johnsmachines

An excavator from the 1940’s, due for restoration.

Said to be incredibly noisy and heavy for the operator.

Excavator diesel engine works.

Fowler R3 steam injector, located near the bottom of the rear water tank.

Ransomes injector located similarly.

A pin, for a pin, for a pin, for a winch. (Fowler traction engine)

Why do the boiler stays have holes bored into them?  When a stay breaks it usually occurs on the inside of the boiler.  The break can be undetected.  If there are blind holes bored like this, steam will escape through the hole if there is a fracture, revealing the problem.

The countersink on the stay holes here is decorative only, serves no useful purpose, and probably weakens the stay.   The differential gear on the left is very worn, but still useable.

Ransomes traction engine on the left, and Fowler R3 heavy haulage engine on the right.  2 tonne rear wheel removed and chained to the post, while transmission gears are being remachined.

The ash pan from the Fowler R3, after 4 days of continuous steaming at the Geelong Show.  Of interest to me, because on my 3″ scale (1:4) Fowler the ash pan has been almost exactly scaled and I suspect that it would benefit from a redesign.

Kelly single cylinder traction engine.  Working condition.

Kelly engine.  Everything visible.  Note the very useful steam dome.

Fowler R3 nameplate.  I can see something similar appearing on my 3″ Fowler.

Front wheel on the Ransomes traction engine.  Both front wheels were torn off in an accident in 1920.  Going down a long steep grade at Shelford, Victoria, there was insufficient steam pressure to brake the traction engine towing a heavy load, so the driver deliverately crashed the engine into the road cutting, at considerable speed.  It was succesfully repaired by a blacksmith.  The driver survived.

The Ransomes engine.  The “Rolls Royce” of traction engines, according to the owner. (But I suspect that he prefers his Fowler).