Author Topic: Where on earth is Orford?  (Read 2595 times)

Offline MJM460

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Where on earth is Orford?
« on: January 23, 2019, 10:49:37 AM »
Last week I was camping by the beach at Port Fairy, a historic town on the south west coast of Victoria with extended family.

I was invited to go see a vintage car show with my brother-in-law, who is into old cars in a big way.  Went along to be sociable, and to be fair, the shows often have some quite interesting and beautifully restored cars from bygone ages.  Hard not to be impressed with the work that goes into some of those.

But the surprise of the day was the display of hit and miss engines.  At a rough estimate, perhaps fifty,  mostly running, with many different types represented.  Most have been rescued from farms in the locality and were working engines in the memory of some of the participants.  Not a model show, though there was one exhibiter that had a model traction engine, quite small but definitely towing a ride on trailer, and a table of a dozen or so Mamod engines of various design.  However, so many prototypehot and miss engines to inspire models.  And many were driving original small water pumps, in one case a drill press for wood, and even a couple of original 32 volt generators.  My wife grew up on a farm, off grid and relying on a kerosene fuelled 32 volt generator.  She says she started life off grid, and the way things are going with solar and batteries, she will end life off grid as well. The circle goes around.

There was also a tractor pull competition, always amusing and interesting for the array of tractors entered.  Due to some insurance consideration that I don’t totally understand, modern tractors are not allowed.  However, this means there is a wide variety of interesting designs of all sizes on display.

And of course, a pleasant atmosphere, exhibitors willing to talk about their engines, and bush camping for $10 for those who want to make a weekend of it.  Fortunately the weather was mild, a hot day might have meant total fire ban.  That would have prevented most from running.

Overall, if the big shows are losing their gloss, I can recommend one of these country shows for fun.  No trade exhibits or castings available, but you never know what surprises you will find.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera and had to rely on brother-in-law taking some photos on his phone.  We selected small for the photos when he emailed them to me, which may be the reason they are not as sharp as I would have liked.  So just a few examples of engines, and pumps  including a special for Toby, and just one tractor for George.  The tractor is called a Universal Tractor.  It is backed up to the ploughing or other implement, then two pins are dropped out and the black part, basically rear wheels, tow bar and drivers seat, is dragged away, while the red part is attached to the implement by those two pins.  With luck the implement includes a seat, otherwise the driver has to walk!

And for the curious, Orford is about 20 minutes drive on a pleasant country road roughly north of PortFairy, Victoria, Australia.

MJM460

« Last Edit: January 30, 2019, 03:29:45 AM by MJM460 »
The more I learn, the more I find that I still have to learn!

Offline deltatango

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Re: Where on earth is Orford?
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2019, 11:05:46 AM »
Thanks MJM, Sounds like something I should remember for next year.
David
Don't die wondering!

Offline Art K

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Re: Where on earth is Orford?
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2019, 04:10:15 PM »
MJM,
I inherited a 32 volt delcolight generator from my dad. They were common in Wisconsin on farms and such before the power grid came through. Sounds like a fun time, next time your brother in law wont have to drag you along, I bet.
Art
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you" B.B. King

Offline MJM460

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Re: Where on earth is Orford?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2019, 10:42:54 AM »
Hi David, it was definitely worth the trip.  Especially if you stay on a night or two in Port Fairy, or even return by the Great Ocean Road.  Depending on how much of the State you have seen, or how much time you have.  If it is at the same time next year, we will be there again.  The family holiday part is booked.

Hi Art, you are quite right, no trouble to get me to go next time.  And I won’t forget the camera.  It was very enjoyable.  Are you still able to run that generator?  One of the displays had an array of 32 volt appliances from the period.  A household iron, a fan a valve radio and a couple of others as far as I recall, along with some meters and switchgear.  Primitive by today’s standards, just as well it was only 32 volts, though it could probably still give an unpleasant kick.

You can see that some camped close together, and close to their exhibits, while others chose to spread out a bit.  Plenty of space for which ever you chose.  Some tents, some quite big vans.

My brother in law is sending me the pictures again with better definition.  I have replaced the Southern Cross X pattern pump, sorry it is on its side despite my rotating the original, but Apple knows best.  And also the Moline Universal Tractor.  I will work away quietly on the rest, then post a note when they are all done.

MJM460
The more I learn, the more I find that I still have to learn!

Offline MJM460

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Re: Where on earth is Orford?
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2019, 03:39:43 AM »
Ok, I have now received the clearer photos and replaced the fuzzy ones.  Also added a couple of others in case they are of interest. 

Sorry about the upside down one, tried rotating it in iPhoto, and saving, but when posted, as usual, Apple knows which side is up!  The one on its side was for the same reason, similarly in the first post.

And here are the ones of the IHC Famous, beautifully restored and running all day.  I believe this is the one Toby and his Father have documented in their build log, so a couple of extras on that one. 

Well, not quite!  I looked up Toby’s build log, and I had remembered the name but obviously not the engine.  It does not look at all like the one at the show, apologies for that.  Obviously the name was used on different designs.

MJM460
« Last Edit: January 30, 2019, 03:52:48 AM by MJM460 »
The more I learn, the more I find that I still have to learn!

 

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