Ruston & Hornsby 1923 Album

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Museum Victoria have an extensive collection of sales material relating to Ruston & Hornsby sourced from R&H's local agent. They have recently made the photographs available at a resolution good enough to see the details. These are some of the photos from a circa 1923 photo album mostly illustrating dragline excavators.

Starting with a couple of shots of a smaller dragline widening a channel. Can anyone identify the location? The work boat wouldn't be hard to model.
rh river 1922.jpg
rh river 1922a.jpg

A model 75 dragline, at the larger end of the steam powered range, this one is mounted on crawler tracks.
rh 1923 dragline 75.jpg

A detail of the wagons in the background-
Great Northern 5-plank wagon, LNWR Diagram 84 4-plank wagon, North British Diagram 81 3-plank merchandise wagon and a RUSTON 5-plank PO wagon.
rh 1923 dragline 75 wagons.jpg
In another photo, Furness Railway Diagram 14 4-plank wagon, LNWR Diagram 84 4-plank wagon, two North Eastern opens marked 'SLEEPER', also a pale RUSTON 5-plank PO wagon behind and part of an NER 3 plank wagon.
rh 1922 wagons 1.jpg

A couple of smaller draglines (both parts of a single photo), the first with a glimpse of a saddle tank to the right.
rh 1923 dragline1.jpg
rh 1923 dragline2.jpg
Enlargements if the PO wagons in the previous photo with RUSTON & HORNSBY LTD spelt out.
rh wagon 1923 1.jpg rh wagon 1923 18.jpg

Interesting range of wagons in the works yard, some from long distances from Lincoln.
 

Osgood

Western Thunderer
These are superb quality images, Overseer!

Are others available online, or can we rely on you to post here? (Edit: Just found them on the museum website :thumbs: )
Some shots (with wagons in background) appear to be taken in the works testing ground - hence machines without complete cladding.
As far as I know all these larger multiple crawler machines would have been dismantled after testing for shipping overseas.
Certainly the first dyke job looks like a Lincolnshire / Cambridgeshire scene.

Thank you.
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
The other shots in this album have less rail content, the easiest way to find them is to search on Trove (Trove) for ruston hornsby. Once on the MV web pages there is a little button towards the bottom right which lets you download them. I have adjusted the contrast etc.
 

Osgood

Western Thunderer
The Victoria Museum hosts some interesting collections - a real surprise for me was to 'discover' the Australian excavator / crane make AT Harman.
As well as a machinery dealer, it appears they were highly innovative too and produced a wide range of equipment.

Here is one of the rail-related images - I can't make out the wording on the casting - might be their own make, or maybe a reconditioned unit:

Photograph - A.T. Harman & Sons, Side View of a Rail-Mounted Excavator, circa 1923
AT Harman steam crane.jpg
 

David Varley

Western Thunderer
Thanks very much for sharing and the heads up.

I'm not sure the Furness wagon in the fifth picture is a diagram 14 wagon - it looks more like a 3 plank wagon to me, so either diagram 7, 8, 9 or 12
 

Osgood

Western Thunderer
In the UK, Lincolnshire County Council holds the Ruston archive material.
A project is currently well underway to preserve and digitise these records, thereby making the material readily available.

https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/£98k-to-protect-endangered-ruston-and-hornsby-archive-helping-bring-lincolnshires-industrial-past-to-life/122540.article

https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/new...ngineering-heritage-in-lincoln/125035.article

I understand that in connection with their own 48DS project, Little Loco Company are making a substantial donation towards the cost of this project.

Already available is this short film featuring RH165 Diesel shunter production:

https://www.lincstothepast.com/atta...&width=454&storycode=527&attype=V&atcode=1742
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
The Victoria Museum hosts some interesting collections - a real surprise for me was to 'discover' the Australian excavator / crane make AT Harman.
As well as a machinery dealer, it appears they were highly innovative too and produced a wide range of equipment.

Here is one of the rail-related images - I can't make out the wording on the casting - might be their own make, or maybe a reconditioned unit:

Photograph - A.T. Harman & Sons, Side View of a Rail-Mounted Excavator, circa 1923
View attachment 83786
Harman was located a few hundred metres from home in Port Melbourne. They built a lot of cranes and excavators. They also specialised in steam winches for logging and even built a unsuccessful articulated loco for a 2'6" gauge line, when it failed the Climax (now at Puffing Billy) was ordered. The example shown is a locomotive coaling grab (possibly for NSWGR) and would have been completely built by Harmans, the casting is similar to some of the logging winches and the cylinders are the same. I thought I had posted photos of their dragline excavators but can't find them so will do so. One is parked next to the dozer shown on my Oddments thread and I have one under construction in HO for Sunset Siding as the gypsum works had two of them.
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Thanks very much for sharing and the heads up.

I'm not sure the Furness wagon in the fifth picture is a diagram 14 wagon - it looks more like a 3 plank wagon to me, so either diagram 7, 8, 9 or 12
I think you are right, I mistook the wide curb rail for a plank on a steel underframe but looking at the position of the door hinges it is a three plank wagon. The number looks like it is 4229 if that helps. The Furness is a peripheral interest for me, partly due to my avatar William Meikle being the locomotive superintendent of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway before coming to Melbourne.

I am hoping someone can provide more details on the GN and NE wagons. Similar GN wagons appear in these slightly earlier photos taken at Boston.
gww boston gn1.jpg
gww boston gn2.jpg
gww boston gn3.jpg
 

David Varley

Western Thunderer
I think you are right, I mistook the wide curb rail for a plank on a steel underframe but looking at the position of the door hinges it is a three plank wagon. The number looks like it is 4229 if that helps. The Furness is a peripheral interest for me, partly due to my avatar William Meikle being the locomotive superintendent of the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway before coming to Melbourne.

Initial thoughts from the Cumbrian Railways Association chatline are that it's probably a diagram 13 wagon - 16' long with a 9' 6" wheelbase - though I must admit that I thought diagram 13 wagons were 4 plank wagons. It's a bit of a minefield is the Furness wagon diagram book!
 
Top