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Issue 538 Print Post Approved NO PP331387-00004
November 2015 Worth £ 3/0/0
Newsletter from the National Steam Centre
In This Issue
Gotts’s Traction Engine History Discovered Elwood Steam
Dredge
The Club’s Ploughing Engine and Peter Jackman’s balance plough
was taken up the Top paddock for publicity shots and to get a feel
for the lay of the land in anticipation of Steam Ploughing
demonstrations during the approaching rally . Warwick Bryce
photo
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 2
Eddie Bedwell has kindly sent in some interesting information on
early Steam Dredges operating around Melbourne His interest stems
from his Diesel Mechanic apprentice days with William Adams keeping
the 4 big Caterpillar engines going on the dredge belonged to
Australian Dredging (Emu Engineering) . This was down at Barry
Beach back in the mid 1960’s when the Oil Rig Supply Terminal was
being built—the dredges were forming the access channels and swing
basins for the Supply Vessels to move to and from the rigs. These
were just bigger versions of the then new Von Schmidt suction
dredge introduced to drain the Elwood Swamp in Melbourne in the
late 1880’s . The Elwood Swamp The Illustrated Australian News 1 st
August 1889 reports to the effect – the reclamation work is now in
progress at the Elwood swamp and when completed a pleasantly
located salubrious extent of saleable land suitable for suburban
residents will be available . Settlement round Elwood has made
great progress but there has stood the dead back waters of the
dismal swamp as an impediment to further expansion . The work is in
2 contracts one a channel to drain not only the swamp but the
surrounding district . The concrete lined channel will be 11 feet
deep, 54 feet wide and run from the beach inland to Glen Huntly
Road . The other contract awarded to Mr George Higgins is to fill
up the whole of the swamp , 160 acres west of Barkly street using
the latest design steam dredging machine. Construction of a Dredge
to the patent design of Captain A. W. Von Schmidt of San Francisco
California is by Langland's Foundry in conjunction with Pye
Byers and Campbell of South Melbourne . The dredge is said to be
quite new to Australia and 20 times as effective as the bucket
chain type and much cheaper . With good deposits of sand and clay
on the Elwood foreshore a pipe line will pump water charged with
sand and gravel onto the land to be filled and the water will run
back into the bay . Disappointingly the rest of the article seems
to concentrate more on the politics of the project than the
technical details . The Von Schmidt Dredge Fortunately Eddie has
also produced a much better description of the dredge that was used
create Coote canal through the West Melbourne swamp and to form a
swing basin and dock adjacent to the railway yards . This is in all
probability the same dredge as the same characters are involved and
it is the same time frame.
Above New Dredge Elwood at work . The Illustrated Australia News
and Musical Times 1 st August 1889 ( The illustration bears an
uncanny resemblance to the one from the Von Schmidt catalogue )
Above A view of the Elwood channel 125 years ago . It still
functions today Below Illustration from a Von Schmidt
advertizment of a similar dredge showing how sand and gravel is
loosened as dredge cutter sweeps the floor then sucked up and
pumped to shore .
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 3
The dredge employed was invented by Colonel A. W . Von Schmidt a
well known Californian Engineer , involved in harbor and cable car
work was constructed in Melbourne under the supervision of his son
Captain E. A. Von Schmidt in conjunction with George Higgins . It
consists of an Oregon hull with flat bottom 100 feet long and 50
broad . A pair of compound condensing engines drive centrifugal
pump a with 10 ft dia runner . There are 2 multi tubular boilers as
well as a donkey boiler and several small engines to drive steam
winches , circulating pumps and fans. The ends of the dredge are
semi circular and one end carries a swinging table supporting a 20
“ dia telescopic suction pipe . The bottom of the pipe is belled
out and contains a horizontal 8 ft dia wheel fitted with a dozen
steel knifes for cutting the clay . A special pair of steam engines
are mounted on the table to revolve the knifes and raise and lower
the cutting head . The dredge is held in position by a pair of
piles that has through sockets in the hull and stick into the mud
beneath . Repositioning of the dredge is done through lines either
to shore or moorings . The chopped up material is drawn up the
suction pipe by the flow of water and forced along the pipe to the
area being reclaimed . The discharge pipe is about 1000 feet in
length with the first part fitted with ball sockets and floating on
pontoons to allow the dredge to follow a sweeping motion across the
canal . The proportion of solid material to liquid is easily
capable of adjustment to keep the material flowing . Portions of
clay discharged from the pipe is in round lumps like small loafs of
bread but much is intimately mixed with water as fine mud which is
directed to a settling pond . There is mention of a similar smaller
dredge about to be constructed for cleaning out the Albert Park
lagoon . Eddies Recollections The big suction cutters Eddie worked
on still used the same principle with their Caterpillar engines
driving a 28 “ dia pump that could pump up to 1 1/2 miles back to
shore if needed and pass 18” rocks thru without damage—boy did that
make a noise at 2.00 am. Eddie Bedwell
Above View of the cutting head supported by gantry . The
telescopic suction pipe and cutting wheel driven by an 8 inch
square shaft sliding through a bevel gear allows it to be lowered
to depths of 23 feet . US patent 185,000 Dec 1876
Above The main pumping engine is mounted low in the hull after
the swivelling pipe connection . The engine resembles a twin
cylinder steam winch with rotor mounted directly on the crankshaft
between the cylinders. Left Plan view of the swinging table at the
front of the dredge supporting the cutting head and its telescopic
pipe and drive as well as a smaller steam engine for its control .
