Original Wolseley Experimental Dep Notes & Blueprints (pics)
Discussion
I don't know if this is of any interest to anyone - I suppose the people it would most interest are those who own Wolseleys, and that must be a very niche market!
My father used to work for BMC as their Press Officer. He's not a hoarder so one of the only things he has kept from his time at BMC is a massive file of some of the Chief Experimental Officer's notes from Wolseley's Experimental Department. BMC, of course, being the company formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation (who were the parent of Wolseley, amongst other brands).
Amongst the paperwork are some blueprints for Wolseley and Maybach engine tests, lots of technical information on HM Airship R80, numerous internal memos between engineers, hand written notes, engine compression test results, weights of inidividual parts etc.
I've borrowed the paperwork from my father with the promise that I'll scan it all in for him, but to be honest I'm terrified as the stuff is so fragile. Most of it appears to date from around 1910 - 1920. There are probably around 300 pages of information, all bound in this file. If anyone knows the best way of preserving this sort of document, please let me know! In the meantime, here's a couple of photos...I hope some of you will enjoy
My father used to work for BMC as their Press Officer. He's not a hoarder so one of the only things he has kept from his time at BMC is a massive file of some of the Chief Experimental Officer's notes from Wolseley's Experimental Department. BMC, of course, being the company formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation (who were the parent of Wolseley, amongst other brands).
Amongst the paperwork are some blueprints for Wolseley and Maybach engine tests, lots of technical information on HM Airship R80, numerous internal memos between engineers, hand written notes, engine compression test results, weights of inidividual parts etc.
I've borrowed the paperwork from my father with the promise that I'll scan it all in for him, but to be honest I'm terrified as the stuff is so fragile. Most of it appears to date from around 1910 - 1920. There are probably around 300 pages of information, all bound in this file. If anyone knows the best way of preserving this sort of document, please let me know! In the meantime, here's a couple of photos...I hope some of you will enjoy
LuS1fer said:
Ah, lovely to see the pre-decimal usage. 23/32ths of a lb. Marvellous. Can't think who might be interested in such a thing though.
Historians, of all areas of Human activity, really appreciate contemporaneous material.I'm concerned that much, from current times, will be lost because so much is, now, digital and, having served it's use, deleted.
Engineer1 said:
It depends product liability means the "paperwork" will be kept, the fact it is digital means it is less likely to end up filed away and forgotten about.
You have a point, up to a point.Just that, bankruptcy and other situations might mean the hard drives are just scrapped.
Then, there's all the photos we all have digitally, we die, relatives sling the old computer away.
At least with photo albums there was a chance some stuff, of interest, might find it's way into the national archives.
There's the point that as storage mediums change, much doesn't get transferred.
Those videotapes of the family could have provided much material for social historians.
Perhaps I worry unnecessarily.
Just that it would be ironic if our "information age" should provide less information for those who, in future, would value it.
WhoseGeneration said:
There's the point that as storage mediums change, much doesn't get transferred.
Those videotapes of the family could have provided much material for social historians.
Perhaps I worry unnecessarily.
Just that it would be ironic if our "information age" should provide less information for those who, in future, would value it.
I saw a programme where a large cemetary reached the same conclusion, the information they had to store was limited, who was buried where, and they concluded printed records were more permanent than something digital which would need updating every few years as the medium became obsolete.Those videotapes of the family could have provided much material for social historians.
Perhaps I worry unnecessarily.
Just that it would be ironic if our "information age" should provide less information for those who, in future, would value it.
WhoseGeneration said:
Just that it would be ironic if our "information age" should provide less information for those who, in future, would value it.
I think that this is sadly inevitable. Most people now do not back up or print out their photos, for example. How much of what is now on external hard drives/photobucket/facebook etc will still be there in 50 years? The stuff in the OP is great and should go to a museum if possible, I'd have thought.
I've spent all morning photographing the paperwork and it seems like there are around 300 pages altogether.
I've always associated Wolseley with cars so I was surprised how diverse the company was - there's lots of paperwork on Airshops, aeroplane boiler engines, and marine engines.
Probably the most interesting bit for me was some original paperwork relating to Scott's Motor Sleigh. Given the dates on the paperwork, I am assuming it relates to the motor sleighs used by Scott on his ill-fated Antarctic expedition.
