Manufactured by John Fowler & Co (Leeds) Ltd, this
magnificent showman's road locomotive has had only three owners from new:
Anderton & Rowland of Bristol (1932-1950); Ernie Lucas of Salisbury,
Wiltshire (1950-1995); and Arthur Thomson of Salisbury, Wiltshire (1995-2018).
In the early 1920s, Mr Harold Livesey, Fowler's works manager, left following a
disagreement and obtained the position of general manager with Charles Burrell
& Sons of Thetford. While there he befriended Sydney Harrison, the firm's
sales manager. After a few months, Harold Livesey returned to Fowler's. With
the closure of Burrell's in 1928, Sydney Harrison was offered a job with
Fowler's. Harrison's knowledge of Burrell products, and more importantly his
friendship with the showmen users of Burrell engines, proved a great asset.
With the ready collaboration of Alf Pepper (Fowler's designer) and Harold
Livesey, four 'Super Lions' were built, with many departures from the Fowler
traditions, not the least being the fitting of left-hand steering to meet the
demands of existing Burrell customers.
'The Lion' was the first of the four Class B6 10hp 'Super Lion' showman's road
locomotives to be completed. She carried twisted brass pillars and knobs for
the awning, twisted brass on the steering and brake spindles, and had a water
lifter fitted on the offside front tank. The engine and wheels were painted in
maroon; brass stars and rings were fitted on the motion covers; brass stars
were also fitted on the front tanks with brass moulded boiler bands; and its
works plate was fitted to the boiler cladding. 'The Lion' was fitted with oil
side and rear lamps, while the electric headlamps and inspection lamp were
battery powered. A brass ring was fitted on the flywheel together with brass
covers for the steering worm and wheel. There was also a brass guard placed
over the boiler feed pump. An extra set of water gauges was fitted also. The
delivery price was £1,470, with the special car-lifting crane, with pole of
30cwt capacity, at £48. The original specification as 'The Lion' left Leeds was
as follows:
Compound locomotive with three speeds
Oil bath spring gear
Special front spring
Twin endless solid tyres to hind wheels and single to front
Gear-driven pump
Injector
Pickering governors
Rim brakes
Large front water tank
Winding drum with 75 yards of cable
Liner in smoke box; plus smoke box spark arrester
Splashers over crankshaft
Large sized big end lubricators
Dynamo bracket and platform
Long awning with side and end curtains
Extension chimney
Flywheel brake
Rochester three-pint lubricator
Polished copper pipes
Non-standard chimney top
Special painting and gold leaf lining
The three other Super Lion showman's road locomotives built after 'The Lion' in
1932 were 'King Carnival II' ('19783'), completed in the same year for F
McConville; 'Onward' (number '19989') completed in 1933 for Samuel Ingham of
Hyde, Cheshire; and 'Supreme' (number '20223') completed in 1934 for Mrs A
Deakin of Brynmawr, South Wales.
In 1932, 'The Lion' was dispatched by rail from Fowler's workshops in Leeds and
delivered to St David's railway station in Exeter, Devon for travelling
showground operators Anderton & Rowland of Bristol, who were on Haven Banks
with their Exeter Easter fair. She was collected by driver Dickie Davis. The
Lion was the first new Fowler showman's road locomotive in A&R's fleet,
which mainly consisted of engines made by Burrell. During her working life with
the firm her many tasks included driving fairground rides such as the 'Noah's
Ark', 'Diving Dolphins', 'Brooklyn Racer' and 'Lightning Swirl'. She spent her
entire working life with A&R before retiring in 1946, and was laid up in
A&R's Bristol yard until sold for preservation in 1950 to Mr Ernie Lucas of
Salisbury. 'The Lion' was sold, minus dynamo, for £50 and was steamed from Bristol
all the way down to Salisbury. The engine was initially kept at Percy
Churchfield's Dairy, which was owned by Arthur Thomson's father, for a couple
of weeks before a more permanent home was found; Arthur would later become the
third owner of the 'The Lion'.
Arthur first saw the engine at a young age when she was temporarily kept at the
dairy. Over the years, 'The Lion' attended early traction engine rallies,
including those at Cranborne and Andover, as well as a few private steam ups.
It is claimed that she last appeared at the Wimborne St Giles Fair in 1964
before being parked up under a large open-sided barn at Bert Dibben's farm in
the village of Martin, Hampshire, and was only then steamed annually for Bert's
steam party. During Ernie Lucas's ownership, little work was carried out on the
engine, but a new set of tubes was fitted and the engine repainted.
Following Ernie Lucas's death in November 1994, the engine was sold in 1995 to
Arthur Thomson and 'The 'Lion' was treated to a thorough first class restoration
to the condition it would have left Fowler's in 1932. The work took 2½ years to
complete, with a new flanged and riveted firebox made by Roger Pridham and
fitted by John Uphill. The boiler and front tube-plate were deemed to be in
very good condition and did not require replacing. New belly tanks were made
and fitted with the help of Jimmer Marsh. New pistons, piston rods and piston
rings were fitted together with new boiler tubes, sold rubber tyres, and a
canopy as well as other smaller components. The dynamo that came with 'The
Lion' when Arthur bought it was replaced with a Mather & Platt P9 dynamo.
Finally, the engine was completely repainted by Loric Collins and then lined
and gilded by Michael 'Tommo' Thompson.
The restoration was completed in 1998 and 'The Lion' made its debut
post-restoration appearance at Carter's Steam Fair at Pinkneys Green,
Berkshire. Since then, 'The Lion' has regularly attended steam rallies,
carnivals, fairs and other events across the south of England including the
Great Dorset Steam Fair and the Royal Bath & West Show. Sadly, Arthur
Thomson passed away in 2018 and the engine was left to his brother Frank. 'The
Lion' is rightly regarded as one of the finest genuine showman's road
locomotives in preservation.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário