Articles:

Following here is an article that was sent in to Best Of Britian Magazine.

3/13/2006

MY FATHER’S  FIRST  CAR.

By Brian Harris

 It all started in 1943.  I was 6 at the time and I remember it like it was yesterday.  My Father was a skilled trades Plumber.  He was age 39 with 3 children so he was not called up. I believe he was in the Heavy rescue, and after working his regular job, he would go the 30 miles up to London every night to help with bomb damage.  He had a motorcycle at that time but it was not much good for carrying tools and repair parts.  An Uncle of mine was called up and had a 1929 Austin 7 Saloon.  He made a deal with my father for him to buy the Austin 7.  I remember my Dad coming home from work at noon on Saturday and saying after lunch we are going to get the car.  I was so excited I could hardly eat lunch.  We walked about 2 miles to my Uncle’s house, we spent the entire afternoon trying to start it with no luck, I was so disappointed.  Finally he did get it home and any chance I got, I would go out with him driving.

 There were a couple of times that I remember him re-building the engine.  He had galvanized buckets full of pistons, rods and other engine parts.  He would simply just try each part one at a time to find one that fitted the best.  I can’t remember him ever measuring anything.  I remember he used a lot of oil, it seemed every time we went out he would be putting more in.  He used to buy it in green 5 gall drums.  I’m not sure what it was or where it even came from.

 After the war, petrol was still in short supply, but every Sunday afternoon we would take the tools out of the car and put the back seat back in to go for a ride in the countryside.  We lived in Bracknell, Berkshire, and would go to Henley on Thames, which was about 15 miles away.  We would always stop at Tyford to watch the Express Steam train that went from London to Wales run through.  Other times we would stop by some woods that we could explore.

 Sometimes we would go down to Southsea and Portsmouth where my parents had friends.  There was a very steep hill near Petersfield about ¾ of the way down.  By the time we got to the top we would be boiling like crazy.  It was no mistake that there was a Pub at the top of the hill.  That Pub was always filled with vehicles with their bonnets up replenishing the radiators with water, and the men with beer.

There was a steep hill near our home.  Going over it would save about 3 miles to the next town but it was always a challenge.  We would approach the road from a tee junction at the bottom of the hill.  Instead of turning to go up the hill my father would have to turn the opposite way and go down the road a ¼ mile, turn around and go like hell to try to get a good run at the hill.  Most of the time we would make it, but if it was raining it would be a delicate balance between the throttle and wiper, with the foot to the floor there was no vacuum to operate the wiper and we could barely make it in first gear.

 After WWII people wanted to get into car racing and most had little money to spare. The little Austin 7 was economically the best choice.  One Sunday Dad said we are going down to the Splashes where they were having some Time Trials.  We all loaded into our Austin 7, and came to where the event was being held.  An official waved us in and my father followed his directions, and before we knew it, we were heading down stream to the next splash.  As you can guess the official thought we were one of the competitors.  Before we knew it we had water running in one side and out of the other, and a dead car stuck in the stream. The thing that sticks in my mind is the official carrying my mother to the bank.  My brothers and I thought it was quite exciting to be in the competition.  It took most of the afternoon before we got it out and going again.

It was not long before our family out grew the little Austin, and petrol became more plentiful.  So my father brought an Austin 12 Tourer.  It seemed so big after the 7.  Us kids named it the flying greenhouse, it never did seem to have the magic that the 7 held.  Unfortunately we have no pictures of Dad with his Austin 7.

While in my late teens my first car was an Austin 7 Special, which I remember trading in my HRD Vincent Rapide motorcycle for it.  I Wish I had that motorcycle now!

 My wife and I have lived in the USA since the late 60’s, and on trips back to the UK for visiting family and holidays, we would visit Steam and Car Shows that were on.  At one Show about 10 years ago I saw an Austin 7 identical to what my father had owned.  Seeing that car brought back the memories and about how nice it would be to own one.  Since retiring 5 years ago, I found an Austin the same year and model as Dads, and had it shipped over here.  Two years ago I started restoring it and have it now finished.  It is a clone to my fathers.  We have called it ‘Alfie’ after him. Looking at the size of the car now it is hard to imagine how we all fitted in it, Mum, Dad, us three boys and nearly always a girl cousin too. When we are at car shows over here everybody walks away with a smile on their face and remarks on how   “ Cute “ the little car is.