Warwick
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 4
By Rohan LambBy Rohan LambBy Rohan Lamb
Research into the history of John Gotts’s Ruston Proctor
traction engine no.40292 has revealed this engine was associated
with a notable individual, James Logan. He was known as the ‘Chaff
King’ and he made a significant contribution to the development of
Australia’s agricultural industry making the Ganmain district the
one of the largest suppliers of chaff to Sydney. Furthermore, the
engine was used by the winning team at the chaff cutting
competition at the Ganmain Show in 1912 and 1913.
In response to the competition from American traction engines in
Ruston’s colonial markets they built a lighter and cheaper traction
engine to directly compete. This was referred to as a Class SHA
engine. The engine was fitted with a clutch in the flywheel, only
one road speed of two miles per hour, and a large firebox suitable
for burning wood or low quality coal. The boiler had a working
pressure of 140 psi, the engine comprised a single-cylinder of 8”
bore and 12” stroke, and developed 30 BHP. Of the 24 class SHA
traction engines built, 15 were sold to the Australian agents, H.
V. McKay, Sunshine with engine no. 40292 being sold to McKay on
14th January 1911.1 The history of this engine looked set to remain
a mystery, with the only clue to its original owner being a stamped
number by the Victorian Government boiler inspector. The boiler was
inspected by David Watson on the 28th of August 1911 and stamped on
one of the hornplates with BIA number 2500. The record of first
inspection showed the engine was in the ownership of the agents H.
V. McKay, Sunshine. Fortunately the record was annotated with the
name of the owner McKay’s sold the engine to, a Mr. J. Logan,
Ganmain, NSW.2 Further research has found the engine spent its
working life in the Ganmain district of NSW, and later at Murrabit
in Victoria. James Logan was a pioneering farmer in the Ganmain
district and he ultimately owned around 1000 acres. He was known as
the ‘Chaff King’. He
was responsible for promoting and developing the chaff industry
in the region resulting in the Ganmain district being one of the
largest suppliers of chaff to Sydney. He operated two travelling
chaff cutters, and, for the times, had a modern cook house
constructed for his employees. James Logan also took a keen
interest in civic matters and was heavily involved with many
institutions in town. Two of his sons William Henry, and James Jnr
were also involved with cutting chaff.3 The contribution made by
James Logan was acknowledged at a presentation during a luncheon at
the 1913 Ganmain show.
