It’s me, Mark Stone, and in this episode of the Backseat Driver Podcast, I’m joined by Andrew Mawdsley from the North West Vintage Machinery Club to discuss his remarkable journey into the world of steam traction engines.

Andrew shares the story behind acquiring and restoring his beloved engine, affectionately known as Evening Star, and explains how a significant change in his personal life led him to embrace a passion that would become far more than just a hobby. We explore the dedication, patience, and expertise required to restore and maintain a working steam engine, including the challenges of boiler inspections, firebox repairs, and the strict safety standards that come with operating these historic machines.

Along the way, Andrew reflects on the strong sense of community that exists within the vintage machinery world. From rallies and exhibitions to charitable events, we discuss how enthusiasts come together to preserve an important part of Britain's engineering heritage while sharing knowledge, stories, and experiences.

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A few weeks ago, I was at a steam rally and chatting to a gentleman with a steam traction engine and a leading light in the Northwest Vintage Machinery Club.

He came out with a phrase that piqued my interest.

I bought a steam traction engine because I wanted a daf Dobby.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce Andrew Maudsley to the backseat driver with.

Welcome, Andrew.

Thank you.

Why did you buy a steam traction engine as a daft Dobby?

Because it would seem that there is something of a committed thing.

Oh, yes, for sure there.

I suppose it's like any relationship and that's what you have with them.

I did cease relationship with my good lady, so I thought I needed to do something a little bit out there and.

Any comment on from her that fact?

She was replaced with the steam traction engine, the name of which, if memory serves, is Evening Star.

That is correct, yeah.

Go on.

How did you get into him?

Because I get the feeling before that you weren't.

No, no.

Well, like I say, it come where I really needed to do something and have a.

A hobby that was that keep me tired and keep me busy and stuff.

So we bought it as a bit of a wreck, really, to be honest.

I got me two lads and we went down to Gloucestershire.

I heard about a chap who wanted to sell one.

It was in poor order and I thought that might be the ticket for me.

Yeah.

Because I know.

I mean, I was fortunate many years ago to interview and become decent friends with the one, the only Mr. Fred Dibner.

And I know he restored one of his.

And restoring a steam traction engine is no minor undertaking, is it?

I mean, it's serious.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

It's.

It's not for the girls, as they say.

There's a lot involved, more than probably I ever realized myself.

You know, with all the.

The rivets and firebox and the whole it of it all it's.

It takes from doing.

It really does.

So what state was it in?

A very poor state.

I mean, the main thing on any steam traction engine is the firebox, which.

Is that what we.

We.

You and I, I would call the boiler.

Yeah.

And it's basically where the fire goes.

And over the years, obviously, I mean, I think it was 96 or 7 years old, I think, when I bought it.

So she done so quite new in many respects.

I mean, some of these are seriously old, aren't they?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

They go back.

They go back sometime.

But it did go thin.

You know, they should be a certain thickness and.

And it was it was in poor order and it was beyond repair, the firebox.

So it needed a full strip down.

Yeah.

Because I mean, did you do it yourself or.

Yeah, yeah.

At first we was going to get some help and get it done and then I got chatting with a couple of nice fellows who said, they guide me along.

Yeah.

I think his exact words were, you've got somewhere to buy the.

And I thought, come on, let's have it done with a good friend of mine, Robert.

Robert Ball, he's a top bloke.

He helped me and we did it between us.

Yeah.

So how long did it take?

We had it done probably, I think about 18 months.

Yeah.

We did very well.

Apparently, you know these things because as they said, it'll take you a decade to sort it out.

But I mean what Fred told me was the problem comes with the boiler and you have to have it inspected and all sorts of things before.

Before they'll say yes, you can use it.

Otherwise it's a very, very large, heavy orname.

Oh, very much so, yeah.

They're.

They do what they call a hydraulic test on them.

Yeah.

Which is 10 years really up the pressure from working pressure.

Like I said, that's 10 years.

But for whatever reason is.

I don't know, it's a 14 month test which again you do on it and test everything out.

Is it like an.

Yeah.

They don't physically do an mot, as in for the road.

It's more of a safety issue because obviously it's a steam vehicle, you know, which is people.

People don't realize it's a mobile bomb.

You know, I was going to say, I conclude the test is to make.

