on TV shows such as Salvage Hunters or their display stand which can be seen at several shows throughout the summer, including Tractor Fest at Newby Hall, Welland & Breamore House. The chances are though, that unless you have … Read more
So, where do I go from the first article? Well, you know who I am, what I get up to and what I now collect also. So this is the first one of the restoration series of the 1920 Lister Q type. So, where did the story start on this engine you may ask? 17th … Read more
A chance phone call back in July 2021 asking me to to pick something up for a fellow engine collector is all it took to stumble upon this early Lister. Having loaded the Hornsby fuel tank into the van, the usual question of “Have you got anything else for sale?” arose, and as usual, there … Read more
Many of you will have noted the Hornsby portable no.40144 sold at the David Ambler sale last week by Thimbleby & Shorland. Well, after working out who the lucky new owner was, we got an invite for the first start up once they had it home. One thing that was noticed before sale day was … Read more
It was whilst attending a deceased collectors dispersal sale at Grassthorpe, near Newark in September 2011 that my son Mike and I saw a pile of bits on a pallet. The first time round viewing things we just went past, but later on seeing the name Pilter and the chevron gears we looked again and … Read more
Hornsby Engine History Last week, I drove to Kippen, some 40 miles north of London, Ontario where the Sad Iron Engine Show was having its annual get together. Turning into the driveway of this lovely farm, its location marked by an old engine at the entrance, I drove through into a grassed parking area. As … Read more
Back in February 2018 a small Fielding & Platt engine appeared for sale on Facebook Market Place. When I first saw it I passed it by as the pictures made it hard to tell just what it was, but upon closer inspection later in the day I realised just how unusual the engine was and … Read more
Isn’t it wonderful when you stumble across stationary engines even when you are not looking for them? That was the case on a recent trip to Maryland and the Calvert Marine Museum. Now, it’s not surprising to find engines at a marine museum, most museums have their collections of outboards, Inline diesels and even steam … Read more
Some of you know a lot about producing electricity, me? I’m a total genny idiot and I’ll admit to that but Henham 2023 a few mets got together and had a light up and, it was brilliant, 2024 see a proper pen for light sets and the genny boys had a fantastic time in there … Read more
Like many, I love to wander around the steam shows looking over the frequent displays of venerable old Ruston and Hornsby horizontal diesel engines, many thousands of which were built and shipped to all corners of the world in the first half of the twentieth century. I ‘m always fascinated by the smoothness with which … Read more