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Burmese Hens' Teeth |
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If you look at the list of builders represented in the Burmese rice mills, you will find a number with but a single example. Logically these engines were sold second hand when they were no longer needed in their home country, a situation confirmed by some of their present owners. Among them are engines by T. Dryden (Preston England), Holman Brothers, Camborne, England and A. Siddall, Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire, England. We turn them up occasionally as we travel, but in 2007 in the Shwebo area of Sagaing Division we turned up at least four on three successive days. The fact that we had spent nearly a week in the area on the previous trip meant that the mills concerned were among those which were the least accessible. On the first of these days, we headed further and further north, the thin and broken tar gave way to dirt and eventually air and petrol filters succumbed. Yuehong is taking the opportunity to look for a bush:
We journeyed on, we even found an old working Ruston diesel in an oil mill. Our final village produced first a burned out mill and then one which had succumbed to modern technology - a gasifier. Stored at the back was a dust covered small engine.
Time was short, so I started to scrape in the usual places and finally I hit the G spot:
It was problem solved courtesy of ISSES stalwarts, it's from Alexander Shanks & Son Ltd, Dens Iron Works, Arbroath, Scotland, like one we have seen in Pangka sugar mill in Java. Back in the car and the last mill of the day is working. It doesn't look special....
But it is, the only time we have seen this builder's name before was on a duplex pump. Later research shows the company is still in business in Luton, England.
On the way back we visited the local car wash:
Next day, we hit the road again and as before the last mill of the day contained pure gold:
Little seems to be known about this builder, only one other of their engines is known to survive (see http://oldenginehouse.users.btopenworld.com/stowmarket.htm). This one works occasionally, alas we had no time hang on to wait for such an event. Next day, on our final morning in Shwebo, we had to abandon the taxi and take to a couple of motorbikes to reach a remote set of mills built to serve the adjacent railway station but now too far from the road to be much use. The first had an engine which might well qualify as another hen's tooth except we cannot identify it:
"Hanson Engine" rings no bells, we have seen similar where the name represents an agent.
Just down the road was more solid gold:
Next to the main mill was a disused micro mill with a small Ruston diesel. Back home, an internet search revealed that the company later traded as J & W Summers and went out of business in 1907 so this is yet another centenarian. It had last been used some 5 months earlier and the friendly owners would have done their best to fire it up for us. The only problem was that we had already booked buses on the next two legs of our journey and were very short of time overall. That's life, somehow we shall have to get back to Shwebo, not least because we found one or two more tasty but inactive engines from more common builders. There is more like this in: Temples of Steam 2007 - An update to our 2005 and 2006 reports Portable Paradise (2007) - Travels in the far north.... Another Luxury Irrawaddy River Cruise (2007) - Dancing the Masochism Tango The Pinbaw Wizard (2007) - More masochism.... Heretic's Corner (2007) - Historic Diseasels.... Chinese Takeaway (2007) - Yuehong's new baby... Irrawaddy Steamers (2007) - Worthy successors to the historic ships An Empirical History of Tangye Horizontal Engines (2007) - Probably more questions than answers Temples of Steam 2006 - An update to our 2005 report Return to Dakhondaing (2006) - More than just nostalgia.... Temples of Steam (2006) - Sagaing Division A Day in the Life (2006) - Stationary Steam Engine gricing in the west of Bago Division Appropriate Technology (2006) - Burma's newest rice mill Luxury Irrawaddy River Cruise (2006) Keeping Body and Soul Together in Burma (2006) Temples of Steam 2005 - Introduction Temples of Steam (2005) - Mon State Kawkapun Rice Mill (2005) - Appropriate technology taken to its limits. The account includes a mill diagram / flow chart of the milling process. Dakhondaing Rice Mill (2005) - A classic mill, unspoiled by progress. The account includes a description of the basic milling process as well as gratuitous insults to armchair enthusiasts.... |
