The Diamond Queen steaming again

Early this morning I drove Helena to set up her stall at the Farmer's Market in the neighbouring town of Nailsworth. By 8-30am I was heading back to Stroud to do some shopping along the A46 which links the two places. When passing through part of the village of Woodchester, I looked into the timber yard of Dennis Brown, a very well known old family business located beside the main road. 

On seeing the smoke from the steam engine, I thought it would be a good blip and so pulled in at the earliest opportunity and turned the car round to have a look.  I walked through the wood yard full of mostly prepared wood for fencing, farm gates, sheds and general outdoor uses, poked my head into the office and asked if I could take some pictures. There were smiles all round and was told that was ok.

As i walked back to where the steam engine was silently smoking, a man from the office joined me whom I recognised as the owner and son of the late Dennis Brown. He asked if I was an enthusiast and I said I loved unusual steam engines but wasn't very knowledgable about them. He proceeded to explain all about what this engine was, and that it had originally been bought for the family business long ago, been sold and he had tracked it down to restore it again. This morning he had decided to fire it up to keep it clean and make sure its moving parts were 'moved' and maintained properly.  Here it is burning wood, but he was about to load coal into the firebox which would be its normal fuel. I have added another 'Extra Photo' showing a wider shot of its flanks and part of the yard itself.

He takes the engine to steam rallies and two weeks ago it was at Northleach in the north of the county. Originally it would have driven their under its own steam but now he puts it on one of the company's big lorries as it would have taken about five hours to get there otherwise.

The family started the business as road hauliers and brought timber from local woods to a sawmill, which used to exist on the other side of the road. The sawmill subsequently was burnt down and the business was lost. It also had a large crane mounted on railway lines which crossed the road so that trees from the hauliers could be brought into the sawmill as they were required. He showed me old photos of the sawmill from high up on the valley side, with a working steam engine in the yard. He has also tracked that engine down after it went from Somerset, to Cornwall and then up to Sheffield in Yorkshire when sold between different owners. Now it is in the large shed at the back of this yard and is also being carefully and lovingly restored, hopefully by early next year. I have added an 'Extra photo' of most of it on blocks in the shed with various parts around it awaiting the final assembly. Some parts are completely new and have to be built from scratch by specialists around Britain. Other parts can be actually restored, particularly those which don't get wear and tear. They are all then hand painted like the engine steaming in the yard this morning.

Peter also showed me the lorry which the family bought new in 1947 which acts at the equivalent of a modern haulage lorry to which trailers are attached. Their 'modern' petrol lorry would have been hauling the huge timbers and trees which were formerly pulled by these steam engines. It is now retired in another shed and looks immaculate as well.

I must try to go to one of the shows and see the engine being used for what it was designed for, such as running power by belts to portable saws in fields. I did see them in a show at Westonbirt Arboretum some years ago, doing that very thing.