Reports – MSRVS

Club event reports

if you have a report or comments about an event or rally that you have attended it can be published here. let Rob Gibbons know,

CLUB NIGHT 18th MARCH 2025 – ‘MYSTERY REMAINS – LOSS OF THE ESTONIA’.

The March 2025 talk on the Loss of the Estonia serves as a reminder that having addressed the mistakes of the past, disasters at sea can still occur. The M.S. Estonia was a modern vessel of 15500 gross tonnage, built in 1980 and launched on the 26th April that year as the Viking Sally. Designated as a Cruiseferry, she was renamed three more times in a series of change of ownerships to become M.S Estonia in January 1993. Just 20 months later she sank in the biggest peacetime shipping disaster in European waters. So unexpected for a modern Cruiseferry just 14 years and 2 months since her first service voyage on 5th July 1980.

the original disaster report concluded that the Bow Visor, a 94 tonne upper section of the bow that hinged upward to allow the loading platform to lower onto the dock, had fallen away and allowed water to pass through the car deck and into the vessel. This explanation did not prevent three rumours being circulated at the time. First, a bomb on board was proposed when the voyage was delayed for ten minutes. A stream of military vehicles boarded and were awkwardly parked causing the ship to list 2 degrees to one side. Ballast tanks in the sides were flooded to correct the tilt, and one tank was reported as full. It was believed that the military vehicles carried weapons left behind from the Soviet era. No evidence for a bomb was reported in the original enquiry. A second rumour claimed she was hit by a torpedo, since a hole of appropriate size was discovered in the side of the hull, but no evidence of further damage was found. Thirdly, that she had collided with a submerged object of up to 1000 tonnes. This is supported by photographic evidence showing a deep cut in the hull was photographed by divers. Several eye witness on board that day reported seeing a large dark object in the water, possibly a submarine backing away after a collision.

The voyage from Tallinn in Estonia, travelling west across the Baltic Sea to Stockholm in Sweden, started in stormy weather on the evening of 28th September 1994. The crew were used to sailing cruiseferries built for service in those waters, however, Estonia was rated as a coastal vessel, and not for open water duty. Many passenger reported feeling seasick due to the screwing motion of the vessel, twisting and rolling through the waves. The vessel had been retro fitted with horizontal stabilizers below the waterline to achieve stable passage through the rough seas. At 1 am, on the 29th September, captain Arvo Andersson heard a big bang so went out to investigate. He found nothing, although the Bow visor was damaged from waves and wind coming across the bow from the port side. Despite the damage, the warning indicators on the bridge remained green, suggesting no damage to the Bow Visor or the Loading Ramp, that acted as a water seal. However, later examination of the wreck showed that the broken supports had not triggered the signalling lights, so the crew remained unaware of the impending problem. The vessel was steered left into the oncoming swell to steady the motion. At 1.15 am, the Bow Visor was ripped off and the damaged Loading Ramp allowed water to flood into the vehicle decks resulting in a 15 degree list to the side. At 1.20 am, an irregular signal by an unidentified female was sent “Alarm,Alarm, there is alarm on the ship”. nearby vessels receiving this message were unaware how serious the situation was. 1.21 am and the lights failed. The engine room crew escaped through the escape hatches. 310 out of the 989 on board managed to scramble onto the side of the vessel, which was the highest horizontal surface out of the water. Due to the speed of events and lack of response from the crew, no life boats or rubber dinghies had been launched. Andrea Tammes on the side turned bridge struggled to signal for help and was not able to locate the GPS to report his location. The M.S. Mariella and M.S. Silja Europa were only 12 miles away, yet had little means to locate the Estonia. A Pan Pan (less than an S.O.S. emergency) was declared, and by 1.50 am the vessel had rolled onto her back with stern end above the water. within a minute, she disappeared below the waves. Some of the inflatable dinghies popped up and some survivors managed to get in them. It was not until 2.30 am that a full emergency was declared, and the M.S. Mariella arrived at 3.05 am lowering her own life raft to pick up 15 survivors.

The Baltic Sea is has around 2000 vessels at any time, day and night, sailing upon it. Eventually 29 vessels and 29 helicopters arrived to save 138 from the water. One later died from hypothermia, so 852 were lost from the 989 on board that night. No conclusive cause has been established but Paul’s own opinion is that the Bow Visor falling into the water had collided with the hull, creating the damage photographed by divers, and may even have damaged the horizontal stabilizers, allowing water quickly into the vessel. The vessel lying on her side where the horizontal stabilizers cannot be seen to verify any damage. The Bow Visor was recovered about a mile west of the vessel. In July 2023, the Loading Ramp was recovered. The vessel remains with hundreds of bodies and belongings as a legally non recoverable tomb.

Just seven years before this tragedy, on the 6th March 1987, the “Herald of Free Enterprise” sank just minutes after leaving harbour at Zeebrugge. How well are the lessons being learned?

Derek England.

CLUB NIGHT 18th FEBRUARY 2025 – METAL CASTING PRACTICE.

For our second Club Night meeting in 2025, and in the MSRVS 40th year, we went back to the roots of club history when founding members gave talks on their own engineering building practice and personal experiences involving steam engines. Dan Cutting, who served his apprenticeship in the Swindon Railway Works during the 1960’s and now in his retired years, still builds his own live steam engines at home, not far from where the Swindon Railway Works was a crucial part of British railway support for 143 years. Dan’s talk was centred on his own experience casting in metal to produce components he could machine into parts for his steam engines.

With a lifetimes experience in full size and model engines, it came as a surprise to learn that Dan had only taken up casting at home around ten or twelve years ago after talking to another MSRVS member, Graham Gardner. I remember Graham giving a talk on metal casting some 15 years ago not long after I had joined MSRVS. Dan, who is quite a gentle and unassuming person, was not phased by learning a new skill like metal casting. The Swindon Works originally produced everything onsite to build and maintain locomotives, even down to nuts and bolts. Nowadays, specialist companies make and market components so that even OEM’s only need to buy in as required for their own custom products. Perhaps seeing so much innovation and manufacturing gave Dan the aptitude to produce for himself instead of going the easier route of just buying in commercially produced water pumps or cylinder castings. When machining a smoke box door for a model locomotive, he discovered a blowhole in the casting, so looked into how this could be avoided by introducing additives to relieve air from the molten metal in the crucible prior to pouring.

Dan showed us his first casting attempt. It was a brass water pump body with a number of branches from a central cylindrical body. Part machined, it appeared quite useable, but Dan considered it short of the mark saying that the crucible of brass was not up to temperature at 900 deg.C. and discarded the piece before a second attempt at 1200 deg.C. gave a better flow from the crucible. He practiced the slow steady pouring technique of brass from the crucible that he learned from those days at the Swindon Works. For a pattern, candles were cut into suitable lengths and joined to produce a complex unit using a soldering iron. This method of casting known as ‘Lost Wax’ produces a clean finish on a gravity casting but is more suited to one offs as the wax pattern can only be used once. Dan makes his own two part casting boxes welded from sheet steel with lugs to bolt the ‘cope’ (upper section) to the ‘drag’ (lower section). Draught angles and shrinkage allowances were derived by practice. Other patterns made from wood were shown for some of his more regularly used cast components. There was a brass underlever from a Winchester rifle that Dan cast for his (display only) example at home. The gun’s original underlever broke in two, so Dan bonded it together and used it as a pattern to make a new one.

There was much interest in Dan’s talk such that the questions and comments made this occasion quite informal. Just how a club meeting should go with everyone involved. Even when it was time to put the chairs away for the evening, we were still talking about how Dan achieved good results by using the simple and straight forward methods he had acquired from a lifetime in engineering. His stories included casting in white metal bearings into locomotive connecting rods, as well as rebuilding the engine on his first car.

Although basic engineering relies upon many well established principles and practices, it still offers a lifetime worth of learning and interest, even in today’s push button automated world.

Derek England.

CLUB NIGHT 21st JANUARY 2025 – PORT TO PORT – AN HISTORICAL JOURNEY – THE GLOUCESTER AND SHARPNESS CANAL.

For the first Club Night meeting in 2025, and the MSRVS 40th year, Paul Barnett gave us a talk on the 200 year history that has helped to shape and develop the character and prosperity of the lands alongside the Severn estuary. Shipping trade was established by the late 18th century to the point where sea going vessels that could navigate passed the Arlingham bend could reach Gloucester, then transfer loads to smaller vessels to reach beyond Worcester. In order to bypass the Arlingham bend safely, it was conceived that a canal be constructed from Berkeley Port, travelling north past Arlingham, and entering the southern end of the established Gloucester Port, which was then currently accessed from the north end by the Severn.

