The wheel that you acknowledge as a power source for other external functions is in fact " the ancient equivalent " of the modern day PTO shaft ( power take off ) which all modern tractors normally have to power things like external balers and mowers etc !
Spence there's so many steam railways all over the UK. They are literally everywhere. Every county you go to will have one so have no fear. Actually I think I sent you a link to the Severn Valley Railway. There are also loads of miniature railways too with tiny little steam engines. I used to drive the one at Snettisham as a kid with one of my best friends because her Dad helped build and maintain it. He'd also built a mini railway in his back garden that we all got to drive as often as we wanted. You would have loved it. When he got his long awaited inheritance he bought the old signal sheds which had been converted into a house in the next village over. I don't think he'd ever been so happy😊🤣
Just over 100 years ago my local town had a large brewery, steam grain mill and traction engine supplier. Steam ploughing was a big thing back than. A team of 2 traction engines would set up either end of a field. They would then drag a huge plough back and forth across the field with cables. With a man sat on top of the plough to steer it.
Herer in the UK we have numerous steam railway lines running all over the country and we have numerous traction engine rallies. There are also countless individuals making scale steam railway engines and traction engines in their own garden sheds. Steam, despite being perceived otherwse, is alive well and thriving.
I watched a pair of traction engines dredge a local lake. The flywheel was a wire drum going to a snatch block on the side. They both sat side on to the lake, one either side and pulled a huge bucket through the lake dredging up silt, tree stumps, bicycles and shopping trolleys. The bucket went backwards and forwards between them for the whole day and there was several tons of crap either side taken away. It was fascinating to watch them work.
I remember the last of the "Showman's Engines". Travelling fairgrounds were powered by a steam engine driving an electric generator. The Showman's Engine is a highly decorated traction engine with a full length canopy over the top.
In the town where I grew up, around Christmas time there'd be a showman's engine parked in the square in the middle of town, driving a huge fairground organ off the flywheel.
@@bluesrocker91 In the 1960s one of our local doctors owned a traction engine that used to be in the local Carnival Parade every year. The big shed/garage where he kept it is still there.
Great to see my home town on your channel! The Severn Valley railway is definitely still running and the Black Country Museum has been the feature often on Peaky Blinders as other have probably already said.
I used to work as a contractor at severn valley railway, i loved going into the boiler making shed there for a look around and speak to the guys working. One morning I was working at the front of one of the locomotives, it was a cold frosty morning and as they fired up the boiler it shot out a plume of steam, it covered me, a greT memory
When I was a boy we used to walk to school across a big field and when we came home one afternoon there was a traction engine at each end of the field, they were joined by long cables with a huge multi bladed plough in the middle that was pulled across the field and back again moving laterally across the field after every pull, we small boys were fascinated and we regularly found one half of a mole 2ft from the other half.
They have a steam rally every year near me and I love it seeing all these old boys and their families. They show many traction engines in the main ring but you can go talk to them. Its like being back in time, Remember watching god old Fred and he is just like the guys at these rallys! Resl old england. You can ride steam trains in beautiful settings too - hope it never ends! Amazing people with no pretentiousness. Loved this!
my most memorable steam train rides were in India on the toy trains up to the hill stations in Darjeeling in the north and Ooty in the south the engineering required to combat the steep inclines included switchback's and loop de loops, Iwas personally responsible for holding up the train while I finished my lunch.
60 years ago i remember wood work and metal work at school, helping my dad build our house. In summer when dad was at work i would go to our building site and put water over the bricks to stop them cracking and drying to much. Will always remember "measure twice, cut once". We had a blacksmith in our town, builder new stuff, repair/sharpen ploughs, and quite often a horse stood in the road and got new shoes.Don't see a lot of that now.
Thank you but please keep your gift for others... A thank you will be good and nice for me. Do watch what you put out... but not all. Think thats old age getting to me.
It's nice that you lads in the New World like some of the same Old World things as I do. My Family go to steam and vintage shows with our collection of vintage tractors. We can't afford £250,000 for a traction engine! The next generation are hooked, though and will no doubt carry the collection forward into the future... All the Best to you guys. 🇬🇧
Severn Valley Railway is still going strong today, in fact I can see it right now from my living room window as I live a bit further south than Bridgnorth further down the Severn Valley. It had a couple of bad years during the pandemic but I think they are well back up and running now and I would highly recommend a visit if you're ever in the U.K. as it is without doubt one of the best preserved railways in the country and I believe it is one of if not the longest stretch of heritage railway in the UK and the scenery along the valley is beautiful.
If you think about it. Having a machine that could make a wheel turn is very useful. Nearly all work can be done with powered wheel. Pumps, saws, drills, hammers, fans, Almost any type of work. So having a traction engine where you drive to where it's needed and use it to power the tools was a really smart thing.
We have Steam Rallies in different parts of the UK especially during the summer. One of my Grandads used the Thrashing Machine on the farm he was born 1895 Nan 1897 had five children, and out of this one of my late Uncles who only passed away in January 2022 age 95 became interested in how things worked, made and restored large and small engines along with trailers, one of his mini ones built with his grandson and trailer took him on the last part of his journey too the doors of the Crematorium and one of the songs was I Bought A Brand New Combine Harvester, and his wish was having some of his Ashes thrown into one of his engines, which his grandson did for him at Dorset Steam Rally last summer
Plenty of railway preservation societies in the UK, including some beautiful narrow gauge railways around Snowdonia, in North Wales. Ffestiniog and Talyllyn railways.
