Owned and restored by Fred Dibnah

Aveling & Porter 10 Ton, Slide Valve, Single Cylinder, 4 Shaft, Road Roller

Registration No. DM3079 Engine No. 7632

First owned by Flintshire County Council, North Wales this was engine number three in their fleet. They worked it until the early 60s until they sold it on to two Welsh scrap men called the Charlton Bros. of Mould, Flintshire.

The brothers brought the engine to Cheshire to a disused army camp where it sat in a shed with a lot of old army lorries.

Fred had been looking out for an engine and knew a farmer who had a steam engine. A farmer friend of his was out one day chasing after an escaped cow from his herd. He came across this shed and peered through the window basically looking to see if his cow was in there and saw the engine.

Later on, he was recounting the tale to the other farmer who got in touch with Fred and told him of the engine and it’s whereabouts. Fred went and found the shed and then came the task of finding the people who owned the contents.

Eventually he located them and they agreed a price of £170.00 subject to a boiler inspection. It passed the inspection and the brothers pulled the engine from the shed using big old army lorries on to the side of the road and left it there. Fred’s farmer friend had a Foden Traction engine which went out and towed it back to his farm. Some immediate repair work had to be carried out and then Fred had some lessons on driving his new engine on the farm tracks before he attempted the 9 mile drive for home.

Weeks later the trip began but half way home the injector packed up due to dirt blocking the cones and the trip had to be abandoned. Injector mended and a week later the engine completed it’s journey to Bolton.

It took Fred 25 years, a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a marriage to restore the engine to the way it looks today.

Whilst Fred was married to Allison, the engine was named Allison but upon the divorce Fred changed the name to Betsy, the name of Fred’s mother. Fred’s theory being wives may change but your mother remains your mother!