The Gloucester and Berkeley Canal company was formed, and this ship canal was authorised by the 1793 Parliament Act. The engineering work was started by architect and civil engineer Robert Mylne. £200,000 was obtained through the said Parliament Act and work started that year. The project quickly ran into financial difficulties and Mylne left the project in 1798. The following year, James Dadford took over from Mylne, but was released by the Gloucester and Berkeley canal company due to lack of funds in 1800. Ten unfruitful years of fund raising followed and work was stopped. The necessary improvements to Gloucester Port were made through provision of funds raised by local tolls and rents. Following the Public Works Loans Act of 1817, the company borrowed sufficient money to complete the canal, which opened in April 1827. Total cost up to that point was £440,000, but then after all the struggles to build it, this was the broadest and deepest canal in the world at that time. Dimensions were 86.5 feet wide and 18 feet deep. The Longest of the two Berkeley locks at 115 feet long could allow vessels of up to 610 tonnes to reach Gloucester Port, which was a massive achievement for it’s day. The loans were eventually paid off by 1871.

By 1874, a new larger basin and dock was built at Sharpness to replace the restrictive older entrance. During the same year, the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal Company acquired the owners of Sharpness Dock, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Company, and a new company, The Sharpness New Docks and Gloucester and Birmingham Navigation Company was formed. The name later changed to The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Five years later, the Severn Railway bridge, completed in 1879, incorporated a swing section where it passed over the canal to allow sufficient headroom for large vessels using the canal. So from a shaky start, the vital improvement to shipping transport, and later rail transport, became established through determination and solid Victorian Engineering. These were the major freight carriers of the day before modern roads.

Pauls talk continued by a series of old and contemporary pictures of establishments along the canal and port systems. Some of those installations were changed and adapted to suit the requirements of their time. Both commercial and wartime events have seen installations come and go, or be converted to new use. Significantly, many buildings at Sharpness have now disappeared, making the dock appear run down, yet the Port is busier now than it has ever been in the past. Gloucester Dock and wharf system has lost its flour import facility and warehousing, but retains its ship repairs dry docks. Many former warehouses have been converted to modern dwellings alongside new built dwellings designed to fit alongside the existing, but with modern appearance. Where roads cross the 16.5 mile long canal, eight bridge keepers lodgings were built in neo-classical style because the the bridges needed to be manned at all time, due to the increase in road use where road and canal intersected. Today, most of the lodging houses have passed into private ownership and are Grade 2 listed.

Like all popular culture and establishments, the canal based businesses appear to flourish in a respectable way, yet there is always a sub culture that feeds off that success, without being totally unbeneficial to the system. Paul shared many stories of small time thieving of commercial goods by the users of the canal with our members at his talk. The term ‘Perks of the Job’ puts a pseudo respect on the petty siphoning off of goods that inevitably took place to supplement the income of the working classes.

All in all, another good talk by Paul that demonstrates human nature and endeavour in the face of Victorian engineering that survives today.

Derek England.

MSRVS – PARTY NIGHT AFTER THE AGM ON 7TH DECEMBER 2024 .

Our annual AGM and Party Night saw a great deal of activity. The meeting was well attended by those who managed to get there on such an inclement night. However, the 30 strong attendees were vocal and had much to say at the AGM, which took a good half hour longer than normal, mainly due to the agenda and the topics debated under ‘Any Other Business’. It is good to see how seriously our members feel about the issues that affect the running of the MSRVS.

As a member of several clubs, and past member of other activities, I have often heard of many reasons that attract members to clubs, apart from the principal activity. Those activities range from model aeroplanes to ballroom dancing, and from model steam engines to motorcycle sports. For many people I have associated with, it’s the social gathering and ‘banter’ that brings together like minded souls to chat and exchange their thoughts. That is certainly true in the more male oriented activities. In clubs that attract families, there is the broader picture where younger family members can safely grow into a hobby, surrounded by more experienced members. Quite a comforting thought for parents with energetic children. Then what ties families together are the ladies. MSRVS is blessed in having so many ladies who are active at our meetings. Some actually wear boiler suits and flat caps while driving engines around at the steam ups! Apart from that, Clubs always seem to be that much better when there are ladies involved in the activities. A happy club has the atmosphere of a big family.

The food was organised by Mary Pockett, the raffle was run by John and Liz Kidley, and the kitchen, normally manned by Dan Cutting on club nights, was run by the ladies! The party could easily have gone on beyond the 10 pm deadline but due to thoughts of getting home safely in the wet and windy conditions outside, that meant all was cleared away for our departure, then we locked up the front door just before 9 pm.

The MSRVS is in good shape to meet again on club nights and at steam ups during its 40th year in 2025.

Derek England.

CLUB NIGHT 19th NOVEMBER 2024 – HARD TACK ON THE TORRIDGE – THE LAST OF THE SAILOR MEN.