Is to satisfy themselves and the general public that this thing's not going to blow up.

That is correct.

It's.

It's all about the safety side of it.

What pressure do they generate inside this?

The pit is the one I have.

The.

The what.

What make is yours?

I said it's called Evening Star but.

We all have a.

Made.

It's an availing.

It's an availing porter.

Yeah.

Which did a lot of steamrollers and stuff.

I mean there's a.

Numerous different ones.

Yeah.

It just happens to be an avail in that.

So she's creeping on a bit now.

But she's in good order.

She is in good order.

Yeah.

What do you know what it did for its work in life when it was new and who owned it?

Well, there is a plate on it that goes back and there's no reason that it's not original because these things are a heavy bit of kit.

The plate, I mean, not the.

The vehicle itself.

Yeah.

Which is Devon County Council.

Right.

So it'll be.

And a lot of councils did have them in a day because, you know, they are a working vehicle bought for doing a job.

I conclude it talk.

Because it's not a steamroller yours, is it?

It is a steamroller, yeah.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

So they're not very quick.

I mean, like, what do they do when you're giving it plenty?

Oh, it's only.

You're only five mile an hour, you know, maybe six on a good day, you know.

So, I mean, are you able to travel far with it or do you travel far with it?

I only do.

I only did a couple of.

Few local shows.

I mean sometimes we'll have a ride out on a Sunday and we'll do a few miles.

But yeah, you can cover some ground in them if you.

If you wish to.

What the.

What we do have as well is a living van.

Ah, right.

Because I know Fred had one of them and they're actually quite.

They're quite comfortable things in their own way.

They're quite cozy.

Yeah.

That we have a little sink and a fire in it and a few beds in it.

So, you know, you're not catching any harm.

Yeah.

What they used to do back in the day, sometimes they'd have those parked up on a farmyard somewhere.

Allegedly have a young lad maybe just chuck a few carrots and spuds in a pan sort of thing.

Yeah.

So they'd have something to eat when they got back from doing today's graft, you know, and then crack on, get the jobs done and off to the next village, so to speak.

Because the interesting thing was all the ones I've seen all have little like coal powered stoves in them.

So you can't get away from coal power.

Weird, can you?

Not a lot, no.

It's all about coal and water.

How many gallons of water does it hold and how long does it last?

It's this good question that there's probably about 130 gallon in the tender and in the boiler itself.

Yeah.

Which it is all about water.

We probably only do not many miles and then we have to refill the tender with water.

Yeah.

You know, but even whilst it's at a shore, whilst it's stationary, whilst it's running, it's busy using coal and water, isn't it?

Correct.

Yeah, it is, yeah.

It's just ticking over and it's the balance of because you have to keep your fire going, let's say ticking over.

You don't want it too hasty otherwise you're back to it blowing off steam and you're wasting it.

Yeah.

So you just need to keep your fire just steady away but keep topping the water up, keeping the balance of it all really, you know.

And I conclude it's like they show.

Insert a lot of old films when they get in a steam train ready first thing in the morning.

You have to get them going, aren't you?

Oh yeah, it's.

It's a two hour job, you know, not far off anyway, you know, and from first flicking a match on a couple of pieces of paper and, and lighting a wood fire like, like similar.

You do a dome and then you get it going a little bit and keep adding to it and it just warms itself up steady away, you know,.

Because you have to.

All the, the coals and the flames about it have to be even, haven't they?

You don't just have it in a.

Like I will do in a wood burning stove.

No, no.

It's a bit pretty spread out.

Yeah.

Because the whole, the box, the firebox is surrounded by water.

It's like a box in a box with a cavity full of water.

So you want to boil all that water quite evenly and steadily which obviously creates steam.

You know, maybe never short of a pot of tea, really.

Not really.

No.

Is the water that comes out if you make a cupboard, is it clean when it comes?

It's.

It's not so sparkling.

All right, You've got to tell me, do you ever make it like baiting.

An exot shovel that feeds the boiling we have done.

Yeah.

If you keep a nice clean separate shovel, it can be done.

Yeah.

One thing we do, we do shove potatoes into the ash pan underneath.

Yeah.

Which are absolute beautiful.

You know, you always seem to.

People come from nowhere when we start pulling them out, put a bit of butter on it, you know, it's.

I mean what temperature did they run out?