Following here are a couple of articles that were sent in to Steam Traction Magazine,  aka The Iron Man Album.

 Article 1:  Steam Story

2/24/03

Dear Editor,

I have been reading your magazine since coming to this country in1967.  Here is a story that I thought you and your readers might enjoy.

I was born in 1937.  I grew up in a small farming community 30 miles outside London, England.  Although my parents were not farmers, I always worked on farms right from a very early age.  I was always very interested in steam traction engines.  There were still a lot of them around the farms, and on the roads.  England did not have any oil reserves, but did have a large abundance of coal, which kept them running a lot later.  Then came the war, which kept them in service even longer.  During the war I vividly remember going outside at night and seeing a glow in the sky and flashes from the bombs falling on London.  If it was cloudy or the bombers missed their target, then they would fall on us. Instead of collecting baseball cards, we collected bomb fragments.  The bomb fins and pieces of the aircraft were prize possessions.  In our area there were a lot of American service men who manned the A.A.A. guns.  We always hung around them for gum and candy, as it was not sold in the stores during the war.

After the war there was a chronic shortage of manpower so they lowered the school graduation age to 14.  In our town we had a few factories and one of them was a Boiler Manufacturing and Repair Company.  I could not wait to start work there, as for years I had watched the men working with torches and rivet guns.  I always thought what a neat job it was.  I was hired there and the first job I had was torching up a boiler and a 200 H.P. Steam Engine, in a large saw mill.  They were to be replaced with a 200H.P. electric motor.  Another 14 year old kid and myself had fun on the boiler, but the engine was another story.  This was a job for the men.  They came in like peacocks and were going to show us kids how to get the job done.  They had a large wrecking ball and for a day they dropped the ball on it with nothing happening except for a few faces getting red.  I remember them dropping it on top of the flywheel and it bounced like a rubber ball.  The next day they had us “Kids” back drilling holes for them to use dynamite on it.  It is a lot of fun for a first job.

In the course of time I served a 5 year working apprenticeship with college at night school, finishing in 1957.  For the next 10 years I worked in a mass production boiler shop.  At this time, I was beginning to think about moving on and also wanted to fix up a Traction Engine of my own.  Just about every scrap yard had several engines in them.  All this changed because my wife and I had become friends with a couple working in England from the U.S.A.  One thing led to another and the outcome was we ended up working and living on this side of the pond.  I knew I would not be able to find a job boiler making in the Buffalo NY. Area, so I went into an unfired pressure vessel shop, I had a lot of interesting jobs there, but my preference was still boiler making.

Following my desires to have a Steam Tractor, I Started building a Half scale Burrell engine, which I completed in 1976.  Taking this engine around the shows made me love Steam Tractors even more and by 1993, I had brought the 4 engines in the photos.  They all had bad boilers.  This warranted setting up a shop and getting ASME Coded to build new boilers.  Over the next 5 years, in my spare time and with the help of my son, I made the new boilers and restored the engines.  While I was coded I also built a boiler for the half scale Burrell.  When it was originally built it had a model classification boiler.  Which had a maximum pressure of 100psi and was not enough to run it properly.  Now it has a 175psi boiler just like the others.

My wife and I have retired, allowing me a chance to finally write in about our engines.  We brought a farm 12 miles from Niagara Falls.  With the help of our son, we have stocked it with Steam engines and old farm related equipment.  Last September we had our first steam up at the farm. With the help of a lot of our steam friends from all around the area, We threshed our oats and sawed wood.  It was a lot of fun and hope to do it again.  The pictures are of the Half scale Burrell.  Which was completely fabricated using no castings.  1917 17hp Sawyer Massey.  1912 60hp Case.  1917 60hp simple double Reeves.  1924 60hp Minneapolis.  And a group photo from the threshing day last fall.

