Hi, my name is Josh Franc, I am 14 years old and live in Beaufort Victoria. I have written some of the history of my dad’s Aveling and Porter road roller.
The Aveling and Porter steam road roller no 11149 of Rochester of Kent, England. The roller was made in 1926 came over to Australia as built. It was shipped to Melbourne, to the Oakleigh City Council it work for about 30 years. It went up for tender around 1958 and Tom Mulchay of Lake Goldsmith put an offer in, he hadn’t heard weather he had got so 6 months later whilst in Melbourne he went to Oakleigh Shire depot to see who got only to be told he was the successful tenderer, so he went to have a look and it was lit up for him. Poverty Point 1959
The road roller was transported to Ballarat and together with Lin Bruty’s Fowler compound traction engine they had a steam up day near Haddon not far from Ballarat. Then the following year the engines were steamed up at Lin Bruty’s property at Mt Emu. The Aveling then went to Tom’s brother George Mulchay’s property where more steam ups were held then the steam ups were then held across the road which is now the current Lake Goldsmith site. The Aveling ran until the about the 1970’s when it needed retubing where it sat for a few years in the original engine shed, it was then taken out and taken across the road for retubing and a general overhaul. It then attended rallies until the early 1990’s when crown stays were required, after this my Dad would look after it, getting it ready for boiler inspections and steaming it on regular occasions then on 23rd of December 1992 Tom Mulcahy gave the engine to dad who ran it for around 10 years by which stage I was 3 years old.
Tom Mulcahy, Josh Franc aged 6 months and John Franc
The roller was pulled apart to replace all the side firebox stays but as everything came off it was found to be quite worn. Over the next ten years Dad had the water pump rebuilt, 2 gears made, bearings for the third shaft made and numerous parts made like oil cups and new pins for the radius links.
Last time in steam before being pulled apart with Josh Franc aged 3 on the footplate in 2003
Dad also cleaned all the oily parts by filling a 44 gallon drum with water and caustic powder and lighting a fire under the drum and boiling the parts to remove the oil, it worked really well but mum didn’t like a big drum of boiling water cooking away in the backyard! Dad also had an old wheelie bin with water and baking soda and old jumper leads going from the part to a car battery, it removed all the rust very well.
Completely stripped down in Dad’s shed in 2011
Dad had the stays turned up by Bill Kerr and these were fitted with the help of dad’s friend Glenn Parkill. After this was I organised dad a surprise birthday where a few of his friends Glenn, Phil Thorn and Andrew and Chris Johnson came and we had the headstock removed then the old smokebox was cut off and a new smokebox fitted and they rest of the stays done, that weekend Dad was very surprised by his birthday present.
Headstock removed and old smokebox now cut off ready for the new smokebox 2012
Dad was trying to get it ready for the 100th Lake Goldsmith steam rally and whilst putting the third shaft tore his hand open with it and it couldn’t be stitched so it was glued instead and that put a stop to finishing it until after the 100 th rally.
After a few weeks the crankshaft and flywheel were fitted then while I was at school one day Andrew Johnson and Dad fitted the wheels and they wheeled it out to surprise me, I almost hit the back gate with my bike when I seen it! The roller was now inspected and as the backhead stays were down dad was going to replace them in a few years time as the tender had to come off and that needed heavy lifting gear and Dad couldn’t do that home and instead of backing boiler pressure off till then. It was decided to finish it off for the May 2013 Lake Goldsmith rally and the November rally.
.Josh Franc lighting the first fire since rebuild at the 101st May Rally 2013
It was trucked out to the rally site and on the Saturday of the 101st rally at 12:30pm I filled it with water and lit its first fire in ten years, we slowly got steam up and had no problems and by the evening we were driving around. Dad and I drove it around the rally site and every one that we saw was very pleased to see it running again.
Dad reckons the only way to get me off the engine was to use a crowbar!
In the middle of the school holidays we organised a day to have a play on the roller for the whole day nonstop fun. Just Before the November rally we also put the cleading sheet on the high pressure side of the cylinder and some other small parts.
On Friday of the November rally the roller was out on the arena waiting to have a fire in it. One of my teachers at my school told me “Why arent you at school?” I said “Because I am here”.
On the first day of the rally I got up at 6:30am and put a fire in the roller and by 8:30 we had presser in the boiler. On grand prad we all lined up the steam engines and blew the whistles, Later that night we stayed up with friends and family with the roller just ticking over and the fire was going. I got to bed at 11:30pm and got up at 6:30am to put a anther fire in the roller. We drove the roller around the rally site for the weekend until late in the evening.
After the November rally it was put into Scobie brothers shed at the rally site in readiness to tackle the backhead stays. January Dad started grinding back the old stay heads then the 11th of Febuary it was low loaded into Ballarat where the rear wheels, some gears, axle and tender taken off. After four weeks the work was finished and all back together.
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At Scobie’s with work being done on the backhead and throatplate stays March 2014
I’ve counted the days that we have worked on it for 8 full days, so on day 1and day 2 the wheels main bull gear, tender and axle came out. Day3 drill the stays out, day 4 cut the stays out with the oxy and tap the holes, day 5 put the new stays in, day 6 and 7 axle boxes, tender, axles, gear wheel on, gear guard back on, and day 8 last but not lest the big heavy wheels.
Two weeks before May 2014 Lake Goldsmith steam rally it was put on Andrew Johnson’s truck and brought back out where we steamed it the next day.
Next job to be done on it is the roof.
After the 103rd Lake Goldsmith Steam rally Dad and his friend Steve Harris took the old roof which Dad taken off the roller years ago and took it to Steve’s house where it was pulled to bits and a piece of roof sheeting was taken to Greg Harris Sheetmetal to have 4 new roofing sheets rolled, while this was getting down the frame was sanded back, repaired and painted.
The roof sheets were finished a few weeks later and Steve fitted them up on the floor of his shed, once he was happy it was then unbolted and taken to Lake Goldsmith where the frame was bolted up then the roof sheets bolted on. There are over 150 bolts holding the roof on.
All done including the new roof
Then we waited for a good day and Dad had a day of at the same time to steam the roller. I went to the rally grounds after school and Dad had all ready put a fire in it before I got there. Dad and I went for a trundle around the rally site that evening. We stayed at the rally grounds overnight in our travelling hut. In the morning I got up at 5:55am I had a good fire going at 6:05am and by 7 o’clock I just had pressure in the boiler. We were going all around the steam rally rolling roads but now since the roof is back on it gets very noisy when you are driving are especially when its in second gear and blowing the whistle it echoed with the roof on. By the end of the day we put the roller back in the shed gave it a clean up packed it all up and went home.
By Joshua Franc.
