Hi John

Many thanks for taking the trouble to search through your 1984 MEs.  That is very kind.  That it brings up no result comes as not a huge surprise.

When I received my friend’s request, it just happened that I had Google Bard open in another window.  So I took the details he had given me (not much) and composed a question.  Bard came back with “Pride of Penrhyn – A Model Steam Lorry” by Mrs. M. E. Owen, which was published in the Model Engineer magazine in 1984. The article describes the construction of a 1/5 scale model steam lorry by Mrs. Owen’s husband, Mr. David Owen. The lorry is based on a Sentinel steam lorry that was built in 1905 and is named after the Penrhyn slate quarry in Wales.”

Now my experience with Bard in finding the reference for academic articles is not good. It almost always does this to me though in some cases it will get the journal name right but usually the detals will be wrong.  I really don’t think that AI is going to take over our jobs any time soon.

It looks as if I shall have to fall back on Internet searching as I cannot think of any other model engineering related magazines.  I will see if the Traction Engine fraternity can help.

Best wishes

Pete

Hi Folks

Many thanks for giving thought to my query.  I have, today, a little more data but as in all the best Who Dunnits it may well not point to the guilty party.

I have discovered that there is another lady model engineer of the same period who has also constructed Pride of Penrhyn and who is also a fairly prolific writer on the topic of model engineering.  Since I cannot attach the document I will copy and paste it (it is not long):

ModelWorks Burrell Builder’s Diary

In the diary you will find entries in which I analyse a problem, list the possible solutions and select a way forward. Old hands reading the diary will probably wonder why I went to such effort to solve a problem for which they “know” the answer – it is just the way I am. While on occasions I come up with novel solutions there are times when I get it completely wrong.

Many years ago I dabbled with Model Engineering and acquired a small lathe and mill. I made a few stationary engines, but lost interest and the tools began to rust. When I moved house I initially planned to dispose of them, but as the new house had a suitable room, I decided to re-create the workshop.

I felt I had to christen the workshop and, without much thought, embarked on Anthony Mount’s Sliding Cylinder Engine. I found building this engine difficult and it stretched my abilities but its completion
gave me renewed confidence. This new-found confidence did not stretch to the steam generation
department and when I saw ModelWorks’ advert for the 1/5 scale Pride of Penrhyn
steam wagon (POP) I saw this as my route into live steam. The deciding factor for me was that the kits came complete with all the fittings and sundry items necessary to complete the model.

I had great fun sorting out the finished model with improvements and additions and drove it at rallies.
The POP whetted my appetite for live steam vehicles but I wanted something much bigger. For this I again turned to ModelWorks because they provided machined parts and a 4 inch traction engine is well beyond the capacity of my workshop.

Julia Old, June 2006

This document is really all about the Burrell traction engine but makes clear that she did the PoP first and the original also includes a picture of her POP.  With the aid of Google Bard I have discovered that she published 5 items in the 1980s:

Julia Old’s Model Workshop (1981)
Making a Model Steam Engine (1982)
Building a Model Steam Locomotive (1983)
Model Making for Beginners (1984)
How to Make a Model Steam Turbine (1985)

There was a thread on this Forum about Women Builders which comes up with Google, but is not accessible, that mentions Julia Old doing an article on boiler building.  None of the other items are found searching with DuckDuckGo so I presume that they are magazine articles and perhaps Model Engineer but not publicly available.

So where is all this leading?  I wonder if the article my mate is seeking might actually have been by written by Julia Old and not Mrs M E Owen.  It might be titled something like “Building a Sentinel Steam Lorry”.

I have found this site [https://www.itech.net.au/modelengineer/] which claims to be an index of Model Engineer from 1898 – 2014.  I have not yet had time to find out how to use it, but will have a go later and report anything of relvance.

Thanks for your help.

Pete

Hi John

Thank you for the update.  I have had a little play with the index and am so impressed.  What a labour of love from those that put it together and what a wonderful resource for the rest of us.  It would be magic if there was a similar resource for obtaining back issues…

I have two further possibilities to chase up, but it looks as if this hunt has ‘lost the scent’.  Many thanks to everybody for participating.

Best wishes

Pete