Saviem's fan club (Part 1)

[oiltreader]

Hi Saviem, yes the Isle of Baleshare, off North Uist, Outer Hebrides, now joined by causeway in the background of this pic from the same stable and I have no doubt that you can put a name to the tractor, left of the International.
I have quite a few pics of old tractors from the island, many of them still in daily use, well not quite daily as life is so laid back, in fact the yarn is far more important than what has to be done next
Won’t choke kevmac’s excellent idea for this thread with too many tractors, one or two now and again.
To the “gardeners”, when I came off lorries and became self employed I had a 17 pole allotment, must dig a photo out.
Oily

[deckboypeggy]

That international looks a bit smaller then the ones i cleaned they massive exhausts a bigger model maybe
you must have went to sea coming from where you do?? or to young
men from outer hebrides worked on all the class ships companys,lots of bosuns.all ok so long as they never had bagpipes

[retired_old_fart]

oiltreader:
Hi Saviem, yes the Isle of Baleshare, off North Uist, Outer Hebrides, now joined by causeway in the background of this pic from the same stable and I have no doubt that you can put a name to the tractor, left of the International.
I have quite a few pics of old tractors from the island, many of them still in daily use, well not quite daily as life is so laid back, in fact the yarn is far more important than what has to be done next
Won’t choke kevmac’s excellent idea for this thread with too many tractors, one or two now and again.
To the “gardeners”, when I came off lorries and became self employed I had a 17 pole allotment, must dig a photo out.
Oily

I know the two-wheeler is certainly not a Gazelle or a Rapier! Or even a Mk111 Minx.
I reckon it’s a BMB Plowboy, an American design built over here on licence and fitted with a variety of UK engines. Ours had a big single cylinder Matchless & a neighbour owned one with a 998cc motor. They came with a quite astounding variety of implements, we had a single-furrow plough (which father found a bit of a handful!), a number of different cultivators and a Cambridge roller. There was also a pto pulley which could be used for driving a hedge-trimmer or water pump. Since taking up allotmenteering, I’ve often cursed the day the old chap sold ours, complete with attachments, for £40. They were really versatile machines to use due to the multiplicity of controls which could be used to great advantage when you got used to them.

[fergie47]

Saviem:
Fergie, is the above picture of our friend Michel`s, sons Shark Nose Willeme Wine Tanker? The black and white makes it look old, but is it a recent picture?
Beautiful lorry anyway,what a wonderful lorry to own!
Cheerio for now.

Hello John…Not sure if that is Michals lad’s lorry, I’ve lent my mags to a friend who’s had an accident and broken his ankle, so I can’t check it out, but I will do later.
Here are a couple of more wine tankers…

[fergie47]

Another Tanker, but not wine this time. Lovely old photo of both truck and restaurant

[pete_smith]

Fergie47:
Another Tanker, but not wine this time. Lovely old photo of both truck and restaurant

Wheel rims look the same as fitted to Sentinel steam lorries 24" ?

[saviem]

pete smith:

Fergie47:
Another Tanker, but not wine this time. Lovely old photo of both truck and restaurant

Wheel rims look the same as fitted to Sentinel steam lorries 24" ?

Evening all,

Been out to celebrate my Birthday… usual poor Pub food…Sea Bass…from which sea asked I?..“.English Mediteranean” quoth the heavily made up waitress… my response was curtailed by a very “Beckham” right leg, whose sharp stiletto shoe caught me right on the knee…“c`ant you behave yourself”…was hissed at me in a threatening manner by my Lady Wife…and she was supposed to be treating me!!!

Fergie, would you not want to race to work, to drive such a fabulous steed? But you would need several Calvados, before trying to back that “remorque” into a tight spot!

Pete 24s were common on French lorries of the 40s and 50s, even some on the ones in the 60s. What do you think of the decision to demolish the “Steam Mill”?(Staffordshire Farmers old Mill, and perhaps one of the desolate metropolis of Wolverhamptons best buildings). Looks like a put up job by our erstwhile Civic Leaders, (most of whom are strangers to our shores), bit of a shame really…but the town, (sorry ■■■■■■■ …woops City), is ruined now! The poor sods cannot even begin to realise just what a hub of activity it really was…mind you, they have re-Christened Brunels Low Level Station, (the end of his Broad Gauge track)…the Grand Central…(where on earth did they get that US name from)…simply do not understand history…or the relevance of the various sites around the town.