If last month gave us a cold wet evening for Club Night, then the November 2024 Club Night gave us the first snow to traverse, in order to get to Longford Lane. Never the less, a good crowd of core members braved it for a gathering in the warmth of the Longford Village Hall. Needless to say that other road users we came across on the journey were driving at excessive speeds under the dark and frosty conditions. Just glad we did not witness any ‘accidents’ on the way home.

There are of course people in life who suffer through the actions of others, despite trying to do the ‘right’ thing. Our talk concerned the lives of the seamen and associated business men who provided commercial transport in past centuries using the wooden sailing vessels of those days. Our speaker, local maritime historian, Paul Barnett, has spent decades researching maritime and local popular history of the Severn basin. A work he once thought could be comprehensively achieved within a few years, but 30 years later, he admits it is an ongoing work. This is mainly due to the difficulty in finding original eye witnesses, accurate written accounts and artifacts, and those people who, unbeknown to themselves, were actually creating that history.

Wooden vessels have been used for centuries, for commercial transport, personal travel and of course, military purposes. At the pinnacle of their service during the Victorian era, sailing vessels were a well perfected technology that was being caught up by emerging new technologies – like steam engines! Suitable engines, including internal combustion ones, were added to sailing vessels initially as auxilliary to the sails they were built with, so hardy seamen still had to rig the sails and maintain the wooden structure in order to stay operational. Paul showed many examples of vessels built, operated and finally settled into ‘retirement’ , all within the Severn basin area. Some had travelled the globe but through hard work and dedication, saw long and actives working lives. For many, that ‘retirement’ either meant being broken up for scrap, or being run aground to shore up a tidal embankment, as they slowly rotted away.

The twentieth century saw two world wars where wooden vessels were used to maintain transport. Paul concentrated on the river Torridge area where some of those vessels saw a new usefulness as moorings for barrage balloons that could be secured in the estuary to block the flight path of incoming Nazi bombers aiming for Appledore and the other towns and facilities in that area. Not being anchored, the vessels were chained to posts in the estuary so they drifted with the ebb and flow currents. this meant they had to be winched back into position, since those engines, considered surplus to requirement, had been removed. The balloons were 5000 feet (1500 metres) above on their tie cables so that enemy aircraft would risk entanglement at low altitude or have to fly higher, making bombing or surveillance more difficult. There were rumours of booby trap devices being attached to the cables that might explode on impact, thus damaging enemy aircraft, but little evidence of that policy has come to light.

War requisitioning is usually a contracted agreement, with the promise that the equipment would be returned in suitable condition for continued post war service. However, after V.E. day, the barrage balloons were no longer required to defend the country, and it was found that the wooden vessels were then in pretty poor shape. Little damage was caused by enemy action to the vessels, but the necessary regular maintenance to tar and paint them had been neglected, meaning many had become unserviceable when returned to their owners. Overlooked by war operation, many were effectively lost, leaving their owners and crew looking for alternative occupation. A sad and unfitting end for many of those last sailing vessels and the men who operated them.

We were not able to hold the raffle, however, donated prizes were brought in. These will supplement our December Party in a few weeks time. Paul Barnett himself discretely donated some popular film DVD’s for the raffle that will also be there for the Party. It’s refreshing to see what a caring and sharing club the MSRVS is, and that we are more than just steam engine enthusiasts.

Derek England.

DONT FORGET – The 7th December 2024 meeting at Longford Village Hall is for our AGM and annual party. We still need to confirm your attendance so that you will be catered for, thus ensuring that we all have a productive and enjoyable evening to to finish off 2024 in preparation for the MSRVS 30th anniversary steam season in 2025.

CLUB NIGHT 15th OCTOBER 2024 – SUBMARINE ESCAPE.

On a dark wet night when nobody really wants to travel, there is at least our MSRVS club night at Longford Lane to look forward to. Our speaker for the evening, Graham Stubbs regularly makes the 50 mile trip up the M5, along with Dan Cutting, as they are staunch club members who thankfully don’t seem to mind the dark wet nights. Must be made of some stern stuff! This talk was the follow up to Graham’s talk from June last year, when he gave us an insight into his experience as a young man entering the Royal Navy. It’s a tough life in the Navy, as anyone who has ever served will let you know. Grahams chosen career was in submarines, which requires exacting training with regard to operations and safety. Long before setting foot aboard a submarine, there is some serious training to face, for instance, how to escape a stricken vessel that could be hundreds of feet below the surface of the sea!

