A series of videos documenting the journey of a restored steam engine from Threlkeld Mining Museum to Bouth, featuring Guy Martin, are to be released next week.
Talisman – a Fowler B6 Big Lion Road Locomotive – had been recreated by Alex Sharphouse in his South Lakeland workshop and last year it took on the 50-mile trip pulling a 50 tonne engine on a trailer.
A team from Morris Lubricants recorded the journey and the videos will be available on Youtube.
For more than six years, Alex Sharphouse had a mission to recreate Talisman – a Fowler B6 Big Lion Road Locomotive, the king of the road of its era, capable of hauling loads in excess of 100 tonnes.
Having achieved his dream of completing the build, he decided to take Talisman for a 50-mile tour from Threlkeld Mining Museum to his workshop at Bouth in South Lakeland, pulling a 50 tonne engine on a trailer.
A team from leading oil, lubricants and greases manufacturer, Morris Lubricants, a loyal sponsor of Talisman, was there to record the journey and the film is being released online in a mini-series of short videos.
The videos feature Alex chatting to TV presenter and engineering enthusiast Guy Martin, Morris Lubricants’ brand ambassador.
Guy, who was involved in the original build, finds out from Alex what Talisman has been up to, since its last visit to the Shrewsbury Steam Rally in 2019 and future plans.
Alex also speaks about interesting parts of Talisman that are invisible to the naked eye before showing Guy the steam engine’s true power by taking him on a ride along the streets of Shrewsbury, where the interview was recorded at Morris Lubricants’ headquarters.
Talisman weighs 20 tonnes, has mighty back wheels seven feet high and produces 10 hp – not to be confused with brake horsepower. It’s the equivalent of a very large, modern lorry with a top speed of 20mph. The engine was one of only five Fowler B6 Locos that were built for the famous Norman E. Box haulage company in Manchester up to 1931.
Besides being its first serious challenge, Talisman’s road tour helped raise money for Cystic Fibrosis Trust in memory of Angus McIntosh, Alex’s nephew who sadly died in 2018 aged 25 after a lifelong battle with the genetic condition.
Angus filmed and produced the original video to launch the Talisman fundraising campaign which attracted vital sponsorship for the build.
To date, nearly £8,500 has been raised in his memory on a JustGiving page, surpassing the initial £5,000 target. Alex and Morris Lubricants hope the release of the videos will raise even more money for the charity.
Donations can be made online at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Talisman-Tour/
“I always wanted to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to support people with the same condition as Angus,” said Alex.
“We are delighted with the money raised to date and it’s great that there are thousands of people who now know who Angus was. I hope he would be proud of our efforts.”
Speaking about the road trip, he said: “All in all, it went very well. From our point of view, it was a total success and it seems to have caused quite a publicity stir in the steam world.
“We were a bit unsure whether the engine would perform, but we learnt a hell of a lot from the trip which is what it was all about.’’
