A Crimbo Quiz - Part 1 (now with answers)

[Scrit]

engineerone said:

How about Hudswell Clarke?? for number 12

Talk about fishing - and even then you were still wrong

engineerone said:

....I kind of don't know too many more cause unless we then go up to the scots
in terms of Neilson, and NBL (North British)

So you'd never heard of Vulcan at Newton-le-Willows or Sharp-Stuart, or Bagnall's, or Robert Stephenson, or Sentinel?.........

It wouldn't have mattered as the only one of those to really step into other areas was Sentinel who made steam and diesel lorries as well as diesel buses (just after WWII), but who also manufactured Butler (?) milling machines during and just after WWII.......... but they aren't woodworking machines

engineerone said:

.........and then I looked a little more, and there were two more: Fowler and Co, and E.B. Wilson. But I thought Fowler were more involved in agricultural machinery than woodworking.

So were Ransomes (the traction engine people), although they were directly connected to the Ransomes at Newark who made woodworking machinery from 1855 until about 1931.......

In fact "Wilson" is the right name, as the firm who made woodworking machinery in Leeds was Wilson Brothers (Leeds) Ltd (established 1862) and who susrvived until the 1990s. The firm also known for it's manufacture of saw mills, complete with both stationary steam engines as well as railway shunting locomotives, although they do tend to turn up more in places like Australia or New Zealand than the UK. Wilsons were known to have supplied contractors engines in the UK as well. Oddly enough in the late 1950s and early 1960s Wilson's was a progressive firm with many more modern designs than market leaders Wadkin and White (for example they were an early adopter of fabricated steel frame bandsaws some 10 years before Wadkin followed their lead)

Scrit

[mel]

12, all i can think is the firm is from rochdale but cant remember the name
there is an housing/industrial estate built on the site now
and i think it still retains the name in some way , for history purposes
what we are looking for is a steam engine built around those dates , as the compression ignition engine wasnt around then

fred dibnah would know the answer ;D

[mel]

scrit said:

tigerturnings said:

Wadkin comes to mind, I seem to recall reading somewhere that one of their directors was aboard the Titanic. I think he was hoping to travel to America to sort out a dispute with one of the American firms (Oliver?)... or am I on the wrong lines entirely?

No, you're quite right, it was indeed Wadkin & Co. who gave the American franchise for their pattern milling (and other pattern-shop) machines to the Oliver Machinery Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1908. Although he wasn't travelling to sort out a dispute (Oliver continued to distribute for Wadkin until the 1930s), the director lost on the SS Titanic in 1912 was Denzil J Jarvis who had married the sister of the company's founder, Joseph Wadkin, and joined the firm in 1900. Oddly in 1908 Joseph Wadkin left the original Wadkin company to set-up a new business with Thomas Scott-King (in Nottingham) called Wadkin Mills. This firm was subsequently sold to the original Wadkin concern following the death of Joseph Wadkin from pneumonia in 1919.

But who had the family silver and took over the original firm following Denzil Jarvis's death? Anyone here from Leicester?

Scrit

im originally from leicester

my best guess for the silver spoons would have to be Mr EPNS
;D ;D
what your getting at is another wadkin firm
they used to be on melton road , again i cant rember the company name

wadkin and son maybe

[Scrit]

mel said:

12, all I can think is the firm is from Rochdale but can't remember the name
There is an housing/industrial estate built on the site now
and I think it still retains the name in some way, for history purposes

That was Thomas Robinson & Son Ltd who were established in 1838. Whilst they made all forms of woodworking machinery for the railway companies, they never quite made it into railway engiens, although they were also famous for their flour milling machinery (sold off to the Japanese in the 1980s after the Wadkin take-over)

The training school part of the site (seen below to the left of the road which bisects the works) is now occupied by a number of firms including a transport firm, whilst over the road one of the few distinctive parts of the main site which has been retained is the old tower (which was apparently listed as a local landmark) seen here in the centre foreground of this early 20th century drawing:



and a section of the bottom of the wall alongside the tower containing stone tablets declaring Robinson's to be or make Woodworking Machinery, Floor Milling Machinery, Mill Wrights, Engineers, Founders, etc. This was apparently retained to meet with the approval of the planners who allowed much of the factory to be raised to the ground and new industruial units to be erected in it's place.

Unlike other artists impressions of factories which always seem to deliberately inflate the size of the works (both sagar and Pickles illustrations did that) the Robinson illustration is in fact quite a reasonable impression of the scale of the factory - in it's heyday probably somewhat larger than Wadkin at Leicester

Scrit

[engineerone]

of course i have heard of sharp stewart, who became nielsons and then along with dubs became north british in glasgow.
and i knew about robert stephenson, hawthorns, hawthorn leslie, etc, but as a doncaster engine man i tend to excuse these non proper railway people ;D

plus as you say, vulcan and beyer plus all those lovely traction engine companies in lincoln and the fens

most seemed to make machine tools rather than woodwork ones.

paul

[Alf]

Sorry, didn't have a moment to myself yesterday. Anyway:

11. Which British tool manufacturer was taken over by the American company Stanley to become Stanley Works GB?
J(ames) A(Arscott) CHAPMAN in 1936. Made the Acorn brand planes as well as re-badged stuff such as GTL, Spear & Jackson etc. Braces too of course.

24. And what was the name of the silverware family?
Goddard

Cheers, Alf

[engineerone]

nice one alf, very useful

as for sentinel scrit, i was pretty sure that they only became a railway company in the 1920's when they were i think part of the armstrong whitworth group and as a post first war effort expanded from road engines and traction engines into making shunting and railcars for the LNER in the north east, old ner region.

of course armstrong whitworth are a company worthy of checking out, they did some amazing things.

paul

[Scrit]

toobyefore said:

24. And what was the name of the silverware family?
Goddard

ooooh! Does that mean you look after the family silver, then

[Alf]

Occasionally...

... now we've had to let the butler go. ;D

For regular silver care can I recommend my granny's recipe of good quality drying cloths soaked in a mixture of 4 parts silver polish (doesn't have to be Goddard's!) to 2 parts household ammonia, hung to dry and then used in lieu of an ordinary tea towel on any silver you may be washing after use. Also works well on silver jewelry chains which are otherwise problematic. Plus making them cleans the sinuses out spectacularly... Do a few at a time and they'll keep very nicely (in a plstic bag unless you like the smell )

Cheers, Alf

[engineerone]

surely the best way to keep the silver really clean is the electrolysis method.

you know, ally foil, water and a small battery.

paul