I'm not 100 sure if I'm being honest with you.

Yeah.

You know, it's.

It's pretty odd.

Yeah.

And I conclude at the end of each day or whatever, unless you keep them going, you'll have to empty.

It'll be like the good old days of a coal fire, won't it?

You'll have to scrape or ash out and everything else.

Yeah, that's it.

You screw you.

You've got like a.

It's like a big long hook and you get it in and just like scrape your grate clean really, if you will.

So all your ash falls in your ash pan.

Yeah.

Tend to lead that tell the morning after.

So it's obviously cool down and wreck this ash pan out, which is, you know, quite some size really.

You know, it's not like the adultery of fire.

No, no.

It's you.

It's probably about 4 foot long and a good 2 foot wide, if not in 5 or 6 inch deep, you know.

So you're a sack full of ash coming out, you know.

And if you're running all day, how much coal do you get through?

Because I noticed at that show there are truck turned up because there quite a lot of steam traction engines there and it were fairly loaded up, we called.

Yeah, yeah.

I think we'd 4 ton there that day, I think.

I'm not sure.

I think it was 12 engines.

So you ticking over like that, you're not doing a lot because you're not.

But if you was working them or once you start driving, you know, you're eating through it, you know.

Yeah.

There's the big thing is which is best called.

They used to say it, we're from Wales.

Didn't be.

Well, yeah, apparently.

Yeah.

There's always an argument over.

That's a bit like.

Bit like politics really.

People argue about it left, right and center though some are better than others.

Like it all really.

I must confess being ignorant of this matter, Colt.

To me, coal looks like coal.

Yeah, it's.

It does vary.

It really does.

And I know when I were a kid, my grandparents put a lot of value on slack.

Yeah.

Which was it?

Like small bits of coal and dust.

And apparently that.

That works well.

So do you use a different call to get them going and then top up with a different one or anything like that?

No, no.

You started off with wood, you know.

Yeah.

Screw the paper up like you do on the fire at home.

Get some sticks or bits of pallets or.

Not zip.

Firelighters.

No, I remember them as a kid.

We don't need them.

Use this.

A lot of people said they put a bit of oil or paraffin on a rag and put that in, you know.

But you do get it going.

We would anything basically get your hands on.

You could chuck fence panels in it, whatever you fancy.

Take your old dining room doors off if you wish.

But going off onward and then.

Because bear in mind, like I say, it take hour and a half to two hours, so you'll have a good hour onward and then just keep flicking a little bit of coal on Steady away.

And then.

Yeah.

And then the ray for off.

Now, looking at yours and they all seem relatively the same.

The steering is done by a great huge chain.

Yeah, that's correct, yeah.

How difficult are they to drive?

It's not so bad.

They're pretty good really, because you just got.

Because you won't get power steering, will you?

Definitely not, no, definitely not.

We've got a.

You've got a decent size 16 inch, maybe steel wheel.

Yeah, we.

A little Luke on.

So you can.

Because you have to flick it around pretty fast at times.

Yeah.

And like I said, you've got this big chain on.

On either side, basically pulling it right to the go right and left to go left, you know.

Yeah.

On like a worm.

That's how it works.

So as you're turning it, it's pulling the wheel whichever way.

Yeah.

Seems very primitive, but it's effective and it works.

Yeah.

You know, and touch.

What.

It's never broke.

Yeah.

And I conclude, unless I'm wrong.

Do they have brakes?

Not particularly, no.

It's always a bit interesting when somebody flies in front of you to start filming you.

Yeah.

I take photographs and you're waving your hands on them saying, I can't stop.

We're not waving at you because we're pleased to see you.

So you've just got to be aware of modern traffic, I think we'll call it.

So are there any laws govern them being driven on the road?

Not particularly, as I know of, no.

Yeah.

I think you can actually drive them on a L plate license, I think.

All right.

So you've got to be.

You've got to be able to drive.

You've got to have passed a driving test.

No, no, no, not officially.

I think you just have it.

You just need a provisional license.

I think you could drive it, but obviously not many people would.

Yeah.

You know, I'd never driven one myself on the road until I bought one.

Yeah.

I never even steamed one up or anything, you know, is this little boy's dream scenario?

Yeah.

You know, so, I mean, so underneath you always want it to be a train driver, really.

Well, possibly, yeah.

