N.O.S.

That looked like an enjoyable way to raise awareness, Tony. No doubt there was a bit of black smoke from some of those 'oldies' too....

Oh yes, there WAS black smoke :cool2:

And one sold only last year, after being well publicised on here with photos, for just £3,500 - with next to no work needed other than a little work on the roof. One of the cleanest I've ever seen (I did try my best to work up some interest :sweat:). But that is doubtless of no interest to the owner of this one - take it, make an offer, or leave it?

That was an interesting boat - a high speed RAF launch, built postwar but to a wartime design. Two Rolls C6 engines lurk under those menacing sloping engine covers. But apparently no match for Horatia, they have raced before. And as Bernard says, on this occasion - despite persistent harrassment - they would not rise to the challenge. To put this into context, with CW at the helm Horatia seems to turn from an elegant retired racehorse into the nautical equivalent of a slightly mischievous puppy full of the joys of life. So a large proportion of the time spent outside the harbour (best behaviour required) is spent lolloping around seeing who else is out and about, continually circling other critters (boats) and sniffing at their bottoms, trying to goad them into a playfull chase. On our trip from Portsmouth across to the Isle of Wight and Cowes (wow - that crossing went fast!!!), pretty much anything seemed fair game. But for some reason the small cross-harbour ferries were given a wide berth (perhaps they have a nasty bite), and the big Cat ferry was treated with respect (or was it that Horatia was too busy chasing one of the big Isle of Wight ferries at the time?:-D) Unfortunately we passed one of her good mates (a harbour Pilot boat) during the departure from harbour, where speed and movements are strictly controlled within narrow lanes, so both Horatia and Pilot boat were on leashes. However the friendly gestures from the Pilot crew made it quite clear that a meeting in more open waters would result in a serious chase! :-D) Interestingly we saw a lot of Horatia's relatives on the water - these Pilot boats share an identical hull design to her, as do some of the Naval launches. It appears that such a great design has been hard to better in all these years. And that was what amazed us all - the superb ride of Horatia. She simply cuts through the water, no hint of being constrained by the sea, no roll. She just takes a straight line wherever pointed, powered through the swell and tide by those purring Cats. Designed for high speed she obviously does not like 'walking to heel', but is so maouverable - and the clean ride, helped by the lower "bits of timber along the hull that stop the water squirting up the side" - gunwhales?" leaves you with a great sense of security. I didn't even spill any coffee on CW's Wilton carpet! When is the next trip!!!

Later demoted to Able Seaman Fowler for wrapping a rope around one of CW's propellers :nono: :-D Big big thanks to CW for arranging this trip (and to PW for letting him come out to play) :thanx:

Here's Captain Fowler!!

I remember having a Foden 3000 series 8 wheel tipper demonstrator for a day. The guy dropped it off and never said it had a clutch brake. Oh dear, and I'd never come across a clutch brake before, or a twin splitter! It took a while to work out what was going on, but after getting to grips with the twin splitter box the clutch become almost surplus - at the end of the day I really did not want to give that truck back - that box is a wonderful bit of engineering as you say Brooky.

Stunning hat on that guard!!

In the voice of david Attenborough- "Jimmies are born without a windscreen, and with only a partially formed body. But just within a few days of weaning, they acquire a full set of hoops with a covering of hairless canvas, and as soon as the windscreen pops up they are, in the words of a U.S. Major, 'good to go'..."

Interesting to see the use of chains only on front wheels, Bjorn - presumably to help steering and not traction (which I guess is sort of ok on that snow)?

We needed you a while back when some of us were trying to defend the reputation of Scammell's bag of cogs! :-D :thumbsup:

:rofl::rofl:No Mike! Andy - does that mean you have "put permanently beyond use" the video footage of me 'momentarily' forgetting that I had set up the clutch brake, thereby requiring a slightly different use of the clutch pedal? Thank goodness! :sweat:

:sweat::sweat:Andy - do not mention the clutch brake incident :nono: I have the remnants of a reputation to maintain :-D

And isn't the gear-changing experience half the fun of driving a Scammell ? :drive:

Until Snapper does his tilty angle thing with the 'o', I'll have to make do with "welcome, BJORN" :-D Oh, and 300 pounds for a jimmy is just way too much information :argh: :cry:

Are you going to strip the torque converter down just in case while it's out? :goodidea: I'd be interested to know what make it is :coffee: Just chasing the Alliance man (yet again :argh:)

Thanks Grumpy - I'd assumed the quarry had closed years ago. I'll make an effort call there when I'm next Banbury way (or Ngorongoro way :-D)

Not the Ebay one, but The Scammell Register will shortly have a copy of Meadows workshop manual available in CD or printed version, also a parts book, so contact them direct if you need a copy.

Andy, don't forget that nautical essential - "Three points of contact at all times" :rofl::rofl::rofl:

The Scammell Register were after the ebay Meadows Diesel manual - if they were successful, copies should be available soon from them. Will keep you informed.

Looks very good on those (G299?) tyres!

Thanks Tony - I had not noticed the Chaseside sign-writing till I just blew the pic up. I had no idea about the Chaseside / Dial Holmes conection. :thumbsup: Interesting how the history of many of these engineering companies is intertwined by engineers/designers moving from company to company - an era of great innovation! For example Chaseside/Muirhill/Northrop/ DJB yielding the first big 4 wheel drive tractors and artic dumptrucks.

Nothing if not subtle, abn - well done! :banana:

The use of copious amounts of orange baler twine in that operation has not gone unnoticed......:cool2:

One pic (unidentified location) shows W-338013 The Red Ball pic shows USA 3296773-S of 3014TC, which is how the Chev artic formerly at the Hop Farm was painted! From the same book we learn that these Chev artics were originally intended for the Far East (possibly the lightly laid Burma Road?) but were diverted to Red Ball duties instead.