ROF, Oily, I was going to say British Anzani, but I think that ROF is right, its a lot bigger than an" Iron Horse". Boy, you needed genuine muscle to control one of those on stony ground.We made some great agricultural equipment, Ive still a “Merry Tiller”, utterly reliable, but watch out if you are on stones, or dry clay,Merry is the right word…B… is more appropriate!

Oily, Im sure that it was the later Brown`s The Selectomatic etc, that you could change gear on the move, Im certain that the Cropmaster, (Petrol/TVO), that I drove, was stop, into gear, and go…but it was over 60 odd years ago…but it feels like yesterday!

Im away for a Birthday Bollinger…

Cheerio for now.

[kevmac47]

Belated birthday wishes John, I hope the Bollinger soothed the pain in the battered knee
Regards Kev.

[oiltreader]

deckboypeggy:
That international looks a bit smaller then the ones i cleaned they massive exhausts a bigger model maybe
you must have went to sea coming from where you do?? or to young
men from outer hebrides worked on all the class ships companys,lots of bosuns.all ok so long as they never had bagpipes

I’m not from the islands deckboypeggy, just an annual visitor, the bagpipes, well not that keen on solo but a marching pipe band in full flow, that’s something else.
Oily

[oiltreader]

Another pic of the BMB on another visit, not sure if it’s a Plowmate, Cultmate or Hoemate, also not sure why the tyre is “back to front” either, paid a visit this June but Angus had company so didn’t over intrude, leaving with a warm haste ye back. Interesting info here on the makers Brockhouse, quite a diverse company, on this first link scroll down to Steve B71’s post for family history west-bromwich-photos.co.uk/a … ow/8731109
another piece here gracesguide.co.uk/Brockhouse … (Southport.
Oily

[retired_old_fart]

More memories of the machine are slowly flooding back-
The photos show either the Cultmate or Hoemate in my opinion. The top-of-the-range model, the Plowmate (or Plowboy in it’s American version) was quite a bit more complicated with individual clutches for each wheel as well as individual brakes for each wheel. A bit of a beast in heavy ground, especially when trying to lift the plough at the end of a furrow, operating all those controls and controlling the throttle as well. However, as previously stated, once the animal had been tamed, it was amazing how much work could be achieved in a day.
As to the reason for the back-to-front tyre on the offside, I can only think that a previous operator required the machine to spin round & round on the spot for some purpose!
And I really can’t let Saviem’s instruction to “Scrape” Winstons go unchallenged. Proper “spudsters” know that one need only scrub such a wonderful vegetable as a properly-grown Winston before boiling for ten minutes. Not like those inferior Maris breeds!
J. West, I have spent the best part of seventy years, “lifting my Winstons” and, as far as I know, there exists no photographic evidence to embarrass those of a delicate disposition!

[saviem]

Evening all,

Ah, the great spud war continues…ROF, if roasting…scrape…if baking/boiling…scrub…0K!

Ones taste buds will confirm the wisdom of my remark…taught me by a chef of the highest calibre…and yes it works…even on a Maris Piper!!!..think how your remarks must be damaging Maris sales at Tesco, Aldi, ASDA, et al…let alone Waitrose. Think about the poor agricoles profit margin!

Oily, that is a well found piece on Brockhouse. Once an Industrial giant, as was Rubery Owen, and major players in our industry. Sad that there are no definitive historys written on these great companys. My good friend still has an Expiditor 33ft tandem, with a diesel tank on its back at his farm. Can you remember that big wheel that used to operate the handbrake, and the pierced mainframe, done before Fred Davies`s York Trailers?

A lot of the Leyland Constructor rear end loaders built by Laird on Anglesey, and fitted with Longton crew cabs had Brockhouse Torque Converters fitted into their transmissions.A very simple, and reliable device.

ROF, Oily, there is a simple explanation to that tyre being wrong way around…The Single Malt…

Cheerio for now.

[retired_old_fart]

The far superior mind of Ms. Saviem has hit the nail on the head with regard to the tyre! We’ve all dropped goollies while still three parts cut from the night before.
And I doubt very much if I will lose too much sleep over the possibility of Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, etc. going to the wall overnight due to my horticultural ramblings.