But I didn't.

I needed more freedom than start on a track.

Yeah.

Now, it's like I mentioned, you're a leading light on the Northwest Vintage Machinery Club.

I mean, what is that about?

Because it's not going to be all traction engines.

No, no, no.

The club was.

It was set up in the early 90s.

Not by myself, by a few other enthusiasts.

I got involved with a local coal man, Jack, and His son John, who deliver coal around China.

Richard and Charlie.

And we just got chatting one day about it all and I started getting involved with them, which probably is 20 years ago nearly.

Yeah.

And you know, they do a lot and we have this Northwest Vintage Machinery Club.

Yeah.

Which like you say, covers cars.

I mean this show we do have, we call it Heskin Steam Vintage Rally.

Yeah.

We do every year for.

To raise money for charity.

Which is in the village of Eskin in.

Which is.

Yeah.

Just in the next village.

Yeah, yeah.

Which we confusingly asking all isn't in Esking.

Yeah, yeah.

So the club's set up there but it's.

It covers cars, tractors, motorbikes, stationary engines, the full eight because.

And luckily we do have quite a few, you know, different people, volunteers who.

Who are so interested in it and it just helps.

Click it all together.

Yeah.

People to have a good day out.

Because one thing that was there, they always amused me are these miniature steam vehicles now, are they built by their owners or who builds these little things?

Well, a lot of them are built by their owners, but they did apparently used to build a miniature such as, let's say somewhere in South Africa or wherever around the world wanted a steam engine and they would build a miniature and send it to them.

Yeah.

And said this is what you'll get.

But it's going to be.

It'll be.

Yeah.

This is a 142nd.

Yeah.

What you'll get is one to one.

But a lot of enthusiasts do like those now when you can get quite a.

Numerous different varieties of sizes because they can fit in on your trailer, behind your Jeep and in your garage.

Yeah.

Where obviously like you saw with ours, they're a lump.

But I conclude the miniatures go through the same process.

Exactly the same.

Yeah.

Same inspections and everything.

Yeah, yeah.

They've got to be right.

But most of the miniatures I've seen do tend to be based on if it's a truck because, I mean in the good old days we had steam trucks before.

Oh, yeah.

Wagons as we know them appeared the folding.

Now, are there any of the big Ford and trucks still about?

There is one or two, yeah.

Yeah.

Very rare and pretty expensive as well.

But there is.

There is a few wagons about.

There is, yeah, yeah, yeah.

A lot in the war back in the day, like the folding truck, you know, I. I was only somewhere the other week and I saw a picture.

I can't just think where I was now in a pub somewhere and it was in Cheshire there and did a row of these coming out the Factory, you know, and it was.

What a picture.

Yeah.

You know, because, I mean, Fallen was like if morphed into erf, which was Eric and Robert Full.

So, I mean, very, very famous truck manufacturer, regrettably.

Another one that's vanished, unfortunately.

Yeah.

So is it something you would recommend anybody get into or is it a serious undertaking?

Does it take up a lot of your time?

It can do.

I mean, it's like everything.

You can take as much time up as you want.

I. I don't have as much time as I'd wish to spend on it.

I did when I first got.

I mean, I only realized the other day, talking to yourself, that, you know, I've had it 17 years now, where I thought, I'll get this for a few years and then, you know, move on to something else.

Yeah.

Here we are.

Still may.

I haven't found anything as daft.

Probably not, no.

But the one thing it is used for, in a indirect way, you're very heavily involved with your own.

What better term, your own charity, aren't you?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Not as much as I was again.

But we did set this up.

Like I said to you, we're going on too much about that.

Oh, no, carry on.

Me two.

Me two sons are disabled and we set up this Rainbow many years ago.

Yeah.

To help with me.

I probably in a position that I wouldn't have probably not done it if it hadn't have been for them.

So we set it up and it's grown and grown and grown.

Ironically, my children don't go there anywhere, but there's a lot of children.

It helps a lot.

Yeah.

And it's easy.

It's all to help disabled children.

You know, I'll say Cerebral palsy, one that everybody knows, but it's.

It's tax on, you know, a mass range of disabilities, you know, and a lot of these kiddies need some help, they really do.

So we give quite a bit of money off.

Off this particular rally.

We do every year.

Yeah.

Obviously we have a committee, we all have a chat about it, not going off to something else.