Graham showed pictures of the Submarine Escape Tower, located in Fort Blockhouse, a former military training site in Gosport (opposite His Majesties Naval Base in Portsmouth). The tower, built between 1949 and 1953, was conceived after a report by Captain Phillip Ruck-Keene just after WW2, to revamp submarine escape procedures in the face of advancing technology and submarine design. War tends to rapidly advance technology, and many lessons had to be leaned, particularly from such accidents as HMS Thetis and HMS Truculent, in which both civilian and military personnel were lost needlessly. Paul Barnett is booked to give a talk on HMS Thetis in June 2026. Will have to wait for that one. The Submarine Escape Tower houses the Submarine Escape Training Tank (S.E.T.T.), which is 20 feet in diameter and holds 100 foot head of water. That’s 200,000 gallons of water, which incidentally, was kept at 34 degrees centigrade ( 94 degrees Fahrenheit ) possibly due to the fact that the instructors are in it throughout each day.

The tank mimics the two main methods of escape. First , the non preferred way , Compartmental, which utilises either the forward (Torpedo Room) or the aft (Engine Room) compartments, each of which is sealed from the main central cabin by watertight bulkheads. Secondly, the preferred method, Tower Escape, in which a tall cylindrical vessel ( built into the main cabin ) big enough for 2 men (at a time) to enter, is closed from the cabin, then flooded by outside water via a hatch in the top, where the 2 men can escape straight up to the surface. Each man would be wearing a bright orange escape suit, which was double skinned and inflated with air for breathing and sufficient buoyancy for a quick ascent to the surface. Facilities at the bottom of the tower allowed groups of trainees to practice these 2 methods. Even at 100 foot depth, the water pressure is around 50 PSI ( 3.5 barg) above atmospheric, so the escapee’s would start with a deep breath and release air all the way to the surface to relieve built up lung pressure from depth back to atmospheric when they reached the surface of the water. Failure to release the air gradually could result in exploded lungs, which would be fatal. The tank has a cable running up the centre to help guide each escapee and prevent them from colliding with the sides of the tank. The inflated escape suits are not particularly hydrodynamic, so may wander sideways on their way to the surface. In a real escape situation in the open sea, there is not likely to be any obstacles to collide with between the stricken submarine and the surface of the water.

Before trainees attempt the full 100 foot escape, there are 2 other platforms higher up the tank for 30 foot and 60 foot depth escapes. These escapes are performed by trainees who are wearing only swimming trunks, and used primarily to practice the slow release of air upon ascent to the surface. No breathing apparatus or air supply is used for this part of the training. The escape cylinder containing a trainee and an instructor, would be flooded. A curtain hanging from the top of the cylinder would trap enough air in the flooding cylinder for a deep breath before the trainee ducked under the curtain and into the main tank. The instructor would not release the trainee until he is blowing hard, such is the serious nature of ascent through water, even from a depth of 30 feet.

All trainees upon reaching the surface, would climb out onto the platform and rest for a few minutes so they could be assessed as fully recovered from the exercise. Apart from Graham having partaken in this training, in the audience was Nigel Graham, who had also experienced these escapes when he was a civilian contractor working in the Tower. Nigel shared his experiences with us and described some updates made in the facility since Graham’s training days.

The Tower was commissioned for use in July 1953 and tens of thousands have since trained in it before it was closed in 2020. Due to the advances in submarine design and updated escape procedures, the tower is no longer required as a training facility, but it remains as a listed building. Trainees completing the Tower training programme would then receive their ‘Submarine Pay’, but with more training to come, they were still a long way from actually boarding a submarine for active service.

Derek England.

CLUB NIGHT TALK 17th SEPTEMBER 2024 – PHRASES, SAYINGS AND PROVERBS – AND THEIR ORIGINS.

For September, we had a new take on the talk. No engineering or pioneer based subjects, and not a hint of steam engines! It was my turn to talk on a subject I have found interesting since I studied languages back in school. Phrases, sayings and Proverbs form a part of our everyday language, but how much do we know about their origins and true meanings?

I brought along a list of 34 phrases, sayings, proverbs, and even words that had changed meaning, so as to be sure of having sufficient material for an hour’s talk. Thankfully, comments and chat from the members ensured that by number 29, we were about an hour and twenty minutes in and it was time to curtail the talk for the all important raffle! I kept the definitions and explanations as light and humorous as I could, hoping not to bore everyone with one of my pet interests. Then I finished up with the expression “There’s no fool like an old fool” followed by the admission that I had reached 73 years of age that day. Then out of the blue, Liz Kidley presented me with a birthday cake, which was cut into slices to share with all those present.