[zb_anorak]

Regarding Maris Piper spuds, I recently met a bloke who knew something about food production, who told me that the strain was developed in a place called Maris, which gave the spud its name. Of far more interest to me, that place was also responsible for Maris Otter, the strain of barley most commonly considered best by brewers. Apparently, it was Government funded but, since the grants have been stopped, Maris is no more. Can anyone expand upon this?

[deckboypeggy]

As a complete novice on a BMB I JUST WONDERED HOW YOU FIRED HER UP i see no exhaust, no hole for a starting handle ,is/was it like the old 1 stroke petter,or a magneto , i doubt a battery though, how do you power her up,i have no idea.? i hope someone will explain please.

as for the Tyre very well spotted, who would have thought there was a right and wrong way.maybe ? it is on that way for going up hill.or dragging along the beach for shell fish…

Oiltreader sorry for assuming you were a islander.i assumed they were yours.

[fergie47]

deckboypeggy:
As a complete novice on a BMB I JUST WONDERED HOW YOU FIRED HER UP i see no exhaust, no hole for a starting handle ,is/was it like the old 1 stroke petter,or a magneto , i doubt a battery though, how do you power her up,i have no idea.? i hope someone will explain please.

as for the Tyre very well spotted, who would have thought there was a right and wrong way.maybe ? it is on that way for going up hill.or dragging along the beach for shell fish…

Oiltreader sorry for assuming you were a islander.i assumed they were yours.

Think that big green pully is the way you’d start it, via a cord l guess, or maybe by handle, but I can’t see a bracket to stablise it…just guessing l

[dave_the_renegade]

Fergie47:

deckboypeggy:
As a complete novice on a BMB I JUST WONDERED HOW YOU FIRED HER UP i see no exhaust, no hole for a starting handle ,is/was it like the old 1 stroke petter,or a magneto , i doubt a battery though, how do you power her up,i have no idea.? i hope someone will explain please.

as for the Tyre very well spotted, who would have thought there was a right and wrong way.maybe ? it is on that way for going up hill.or dragging along the beach for shell fish…

Oiltreader sorry for assuming you were a islander.i assumed they were yours.

Think that big green pully is the way you’d start it, via a cord l guess, or maybe by handle, but I can’t see a bracket to stablise it…just guessing l

Fergie there looks like a lug in the centre of that pulley wheel for a starting handle to hook against, if you blow the size of the pic, have a look.
Cheers Dave.

[fergie47]

Dave the Renegade:

Fergie47:

deckboypeggy:
As a complete novice on a BMB I JUST WONDERED HOW YOU FIRED HER UP i see no exhaust, no hole for a starting handle ,is/was it like the old 1 stroke petter,or a magneto , i doubt a battery though, how do you power her up,i have no idea.? i hope someone will explain please.

as for the Tyre very well spotted, who would have thought there was a right and wrong way.maybe ? it is on that way for going up hill.or dragging along the beach for shell fish…

Oiltreader sorry for assuming you were a islander.i assumed they were yours.

Think that big green pully is the way you’d start it, via a cord l guess, or maybe by handle, but I can’t see a bracket to stablise it…just guessing l

Fergie there looks like a lug in the centre of that pulley wheel for a starting handle to hook against, if you blow the size of the pic, have a look.
Cheers Dave.

I see that Dave, was thinking you’d need a bracket (like the bumper on a car or Fergie ) to pull against, to stop the handle flaying around like a ■■■■ in a shirt sleeve !!!

[buzzer]

Have studied the picture an have come to the conclusion that it runs on gas, thought it would have been propane but not the case is this right. As for the tyre when I was a nipper we had a land driven muck spreader and the tyre’s on that were always looking backwards to get grip to drive it, cheers Buzzer.

[windrush]

That looks like a Ploughmate with the JAP engine, the cooling cowling is missing from the engine though. There would be a handle to fit in that ‘hole’ in the flywheel, I think that the Briggs engined ones were rope start? Oh and they would all be magneto ignition, JAP engines usually had a Wico externally mounted mag and Briggs used a flywheel mag. They made a nice little tractor called a President, my mate sold his last year and it was a lovely little thing.

Pete.