But Lines has help us out a lot on the car park, so we always donate to them.

Yeah.

Sometimes it's St. Catherine's but Rainbow will be staying the road and we, you know, free raise money.

Everything that comes through that gate goes back.

Yeah.

You know, so.

Because as a builder by trade.

Did you build the.

Build building?

I did originally, yeah.

Yeah.

That was another feather in the cap or achievement.

I'm not quite sure, maybe.

Crazy thing to do.

I'M not sure, but we got there in the end.

I mean, what is the building?

I mean, it to a better description.

It looks a little bit like a school in its own.

It is like a.

It's like a. I would say a mini school.

It's just been extended again.

Quite cursive, you.

No, no, it's.

Somebody else had managed to raise a lot more money now and they've extended it qu.

Quite a lot because we did do.

We built the main building with offices above, but they needed the classrooms and such like.

And we did a little.

A little track and a mini road scene with a playground and everything.

But it's moved on again since, you know, they've raised a lot of money, they do very well and some local businesses have helped them again, move to a.

Another level, really, you know, which is me.

Which is great, you know, it really is.

Well, so does your traction engine make appearances there?

No, no, no.

I find every way to death.

I think so.

I mean, how many events do you take the traction engine to each year?

We only used to do about three and we only do the one at Eskin now.

Yeah.

Because we do drive it there and again, due to time and other commitments with me, with my sons as well.

There's not enough hours in the day for me, to be honest.

Yeah.

And I'm pulled here and there, so I do struggle to go and sometimes I like to take them so I can spend time with them.

Not the engine.

Yeah.

But we're all enjoying different routes.

You go on the engine, do you leave it to Tom and just go in a car?

No, we go in a car.

Now, one thing while before we want to know, you are something of a car enthusiast, aren't you?

I do like me vehicles.

Yeah, I've got one or two.

Yeah, yeah, go on, just give us a clue what you've got and basically why.

Well, I say, my friend Robert, people kept saying to me, why have you bought this?

Why have you bought that?

And the phrase we have is because we can.

Yes, there's nothing wrong with that.

All of us, all as enthusiasts, that's why we get them, because we can.

Yeah.

Let it be tractors.

I've got some old Austins, you know, I like stuff from the 20s, 30s.

They think they've got a beautiful shape to them.

I think we've lost all that because that's another story.

Now, these vehicles, I've got a nice bit.

I always think they're built like a woman.

They're all slightly different, but they've got a Bit of shape to them.

Yeah.

I mean, a friend of mine and he's been on the show, Dave Mathewson.

Yeah.

Bangers and cash and chatted to him cars like that from the 20s and the 30s, the number of people who like them and want to own them and run them and work is dwindling.

Very much so, yeah, very much so.

So, I mean, how do you find the.

Are there any youngsters or younger people coming on board with the classic car movement who are taking an interest in these?

I think there is, but they're going for, you know, the later cars, you know, the magic word, the forge, you know, like the 70s stuff and their 80s.

Yeah.

I really do think the 20s, 30s is.

It's.

It is dying out.

There's still people interested, but the values obviously are dropping because you've not got the same amount of interest in them.

I do.

I did sell, if I've had Rolls Royces and all sorts, and I did sell a few things of the 30s, but I finished up buying stuff back because I just.

I just think they're lovely.

Yeah.

You know, I really do.

They're made proper, they look good.

I've got stuff into the 40s and 50s as well.

But, you know, I like me early cars.

Yeah, I do.

I suppose the problem is there is an art to driving cars of that age, isn't there?

Very much so.

I mean, a fast 20s car might, under favorable conditions, unless you've got certain ones like Bugattis and vintage Bentleys, achieve about 55, 60 miles per hour.

The other problem is, once you've attained that speed and I have driven Austin Sevens and there's the famous song that plays Ain't no Stopping Us Now, I know full well, I was told, and the one I drove had brakes on all four wheels because a lot of them, the Austin Sevens only had on the rear wheels.

Get it into first, shove the brake pedal down to the floor and you will get it down there quite easily and then pull the hand brake on and eventually it will come to a halt.

I suppose it's tried to get across to a younger driver or somebody who's never driven one.

This is how you stop them.

Yeah.

All being well before you clatter car in front.

This is very true.