Article 2:  Boiler Tips

Useful Hints While Shopping For A New Boiler

Over the years that Steve and I have been taking our Steam Tractors with new Boilers to shows, we have spoke with many people.  Since the article ran in the September – October issue of Steam Traction, we have had some really great feedback and more questions about new boilers.  Looking back at the most commonly asked questions, there appears to be some myths and misconceptions on the facts.  Possibly this is from information being past down one or two generations and also a lot of the standards have changed since the boilers were originally built.  Manufacturing methods and materials have evolved a great deal since the days when everyone drove Model T’s.  I wanted to write down some of the facts and give back some hints for someone who is thinking of getting a new boiler manufactured.

I am retired and no longer building boilers or affiliated with other boiler shops.  I have no bias either way.  Many people ask me if I could recommend a good boiler shop.  I would prefer to give some sound information and facts to allow people to make their own decision.  The following items are documented in the ASME Power Boilers Manual which every Boiler shop has to follow.  As well as normal manufacturing standards, practices and Requirements imposed by New York State Board of Labor Boiler Inspectors.  For many readers this will be a very dry article.  If you are thinking of having a new boiler made, then this could be very beneficial.

1. Contact your State Boiler Inspector.  It is in your best interest to keep your inspector informed of your intentions before you do anything.  Keep your inspector on your good side by keeping him up to date.  Let him look everything over before you start.  Calling him when the work is complete is the wrong approach.  An inspector will not want to pass something without knowing what went into it.
2. The boiler has to be built to the latest ASME Codes and have an “S” stamp.  For manufacture in New York State, it must also be stamped and registered with a National Board Number, Check with your state inspector.
3. Make sure you do a lot of research on the manufacturer.  Talk to someone who has had a boiler built by this company and see if they are happy with the results.  See the work shop if possible and study their craftsmanship.  Most manufacturers will allow this as they want you to be happy with the finished product and send more work their way.
4. Make sure you have a signed written contract stating all work to be done.  Contract should include that you receive a copy of the prints, proof of Xray of the longitudinal seam of the barrel, Heat treatment charts and the manufacturer data report.  This is not like buying a car where everything is cut and dry.  Cars are mass produced, one the same as the next, you know what your buying.  With a custom manufactured Boiler, the only proof you’ll have is Documentation.
5. The price, depending on size and type could be around $20,000 to $60,000.  If you get a quote much lower than this, there is most likely some corner cutting involved and it could come back to haunt you later.
6. If a manufacturer claims that they have a boiler already made that will fit your tractor and you could save money, this is highly unlikely.  There were never two boilers made the same.  Each one was individually hand crafted.  Most traction engines were built by contracted crews that worked side by side in the assembly bay in the factory.  Each crew would start with a boiler from the boiler department and obtain all the partially finished parts from the machine shop. Custom fitting, grinding, and drilling the parts to fit that boiler.  Each crew would come up with their own practices resulting in minor differences.  Mounting studs and pad locations will all be unique.  You are now faced with the opposite task.   You have all the finished parts all drilled and shaped.  Now you need to make a boiler to fit those parts.  For some designs this is not as bad as others.  If you have a boiler that is frame mounted, like a Frick.  You will only have to mate up a few key points.  On the Other hand, when we fitted our Minneapolis, there were 150 taped studs that held the saddles and mounts onto the boiler.  Every one of the mounting studs has to be capped or have a backing plate.  If using straight thread studs, the holes cannot go all the way through into the boiler. 
7. Do not buy a boiler that is stamped too much over the original working pressure of the original engine.  The boiler may be new, but the Engine Castings are still 80 year old cast iron.  A boiler made with modern materials to the design of the original boiler could possibly be manufactured and stamped for over 250psi.  Someone could then put a 250psi safety valve on the boiler.  The D Valve and piston were not designed for this high of a pressure and could blow apart.  Another problem is the water feed injectors will not function properly at this high of a pressure.
