Ploughing engine running on air

Ross is the best and smartest model engineer in our club. He has built some fine locomotives and now his interest is traction engines. This is his Fowler ploughing engine running on air, a real treat.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1hTMxAJ3FoY

Edited By JasonB on 20/08/2021 13:12:52

Lovely job … and an exemplary video

[ see the concurrent thread ]

MichaelG.

Another fantastic working model of our past heritage. Ross is most certainly a very competent and dedicated model engineer.

The only extra comment I could think of was ‘where is the other one, of the pair, and an eight furrow reversible plough?’🙂

I always admire the ploughing demonstrations of these magnificent machines of a previous era. No soil compaction problems, and headlands on every arable field ploughed in this way.

There is a TE1 "Farmers Engine" being built not too far away so the two could get together though it would be a toss up between a Vine plough for the TE1 or a balance plough for Ross's one.

The TE1 do have the complication advantage of being a twin drum so can pull the plough back out provided a suitable anchor is used

" The only extra comment I could think of was ‘where is the other one, of the pair, and an eight furrow reversible plough? "

There is another being built by someone else. Will just need a plough for when they are finished.

I forgot about that one Paul, looks like Doug will just have to play by himself.

I have always thought that something like a disc harrow would be better for showing what the engines can do at a show as it would not tear up a playing field, there are some quite nice Fowler ones that would make an interesting project and a bit smaller than a 3" scale balance plough to transport.

Another member, Jim, is building the other of the pair but much more slowly.

6 posts for such a splendid achievement? What do you have to put on here that impresses model engineers? I have been watching Ross's progress since he started the project and his attention to detail is second to none. That said Doug's TE1 is, I would say a worthy equal! Well done both, I certainly appreciate your efforts.

Paul.

Maybe some of us are on TT and have been clicking the Thanks button for ever post of his and also contributing occasionally as I do with Doug's and Andrew's.

Though having said that the tea room seems to be more popular than the workshop around here

I have long thought the name of this forum should be changed to The Workshop Machinery and Tooling Forum or something similar. Ask about a pair of pliers or a Myford lathe and you'll get pages of replies. I suspect more than a few members don't make models at all. That is absolutely fine; just make the title reflect the content.

I first saw the castings for this on a long gone web site where the castings were commissioned and coffee pots were turned in steel to the stretched Haining outline. Sometime later they ended up on Station rd where Ross got them from in 2015. Ross re did the coffee pots to a more authentic outline.

So some of us have followed this build for a considerable time.

BTW if anyone calls this engine a K5 I'm going to scream. This is a K5 a compact 8NHP, the narrow rear wheels and straight flywheel give the game away.

.

I don’t make models, Simon : I just tinker with microscopes, cameras, clocks, and such.

But I do recognise a classy model when I see it … and was the first to comment.

Perhaps the other non-modellers could have done the same.

MichaelG.

When I see something like this I reckon I should take up knitting. It is so far out of my league.

Seems to me that every model I see on here being built down under is stupendously good. I’m just glad model making isn’t part of the Ashes!

Dom