You're not stopping on a penny, that's for sure.

Like model car, like you say, your cable brakes would usually just breaks on the back and you need this, you know, and like you say, you can pull the handbrake and up for the best.

You're not stopping quick, but that's all part of it.

And you.

It's how you're used to driving these vehicles.

You can't just jump on it and go like, go like an idiot.

And some of the cars I've got, you know the accelerator is in the middle.

Yes.

You know, they're not all the old abc, you know.

Yeah.

The accelerator, brake and clutch.

And again with Bentley's there and Rolls Royces and the gear sticks on your right hand side, which is why a.

Lot of the time it's easier to get in through front passenger door.

This is correct, yes.

Yeah, I know a lot of them was sure for driven in the day.

And I've got cars as well that don't even have doors on the driver's side.

Yes.

They're not there.

Yeah, you know the early stuff.

Stunning machine.

It had been bodied by Kellner in Paris.

The one thing that threw him, all the instrumentation was in French and I had to take him through him and tell him what it meant.

I said it's relatively self explanatory but once you got that into fourth gear, you drove it like an automatic.

It had so much torque you could virtually drop to about five mile an hour in top gear.

And once the lights changed to green or the traffic in front moved, you just hit the gas pedal and the thing just pulled away.

No coughing, no spluttering, no, please drop into third gear.

It just pulled away.

Yeah, it's true.

Yeah.

And there's a few vehicles like that and very much so that you can.

Okay.

It tended to be the bigger engine.

What?

Yeah, you can, you can let it like cruise down like you're saying to not much speed and then just put your foot down.

She nasty.

Just picks it up again, you know.

Yeah, it's it.

Yeah.

Again just I think beautiful engineering in itself.

Yeah.

You know.

So I mean how do you, how do you think you will get younger people into proper old cars?

It's a good question.

I mean everybody likes things for a different reason, don't they?

I got into them because many years ago when I was a young lady there was a local fella and he used to have quite a few.

I like the looks of them.

Then started tinkering about with stuff and.

Just putting in back there.

Not be no disrespect.

They wouldn't be expensive to buy, would they?

No, no, not in, not in the early days, you know, I mean you're back to actually went to A Bentley lunch, I think it was about five or six years ago.

I was chatting with a nice gentleman there and as you do, you know, what have you got?

What's this?

What's that?

What if you come in today?

And he was telling me he bought.

He knew where there was two.

This gentleman was in his late 70s and he said, as a young lad, he said he knew where there was two Bentleys and he managed to talk his dad to lend him some money and he paid £300 for this.

It was a three litre Bentley.

Yeah.

The other one was £400.

And his mate managed to get his hands on it.

Yeah.

Who had only recently sold that.

Now, his daughter was saying, dad, dad, you know you need to be selling yours.

And he.

And his exact words were, and I can well understand this, listen, love, it's yours, you can.

You'll have to sell it when I'm gone, because it's going nowhere.

Yeah, he's a job to drive it now.

But it sat in the garage.

Yeah, but in relation to the money, his friend got 400,000.

Yeah.

You know, for it when he sold it a few years ago.

So they've gone up a bit.

I mean, it reminds me of a previous guest guy called Michael Mans in America, who has done many things because it's a name that's familiar to a lot of people, but his core business is restoring cars.

And he was saying a brother and sister came to him a couple of years ago with a very, very rare Jaguar that their father had owned and it was sat in the garage and when they father passed, they opened the garage doors and there it sat in quite decent condition.

And they contacted Michael and said, would you have a look at this?

Yep.

Does it need restoring?

He said, well, it doesn't need restoring, but it does require what you might call regenerative work.

It needs bringing back, but it doesn't need a full restoration, but it'll have to be recommissioned.

He said, and I've told them how much it will cost.

And they were a little bit shocked.

He said, then I told them how much the car would be worth when it had been brought back to life.

He said the look on their face changed dramatically.

He said, so when it's been done and they went ahead and did it, it's then up to you what you do with it.

He said, but I'll tell you now.

He said, I've done this on a few occasions.

He said, when it's finished and it's up and it's running and you can use it, he said.

It's surprising how many people actually keep.

Reminds them of their father, their parents and other bits and pieces.

And they suddenly discover they can't bring themselves to part with this car anymore.

Now, I don't know whether that's the same thing with the Bentley.

