Sold September 2025 Back to Archive

This one has come to us from a man who bought it over fifty years ago, in a part-built state. A man after our own heart, with an interest in all things mechanical and a vintage Rolls Royce in the garage, he was fortunate in engaging the services of a local mechanic to finish the build. The man - a retired chauffeur - had a workshop in a hay loft above a barn behind the village shop, equipped with modest machinery, including a Drummond round bed lathe.

The engine was finished in a year, during which time the man also found time to build an Allchin for himself. Returned to its owner, the Fowler was steamed at that time, since when it has been laid up in his garage in company with a six inch scale steam wagon and another Rolls Royce - his earlier saloon having been replaced in recent years by a stylish open tourer.

A large engine, it's a little under six feet long and weighs in at something over a third of a ton.

The boiler is welded steel with expanded tubes and nutted stays in the firebox. It looks a well made thing and, at twice working pressure on hydraulic test, showed no signs of leaks or distortion. However, in the absence of any kind of history for it, it would need stripping completely for thorough examination and test before any certification could be issued.

There are various jobs to do: the simpling valve is currently stuck open - we blanked it off for the hydraulic test; there is no boiler cladding; the drain cock rods have been made but not fitted; the dynamo - believed to be ex-MOD - sits on a bracket above the smokebox, although requires a pair of adjuster rails.

The engine runs well on air and would, as a compound, run better still on steam.