I am not a public speaker and only have experience addressing meetings of project engineering staff. Apart from that, I have been the Spokesman whilst on Jury Service about ten years ago. That was quite a stimulating experience. This all goes to show that anyone who has an interest or passion that they have studied, can give a reasonable talk at our MSRVS club nights, or for any other small gathering. Many other MSRVS members have given memorable talks in the past, without having lots of experience as speakers.

CLUB NIGHT 16th JULY 2024 – MOVIE NIGHT – FILM DOCUMENTARY ON STEAM ENGINE DEVELOPMENT.

Well it’s summertime and the steam up/rally season for MSRVS members, as well as for many other like minded souls, is well under way. Despite some poor weather, there have been some good meetings with many new memories made. Our July Club Night meeting featured a documentary film about the origins of steam as the driving force behind the industrial revolution, particularly in the fields of mass production and transport. Who would be a better person to talk us through this rich and important history than Mr Fred Dibnah! Fred’s very down to earth analysis and description of the engineering and politics makes easy listening for non technically minded people, and food for reflection for the more involved devotees of steam. If only Fred were still with us and available to deliver a talk in person! However, we were able to bring out the Club projector to watch Fred’s work via DVD. Thankfully the modern electronic technology has been used to record the history of old technology for us to reflect on, in this wonderful hobby of operating steam engines.

Fred talked us through from Thomas Newcomen’s early beam engines of 1712, for pumping water out of deep mines, through to Richard Trevithick’s road going ‘Puffing Devil’ steam powered engine. A replica of this engine was built, and registered for use on the road in 2001, to commemorate 100 years since the original engine of 1801, and the substantial improvements made between Newcomen’s and Trevithick’s time. Newcomen’s engine was of low pressure steam, which having delivered one stroke of the piston, the steam was condensed in the cylinder to effect an ‘atmospheric’ second stroke to bring the piston back to the top of it’s stroke. Trevithick used Boulton and Watt’s improved principle of an external condenser to prevent constant heating and cooling of the cylinder, thus improving fuel efficiency. Trevithick had a constant battle with Boulton and Watt for use of their patents without royalty payment, and fitted ‘Puffing Devil’ with a double acting cylinder arrangement. The need for an external condenser was overcome by ejecting the spent steam from the cylinder directly to atmosphere up a chimney.

Talking among ourselves after the film, It was easy to compare the pioneering work done during those early years to the more leisurely and enjoyable pastime experienced by today’s steam engine operators, and for those who just love to watch. I’m not saying that operating a modern engine is easy, and it certainly is not. There is a lot of time and trouble needed to prepare an engine for a show. Not to mention the expense. However, those early pioneers had little precedent to follow when developing efficient steam power. There were no material stockists, engineering standards or accessible fuel suppliers to rely upon, so all these things needed to be developed, and that takes time.

I can’t help thinking that the modern engine operators at the steam ups and rallies have a more encompassing experience than those former engineers. Camper vans and families are nowadays there to enhance a weekend gathering. Drivers are relaxed with one hand on the steering wheel as they cruise around on their engines, enjoying the passion of those pioneers and explorers of earlier times.

Derek England.

CLUB NIGHT 18th JUNE 2024 – A COUNTY GOES TO WAR – LAND GIRLS, VINDI BOYS, DAD’S ARMY AND MUM’S THE WORD.

The listed talk for Tuesday was regarding HMS Thetis, a submarine disaster, starting from it’s launch date, which was blamed on neglected paintwork. This talk will be re-scheduled for a later date.

However, since in June 2024 we are witnessing the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, our speaker Paul Barnett thought it more appropriate to present a talk based on his long term research of Severn estuary, river and Gloucester to Sharpness canal war time history. Paul has given us talks before on Gloucestershire’s involvement in the war effort, which has proven difficult to research due to military records not released for decades after the events. Also there were restrictions to prevent war planning being made public at critical times.

Men of service age and fitness were conscripted into military service, except for those in reserved occupations. As a largely agricultural county, this meant that many women joined the Land Girls to work on the farms. Women also filled in the previously male dominated other professions where those men had gone to war. Apart from digging for victory to feed the populace, someone had to keep the home fires burning for combatants to return to after the conflict. Men in reserved occupations joined one of the many Home Guard units. Some units were based at village or district, and even company locations.

