Foden7536

Good evening Mick (or is it Ed?!) Yes the Foden still has a Garrett pump and fittings, this was added during its time with Devon CC, as I’m sure you know Devon ran quite a few Garretts so I assume one became a doner. I have a Foden pump in the stores, but as the Garrett one has been fitted for at least 60 years so I think I’ll stick with that one. Hope the Garrett is behaving, and James Penfold is as lovely as always (for a Fowler!) Regards David

Good evening Steve, Oh dear, I didn’t realise this forum was frequented by “Sentinel Men” - I do hope the far superior Cheshire constructed wagons (spelt correctly, Unlike that Shrewsbury product, whose residents can’t even agree how to pronounce the town they live in) !!! Only kidding, steam of any fashion is good, I hope you find my little tales of work on the wagon of interest. Have you a Sentinel yourself? (Sorry, haven’t worked out who is who with their alias’s! David

So, to quote Maria Von Trapp “Lets start at the very beginning”: Foden 7536 was dispatched from Foden’s Elworth works in Sandbach, Cheshire on 17th October 1917, and supplied new to the War Department. To quote the build sheet it was painted “Khaki”. The body 12 ‘ long x 6’ 6” wide (inside) fixed sides which are 2’ deep. Tailpiece 2’ deep hinged from top of side boards. Sides lined with sheet iron. Platform arranged to suit Wilkins Patent Unloading Gear So, in Foden Talk this wagon was built as a rear tipping wagon, the “Wilkins Patent Unloading Gear” was the tipping mechanism for the body, which consists of a pulley, driven by flat belt from the wagon’s flywheel sited on the cab, this then drives a shaft with a worm, which inturn drives a gear which takes the drive through the rear of the cab and onto a set of bevel gears, these drive a shaft which goes across the “front” of the rear part of the chassis and then drives further sets of bevel gears which turns two large screw threads, on which two nuts run which lifts the body - but more about that another time! I have a copy of the build sheet which I will try to scan and post, but it is not the clearest. For the wagons “War Service” I assume it was used on road repair and construction. I have just brought a copy of Tim Gosling’s excellent book “British Military Trucks of World War One” and if you haven’t a copy I can’t recommend it highly enough! This is the part of the Foden’s life that I would like to research more. Following the war it was sold to Devon County Council, where it joined their “Northern Division” and was based in Barnstaple. I believe it was sold to them in 1920 and registered “ T - 8750 “ it remained in their ownership until 1950. Interestingly in 1937 Foden’s supplies a set of Pickering Governors, modifies safety valve plate and pulley for the crankshaft and I assume it was then used to drive a stone crusher. I know that in the later stages of it’s career with Devon CC it was used to provide steam to a rock drill, used in the quarry to drill into the stone before explosive charges were set as part of the quarrying process. One detail which I am not sure about, is wether or not the crank / part of the crank has been replaced, my Foden has roller bearing eccentrics fitted, this wasn’t standard on the earlier Fodens, so I can only assume that this is a later fitment - again further investigation work is required !!! At some point the tipping body was removed and a simple flat bed installed, and the rock drill was carried on the rear body. In 1950 Mr Shambrook for Newton Tracy brought the wagon (for £18 apparently) who kept it until the early 1960’s when it was sold to Paul Corin in Cornwall. He built the current body, repainted the Foden into a maroon and red livery and then sold the wagon, via the auctioneers “Sotheby’s” and the wagon was shipped to America where it joined the collection of the Upjohn Corporation of Kalamazoo - where it stayed until it was brought back to the UK in 1991 by John Collins of Northampton. It changed hands again in 1994, moving to Kent, firstly with Tony Slingsby in Hythe, then in 2000 to Colin Wheeler of Dartford - Colin did a lot of work on the wagon including repainting it into its Devon CC livery - of which more another time! Finally I was lucky enough to be offered the Foden and brought it on 17th October 2017 ... 100 years to the day that it left Foden’s works! how do you do captions for photos? 1. Black and White Foden on the day of Sotheby’s auction 1962 2. Maroon Foden at Chatham Dockyard 2012 3. Green The day I took ownership!

Good evening, let me introduce myself, I am David Main, a youngish (38 year old) enthusiast who has been involved with the preservation movement for many years, having been previously restored a 1930 Aveling Roller, which having brought aged 19 I spent the next 15 or so years restoring, however I never quite finished it as I had to get some funds to buy the vehicle I had hankered after ever since I first had a ride in it at the Sellinge Rally in May 1995 I hope this “thread” is of interest to others, and I will try to chronicle the work I do on the wagon as and when I can. Most of the photos I intend to post are my own, however some came with the wagon, so I hope that if these are originally someone else’s photos then they don’t mind me using them! I really liked it when Mr Gosling commented in one of his posts that he considers the forum to be like a group of friends sat around a table chatting, so please everyone feel free to chip in and comment, question or criticise what I am doing, and I hope it will be of interest. Also please forgive me if I spell things wrong or get the grammar wrong!

To the best of my knowledge none survive, the oldest survivor in preservation was built in 1919. slightly off topic, but yesterday I stripped the front axle and spring, perch bracket etc ready for some planned (and slightly unplanned!) work, and found quite a lot of Khaki paint in hidden places where it had been missed over subsequent repaints. David

Thank you for the replies. That looks like an Oldfield Dependence light, so perhaps that is what was fitted... but certainly the one in the colourised photos of the Clayton isn’t one of these, but yes, basically in the same location. That Foden is earlier than mine, as the handbrake is external to the cab, but a very interesting photo and not one I’ve seen before with the sheets rolled up etc. Thank you for these replies.

Good evening, my first post so hoping it works! I am very lucky to be the proud owner of 5 ton Foden Steam Wagon number 7536 of 1917. I have a copy of the original build sheet which states (amongst other things) that it was Supplied to the war department, painted “Khaki” as a tipping wagon. On the build sheet it states: Lanps - Dependence Fronts and tail, P&H headlight. I know that these are Oldfield Dependence lights, and a Powell and Hamner Model 500 self generating acetylene headlamp which is fitted to the chimney base. However, what my question is, is regarding another lamp bracket which is on the cab “front”... my Foden has this lamp bracket fitted, but I never knew if it was done by the War Department, or during its later working life with Devon County Council (who purchased the wagon in 1920) until I watched Peter Jackson’s wonderful WW1 film “they shall not grow old” in which two Clayton wagons drive past the camera with a lamp fitted in exactly the same place as mine has a lamp bracket - which has led me to deduce that this is a WD fitment... I am happy to be corrected on this! if this is a WD lamp, then can anyone positively identify its manufacturer / model? I have a collection of lamps and it doesn’t match anything else I have, with a rear mounting bracket - for example it is very different to any of my Eli Griffiths lamps. I do realise that the sidelights on the Clayton in the attached photo are not Dependence Lamps, and I now have a set of “civilian” King of the Road 742’s fitted as these were fitted to Fodens - although I keep my eyes open for a set of WD Oldfield Dependence front lamps - so if anyone has any gathering dust please let me know! The second image is my Foden alongside the other WW1 Foden, which was restored war period livery hope this is of interest. david