8. Some Manufacturers use pipe couplings and plugs for inspection openings and others use handhole covers.  Both methods are acceptable and have advantages and disadvantages.  Couplings and plugs are less expensive to initially install.  You do not have to buy gaskets every year either.  The downside is that the threads will not last and eventually the coupling will have to be replaced.  Also the hole is smaller than a handhole making cleaning and inspection harder.  The handhole covers require gaskets, are more difficult to install and there is a chance of a gasket blowout.  Code section PFT-43.4 calls for there to be a minimum of six inspection openings in locomotive fire tube boilers.  One in the rear head (Smoke Box) below the tubes.  Four in the lower corners of the water leg.  One near the Throat sheet when possible.  One in the front head (fire box end) at the line of the top of the crown sheet.  Finally one additional one should be in the Shell (barrel) above the tubes.  Many builders leave this last one out as they claim the one in the front head is above the tubes an therefore covers this.  The builder saves money, but now the owner is not able to directly look at the tubes and the front of the crown sheet and firebox.  Pay the extra and insist that it be there as you are only cheating yourself out of a very important and useful handhole. 
9. One of the things that we questioned our consultant and inspectors on was the water feed inlets.  Code section PG-61 states, if the feed supply is interrupted, one such means of feeding water shall not be susceptible to the same interruption as the other, and each shall provide sufficient water to prevent damage to the boiler.  I was assured that this meant two completely separate feed lines all the way into the boiler.  Many original Boilers have two feed lines that go into one inlet.  This is no longer acceptable.  If you have an existing boiler that only has one inlet, you should use two stop valves and two check valves as near to the inlet as possible.
10.  One of the most vital things on the boiler is the water level in the boiler in relationship to the gauge glass.  Code section PG-60.1 states that that the lowest visible part of the water gauge glass shall be at least two inches above the lowest permissible water level, as determined by the boiler manufacturer. 
11.  Another important thing is to make sure that there is a suitable new ASME stamped fuse plug in the highest point in the crown sheet.  While you are looking at the fuse plug, take a good look around the firebox at the stays.  Code section PW-19 states that the ends of the stays inserted through the sheet shall not project more than 3/8 inch beyond surfaces exposed to combustion.  The reason for this is that the stays can burn over time.  Also look at how the firebars are going to be hung and the ash pan mounted.  Will they be able to be removed in a practical manner for cleaning and inspection of the firebox?
12.  For those of you that wish to preserve the original look of your boiler by riveting sections together, bare in mind that riveting has been excluded from the code books since 1971.  Many inspectors view riveting as an obsolete practice.  A good number of mechanical engineers and inspectors have been born after 1971.  Any rivet work that is done has to go back and follow the 1971 code.
13.  When installing a new boiler the most under estimated job is refitting all the pipe work and accessories.  This can cost $3000.00 or more.  This again can vary from state to state, in New York everything has to be installed using schedule 80 pipe.  Everything has to be rated for at least 1 1/2 times the Maximum Allowable Working Pressure.  Our Boilers have a MAWP of 175psi.  All of the valves, checks, gauges and fittings had to be rated for a minimum of 300psi.  Some expensive valves like the main steam shut off, Blow down and Safety Valve have to be purchased new.  A new set of firebars will most likely have to be custom cast.  Sandblasting and painting is going to be a time consuming and costly item and there is always parts that need to be built up and repaired.
14. A key thing to bear in mind is that the ASME Code Sections give the Minimum allowable factors.  There is nothing stopping you from going over and above to result in a Better product.
15. ASME stands for American Society of Mechanical Engineers.  It is an American group that draws up standardized rules for use on American Projects, Factories and Processes. Many other countries may reference the standards outlined by the ASME but it is only American and other countries have there own set rules.  For an example in England the test pressure is 2 times MAWP and Lap Seams are prevalent and carry as much as 250psi.  In NY if the test pressure got up to 2 times the MAWP the boiler would be considered overstressed and the vessal would be derated.  A lap seam in NY is almost not able to boil a cup of coffee let alone carry original pressure.

These are obviously not all the issues concerning the manufacture of a boiler.  These are just the commonly asked questions and facts that keep coming up.  Getting a boiler made is not something to just jump into.  There are many things to be considered.  The more informed you are the more successful you will be in getting a good new boiler.