Chaff cutting in the Ganmain district, 1905 (Ganmain Historical
Society)
John Gotts at the wheel during the first laps of the arena under
its own steam, 27 September 2015 (R. Lamb)
The Chaff King’s EngineThe Chaff King’s EngineThe Chaff King’s
Engine
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 5
The President of the Agricultural Society had been given a gold
representation of a chaff cutter by the Buncle Company which was
presented to James Logan in recognition of his pioneering role in
the chaff industry in the Ganmain district.4 Ganmain sent more
chaff to Sydney than any other district in NSW, and at the first
Ganmain Show in 1909 a chaff cutting competition was held in which
three machines competed. This was a novel event at an agricultural
show. The teams were required to cut one ton of hay in 30 minutes,
and the quality of the cut chaff was judged. It created much
interested amongst the farmers and in 1909 Jas. Logan, and Kelly
Bros. split first prize of 10 guineas, and Brill Bros. came
second.5 In 1910, the competition was mentioned, but only the
winner, Kelly Bros. was noted.6 There were three competitors at the
1911 show with Kelly Bros. coming first, and Mackie Bros. second.7
In 1912 the competition attracted seven entries. W. H. Logan was
first, with Kelly Bros. second, and Lennon Bros. third.8
The 1912 and 1913 shows were the peak years for the chaff
cutting competition with seven plants entered. The 1913 chaff
cutting competition was reported in great detail by one of the
papers, and it gave an insight into local chaff industry, and its
significance to the community. While a number of makes of traction
engines were represented, all used John Buncle & Co. chaff
cutters. It is interesting to note five plants used American made
Buffalo Pitts engines, and the other two engines were English. The
traction engines were:
Lennon Bros., 13 hp Buffalo Pitts engine Mackie, 18 hp Buffalo
Pitts engine Thompson, 14 hp Buffalo Pitts engine Jas. Logan snr.,
22 hp Buffalo Pitts engine Henry Logan, 7 hp Ruston Proctor engine
(John Gotts’s engine) Kelly Bros., 22 hp Buffalo Pitts engine Ellis
Bros., 7 hp Fowler engine Originally the 1913 competition was to
have nine plants present
as James Logan snr. had a second plant entered. Unfortunately it
was busy cutting chaff on Iandra Station in the Grenfell district
and could not return in time, and J. H. Winnell withdrew his plant
as well. The commitment on behalf of competitors was considerable
as most had
to lose the best part of a week to attend the show. The seven
plants with their respective teams of seven workers created a great
amount of interest and excitement at the show. When the traction
engines blew their whistles to let spectators know they were ready
for the fray, the ring was deserted and the rest of the show left
in abeyance as the crowd gathered to see the contest. Fortunately
one newspaper provided a detailed account of the 1913 event, which
turned out to be the peak year for the chaff cutting competition at
the show. Each team was given one ton (260 sheaves) to cut, with up
to 90 points awarded for cutting, and 10 points for cleaning up. No
points were awarded for speed, but there was a time limit of 25
minutes. The chaff was judged by Messrs J. Bohun from Sydney, Owen
Furner from Coolamon, and T. F. Tresillian from Young. The signal
was given by one of the traction engines, and the contest
commenced. The correspondent recorded “…and in a second all was
life, and activity with steam power being king without a rival.
Each plant had seven or eight men, all working as if a nation’s
existence was at stake, but how cool they were, although the air
was dense
with clouds of steam and smoke. An accident here or a stoppage
there daunted them nothing, it soon being rectified, as the time
allowed is ample for their capabilities. Great applause was given
to J. Mackie when his machine cut out the ton in the short time of
10 minutes; Messrs. Lennon Bros. were next, two minutes later; and
the balance were well within the time period. As soon as the
contest was over, hundreds rushed the grounds, which had been roped
in, to see the various samples.
Ruston Proctor Class SHA traction engine (Ray Hooley)
Buffalo Pitts traction engine & Buncle chaff cutter at the
1913 Ganmain Show (Ganmain Historical Society)
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 6
There is no community in Australia with so large a percentage of
farmers capable of judging good chaff as Ganmain, and the general
opinion was that the prize winner would be hard to pick, on account
of the whole seven samples being first class. The task of placing
the winner occupied about 60 minutes. On the first inspection, the
judges eliminated Messrs. Ellis Bros. (Tatura) and Thompson. Messrs
Ellis Bros only had a small steamer on, about 15 feet, while most
of the Ganmain competitors ranged from 24 to 36 feet. Their chaff
was chopped a bit too much, although good enough from a market
point of view, and creditable under their conditions. They are
deserving of high praise for competing against such strong
opponents as they met in Ganmain. One of the brothers mentioned to
me that he never saw such a large contest previously, as at Tatura,
there were, as a rule, only two or three competitors. After the
elimination of two competitors, the stewards chose a bag of chaff
indiscriminately from the remaining five, and it was emptied on a
large tarpaulin, where the judges began their work in real earnest.
Their award eventually went to Henry Logan with 85 points for
cutting, and nine for cleaning – 94 in all. Messrs. Lennon Bros. 87
points for cutting (best on ground) and 6 points cleaning with
runners up with 93 points. Jas. Logan senior, father of the winner,
was third with cut (84 points) and cleaning 8 points – 92 points in
all. Messrs Kelly Bros. and J. Mackie (prominently forecasted as
winners after the event was over and previous to the judges’
decision) were unplaced. Messrs. Lennon Bros. were very unfortunate
in having an unexpected accident with their elevator, the result
being that chaff was spilt underneath, points being lost, which
lost them the honour attached to the event.”9 In 1914 there were
five entrants in the competition. George Lennon came first with
Mackie Bros. a close second.10 Kelly Bros. were third, and Jas.
