[alan]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, much appreciated. Your account certainly looks fine, so the issue is probably software related. We will have a look.

[alan]

Hello Jamie

Excellent that you have a Stoic in running condition and plan on keeping it going for the foreseeable future.

I have been playing around with a Stoic this weekend, it had been languishing under rubbish in a building for many years and I decided to bring it home and get it running. It has obviously been a council owned mowing machine due to a fleet number, it has been worked hard and, like many other Stoics, has obviously stood up to all that has been thrown at it – even though the 3.5 hp B&S engine has been cobbled together from three other engines through time! They seem to be tough machines.

I have another Stoic in bits that was dismantled by a previous owner, there are some wheels and various spares, but it’s 200 miles away at the farm. I can check next month when I’m there.

[alan]

Hi Chris

I have looked through all the Victa info I have gathered and it looks like your model is a 2-stroke Commander model – it appears that the Commander was the top of the range that Victa did. I found a 1966 newspaper advert for the 4-stroke Commander and the black and white image looks the same as your model regarding the handles, height adjuster, grassbox, deck, etc.

Also, a 1979 advert for the 500-Twin model.

Alan

• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by alan.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by alan.

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[alan]

That looks a great machine!

Just today I have been writing up the models and history of Victa in the UK. I am surprised how many Victa models there were, even a twin-cylinder two-stroke model which was sold here in the late 1970s – need to find one of those now!

[alan]

The Tractorbox data is archived on a server. It’s currently not accessible to the public but we will see what can be done with it.

I do have all the photographs and images from the website saved. Some of the archived photos were put on the gallery pages on this website.

[alan]

Thanks for the info about the Design Centre, I knew absolutely nothing about them but have now done some research!

I have found a report that in early 1968 the Wolf Distributor had just been selected by the Council of Industrial Design for the Design Centre, London and was entered into the Design Index.

[alan]

There appear to be a few different spreader designs – yours is one I’ve never seen – that makes three different designs. They can have other wheels (yellow or red), differently shaped handles, and plain or ribbed hoppers.

I have come across The Design Centre, London with another machine/tool, but I cannot recall what. It would be interesting to know how the spreader got a Design Centre reference.

Many machines were given awards or commended by various institutions and design establishments. For instance, The British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association gave out awards, as did newspapers such as the Sunday Times with their ‘Best Buys’. I know another group called the Design Council had some input/comment regarding James Dyson’s Ball Barrow and the roller in the mid-1970s.

I’ve attached a brochure image of a similar Wolf spreader, I believe it is 1979. There’s also a similarly curved barrow, examples do exist of this.

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[alan]

I also found an 1891 article regarding the Silens Messor.

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[alan]

Many thanks for the information.

I have found an 1866 advert for Browns New Patent Mower that caught the eye of Royalty and was subsequently used at Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Sandringham and others.

Another mower: In 2013, Zara Phillips MBE was heavily photographed by the press on a restored 1963 John Deere 110 garden tractor at the Chelsea Flower Show on the JD stand. (Cannot put a photo as they all seem to be under copyright).

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[alan]

Not a mower but a few newspaper adverts which are quite interesting. There seems to be some swapping about regarding which mowers were best for a Royal garden. I have added the newspaper adverts.

In 1867, an advert said that R Brown’s ‘…New Patent B.B. Lawn mower has already been patronized by Her Majesty the Queen, for the Royal Gardens at Windsor Castle, Osborne, Kew, and Hampton Court; by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, for Sandringham…”. But, in 1869 the Sandringham gardener was said to favour a model by Ransomes. The 1869 advert by Ransomes, Sims and Head, Ipswich, stated that Mr W Carmichael, gardener to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Sandringham, said that “The [Automaton] Lawn Mower works most satisfactorily. I have tried the most approved models, but have no hesitation in giving yours the first place.”

In 1894 an advert stated that Thomas Green & Son were “…the only makers of lawn mowers appointed by Royal Warrant Makers to H.M. the Queen and his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales”.

How did they get this Royal Warrant? Was it by providing the royal residences with mowers over a period of time?

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[alan]

A newspaper article from 1950 that mentions the Moke:

Quote: “Called the “Mechanical Moke” the Winget power barrow on view today can turn in its own circle. It is powered by a Jap 2.4 hp air-cooled four-stroke unit and costs a little over £100. This and other models of its type can be used effectively on farms, in factories, warehouses and on docks, as well as for building.”

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[alan]

Well done with finding the Bolens! Yes, the bent lift arm is quite interesting!

I see that the Bolens has an ‘Eliminator’ badge on the rear fender which was used in the late-1980s and in to the 1990s. The Eliminator range seems quite random and included the model 1600 and ST140 hydro; do you know what exact model this one is?

Hope the Bolens turns out to be a useful machine.

[alan]

You have done an excellent job restoring the Allett mower!

When I saw it earlier this year when part of the way through restoration, I could see the amount of work that you were putting into the machine, both mechanical and cosmetic.

I think you need a rest after all that work!

[alan]

I’ve got the image from the zip file:

[alan]

Thanks to other knowledgeable people we now know that the power barrow was made by Wage Trucks LTD, hence the WT logo. There is an address of Kelly Bray, Callington, Cornwall. They later became Trac Grip.

[Author]

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