It is such a shame that they discontinued steam. I would have the perfect excuse for being late for work every day. "Sorry its 2pm sir. I was trying to get the water up to temperature and it's -2 outside".
If you like steam trains, there are any number of preserved railway lines in the the UK. Finding one that delivers beer on a regular basis could be more tricky. We can do watercress.
Guys, if you want to see steam traction engines you need to visit the UK in August one year. The Great Dorset Steam Fair is usually held on the the last weekend of August. It has steam engines from all over the country, and all manner of country crafts and activities, including beer and strong cider tents too. Then nearby, we also have the Swanage Railway, a heritage steam passenger railway which runs all year round. You’ll find plenty of young and old actively involved in both.
It's pretty much mandatory to have ale where there are steam engines. When you do make it over have a look for a nearby steam fair, you'll find loads of great stuff including beer
Aside from being utility machines, the people who worked with these engines really did take great pride in them. Always immaculately painted and kept in gleaming condition. I think it's a continuation of the sort of relationship people had with the old draft horses... They may have been working animals, but on special occasions, farmers would parade the horses through the streets. They'd be adorned with bells and emblems called "horse brasses", with their tails platted and groomed. In a similar way, a traction engine might've been brought out to a village fete to give rides to the local kids, or to provide power for a carousel, fairground organ or for electric lights.
Get an old jar and throw the loose change in,i fiĺled a coffee jar with 5p's and coppers went in a sweetie tin,60 quid for the jar and got 30 for the coppers,took about 2yrs but still better than throwing away haha
I'm going to repeat a recommendation I made a few weeks ago, for a video called "Fred Dibnah-A final goodbye. The day Bolton stood still". It's about Fred's funeral and the tribute paid to the man by the local community and the wider engineering heritage community. It's a truly fitting tribute and a moving video, I am sure that it will go down well with both of you.
Severn Valley Railway is still going strong today, think if im right my home town steam railway in wales has a small steam loco on loan from Severn valley railway. remember going to school in the morning crossing over the river seeing the steam engines getting ready or the great sounding old diesels clouds black smoke on cold morning, noise and the smell. still go back to visit as often as i can, not been back since they extended the track to corwen, think its still the most new station in the uk but has a 50's feel. you can stay in a station house, if the got class 08 running you can drive a train loco for as little as £5 but to drive the 8-10 miles its more but you be driving a train along whole route, can be steam/diesel loco or a diesel railcar. they have experience packages at llangollen railway, next visit im sure doing the cheap class 08 as that quite a new thing they been doing and still it is still 49 tons with top speed 15mph as it a shunter yard work loco but a great cheap first way to drive a train. seeing a heritage railway ever morning great memory's and every visit back to home town i have whole days set a side through my stay just for the railway and cannot wait till end summer next visit :)
Yes black country was featured loads in peaky blinders, they even have peaky blinders days out there where people dress like it etc. I live about 15 minutes from there all my life. Well worth a visit its good.
Just reminded me we have cream tea on steam train in minehead that my son family got as present have to book a date on line. in Somerset they are running all the time and do Christmas trips for kids I think.
Interesting what you saying about the possibility of injury. To almost prove your point. The Great Western Railway. Had invested a lot in developing replacement limbs. They had been responsible for a lot of development in such matters. There will be good reasons why they did that.
Remember, Henry Ford (the creator of the Model T and a couple of others) started on steam engines and grasped the concept that a machine could do more work than a human being.
the kids doing the steam engine stuff will be the start of rebuilding civilisation if there is the predicted solar flare that will take out electronic systems. At about the time Fred was recording this, british schools were fitting woodworking, and other hands on things into 1 lesson called craft design and technology, and there was a second class of home economics which was all the cooking etc, 15 to 18 years previous all the different skills were represented by thier own lessons, metalwork woodwork cooking etc so his complaint is more along the lines that at the time you chose home economics (cooking sewing and similar) or CDT (ecompassed all the other crafting) previous to that in the mid 80's they swapped from CSE's to GCSE's and that changed the outlook on education that actually knowing what you are doing meant less than theoretically knowing what you are doing 7 valley railway still active, East Lancs Railway there are several in wales most notably the Welshool and Llanfair light railway, and several that were based around mining or slate quarrying, And then there is the Jacobite Steam Line which if you dont know is the Harry Potter films railway
When I was at school, back in the Dark Ages😂, woodwork and metalwork was compulsory until you took your options. I was useless at it, what we call cackhanded. I was, however, good at electrics so I did a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
Think you missed his point on the cake thing,Spencer, he was saying that they're saying they can train a bricklayer in 6 month and the anology baking a cake doent make you top chef.
Socks! Left or right never a pair!!!! Fred was a celebrity one of the real ones who had an extraordinary life. Not one of the ones who appear on TV like the Kardashians etc
This episode does show that Fred is out of step with what was going on at the time. Firstly we didn't have an industrial empire anymore because Thatcher had killed any industry left in Britain. Secondly we still had lathes and all sorts in schools and we were encouraged to use them. We were taught about engineering, cam shafts, etc, etc. My uncle worked in the DT department of his local school for decades and he can testify as to what went on. The difference nowadays is that both men and women come out of school wanting to do engineering, etc. Sadly there are no jobs in the UK so they go abroad.
Alot of the heritage railways are still going. I cant speak for England and Wales but in Scotland there are still a few one of which was featured in the Harry Potter Films and got a huge boost from the films
Spencer modern men making cakes just don't seem very impressive or worthwhile compared to skilled tradesmen who created things that have lasted in good order for hundreds of years 😂