Logan Junior fourth. After winning the event for the last two
years, W. H. Logan’s plant was thrown out of action and did not
finish.11 By 1915 the area was in the grip of severe drought, and
many men were fighting in the First World War. While there was
still a Ganmain show there was no longer a chaff cutting
competition. In all, there were six years of competitions spanning
1909 until 1914. James Logan died in 1917 at the age of 57, leaving
a widow, three sons, and four daughters.12 His two chaff cutting
plants were advertised for sale in August 1918 by W. H. & J.
Logan, executors for James Logan. The first plant comprised a 22
horsepower Buffalo Pitts traction engine which had recently been
overhauled, and Buncle chaff cutter capable for cutting 40 tons per
day, and complete with a Brown’s hay steamer and cookhouse with
stove fitted. The whole plant was offered for 450 pounds. The
second plant comprised a 7 horsepower nominal, 30 brake horsepower
Ruston Proctor traction engine and Buncle chaff cutter, and Brown’s
hay steamer. It was noted that this engine had won two chaff
cutting competitions at the Ganmain Show, and was offered for 420
pounds.13 This second plant referred to the Ruston Proctor SHA
traction engine, and the competitions won were in 1912 and 1913.
There were no further records found relating to the engine until
Rodney Martin purchased the engine from George Vistarini of
Murrabit in 1971 when it made the front page of the local paper.
This article recorded that Vistarini had owned the engine since
1914.14 This date appears to be incorrect as it was recorded the
engine was for sale in 1918. It is reasonable to conclude that
Vistarini purchased the engine from the Logan estate in 1918, and
was only its second owner. John Gotts purchased the engine from
Rodney Martin in June 2002, and it was moved from Emerald to
Scoresby where John has since restored the engine to operation,
steaming for the first time on 26th of September 2015.
Acknowledgements Ray Hooley, Ruston Hornsby archivist Ray Cox,
Ganmain Historical Society References 1Ray Hooley, pers. comm., 14
January 2015 2PROV, VPRS7854, BIA no.2500 3Gilmore, L., 1992, The
Settlers and Settlement of Ganmain, p.341-44 4Wagga Wagga Daily
Advertiser, 18 September 1913, p.2 & Albury Banner and Wodonga
Express, 26 September 1913, p.20. 5The Sydney Mail & New South
Wales Advertiser, 6 October 1909, p.15 6Sydney Morning Herald, 15
September 1910, p.6 7Wagga Wagga Express, 30 September 1911, p.3
8Yackandandah Times, 3 October 1912, p.2 9Albury Banner and Wodonga
Express, 26 September 1913, p.20 10Albury Banner and Wodonga
Express, 18 September 1914, p.28 11Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser, 17
September 1914, p.4 12Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser, 6 February
1917, p.2 13The Land, Sydney, 16 August 1918, p.7 14The Bridge. A
Border Journal (Koondrook & Barham), 21 May 1971, p.1 © Rohan
Lamb, October 2015
The engine loaded ready for the trip to Rodney Martin’s (The
Bridge, 21 May 1971, p.1)
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 7
The place was Tyres Junction a remote clearing where the East
and West tributaries join the Tyres river in the foothills of Mt
Baw Baw North West of Erica. A search of the interweb and a chat to
forestry historian Peter Evans revealed that this was once a
thriving sawmilling centre . Little can be seen today but once it
was the main depot for Victoria’s 4 th 2’6” narrow gauge railway
serving the bush mills of the region. Constructed by the Victorian
Forest commission in 1926 / 27 for the extraction of timber the
railway left the Walhalla line a few km South of Erica and wound
north west over the range to the Tyres valley where it followed the
2 branches to various saw mills. A geared Garrett type steam
locomotive with power bogies based on logging winches was
specially
constructed in Port Melbourne by Alfred Harmon , in line with
the buy local policy but turned out to weigh much more than
expected consequently being too heavy for the bush track which was
laid with little ballast . Subsequently the engine was scrapped but
this is obviously not it’s boiler . Following this debacle a geared
Climax locomotive was purchased from the USA which ran the lower
section of the line built to VR
standards while rail tractors where used on the upper tramway
branches. The Climax is now back in action at Puffing Billy so it
is not this boiler either. The bush boiler is a bit unusual being
bottle shaped with a large diameter cylindrical shell with a
shorter smaller diameter extension on the end . A bit like a
Marshall patented Britannia boiler but the two cylindrical sections
are in line and of different proportions.
Above Embankment and culvert in the clearing adjacent to the
boiler likely to be the bottom end of the West branch of the old
Tyres tramway track bed closed in 1949
Ruston Proctor Jackass boiler in the bush near Tyers Junction
photo Warwick Bryce
Emerging from the bush into a small river flat I was surprised
to find an unusual old steam boiler lying beside the track . After
a quick inspection the first thing was to identify the location in
the hope that I could find out a bit about it’s history .