I think the problem is a fully restored or something like a vintage Bentley.

People now know what they're worth, and some of them are worth seven figures.

It's.

How desperate are you for the money?

I mean, if you're desperate for the cash, sell it.

But if you're not, it's a hell of a thing to own, isn't it?

Oh, without a doubt.

I mean, there'd be nothing more beautiful than having something like that in the gallery, like you say.

And sometimes when you're driving cars and you do it.

Sounds silly sometimes, but you start to have a relationship with it and you get to love the car.

Yeah.

For whatever reason.

Quirkiness, the way it does this, the way it does that.

Just the drive of it all, the passion, the love for the vehicle.

Like you say, sometimes you might just look at it and go, no chance.

But then you start getting involved with it and it's a different story altogether.

Yeah.

You know, I've done it with a few cars where I've used them for a few years, and then suddenly they've slipped to the back of the garage and I've not used them the same, you know.

But you do start to grow when you.

And they're all different in their own way.

Yeah.

Besides the steam traction engine, which appears to have become a predominant part of your life, what's your favorite car?

What.

What have you got that's your favorite?

And what have you had that you wish you'd never party with?

It's a tough question is that I did sell a Rolls Royce and it finished up going abroad.

I can't just think where it went now.

Into a museum.

Worst thing you can ever do, Ian.

Really.

Yeah, it was, but I.

It was a it.

I just thought it was time for it to go somewhere else.

Really.

What model was it?

It was.

Ironically, I did Jack, who was the founder, unfortunately, who's not with us now.

I did his.

What, his daughter's wedding with that car.

Because he said to me it was the nicest Rolls Royce you'd ever seen.

Yeah.

And he said, well.

And I said, of course I would.

And I. I did.

I did the wedding with it.

It was.

It was.

That was another good day in itself.

But, yeah, that.

That went.

But they're all, like.

I say, they're all different.

I've got a lovely bullnose Morris.

Yeah, that's.

I think that's a 24 like that came off the east coast.

And it still has a little.

It's a wooden dashboard.

It's a little tag, a leather tag the size of your finger.

And it's got the original stamp and the telephone number of a garage on the East Coast.

And it was getting warm and I sent it to a chap in Leeds to have the engine, the radiator record.

It's the honeycomb and it's a rounded shape, so it's quite.

The later one was a flat nose, they call it.

Anyway, he rebuilt the end, the radiator.

Sorry.

And there was a.

There was a hole in the top of this bull nose.

Yeah.

Needless.

Where the damage had been done.

And he got a bullet out of.

Was funny.

And he said to me, do you want me to cover it over?

And I said, no.

I said, obviously, seal it all up.

Yeah.

Because it's nicely chromed.

And I said, just leave the mark.

It's about size of your eyeball, really.

And I said, that's the history of a car.

Have you kept the bul.

No, he were all just mandled up.

It was nothing.

So we actually nicknamed the car the Bullet.

Yeah.

You know, that's a tour.

You know, there's no roof on it at all.

It's a beautiful car that.

I really like that.

It's very.

Very Chitty Chitty Bang Bang type, you know.

But you won't have any knowledge of who shot it.

No, no.

Either by accident or was it by intent?

Well, you never know back in the day, do you?

And the other thing.

You forget, don't you?

These guys have seen someone, haven't they?

You know, they've got history, haven't they?

Oh, yeah.

There's been a.

And stuff going on, you know, as well as other things, because, I mean,.

I used to know somebody who had a beautiful.

I think that was a 20, 25.

And when he owned it, it was a pickup because of wartime needs, the body was chopped off.

On the back of it, there's a pickup.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

I mean, a lot of them were parked up, I think, with the petrol rations, if I got it right as well.

But if they were a usable pickup stroke vehicle that could be used for various things, you was allowed petrol rations?

Yeah.

If it was just a car, you weren't allowed to use it.

No.

You know, so.

Needless to say some of them turned into vans and pickups and various other things.

And I know this guy who thought, you say you're not going to put it back to the saloon.

It should be.

And he said, no.

He said, if I do that, he said, I'm killing its history.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Well, it's all history in its own way.

Into it.

Yeah.

So have you any intentions to expand your collection of steam traction engines?

Not.

Could you be tempted?

Because.

No.

From the size of it, you'll go that row one day and there'll be one sat in a field.

