July 1939: Engineering highlights from The Royal Show

Jul 1939 The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) was established in 1839 to practise and promote the application of science and technology in agriculture and forestry.

The Royal Show, the organisation’s annual trade show, ran until 2009 with interruptions in 1866 due to cattle disease and for the last two years of WWI. A more serious hiatus was imminent with the UK entering WWII in September 1939, but in July The Engineer – ‘by special invitation of His Majesty the King’ - headed to the Great Park at Windsor to help celebrate the Royal Show’s centenary and report on agritech displayed – directly or indirectly- by some very familiar companies.

One such entity, The General Electric Company, did more than bring its latest innovations to the show by providing equipment for the show’s ‘electric farm’ and a lot of heavy cooking equipment for the restaurant services connected with the show.

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The company was also awarded one of RASE’s Silver Medals for its electric dairy sterilising chest, finding itself in the company of Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company for a spade grip tractor tyre; W. N. Nicholson and Son for a combined swathe-turner and side rake; and Mr. W. M. Catchpole for a beet harvester.

According to our reporter, the General Electric Company’s 27-foot dairy sterilising chest ‘embodies in its design several new features, which have been introduced following many years of experience of the service requirements of dairy sterilising plant. Quick steaming within a few minutes of switching on the current is ensured.’

“Not only can utensils and bottles be sterilised in the cabinet… a pressure steam jet is available for treating the churn stool, milking machine rubbers, milk pipelines, &c, while hot water is available at any time when steaming is not in progress,” continued The Engineer. “A wide door has been adopted which gives easy access to all parts of the chest from the front.”

The steam and hot water lever control was at the front of the chest and an automatic water feed guarded against possible burning out of the electrodes. Care was taken to provide rust free parts, which were galvanised after they were made and assembled from the front of the chest.

“Another item of interest is the floating electrode steam raiser, which we are informed is finding wide use in the dairy industry,” said The Engineer. “The boiler is of the vertical type with a removable top cover, giving access to the heater electrodes, which are formed by short lengths of iron pipe and can be adjusted in the floating body, which is covered by a neutral shield.”

Our reporter continued: “A filling and drain cock, a pressure gauge, and a water gauge are provided. The boiler is connected up and the position of the floating electrodes is so adjusted that the current taken is about 90 per cent of the desired maximum when the water boils. Should this not be possible with some kinds of water, with the electrodes fully immersed, then the addition of a small amount of salt to the water will bring about the desired result.”

With the boiler filled with water to within two inches of the top of the water gauge it could operate for about one to one-and-a-half hours without refilling.

“We also noted one of the new GEC floating electrode boilers on the stand of Alfa-Laval Company Ltd where it provides the sterlising and hot water service connected with that firm’s milking exhibit,” said The Engineer.

For their part, Ford Motor Company brought a new Row tractor to the show that embodied a standard Fordson power unit and transmission. New features included increased height to clear row crops, easily adjusted rear wheels, a completely new front wheel construction with a choice of single or double wheels, and a new type of steering with a worm gear enclosed in an oil bath mounted on Timken roller bearings in the front axle housing.

“This housing is a steel forging, and it too is mounted on Timken bearings which can be adjusted,” said The Engineer. “There is a flange base with a spigot which carries the front wheel hubs. These can be steel or pneumatic tyred, and the two wheels are inclined slightly towards each other inwards, so as to give better steering by imparting a trailing effect to the front wheels. If desired a single front wheel can be fitted.”

Models of the tractor fitted with various types of wheels were on show, as were tractors specially designed for golf courses.