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 8
Being horizontal and with a long cylindrical tube for the
firebox it is designed for burning inferior fuels such as lengths
of wood either branches from the bush or offcuts from the mill. The
short smaller section contains a nest of tubes to get improved heat
transfer.
Above The bottle shape is clearly evident from the side . It has
several other subtle features as well having all circular surfaces
it is easier to make while not using stays and the large water
spaces simplifying maintenance and cleaning out mud something
likely to get a rough hit in the bush . Another unique feature, as
pointed out by Peter Evans is that by being round it lends itself
to moving by rolling . Shifting boilers in the bush is always
difficult particularly if used to power steam winches which are
usually on ridges and periodically require shifting . This boiler
is certainly connected with the timber industry but wether it was
associated with a mill on the site or a winch in the bush is still
being looked into . Typically manufactured in England by Ruston
Proctor they have become known in the bush as Jackass boilers .
This nickname may be a result of their mixture of features since
Jackass originally refers to a cross between a horse and donkey but
can also mean a stupid thing .
Acknowledgements Light Railways, Peter Evans , Rail Trails
Victoria , Alexandra Tramway Museum , The Tyres Valley tramway by
Norm Wadeson Warwick Bryce
Above Closer inspection shows heavy damage on the underside .
Score marks are possibly the result of being dragged through the
bush . Pock marks look like heavy rife fire as it is known there
have been military training exercises in the area .
Above Ruston Proctor Advertizment indicates they made boilers
with a wide variety of features
Left A similar Jackass boiler could have been used to supply
steam to this logging winch during it’s days in the bush just off
the Acheron Way in the Great Dividing Range north of Healesville.
Now displayed at the National Steam Center it was built in the
1920’s by A.Harman . The Harman steam loco built for the Tyres
railway drew on this winch technology for it’s steam powered gear
drive bogies.
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 9
44 Years Later Hearing that John Gotts was about to take his
Ruston Proctor traction engine for its first spin around the arena
since restoration former owner Rodney Martin wasted no time in
coming down to the club to be reunited with the engine 44 years
since he first purchased it . See Rohan’s article of the history of
this engine elsewhere in the magazine . Steam for the Lyttelton The
Lyttelton crew have been hard at work refurbishing the clubs Farrar
boiler to provide steam for some of the tug’s engines. The first
stage involves wire brushing and applying Dulux heat resistant
paint . See photos
The old Farrar boiler goes back to the Wantirna days when it was
last used to drive some of the engines there . The boiler will be
permanently installed in the corner of bay 5 creating a display in
it’s own right and once plumbed up to some of the auxiliary engines
enabling them to be demonstrated on steam . Wether it will have
enough capacity to turn a main engine is being debated. A pot
boiler of simple construction it has a large vertical cylindrical
fire box containing a number of cross Gallaway tubes over which the
hot
Bill McRobb photo
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Nov 2015 STEAM SUPREME 10
gases pass to gain a bit of extra heat transfer to the water .
With this limited surface area for heat transfer it will not have a
high steam generating capacity but with it’s large volume has a
chance of storing enough energy for short runs of a main engine .
Working Bee Blessed with good weather most of the effort went into
getting the grounds neat and tidy . What most will notice though is
the pile of dirt in the centre of the arena has gone , thanks to
the Morris’s this really opens up this area . The first few bucket
fulls went in filling between the tracks where they enter the train
shed In all about 120 cubic metre had to be removed
which kept the Morris’s heavy earthmoving equipment busy for
several hours . Healesville Heritage Festival Quite a number of
MSTEC members went as visitors and enjoyed the diverse range of
Heritage machinery on display in the context of a 1950’s railway
setting . A balanced selection was on show with not too much of any
one thing .
Above Regular stone crushing demonstrations driven by a Buffalo
Pitts portable kept visitors enthralled . Right Rail motor tours
down the line and through the tunnel where very popular and gave a
taste of what is in store when the line opens to Yarra Glenn later
next year with a steamer .
Above Case loader scooping up the heap in the arena ready for
carting away in the Euclid dumper . Lucky the Morris’s had their
equipment available as there was no other way we could have moved
this much earth on our own . Left Aaron and Peter Morris filling in
behind the train shed making work in this area such as train
maintanance and track construction much easier.
Above Healesville Mobile Steam included a Roller , Traction
engines , steam Truck and John Sparks steam Car Right A Pink “
Little Grey Fergy “ No doubt a ladies tractor