Geography lesson required? Crossley Engine

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

1. According to this, a Crossley engine found in the attic of a building in Edinburgh ‘connects us directly to Scotland’s innovative past‘. Crossley brothers were firmly based in Manchester, and last time I looked , Manchester wasn’t in Scotland

[Grizzly bearParticipant @grizzlybear]

Hello,

Found in Scotland, Crossley four stroke engine.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=+Crossley+four-stroke+engine+&form=ANNTH1&refig=516D7EF21A5643B68336B1BEDE82C09C&pc=U531

 

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

Maybe all they mean is that, wherever you were, it was innovative at the time to use a Crossley engine.

[old martParticipant @oldmart]

I read the article and failed to find the “connects us directly to Scotland’s innovative past”.

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

“I read the article and failed to find the “connects us directly to Scotland’s innovative past”.”

 

Did you click on “continue reading”?

[Bill PhinnParticipant @billphinn90025]

It was never lost though really, just like all those other artefacts we read about in the  news being “found” in museums, libraries, institutions etc.

The reality is that in these places things get pushed to one side or put into storage, and then, because of access restrictions, very few people, especially any with specialized knowledge, ever get to see the items until one day some smart Alec curator deigns to get his or her hands dirty and root around in a store room, when lo and behold! we get yet another media article about a “lost” artefact being found against all odds.

 

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Can’t remember, but I didn’t make it up, so it must be there somewhere

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

Perhaps the “innovative” bit was actually looking outside Scotland for a solution rather than taking a purely nationalistic view?

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

I think it just means connecting the building to Scotlands prior industrial roots. It doesn’t mention the engine being made in Scotland.

There is a Crossley gas engine at the Kelham island museum in Sheffield.

It used to run all day every day until they found a crack in the cylinder and retired it to be run by an electric motor.

The engine had old pennies balanced on their edge on the casting of the cam followers, they never fell over even when it was being started up. Beautifully balanced engine and a treat to see and hear when it ran on gas.

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

This is the Crossley 4 stroke at Kelham island museum in Sheffield.

Watching the engineer start it from cold in the morning was a real treat. Not just turning a key, it was a complicated process to get her running.

Im told the engine was retired and replaced when the only men who could run it retired themselves.

Ironically the engine can now only be turned over by an electric motor due to cracks in the cylinder.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

The original Museum porters must have been thrilled to hear that they were to put the Crossley into the attic – I can imagine the tea-room chat that that idea will have generated..

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I have merged these two topics together as they are about the same engine.

[JasonB]

On JasonB Said:

I have merged these two topics together as they are about the same engine.

Everything gets put in the attic here too. I’m trying to get her to see that it’s not a good thing to do but it must be something we are programmed to do. Can’t ever recall seeing gorilla nests with an attic though lol.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I guess hope this can be taken as a ‘reality check’

https://news.stv.tv/east-central/victorian-engine-discovered-in-attic-of-former-edinburgh-jail-one-of-three-in-world

MichaelG.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Did Crossley use Carter’s Spring Injection, as did Paxmans, and Blackstones?

I am sure that as a boy, I saw a six cylinder Crossley, with a strange injection system, powering the lights in what was, in those days, a department store in Hereford (Greenlands)

Howard

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

They are only “lost” and “found” when “discovered” in institutions that should know perfectly well what they hold and in which room….

….. such as museums.

 

Though (referring to the news item) it seems some institutions spend years not even knowing what rooms they have managed to lose.

I supoose in the circumstances the remark about the beginnings of “technology” (by types who have never heard of “engineering”) might be excuseable, or at least not surprising.

Still, it’s good to see the engine has been restored and put on show.

[Author]

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