Now Published
Bibliography
"If you copy from one source it's plagiarism, if you copy from many it's research." I do not remember where that bit of 'research' came from but it is probably true.
In my quest for information on the Stationary Steam Engine many sources have provided this in varying amounts over the years, from interesting snippets to massive chunks. Many old time and sadly now departed engineers have made their contribution but the bulk of my learning has been from books, either long out of print text books, magazines and periodicals or the few books covering or mentioning the subject currently in print.
Here follows a list of those I have found interesting - a select few of them 'live' on my bedside table - For UK based readers many are still in print or have been re printed, (try sources such as Adam Harris at Camden Books, Rode, Nr. Bath, (phone 01373 830151) or Chris Deith's TEE Publications) some you would need to look for in the library, order from the British Library (through your local library) or for some of the older out of print titles (which are now as rare as rocking horse droppings) consult a specialist second-hand book dealer after first seeing your bank manager about an overdraft !!
(Our own facsimilie reprints on CD ROM are available from Phoenix Publications)
* = They are or I think they are still in print
Now Published
In Preparation
June 2001 saw publication of the above series up to the first three of the intended series of 10 volumes, posthumously publishing George Watkins Steam Engine Record of 1500 photographs and notes of sites he visited and photographed during his long study of the subject. The series is edited by his long time friend Tony Woolrich, the 3 volumes so far published contain 479 excellent quality black and white full page photographs and descriptions of (mostly) long lost engines.- Volume 3.2 expected late autumn,
Subsequent volumes are planned covering North MIdlands, South Midlands, The South & South West, Greater London & the South East, East Anglia and adjacent Counties, Marine Engines.
If they follow the quality of those so far in print, numerous other enthusiasts will no doubt need to extend both their bookshelves and overdrafts !.
email landmark@clara.net or check their website at http://www.landmarkpublishing.co.uk for further details - do not miss the opportunity to add these to your library.
The original 'Counties' series are currently in preparation to be re issued on single CD ROM by Les Rix , sadly Ronald Harry Clark left us to meet the Great Engineer on 12th November 1999, a day short of his 95th Birthday and will not be able to enjoy the results of this work as he did with his other books re published by Les.
This will be a true 'Memorial' edition and I am delighted to be instrumental in its production, as the originals from which they are being scanned (which were printed on poor quality post war paper and are deteriorating fast), come from the Old Engine House Library. This gives us a chance for the information to go onto a much longer lasting medium to inspire the next generation of enthusiasts and historians alike.
Without RHC's stirling work before the term Industrial Archaeology had been coined many drawings, catalogues, photographs and other artifacts of long defunct firms would have gone for wastepaper, rubbish or burning, these books would not have been written and many steam engine enthusiasts would not have had the opportunity to learn about a vanished part of our history.
These substantial and authoritative reference works above (about 400, 250, 300 & 240 pages respectively) have, with the authors full co operation and enthusiasm, been lovingly scanned and issued in Adobe PDF format (complete with Acrobat reader) on CD ROM by Les Rix (click on the highlighted name to get to his site for further information) and can also be printed out in hard copy if so desired.
For those who knew Ronald the two photographs of him above, which were taken just over 90 years apart may be of interest. The former, found amongst some personal papers purchased at his 'closing down' auction is inscribed "RONALD - AETATIS SUAE - 1 1/2" in the hand of his father, the late Harry Osborne Clark. The latter is of Ronald and his helper / secretary / friend Olive Daynes as he reviewed The Development of the English Traction Engine when republished on CDROM. Not having much time for computers in their early days of development, Ronald had a serious change of opinion when he saw what they could do for publishing (photo courtesey Leslie Rix)
Those of us fortunate enough to know him in later life will immediately note that the slightly superior and quizzical look had been with him since a very early age.
It is unfortunate that the wealth of unique information, pictures, machinery, models and other artifacts collected by both Harry and Ronald over more than a century have been squandered by the people and authorities in Norwich. The Technical Museum proposed pre WW11, which was to be founded around their collections never happened, as the items have now been scattered widely, only when one sees the tantalising things contained in these books can the disastrous extent of this be fully appreciated, Norwich, once alive with state of the art Engineering, will continue in the shadows as far as their 'official' Museums are concerned.
Ronald also wrote fiction, 'Some Adventures of Samson Cogg', in which all manner of steam powered equipment and classic motor cycles are used in an everyday manner in a number of interlinked short stories which have almost an autobiographical feel about them in places.
His home produced Christmas cards were also much enjoyed by their recipients, with an illustration of some mechanical oddity or other arcane eccentricity and appropriate verses, often to the metre of a Gilbert & Sullivan 'original' and generally containing a pun or two, often with teasing or Latin references.
A nicely illustrated collation of these cards commencing in the 1940's was published in 1993 under the title 'Odd Odes, Christmas Verses of an Engineer' - I have a few copies of these available for sale at £5.00 each (proceeds in aid of engine restoration) - contact details are to be found at the bottom of the Phoenix Publications page.
A final verse ends my collection of cards, not by the great man himself but a tribute from one by whom he is greatly missed.
Also :