It is a Meadowbank, but ......
The engine has a long list of anomalies when compared to other Meadowbank engines, even the one found nearby. It is truly an enigma!
1. It was found within 10Km of another engine and both were missing the inlet valve chest. Both were found with the same type of magneto and carburettor.
2. It has a cast aluminium Meadowbank nameplate with the number 1270. The ‘1’ appears to be a different character to the others, suggesting perhaps 270. The highest S/N of other known engines is 262.
3. It has an original ‘Meadowbank’ magneto. The magneto is mounted on a brass casting ‘riding’ on the side-shaft and attached to the engine crankcase with a slotted strut for timing adjustment. The other engine also has this feature. The engine was clearly originally manufactured this way, as there is no other provision for magneto mounting. It is of note that all the throttle governed engines (those after S/N 134) have this same style of magneto mounting.
4. It has a conventional gudgeon pin. Melvin engines have a ball and socket gudgeon.
5. All of the minor castings (main bearing caps, inlet valve rocker, both side-shaft supports etc) have the number ‘1’ cast in bas-relief in common with Melvin engines.
6. The crankcase does NOT have ‘Meadowbank’ cast along the sides as do most others including the other engine from the same locality.
7. It is equipped with a typical Meadowbank water pump which is mounted directly onto the side of the crankcase, not on the rails of the transport as on other engines.
8. It has the typical Meadowbank fuel tank pedestal incorporating the cooling water exit.
9. It has two identical flywheels, one mounted back to front with its spokes pointing the wrong way.
10. The flywheels do NOT have balance cavities cast in as is normal on Meadowbank engines.
11. It has a forged crankshaft like Melvins. The number 1940 is stamped on one end. All other engines have machined crankshafts, except the one with the lowest serial number (S/N 109).
12. It has a spring on the side-shaft between a sleeve and the gear housing as on Melvins but not known on any other Meadowbank engine.
13. There is approximately 3” extra length on the side-shaft beyond the valve cams with a flat and hole. This is not apparent on other engines except maybe low tension Melvins.
14. The hole for the carburettor has a flange attached. The early engines have a hole tapped for a pipe.
15. The exhaust valve chest does not have a screwed plug on the outside as seen on both Meadowbank and Melvin engines. The casting has a blank provision for it. The valve cover is hollow, whereas on some engines it is solid; others have drillings for preheating of Kerosene fuel.
16. The original transport has channel section rails that are wider than the engine, with a plate across them incorporating the engine mounting bolts. It is of different construction than other transports with some items hot riveted together and all wheels the same size. They are not typical Meadowbank wheels and are borne on identical forged axles incorporating eyes to attach the draw bar on one, and two struts to the frame on the other.
With so many features in common with Melvin engines it could be mistaken for one - except for the nameplate, magneto, water pump, shape of base casting, and fuel tank mounting, all being distinctly Meadowbank features.
Paragraph 2 revised 3-12-18 to reflect later thinking.
1. It was found within 10Km of another engine and both were missing the inlet valve chest. Both were found with the same type of magneto and carburettor.
2. It has a cast aluminium Meadowbank nameplate with the number 1270. The ‘1’ appears to be a different character to the others, suggesting perhaps 270. The highest S/N of other known engines is 262.
3. It has an original ‘Meadowbank’ magneto. The magneto is mounted on a brass casting ‘riding’ on the side-shaft and attached to the engine crankcase with a slotted strut for timing adjustment. The other engine also has this feature. The engine was clearly originally manufactured this way, as there is no other provision for magneto mounting. It is of note that all the throttle governed engines (those after S/N 134) have this same style of magneto mounting.
4. It has a conventional gudgeon pin. Melvin engines have a ball and socket gudgeon.
5. All of the minor castings (main bearing caps, inlet valve rocker, both side-shaft supports etc) have the number ‘1’ cast in bas-relief in common with Melvin engines.
6. The crankcase does NOT have ‘Meadowbank’ cast along the sides as do most others including the other engine from the same locality.
7. It is equipped with a typical Meadowbank water pump which is mounted directly onto the side of the crankcase, not on the rails of the transport as on other engines.
8. It has the typical Meadowbank fuel tank pedestal incorporating the cooling water exit.
9. It has two identical flywheels, one mounted back to front with its spokes pointing the wrong way.
10. The flywheels do NOT have balance cavities cast in as is normal on Meadowbank engines.
11. It has a forged crankshaft like Melvins. The number 1940 is stamped on one end. All other engines have machined crankshafts, except the one with the lowest serial number (S/N 109).
12. It has a spring on the side-shaft between a sleeve and the gear housing as on Melvins but not known on any other Meadowbank engine.
13. There is approximately 3” extra length on the side-shaft beyond the valve cams with a flat and hole. This is not apparent on other engines except maybe low tension Melvins.
14. The hole for the carburettor has a flange attached. The early engines have a hole tapped for a pipe.
15. The exhaust valve chest does not have a screwed plug on the outside as seen on both Meadowbank and Melvin engines. The casting has a blank provision for it. The valve cover is hollow, whereas on some engines it is solid; others have drillings for preheating of Kerosene fuel.
16. The original transport has channel section rails that are wider than the engine, with a plate across them incorporating the engine mounting bolts. It is of different construction than other transports with some items hot riveted together and all wheels the same size. They are not typical Meadowbank wheels and are borne on identical forged axles incorporating eyes to attach the draw bar on one, and two struts to the frame on the other.
With so many features in common with Melvin engines it could be mistaken for one - except for the nameplate, magneto, water pump, shape of base casting, and fuel tank mounting, all being distinctly Meadowbank features.
Paragraph 2 revised 3-12-18 to reflect later thinking.