May 5th 2009

A recent visit to West Yorkshire to inspect a scarifier also presented the opportunity to look around the Armley Mills Industrial Museum where narrow gauge Hunslet 0-4-0WT ‘Jack’ and standard gauge Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST ‘Aldwyth’ were seen on display. Jack is in operating condition and an interesting demonstration line is laid in the museum grounds, offering some rural as well as typically industrial scenes for ‘Jack’ to work within.

The scarifier (below) is a device used to break up road surfaces and this example is towed behind an engine or roller. Some steam rollers had them fitted to the tender. Scarifier work was hard and the roller ‘Fiddler’ displays many scars from a hard life towing one of these implements. Fiddler and its sister T3 roller were supplied new from Fowler with a scarifier, substantiating these conclusions.

Hopefully we will be able to move the scarifier to Beamish for restoration and use on the non-tarmacced roads on site.