[hdtrust]

The Royal Warrant, is not what it seems, just by selling a product or working within the Royal family will not cut it.
For a start you have to pay for it! So you could say a money spinner, but the fore’s out way the losses.
Obviously there are rules, the office which deal with it, is called the Board of the Green Cloth and has offices in Palace Street London.
Your paragraph with Greens and 1894 is interesting as the warrant for the Queen would have course been Queen Victoria and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales would have been Prince Edward, who later would have become King Edward V11.
The Hall & Duck Trust also houses a Green’s Silens Messor which was given to Queen Victoria for her Golden Anniversary, and was used at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

[hdtrust]

Hi Angus, just found your reg number, your machine was made in July 1957 and according to Ransomes records that we hold the engine should be a Villiers 98 cc code BCH 363 Mk 2 spec

[hdtrust]

Angus what does it say on the registration number, it should be prefixed with either one letter or two
Regards Andrew

[hdtrust]

Yes looking for more smiley faces for this years event, those of you who go to Dorset are welcome too. I wont cramp your style like that event!

[hdtrust]

Hi Charlie
The photo comes from an official Atco promotional shot. What you are looking at is the Atco Power Scythe, this was introduced in November 1934, the 2 stroke engine powering the power scythe is a villiers “Mar – Vil”
This Villiers engine was introduced in February 1934, the engine is a single cylinder horizontal 2 stroke, and develops 0.6 HP at 1750 revs per minute, having a range of speed of 1200 to 1800 rev’s.
The ignition is by a water proof and dust proof flywheel magneto, which has a special control for regulating the speed of the engine, the carb is a suction feed from the fuel tank which is beneath and also acts as the base of the engine.
The Patent for the Power Scythe was passed on July 6th 1931 by The Johnson Motor Company of Illinois, of which Lloyds of Letchworth introduced their version in August 1934
From the archive library of The Hall & Duck Trust.

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

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[hdtrust]

Yes I had the same problem on the air compressor for the brakes on a brand new Bedford TL coming out of Windsor SALTEX one year. The problem was solved by sprayed new paint which had got into the non return valve, so releasing the air pressure. Unfortunately to get to the answer was extremely expensive, as the lorry fully loaded with exhibits from The Hall & Duck Trust, did not stop at a roundabout writing off 3 brand new cars! At a test track the following day the Police took the lorry through its paces and wrote off a brand new squad car, yes the lorry failed to stop! It was only when they stripped the compressor in the Police workshops that they found the problem. Due to the way we packed the lorry we had no breakages! The insurance bill at the time was astronomical, which the hire company for the lorry had to pick up. My license was fortunately clean, the best news of all no one was seriously injured.
The moral of this story is never trust anything brand new!

[hdtrust]

Got mine, what a cracking picture on the front cover of two extremely rare cultivators, just goes to show there are survivors out there still, I wonder who the owner is?

[hdtrust]

Before going any further on this subject, is it worth asking the validatory of this report, Although Old Glory may have a far better way of reporting than the internet, they are still subject to media mistakes or not listing a balanced view!
As The Hall & Duck Trust we have to apply to the letters of the law, when releasing items listed in the Trust. They are stringent to say the least. The very same rules apply to the Science Museum,
The release by the Science Museum of I believe 5 items, does not equate to the immediate closure of Wroughton!
However I do think questions need to be asked and tabled at the correct levels to how and why this situation has come about. Without stating in depth the correct way of disposing of artefacts from accreditation lists. As far as I can see there was plenty of legal ways that could have been found without the sale by auction to the public.
Andrew Hall
Trustee The Hall & Duck Trust

[hdtrust]

Hi its down to you for restoration, but for me I would restore it, good to see the spanner, actually the spanner does help to date the machine, I would say it late 1920’s early 1930’s. If the spanner is what is referred to as a cut away (that means no metal around the letters) then it would be pre 1920.
The main importers of Planets were Lloyds of Letchworth, better known for their Pennsylvania lawn mowers.
I’ll put up a picture of yours from one of our catalogues shortly
Regards
Andrew

[hdtrust]

I would love to see a picture of your find Model 17 Planet Junior, I know were made for several years but 1004 year old! Must be older than the reign of King Edward 111 surely a spelling mistake
regards
Andrew

[hdtrust]

The origins of the Sisis Auto Trak, was first called a Ransomes Hargreaves which would have had a large JAP engine and be from the 1950’s, they then changed the name to Ransomes Sisis Aero Main, from the early 70’s Sisis went out on their own, dropping Ransomes.
Hope this helps

[hdtrust]

Looks to me you have a Sisis Auto Trak which was made for use on hard porous areas, the give away is the shortened handle bars, looks like you have a MAG engine on it, which I think from memory is an SR1, from that I deduce the age to be from 1978 to the early 1980’s, parts and attachments usually can be found in ex- municipal auctions

[hdtrust]

Hi Andy
In answer to your thoughts, the truth probalby being something to do with the time they were given by the production company filming. Cutting cylinders are harder to make from scratch than a lot of people think. We’ve constructed many over the years and getting them right can call for a lot of head scratching at times.
Although 5 in total were made its the first one in the bunch, that they struggled with, the other 4 were commissions through Brian Radam of The British Lawn Mower Museum, a museum worth seeing and if Brian is there worth speaking to with his knowledge of the industry as he was apprenticed with Atco’s.
As I say we made our own cutting cylinder to make it more authentic but also to get over another flaw, the 17 inch Suffolk cylinder was too light in weight, which meant the distribution of weight was all wrong, the mower tended to tip backwards on its handles, so no good.
There is always something when constructing copies, that is never straight forward, as was probalby the same that Budding had when first inventing the lawn mower

[hdtrust]

The peening hammer is used on the blade only when the sharpening has worked back on the width of the blade, at that point the blade gets thicker, by penning all you are doing is thinning the blade again.
Just remember sharpening a scythe blade is not like sharpening a knife blade, its putting a sharp edge which under close looking is a saw edge, and just remember its only the first 3 inches that cuts, the curve and the length of the blade is for removing the cut grass away from the next cut.

I for one use scythes every day in my working life

[hdtrust]

Can you load a picture of your Nickerson please. The early ones were notorious at dropping nuts and bolts all over the grass areas!

[Author]

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