Virtually all metals were classified as strategic material for war production.Timber, however, was not a classified strategic material, so was not seen as much of a target for Nazi interest when the bombing started. So import of various timbers from around the world continued at Lydney, where a shadow factory was built at the Pine End Works to process the logs. Mounted between centres, the logs were were turned into clean cylindrical form before being unrolled into thin sheets, from which plywood structures could be fabricated. The DeHavilland Mosquito fighter/bomber was one such aeroplane constructed from plywood. The Horsa troop transport gliders were also fabricated in a similar manner. Gloster Aircraft built nearly 3000 Hurricane fighters during WW2, where most of the fuselages were constructed from timber.

Between 1939 and 1966, the demasted sailing ship Vindicatrix was moored at the Old Dock in Sharpness as a training hulk for the Merchant Navy.

The early WW2, from September 1939 to May 1940 was known as the ‘Phoney War’ because little action by the Nazi’s was seen locally. Children in Gloucestershire were among the one and a half million in Britain to be evacuated from populated or otherwise anticipated bombing target areas to relatively safe rural districts. However, this early inactivity caused many parents to request return of their children, even to relatively ‘safe’ towns as Cheltenham. The county had significant engineering bases to produce aircraft, land and maritime equipment to support the war effort, but the public were not aware how important a role the county was playing at that time.

After the war, Nazi planned invasion routes targeting the county as an important seat of resistance to them, were revealed by German sources. Also, much of the equipment and personnel for the Allies ‘D’ Day invasion was shipped from the Severn estuary and bound for the English channel ports ahead of the action. This was so top secret during the war, that little more than rumours circulated the local population, and decades later, few eye witnesses can be found with genuine information about activities in the war. Mum certainly was the word!

Derek England.

MSRVS STEAM DAY AT THE HIGHNAM COURT CLASSIC CAR SHOW – 9th JUNE 2024

The MSRVS has attended this annual event for the last 3 years – and it gets better each year. The main event at Highnam Court is centered on a Classic Car Show that aims to draw in a wide spectrum of the public to view the hundreds of classic cars parked on the spacious gardens, fronted by lakes, in the front of the main house. The whole event is staged in support of The Pied Piper Appeal, a charity that helps sick and disabled children in Gloucestershire. The large fields to the Gloucester side of the main house accommodated the support shows, such as ice cream, food and drinks cafes, with Police, transport and modern car stands, that engaged individuals with details of their services. Other attractions were the Gloucester based Family History Society and a gentleman from the Cheltenham Model Engineers, who displayed his working steam and heat engine powered models on a table top display. In the centre of the field was a bandstand for public address and entertainment by music and singers. The usual bouncy castle with children’s rides and a helter skelter were also in the central area, allowing for a ‘doughnut’ shaped public access between the shows. Other adjacent fields were used for parking the hundreds of cars that brought thousands of people to the show.

MSRVS had our customary pitch on the outside of the ‘doughnut’ where our members operated ‘road trains’ offering free rides to the public through the ‘doughnut’ at walking pace and alongside pedestrians. This year we had 10 engines operating and all towing one or two trailers each. All engines remained in steam throughout the show, and hundreds of people took the rides as well as chatting to our members about their engines. This year, Matt and Harry Long brought their 2 engines to share the experience with seasoned engine operators. From President John Bagwell’s 2” engine up to chairman John Kidley’s 6” engine, they lined up as queues of people took their choice of ride. Rob Gibbons, ably assisted by his granddaughter, were the early starters making two or three circuits before all engines were lined up. Young Oliver Maunder is proving to be a competent and capable ‘steam apprentice’ operating his own engine. Mum Louise was always in attendance, but was able to devote time to other duties that the ladies perform, which is essential to the successful running of any club. Louise is happy to report that there will be six ‘steam apprentices’ with their family’s support attending the Tewkesbury Steam up in a couple of weeks time. Some of the public at the show with young children having finished one ride were choosing the next engine for another go. The day was busy from before the 10 o’clock official public entrance through to 3.30 in the afternoon, when the car park could be seen to be emptying slowly. It was gone 5.30 by the time all the engines were carefully loaded for the homeward trip.

As a club member without a steam engine, I had the chance to go round the show to see the attractions, and observe what makes this kind of event so popular. The local display personnel were friendly and engaging as could be seen by the time it took me to get a chance to talk to any of them. Near the end of the day, several ice cream vendors came to us offering free ice creams and lollies that they did not wish to take back home with them. How Refreshing! The main classic car area had representation from nearly all genres of motoring from American iron to Rolls Royce, Mini to Porche, and MGB to Morris 8. A selection big enough to cater for anyone’s interest. Drivers and owners were usually seated near their cars and readily spoke to those enquiring details of that particular model. For me, I spoke to several Morris 8 owners, as my late father had owned and driven several Morris cars. I myself owned and drove later Morris cars decades ago and so had common interest to chat about the vehicles on display.

