Unique and Rare
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Works No.11340
Reg.No.
M 6359 |
'Puffing Billy'
Replica bus reconstructed on the chassis of a 1923 brewer's dray.
Photographed at Llandudno 1998. |
Works No.2104
Reg. No.
WR 6985 |
'Prospector'
6nhp showman's engine
Photographed at Astle Park 1998 |
Works No.12782
Reg.No.
DF 4055 |
'Angelina'
4.5nhp, originally a model D timber tractor built in 1927. It had a winch on the rear axle and a heavy flywheel and governors for sawing and thrashing.
Photographed at Astle Park 1998 |
Works No.13218
Reg. No.
BUP 71 |
'Cestria'
4.5nhp tractor cut down from a wagon built in 1929 and carrying showman's fittings.
Photographed at Driffield 1995 |
Works No.7768
Reg. No.
M 8562 |
Originally built as a tractor in 1916/17 it was converted to a 5 ton tipper and shipped to France for the War Dept. On it's return, several years later, it was restored to WD livery.
It bears the works plate No.6216.
Photographed at Welland 1998 |
Works No.10136
Reg. No.
MA 4691 |
'Daisy Kate'
A 5 tonner, not unusual in itself, but included here as this was the first occasion in steam for a rally arena whilst undergoing restoration.
Photographed at Onslow Park, 1998 |
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In the 1920s Foden, along with Sentinel and Mann, experimented with 'one-off' steam buses. The well known Foden Works Band was carried to venues in a steam bus called Puffing Billy. Sadly the original was not preserved, but in the 1960s the last steam bus to be built in Britain was constructed by an enthusiast from Norfolk. G. E. Milligen used a vintage Foden wagon chassis to recreate the lost bus.
In the glamour stakes Fodens were not a major contributor; only ten showman's road locomotives were built, and of these only one survives. Some Foden tractors were converted to showman's specification during their working lives and, according to records, one of these survives. There is also a Foden tractor carrying showman's fittings, which were possibly added in the course of preservation.
At the onset of World War I the War Dept. commandeered the whole output of the Foden 5 tonners. These wagons left the Sandbach factory by the trainload and were transported to France for the British Army. Although many returned and were sold off as surplus, some remained to work in France. One of these has been brought back and can be seen at steam rallies.
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