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Good to receive your feedback, and that you liked it. Unfortunately, there is no soundtrack to accompany it (the noise from the Freightliner working is impressive).

Great Cabover Freightliner Also

Yes, Freightliner Trucks is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1929 as the truck-manufacturing division of Consolidated Freightways (from which it derives its name), the company was established in 1942 as Freightliner Corporation. The HQ is in Portland, Oregon (the city of its founding). Thank you for the comments on LORD ROBERTS!

You have raised an interest point there! Like you say we had many firms building engines on a large scale, yet on the continent most production never seemed to get off the ground. Think we can rightly say” we led the world in the production of steam engines” You only have to recall the names, Trevithick Watt woolf Stevenson Newcomen. Need I say more!! I look forward to stephen’s videos too. Always a enjoyable watch👍

There were several road steam engine makers in Germany: Borsig (Berlin), Esterer (Altötting), Hanomag (Hannover), Henschel (Kassel), Kemna (Breslau - then Germany), Lanz (Mannheim), Otto Meyer (Wellentrup), Wolf (Magdeburg), Ruthemeyer (Soest), Scharer & Gross (Nürnberg), Zettelmeyer (Konz). The list of English manufacturers was much longer, numbering at least 30. John Fowler had an office (small one) in the centre of Berlin on Schiffbauerdamm (around the beginning of the 20th Century. I assume it was a sales office (for exports further East), as the re-assembly of delivered Fowler parts, would have been in the Magdeburg factory.

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco Looking at your list (for which trouble, thanks), I'd claim that 90% of their output was for specialised engines such as portables and rollers. Most ploughing engines were licence-built Fowlers (e.g. Henschel) or Heucke. I looked into the history of the Esterer firm when working with a member of the family and discovered only portables - they seem never to have built traction engines, a logical further step in their agricultural business. I've been haunting steam fairs since boyhood and have never seen a German road locomotive (Zugmaschine) - though they clearly existed - but in numbers dwarfed by the English production and I wonder why. I would claim rather boldly that showman's engines were unknown here (i.e. they were all English).

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco from what I have read: John Fowler had a father and son . Richard toepffer and son as agents or partners running things for him abroad. It was they who introduced Fowler machinery to the war ministry in Berlin, though Fowler being a Quaker favoured the agricultural use of his engine. By 1873 ninety sets of engines were at work in the German empire and by 1878 this had increased nearly ten fold. With workshops in Prague Vienna Budapest and Kiev and sales offices in Vienna and Berlin. This reminds me of the puzzle why a pair of Fowler ploughing engines are on the seabed off Whitby, on a ship not capable of carrying enough coal to get anywhere near any of these destinations.

Yes, there is a certain amount of guesswork, which goes into this type of research. But the conclusion seemed to fit (after several years of reading around the subject and getting to know more about the life of Tom Paisley, who named the engine in the 1960s). The Boer Wars and the use of this type of Fowler during them is a subject which I am slowly working through. There are some fascinating photographs in South Africa and I just need to spend some time in the National War Museum (London)... All the best!

Until I picked up copy of Michael lanes book, I knew nothing of fowlers use in the boer war. Seems to be a subject not well covered over the years. Pity you can not get your theory confirmed by someone who knew the engine at that time. But time just moves on so fast! Good luck with your research, museum sounds like a very good plan. I’ve subscribed now to learn more.👍

Yes, they did. I have a copy of one of their Operating Manuals (how to use their steam engines). It is in the form of a small (A5) red book. I‘ll make a short video on this for you. Thanks for the inquiry.

She looks a fine engine. Good luck with the work.

What impressed me about the company, when it manufactured steam engines, was their business prowess. Before WW1, ca. 60% of their turnover was made abroad…seems unbelievable then.

Thank you for your suggestion. Noted. We‘ll put a video together, when we can!

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco how old is this engine?

@@rudycarlson8245 She was delivered new on 31.12.1900, and constructed in around 6 months (during 1900).

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco thanks for the info

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco how long to get up to a full head of steam?

Excellent news, Peter. I should be in the UK at the end of June / whole of July. Let me know where Surprise might be and I‘ll try and visit her!

Thank you for your comments. The other thing that goes through my mind is this machine was built almost 125 years ago (1900). So much experience of constructing steam engines existed then, that with the right amount of manpower, they could easily contemplate the production of it.

There is now a video (released today -08.03.24) showing the process of going from cold to hot. Perhaps it goes some way to answering your request. I hope so.

I am pleased you like it. The engine does look best on the road (where she belongs), and we will be making more of this type of video in 2024.

I'm very pleased you like the video. Preliminary plans for 2024 are: Market Lavington Vintage Meet (20 & 21.07.24) in Wiltshire. Devizes Reunion (date not yet fixed) in Wiltshire. Sussex Steam Rally (13 & 14.07.2024) at Parham Park, Pulborough, West Sussex. Please ask me again nearer the time, and I will confirm if these dates (or others are fixed.

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco Hopefully I will be at the Parham Park Steam Rally so I might see you there

See you at Parham Park too - hopefully the weather will be better this year!

Good morning, James. Thank you for your feedback; always great to hear. Did you borrow it much? I assume from Alfie? If you heard anything about the wagon's history, I would be very pleased if you could share that with me. As the weather forecast in October (Sussex) was not good, our short road run was a spontaneous dash, whilst the rain held off (...still have to sort out/tidy the signs on the back!). All the best, Stephen

She’s based in Sussex, near Horsham.

Hello. Thank you for your feedback. Great to hear you liked what you saw. There is another video of the engine very slowly ticking over, outside the St John the Baptist Church in Holywell). It is called 'Lord Roberts captured ticking over in Holywell'... You might like to take a look!

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco Thanks! I’ve already seen that video! It was very good!

Thank you for your feedback. We will try to slow things down where possible.

I’m very pleased to say, yes.

It turned out to be an excellent visit, with a lot of interest. There were visits to Holywell village, the Parish Church Weekend Festival, St Ives and some private gatherings at her base nearby. Some videos showing all this are in the making…

Hello. Yes, the engine is still based in Sussex. She spent a week in Holywell, near St Ives (Hunts.), retruning to one of her previous homes when she was owned by Tom Paisley at Manor Farm, Conger Lane, Holywell.

Thank you for your comments. Unfortunately, I never met John, but given his passion for precision engineering and his undoubted skills, I suspect the (long) process of restoration was just as important to him as the finish. The quality of his work on this engine was excellent. Regards, Stephen Cotton

Yes, unfortunately, he did not see her completely finished, but he did steam her once in 2000 (whilst still in a static state).

Your second question is a difficult one! Probably easiest to say what parts are thought to be original: chimney copper top, front and rear wheels (not rubbers), flywheel, cylinder chest, most of the gears, some of the motions, roof supports, steering wheel and seat, wheel brake, steerage chains, belly tank etc. So quite a bit! Hope that helps.

@@LordRoberts-FowlerB5RoadLoco WHAT WONDERFUL PICTURES OF HIM RESTORING THE ENGINE