This remarkable man owns this fantastic Foden steam engine. He has done so for virtually his whole life. It was used commercially as an agricultural machine up until 1952. Since then it has been used regularly at agricultural shows. It took Bernard 600 hours of supervised driving before he got his driver's licence for this machine. He still uses it and drives it to Launceston for shows - 6 hrs to get to Launceston - 30 mins by car!
I really like the bottom shot, not only for the scale as FBailey mentioned, but for the sense of character. And more interesting because he is not facing the camera. And something about the leg position gives it a sense of immediacy and motion even tho he is standing still . Great pose and/or catch of his position.
@olivetreeann Hi Ann - Bernard was such a lovely man - I'm sure he would have fired it up for us - but he said it takes 2 hours to build up enough steam to move! :)
@fbailey Hi FB - thanks for your comment - these machines were truly enormous - Bernard had a ladder to let him get up into his. It weighed 14 tons! :)
@granagringa Hi Madeline - thanks for your thoughtful comment. You have really described the atmosphere behind this photo. Bernard was wonderful - even more interesting than his amazing machine. And he was so proud of it and so "at home" with the big monster. It has obviously been a big part of his life and still is. We were very lucky to meet him. Cheers Rob
What a wonderful character, I love his story! Adore steam engines of any kind. My husband built a scale model of one of these as a child and he still has it and it still works.
@casablanca Your husband is obviously extremely talented! These seemed to be very complex -not to mention the metal working skills required. How wonderful that you have a working model, a real family heirloom. Cheers Rob
@taffy Hi Taffy - thanks for your comment - the museum is housed in old huge curved sheds - very fitting for the collection of these gorgeous old machines. :)
