In 2004, Tillie, the 15HP Tillinghast half-breed oilfield engine, only had one outing, intended to be to the 1000 Engine Rally at Astle Park. Loading her onto the trailer took at least 6 hours. The tow vehicle, the Land Rover 101, broke down a few miles from home, so we took her to Abbey Pumping Station instead, for the Urban Rally. There, they had a handy crane, and unloading took all of about 8 minutes. This made Jim realise that some method of unloading at the rally site was essential and, equally important, some way of improving the loading and unloading at home. He finally decided a vertical lift would be best, enabling him to simply drive the trailer directly underneath her.

The original Tillie shed	A steel frame was constructed by MGR Welding, close to the FBI unit in Fleckney, and the roof lowered onto the new supports	A week before she was due out for the first show of 2005, Jim, Andy and Tom performed a test lift
	Click the button below for a 1.7MB video of the first lift
With a twin on each block and tackle to ensure an even lift, she was soon coming up off the ground		Tillie, floating the required 14" off the ground. Lifting her, and returning her to position took a matter of minutes
Everything ready for the first real lift	Going up!	Almost high enough to go on the trailer
Lining up on the rails of the trailer	Adjusting the position for correct tongue weight on the trailer	Hitching up the trailer
	Ready to go!!!! One hour, from start to finish.

	Engines restored by Jim
	Webdesign by Dolly

© Dolly French 2005