On reflexion, the relatively simple transport of those earlier years, that needed regular maintenance and loving care to ensure that it remained functional and reliable, often became ‘part of the family’, and even years after parting with a vehicle, it is still fondly remembered with the spirit of adventure that motoring was back then. Later vehicles boasting higher performance were there with bonnets raised ( hoods on the Americana ) to show off their technical specification. Hundreds of people circulated the cars, probably looking for the ones that appealed to those individuals. People of all ages and backgrounds with families from babe in arms to those too old for every day practical motoring were enjoying the warm but indifferent June weather that thankfully remained dry.

Similarly, the variety of people attracted to MSRVS steam engine rides were undoubtedly attracted by a familiar concept rarely seen in common use today. As with steam railway engines, the working parts can be seen moving, so generating an appearance of life in the machine. This has always given weight to the argument that steam is a more popular spectacle than diesel on the railway. Being ever vigilant to safety, and the fear of little hands tempted to touch hot metal engines, it seemed that the heat, coal smoke and smell of hot oil was enough to keep people of all ages clear enough without spoiling their enthusiasm and wilfulness to see and ride on the engines. Not wishing to make light of health and safety, we do take this subject seriously, but it was good to see that general common sense was sufficient on the day when steam engines were active in a public environment. Without a doubt, this was an enjoyable event, and a good day out for all who came.

Derek England.

MSRVS CLUB NIGHT TALK 21st MAY 2024 – “ SURPRISE, SURPRISE”

On an overcast evening which should have been bright and warm, The members and guests arrived at Longford Lane for a relaxed evening where many were chatting about the Castle Combe Steam Rally of the previous weekend that some had attended, complete with their road engines. There was also much talk of the following weekend’s steam up at Blue Lias, where the impending wet weather may play a significant part in how well the proceedings will go. Well, you plan for the worst and hope for the best. Keep an eye on the MSRVS web page for reports, if you are planning not to attend but don’t want to miss the action anyway.

The night was special for me as I had prepared for my first talk at an MSRVS club night. After 16 or so years as a member and 5 years as Events Organiser, It was about time I dipped a few toes into the murky water of public talking. In order to create some anticipation, I picked a subject without revealing what that subject was, until the night. The “Surprise, Surprise” turned out to be on the subject of Ballroom Dancing. The twist in my talk was to illustrate the link between the Etiquette part of Ballroom Dancing and the ownership and operation of model road going steam engines. Like so many seemingly polar opposite subjects that are individually examined for comparison, it was not too difficult to find features with a common origin.

First I talked about the history of Ballroom Dancing as a refined social media for the privileged classes, where institutional etiquette played a vital part. Common people had their ‘folk’ style dances with simpler traditions and behaviour. At the turn of the Twentieth century, industrialised Empirical Britain meant there was greater affluence in the lower classes of society that had never been seen before. Higher standards of living were becoming expected. At that time there were some who were trying to bring respectful Ballroom dancing into the public domain. One such person was Victor Silvester, whose first passion for music, and his later found love for dance, became his life’s work, that he tirelessly pursued throughout his life as a leading light on the subject of Ballroom Dance. His style, dignity and the all important etiquette remained integral in both social and competitive dancing.

So what does this all have to do with steam engines? Well, with the aid of Liz Kidley, a lady with Ballroom dance experience, I was able to demonstrate the tradition of approaching a lady in order to have a dance with her. This lead me into explaining how some these traditions likely began. One such tradition focused on a traveller on foot who met a stranger approaching in the opposite direction – was the other person friendly, or was he a potential highway man looking for a victim? The simple solution was that each man pass on the left side, then each could draw a sword for defence, should that be required. It is likely that this led to the British driving cars on the left side of the road. Similarly, a groom at a wedding remains on his bride’s right hand side, to show his ability and willingness to draw his sword to defend them both from potential danger. This led to a lively debate in the room concerning the layout of most road going steam engines, and concluded that simple practical thinking leads to the sound practical layout found in useable steam engines today.

So what does all this have to do with Ballroom Dancing? Well, considering the down to earth practical thinking that went into the established layout of steam engines, and the rudimentary tradition of social interaction that becomes expected, and accepted as etiquette, these two quite different subjects do indeed share some common ground.