Now, dont go forgetting your crown stays!

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

Saw this and was amazed at what a clean hole there was – looks like no stays or girders at all.

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Look at the wheels. Spokes seem very crudely made. Wonder if builder was sufficiently proud of his work as to fit a builders plate?

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Headstone perhaps. He's probably spread across several fields by the looks of it. Possibly his first and last attempt at building an engine.

Murray

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Many a Marshall portable left the factory with wheels of that type of construction and also a few other makers too

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

That neat hole was more likely caused by lack of water and consequent overheating centre of the crown.

Russell

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Am I seeing a different picture? That looks like the firebox to me, not the crown

Perplexed (as usual)

Rod

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Rod,

I agree, thats the bottom of the firebox, the wheel positions are the give away.

Martin P

[Brian HParticipant @brianh50089]

Posted by JasonB on 05/03/2018 07:25:19:

Many a Marshall portable left the factory with wheels of that type of construction and also a few other makers too

And Marshalls did a stayless crown with a cruciform pressed in.

Brian

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Posted by martin perman on 05/03/2018 08:17:17:

Rod,

I agree, thats the bottom of the firebox, the wheel positions are the give away.

Martin P

The torn / bent edges of the hole and the apparent flight of the whole vehicle suggest some sort of uncontrolled event although I'm no expert admittedly. Perhaps the story behind the picture is known?

Murray

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Looks like the firebox has turned itself inside out and exited via the foundation ring. Wouldn't like to have been working the engine at the time

John

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by DMB on 04/03/2018 21:08:26:

Look at the wheels. Spokes seem very crudely made. Wonder if builder was sufficiently proud of his work as to fit a builders plate?

You have to remember these were basically agricultural machinery, not showman's engines.

Looks like it went off with a heck of a bang regardless.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Journeyman on 05/03/2018 09:28:45:

Looks like the firebox has turned itself inside out and exited via the foundation ring. Wouldn't like to have been working the engine at the time

John

That's how I read the (confusing) picture – the firebox has blown inside out and the crown has disappeared. No sign of stays left behind…

Perhaps they achieved powered flight before the Wright brothers did…

Neil

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 05/03/2018 10:17:26:

Perhaps they achieved powered flight before the Wright brothers did…

Neil

The aerodynamics are not quite right to achieve sustained flight though..

John

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As Brian said some Marshalls did not have crown or girder stays, similar corrugated tops to fireboxes were also use don other portables and traction engines

[norm nortonParticipant @normnorton75434]

Optical interpretation is tricky.

Agreed, we are looking into the firebox from underneath and can see the surrounding four parts of the foundation ring. The lower half of the inner walls of the firebox are perhaps still in their proper place as the line of rivets on the upper left are straight and represent the backhead seam. There is also a firebar support plate still at the front of the firebox inner. The odd thing is not seeing evidence of a firedoor ring in the lower backhead.

The iron ruptures look like soft tears and not sharp fractures suggesting that the top got very hot (lack of water) and sagged before tearing away. A cruciform sitting on the top would have held that together and brought it out in one piece I guess.

Interesting to see and think about anyway.

Norm

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