Great War truck

The Great Dorset Steam fair is most interesting. A very few brave people have preserved from Victorian fun fairs the portable stage and surrounds for the putting on of shows etc. After having preserved such things they then call on their wives, daughters and daughters friends to perform song and dance acts. At the GDSF i saw one of these shows and observed a number of young ladys performing the can can. Lost in my own happy world for a short while i realised that the average age of the performers was about 14. I then wandered off to watch the heavy haulage engines feeling a little bit guilty. I will get my coat.

Thats right. This is what they say about it. LR3098 Type: 4-wheel petrol mechanical Date: 1918 Builder: Motor Rail, Bedford, England (Works No. 1377) A rare working survivor of the “protected” (lightly armoured) 40hp petrol locomotives built for the War Department Light Railways, for supplying the First World War battlefields in France. After the war, several of this type were used to haul sand trains at Leighton Buzzard, but all were scrapped by the end of the 1950s. LR3098 worked at Knostrop sewage works, Leeds, and is on long-term loan from the National Railway Museum, York. It was restored to working order for the railway’s 80th anniversary in 1999, and was featured in “The One Show” on BBC1 in June. LR2182, a more heavily armoured version of the same type, awaits restoration. But even more interesting is this WW1 Baldwin loco. My understanding is (and do correct me if i am wrong) that this one was brought back for the IWM Duxford, but the restoration got so expensive that they sold it off to LB who have just completed the restoration. Sad really as Duxford had just laid a track for it (coming out of the land warfare hall) for it to run on. They have now taken up most of this. I guess it is better that it remains at LB as that way it will get regularly used. 778 Type: 4-6-0T (side tank) Date: 1917 Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, USA (Works No. 44656) One of 495 locomotives built by Baldwin, for the War Department Light Railways. They operated on the thousands of miles of narrow-gauge tracks that supplied the front line trenches in the First World War. It then worked in India until the 1980s, finishing at the Upper India Sugar Mills in Uttar Pradesh. The first of its type to steam in Britain since the 1940s, it entered service in 2007, following a major overhaul. Click here for more details. It is due to operate next on 14th,17th, 24th & 25th August. There are photos of it here at: http://www.btinternet.com/~buzzrail/page21.html I have not seen it. I should go someday. Tim (too)

Sadly i have no photos. We had just completed the Bournemouth to Bath run (90 miles) in the newly completed WD Autocar and this chap came over and produced all these photos. It was his retirement project but i think he had just been made redundant and needed the cash. I felt rather sorry for the chap as his wife was watching on and they obviously wanted the money. If i remember correctly the lot comprised three chassis, gearboxes, but only two engines and one rad. He thought that he could only make one complete one, but of course replacement rads can be made (at a price) so in our eyes there were two there. Another WW1 Fiat (but a three tonner) turned up in HCVS news in this country. There was another 3 tonner for sale in France in CMV a while back. Will see if i can find a photo for you (dont wait up). Tim (too)

There is another one at Leighton Buzzard and another at the Claypits museum. I think there are a number of survivors, just not all armoured. Tim (too)

I think that this one was owned by Wynns, Tim (too)

Not now. They were purchased by Richard Peskett,(the chap who restored the one which is now at Duxford) and then sold on to a BAA engineer who lost interest. They changed hands twice more and are (were?) now in the hands of a Surrey chap. I am not aware if he has done anything to them in the years that he has had them. But these things have a habit of turning up again every few years. Tim (too)

There are two more of these in unrestored condition living in Surrey. As i have said before with these things, i should have bought them when i had the chance. Tim (too)

Tony has wiped out more oil, but it is getting awkward to do now so the rest will have to wait until it is all in bits. The gears all slide a little up and down on the splines so it all looks to be very promisng: The lid looks to be quite good to, just needs a good sand blasting: This is how the clutch looks. Not had a lot of use: Finally, this is one of two wedges that Tony has been making to help secure the refabricated part of the gearbox to the original. One down. Tim (too)

Outstanding. Who does the Liberty B belong to? One of the nicest that i have seen? Tim (too)

Yes i agree with that. A Holt 75 just like this one. Must be one of the few MV's that was ever supplied new to the British, American, French, Russian and Austrian armys. As said previously, the tracked trailer would suggest that the photo was taken in Eygypt or Palestine. Tim (too)

Looks and sounds good. Great shed though. Tim (too)

Do the dust caps screw on or are they pushed (belted) on until they fit? Tim (too)

Wonderful.

The drain plug eventually came off the spare gearbox today. The oil looks good: And inside, a pleasant suprise, as the gears all look to be in good condition. A bit of parrafin and a rag (as well as a bit of swearing and a great deal of time) and they will be as good as new. Tim (too)

Thats ok. I just thought that you might come up with something else. I will have to ask my Sister in Law to translate it for me. Maybe with 2nd class you sit on the other side? Tim (too)

Yes i noticed that as well. I didnt know you can get a choice of colours. Maybe they do flavoured and textured ones as well. Oh hang on. Wrong forum. Great job Marty. It is looking really good. You are going to have a lot of fun with that. Tim (too)

Can you not add anything else? Tim (too)

More progress with the gearbox repair. The new assembly has been welded up and bolted into the box. Looks to be very promising. The rotten box has been moved onto the stand and all we have to do now is get it open to see if the gears are any better than the ones we have. Tim (too)

I have been keeping quiet about this one for a while, but as it is about to appear on the rally field very soon i thought you might like to see some photos of it as its restoration nears completion. Before you ask it is not ours, although we have been assist the owner with manuals, drawings, advice etc. We hope to do a joint show next year. It will be interesting to see two of them together. I will keep you updated as to dates. Tim (too)

Here is another one. So what was it, where was the photo taken and what is it now (ok probably razor blades now, but what was it converted into). Tim (too)

Is this the same one, or are there two of these things around now. A heck of a lot of work involved and a bit of fun. A better job than covering your ferret with checker plate and chrome. Tim (too)

Yes, you are just about there. It is a Renault (the bonnet does give the game away a little). It is an experimental agricultural tractor using bits of left over trucks (although the rad looks distinctly Pierce Arrow like) and allegedly parts from an FT17 tank. Tim (too)

It is just post war and taken in France but the driver is not from the cast of "Allo Allo". Tim (too)

What was it? Not that easy really, but i think some smart Alec (Alan?) will get it straight away. Tim (too)

I didnt know that the Power Boat trust had defunct itself. That is a great shame as i was hoping for great things from them. A real shame. Yet another one. Tim (too)