Well, you never know.

And they always say, never say no, dear.

You don't know what's going on.

We did discuss it once before, and then, as you do, you start having a couple of drinks and start romancing again.

But my sheds are full at the moment, so we'll have to just see, won't we, what happens?

Is there a car you would like to own but you haven't told?

There's nothing I can particularly say that I've had my eye on, that I've not.

You know, I've come across things as you do over time.

I've got a rare Triumph that's in my shed.

And there's always a story, as Mathewsons will sell you.

Every car's got a story and there's a story behind them.

And that was a friend of mine, unfortunately, who died.

And at his funeral, his sister said to me, I keep seeing you driving around in your old pickups and vans.

She said, it's beautiful, you know.

Yeah.

Through the villages and stuff.

And she said, I know where there's a car.

A friend of mine has one.

And she said, it's a Triumph.

So I said, oh, yeah.

So the 70s, I used to have the Dolomite, blah, blah, blah.

And she said, no, no, no, no, it's pre war, it's.

And I. I didn't know they did one.

Didn't know they did one.

So we finished up, looked at this guy completely in bread crates.

It was in, you know, 25 different bread crates, completely in pieces.

And I just said, oh, it's a lifetime's work, you know, I. I couldn't do that.

So off we went.

A year later, she rung back and said, look, they're selling the bungalow.

Come and have a look.

So we.

Well, we finished up.

It's in our house in.

In the garages there.

So, yeah, silly grits.

We've put it back.

We've put some of it back together.

It looks more like A car.

Now my friend Robert, he rebuilt the engine.

Yeah, we can say it's simple but some of it's got, you know, it has auto lube on it, what's off, vacuum off the engine and things, which is unheard of and it oils the springs, you know, it's quite advanced for its day.

Yeah, very much so.

And I managed to get through to the Triumph club and it's the pre war Triumph club and they've told me there's only a couple of these, yeah, vehicles, you know, it's a very, very rare car.

Yeah, it's a roadster and it's a good looking motor.

So it's, it's got the body on it now, it needs rewiring and various other things.

I keep saying to myself, I'll get there, keep having.

Life gets in the way.

Yes.

As the, as people know who's doing vehicles up that.

So that's one that I keep having little sessions on and then leave it for a few years and then, you know.

Yeah, have another little go at it.

But it will eventually get back on.

It's got four wheels in an engine that.

Yeah, you can drive it, you know, but not.

Yeah, not on the road as in properly.

But hopefully we'll get there with it.

And if somebody's interested in the Northwest Vintage Machinery Club, how do they find out about.

Well, if they punch that in the good old Google there, it'll come up and we have a, you know, full website there and everything and you know, you can print off your, your forms if anybody wants to bring anything to the next show next year, which is usually the first weekend in June.

We try to stick to the same weekend just after the bank holiday.

Yeah, because it's quite an eclectic show as you said.

You've got steam traction engines, you've got classic cars, motorbikes, tractors.

There's a big feature on Land Rovers this year.

Yeah, we are the.

Was it the Wigan Ukulele Band all there?

Yeah.

Modern pop songs on ukulele.

Is this is it?

Yeah, yeah, it's good.

It's a good show all around and it's a good family show.

It's a good local family show that we want everybody to come and have an ice cream and a pint and enjoy.

We have an arena so these vehicles, not every rally does go around the arena.

Like I say, you're interested in tractors, Land Rovers, whatever, cars, you know, commercial vehicles, and obviously the steam.

And they all have their own little slot to go into the rally.

People talk about various things of the vehicle that they've come in and it's very interesting and it's a.

It's a good.

It really is a good show.

And most of all, everything goes to the charities.

Yeah.

You know, and also, just for a complete novelty, Thwaits is had one of the big shire drays in the arena.

I mean, they are impressive.

What a beautiful outfit that was.

Yeah, yeah, very much so.

Yeah.

You really don't see that very often.

From the good old days when breweries delivered to.

Delivered to their local public houses with a pair of shires.

And the other thing was the dream and have to have a pint at every pub.

All right, that's the one.

Andrew Mosley, thank you very much indeed for joining me on the Backseat Driver and all the best for your continuing adventures with Evening Star.

Yeah.

And thank you very much for inviting me around.

It's been a pleasure.

No problem.

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