Buxton and Thornley Three Throw Water Pump, 1901

 

 This 1901 built water pump is one of a pair installed at Worthington & Co Brewery's pumping station at Wetmore Road Maltings, in Burton-upon-Trent, and were used on a one on, one off basis almost constantly for drawing water from a well and sending it to large iron casks in the malt houses for steeping the grain. The pumps were powered by an electric motor, and each pump could deliver 8,650 gallons an hour. Buxton and Thornley were a Buxton based firm which were favoured by the various Buxton brewers. This pump is now on display at the Museum of Brewing.

   

 

SS 'Clan Morrison', 1918

This is a 1:48 scale model of the SS 'Clan Morrison', a single screw cargo steamer built by the Ayrshire Dockyard Co Ltd at Irvine, for Messrs Cayzer, Irvine & Co Ltd. Although a civilian vessel only designed for carrying cargo, this model of 'Clan Morrison' shows one 4.7 inch quick firing gun and two 7.5 inch breech loading howitzers on the stern for self-defence, as she was built in the last year of the First World War

Pickford Delivery Van vs German Cavalry, 1914

An interesting event from early in the First World War depicted on a postcard in my collection. From the back;

 The sketch depicts an incident of the recent fighting, in which one of Pickfords' familiar motor vans figured prominently, and creditably also, thanks to the pluck of the driver and the armed escort. A small British convoy was on its way to the troops at the front at night, when a party of Uhlans, appearing suddenly, blocked the road and demanded surrender. The driver of the leading van at once put on speed and drove slap into the midst of the enemy while his armed escort stood up and made devastating use of his rifle against the German lancers. The latter, surprised by the motors' sudden assault, and placed at a disadvantage by the panic of the horses, afforded easy targets at close range, and in a few moments bolted from the scene. The convoy reached its destination without further molestation. (Drawn by Lionel Edwards, under the supervision of an Officer lately returned from the front.)

Merry Christmas!

Here's hoping everyone reading this has a happy Christmas and a great 2013 - this festive card is a 1917 postcard from my collection - I hope your Christmas dinner is better than this poor tramps!

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway poster, 1908

Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway poster from 1908, advertising the scenic railway route via Sandringham (the Royal country house in Norfolk) to Broadland. A reproduction of the poster can be bought from - http://www.past-reflections.co.uk/Broadlands-sandringham.html

Rudge Motorcycle, 1911

Roe IV Triplane, 1910 - Airborne!

 

 Photos of the Shuttleworth Collection's Roe IV Triplane replica of the 1910 original airborne in September 2012

 

Roe IV Triplane, 1910

 

 Also known as an Avro Triplane, as the name indicates this is the fourth type of triplane built by Alliott Verdon Roe of the AV Roe and Company aircraft manufacturers, which later became known as the shorter Avro. Only one example was built, and it was used as a training aircraft at Brooklands, the famous Edwardian motor racing circuit which also had an aerodrome inside the track. As a trainer, it unsurprisingly had several accidents, but as these early aircraft were relatively slow they were easily repaired and was not uncommon. At least twice it crashed into the infamous Brooklands sewage farm, not particularly pleasant for the pilot or any rescuers. The original did not survive to preservation, but this is an airworthy replica built for the superb 1965 film 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' in which it is one of the main aircraft stars, unfortunately meeting a very comedic demise involving a train and a tunnel! Fortunately more than one replica was built, and this surviving replica still flies at the Shuttleworth Collection when the weather permits at their frequent airshows. For photos of the aircraft airborne, visit the blog in two days time

 

Edwardian Pub

These photos show a fantastic recreation of an Edwardian era pub at the Museum of Brewing, formerly the Bass Museum, in Burotn-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire. Although it does not sell beer, it does feature many typical indoor games which Edwardian pubs would provide which you can play

 

Siemens Electric Locomotive, 1913

One of at least two identical four wheeled Siemens electric locomotives supplied to the Harton Colliery Railway for hauling coal trains, this is Harton Electric Locomotive number E10, built in 1913 by Siemens. Weighing in at 14.5 tons, the little locomotive is 100hp and served up until the 1980's where it entered preservation. It is now restored to static condition at the Tanfield Railway and can be seen on some days in their five road engine shed. Harton E10 makes a very interesting comparison with another electric locomotive supplied to the same railway in 1913 - AEG built E9, a larger (but a lot lower!) BO-BO locomotive - http://electric-edwardians.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/aeg-electric-locomotive-1913.html which is also preserved on the Tanfield Railway