I'll be giving a couple of motor museums a call tomorrow to see if they would be interested in looking at the file
I've always associated Wolseley with cars so I was surprised how diverse the company was - there's lots of paperwork on Airshops, aeroplane boiler engines, and marine engines.
Probably the most interesting bit for me was some original paperwork relating to Scott's Motor Sleigh. Given the dates on the paperwork, I am assuming it relates to the motor sleighs used by Scott on his ill-fated Antarctic expedition.
I'll be giving a couple of motor museums a call tomorrow to see if they would be interested in looking at the file
I am carrying out long term research into the Wolseley company, pre- 1926, and have had two books published about this part of the company's history, so the documents you have I would dearly love to research before they are locked away in some museum or library.
I am particularly interested in the company's special products, in fact, anything but their motor cars.
I would strongly urge you not to donate this material to any museum such as The Heritage Motor Centre or National Motor Museum. This is part of Birmingham's industrial heritage and should come to Birmingham.
I am particularly interested in the company's special products, in fact, anything but their motor cars.
I would strongly urge you not to donate this material to any museum such as The Heritage Motor Centre or National Motor Museum. This is part of Birmingham's industrial heritage and should come to Birmingham.
Pre 1926 the Wolseley Company had some excellent designers/engineers, like Herbert Austin, Alfred Remington and Arthur Rowledge. The Chief Experimental Engineer at this time was Mr Dring.
Herbert Austin completed building the first Wolseley Autocar on November 17th 1896 and sold his first car in December of the same year. In 1893 he designed and started manufacturing a 2 cylinder steam engine to power sheep shearing equipment, one of which was discovered in Australia in 2009.
Austin and Remington were also involved in designing, building and testing a 600hp 16 cylinder horizontally opposed petrol engine for Vickers to power the second generation British submarines and had also built the huge 160hp 4 cylinder engines to power "Holland" submarines.
Rowledge and Remington did experimental work on sleeve valve engines and pressure charged engines and Rowledge went on to Rolls Royce where he designed the RR servo brake system and the Merlin aero engine.
The company built small locomotives and engines for petrol electric railcars in Britain and the USA;
built marine engines from about 10hp up to 500hp, aero engines from 60hp up to 200hp and were planning a 500hp aero engine at the end of WW1. During the war they built BE2c and SE5a complete aircraft in a purpose built factory, together with armmoured cars, staff cars and even parts for some Handley Page bombers.
Herbert Austin completed building the first Wolseley Autocar on November 17th 1896 and sold his first car in December of the same year. In 1893 he designed and started manufacturing a 2 cylinder steam engine to power sheep shearing equipment, one of which was discovered in Australia in 2009.
Austin and Remington were also involved in designing, building and testing a 600hp 16 cylinder horizontally opposed petrol engine for Vickers to power the second generation British submarines and had also built the huge 160hp 4 cylinder engines to power "Holland" submarines.
Rowledge and Remington did experimental work on sleeve valve engines and pressure charged engines and Rowledge went on to Rolls Royce where he designed the RR servo brake system and the Merlin aero engine.
The company built small locomotives and engines for petrol electric railcars in Britain and the USA;
built marine engines from about 10hp up to 500hp, aero engines from 60hp up to 200hp and were planning a 500hp aero engine at the end of WW1. During the war they built BE2c and SE5a complete aircraft in a purpose built factory, together with armmoured cars, staff cars and even parts for some Handley Page bombers.
Edited by boomy on Friday 23 July 12:37
DXB said:
paperwork relating to Scott's Motor Sleigh
im sure ive read somewhere that the mechanic who was trained to look after the motor sleighs (which looked like proper heath robinson contraptions!!) was left behind as he wasnt (in Scotts opinion) posh enough to take part in the mission - he didnt want the lower classes thinking that they where equal.as a result the sleighs broke down and Scott had to use dogs
boomy said:
I am carrying out long term research into the Wolseley company, pre- 1926, and have had two books published about this part of the company's history, so the documents you have I would dearly love to research before they are locked away in some museum or library.
boomy - just to let you know I replied to your e-mail Forums | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff