Crakehall Crank-Up 2023
Posted by Chris Graham on 14th June 2023
Mike Milestone reports from this year’s Crakehall Crank-Up, and spotlights some of the interesting stationary engines on show at the event.
Crakehall Crank-Up: Our recently-acquired Hartop AV engine was having its first public outing in our ownership; it ran well all day.
January 8th saw Lenny and Rachel Flintoft once again invite a selection of friends to their annual private Crank-Up held at the village hall in the village of Crakehall, North Yorkshire. The event has been held for many years and is always well-attended by friends wanting to catch up and blow the cobwebs away in the winter months.
Keith Guthrie had travelled down from Berwick upon Tweed with his Italian, Condor engine.
As usual there were approximately 30 engines on display, with our hosts showing a selection of their engines, and the rest comprising visiting engines from around the north of England, and even a few from over the Scottish border. We had taken our recently-acquired Hartop AV along for its first public outing in our ownership. It ran well all day and we look forward to running it at a few rallies during the summer.
This Lister D-powered pump set, owned by Richard Gouldthorpe, attracted a lot of interest from all at the show.
One display which caught the eye – and generated a lot of interest from all at the show – was a Lister D-powered pump set, owned by Richard Gouldthorpe. The pump set is a twin-cylinder, with one being used for water and the other for air. It was originally used to power a sprinkler system. Another attendee, Keith Guthrie, had travelled down from Berwick upon Tweed with his Italian, Condor engine. These little engines were designed to be carried on the backs of soldiers. Keith had the engine driving a small dynamo. Although only a small engine, it’s not something I would want to carry very far on my back!
The event organiser, Lenny Flintoft, was showing an United type A engine.
Throughout the day, tea, coffee and other refreshments were served by several helpers. Lenny, Rachel and all of their helpers deserve a huge ‘Thank you’ for all of their efforts in hosting the event each year, and for making everyone feel so welcome.
Chris Sant was showing one of his superbly restored Petter Lighting sets.
A donation bucket was put out and a small raffle was also held. In total, £150 was raised and this has since been donated to the Great North Air Ambulance.
Here we see the late-model Bradford engine with mechanically-operated inlet and exhaust valves, exhibited by J Migley.
Jonny Ravnhall was showing this Petter Universal petrol engine.
Sorry, I failed to record who was showing this little, American-built Sandwich engine.
I was showing my recently-restored Fielding & Platt engine.
This feature comes from the latest issue of Stationary Engine, and you can get a money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE
