thanks for sharing the photos, brilliant to look at the end of the year, roll on summer.

Chris.

We hang the tyres off our gantry crane and cut them out with a chainsaw after carefullmarking out. Its a good theory to borrow one from someone that you dont like, as they are pretty knackered by the time you finish. Lol.
I always understood that the big single lamps were used when threshing into night time as it would light up the area where the bag handler was working and they could get the bags off before they were tooooo full and keep a carfull watch on what was happening.

Brilliant photos, you guys do a good job of it!

Could you neaten up the tyres by cutting them oversize before fitting to the wheel ,then trimming to the wheel rim after? I know this means cutting twise & may be not practical?

Crikey, over eighteen hundred views! Who'd have thought half a dozen old McLarens would have commanded that much attention?!

Well their must be a lot of McLaren fans out there. Maybe we should do Marshalls in a few years time.

Your Mc Larens seem to be very well kept, we have an old single cylinder Mc Laren and is a lovely soft thing, do you have any early ones that run over there? ours was built in 1882 but is rather much like the old broom.

Yeah, we have a couple of oldies. No 2, which was at Dorset a couple of years ago, but is pretty derelict, although in a shed now waiting patiently. The only runner is No 227, which FTR3456 will be able to tell you more about,and lives at Shantytown on the West Coast, and another of similar age in Southland which is derelict but complete. A slightly younger runner is 455, a three shaft compound in the north island.

227 is having boiler work done. We replaced the old boiler with a 1902 A&P boiler and it went to its 1st rally in 1979. We had a friend who had a ride on your Mac (127) 20-30 years ago and he said it looks,rides and sounds the same as 227. I have seen 455 running and the gears sound just the same. I think thats why they were called ding a ling. 514 which is in the North Island would be one of the first 4 shaft but I think 520 is a 3 shaft?

Number 220 is listed in the NZ register as being built 1886. It is actually in Otago and visible from SH1, if you know where to look. I have a photo of it but would need to scan it to post it.

John

In the boiler records it has 227 1st ticket in 1884 along with Fowler 4719 which is in the UK somewhere. Speed. 227 does 8mph on the road.10 if you push it.