General News
HTN 114 - Monarch water drilling rig - by Andy Selfe
Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
27th July 2006
At 5 am on Friday 14th July, the 'Heavy Team’ of the newly formed Breede River Vintage Water Drilling Contractors pulled out of Robertson, and an hour later had collected a third member in Montagu and was on its way. This for me was a 1600 km round trip, nearly 1400 of them in a venerable Ford D series lorry, owned by Johan Stemmet, and thankfully powered by an ADE 352T engine and Isuzu 5-speed gearbox.
HTN 129 - Response from Andy Selfe to Chris Wilson's report - TED update kit
Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
21st August 2006
----- Original Message -----
From: CHRIS WILSON
To: Andy Selfe
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: TED update kit
From: CHRIS WILSON
To: Andy Selfe
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:16 AM
Subject: Re: TED update kit
HTN 137 - Old American Edger Saw Restored - by Andy Selfe
Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
15th September 2006
Old American Edger Saw Restored
When the farm next door was sold for development recently, the elderly owner, Mr F von Solms-Baruth walked around with the buyer pointing at various pieces of old machinery, saying, "Zees ees for Mistair Selfee". The farm had been home to his business called Top Poles, and amongst the equipment was a reciprocating Edger Saw. Unfortunately he couldn't remember what make it was, but he described it as 'Old American'. Several years ago I had helped him with a forklift to lift it out of its concrete pit where it had been standing waist-deep in water. He also pointed out three carriages for clamping logs to, which run on rails, set up next to the saw. The reason he thought of me was he had previously given me a Lister AHK and a rare Shanks 2CA vertical diesel engine, which I had restored and given him large colour photographs of them. A good investment, it seems!
HTN 173 - Compagnes Drift Mill - by Andy Selfe
Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
18th January 2007
Any collector and restorer of Stationary Engines is always on the look-out for unusual pieces of equipment to drive with his engines, so making them more interesting to the general public. It cannot be often that the occasion arises to drive a whole mill house! I have had this fortunate opportunity recently on the farm Compagnes Drift in Bot River, which dates back to 1750 and was an outpost of the Honourable Dutch East India Company (VOC). The farm, home to the Beaumont family, is situated about 100 km due East of Cape Town, and luckily only 23 km from Elgin where I live.
HTN 214 - Things are hotting up now with progress on the water wheel - Andy Selfe Reports!
Sandstone Heritage Trust - News
5th June 2007
Hello All,
When I was last at the mill assembling the new planks onto the inside of the wheel, I was prevented from fitting the 7th and 8th plank by a problem in the depth of the groove for the galvanised steel strip in the underside of the 7th plank. So that plank went back to Somerset Timbers, who are supplying the timber, for re-machining. I also suggested that the groove be cut a bit wider, to allow for a bit of misalignment. A wider groove would also allow me to apply the Hydrax carbolineum-based paint more easily into the groove, for further water resistance.
Compagnes Drift Mill Water Wheel
Compagnes Drift Mill Water Wheel
Click the dates to see the updates (latest updates at the bottom);
Villiersdorp Tractor & Engine Club adds to interest at Stettyn Cellar Family Day 17th November 2007
Heritage - Rail - News
20th November 2007
Andy Selfe reports from the Western Cape.
While Sandstone Estates was in the grips of the Cherry Festival, members of the Villiersdorp Tractor & Engine club were adding interest to a Family Day at Stettyn Cellars, just North of Villiersdorp, on the Worcester Road .
A good crowd of families turned up to watch sheep shearing, get up close to Alpacas, ride horses, taste wine, eat a good meal including bread cooked in front of us .... and to see a selection of old tractors and watch a wine pump being driven by an old Stationary Engine:
Compagnes Drift Mill
| 5th January 2008 |
Hello all,
Firstly I have to report on the passing of paterfamilias of Compagnes Drift, Raoul Beaumont in this last week. He had been gravely ill and in hospital for nearly two weeks and gave up the struggle on Thursday. In him I have lost my No 1 fan of these reports. He hung on every word I wrote, always saying how much he enjoyed reading them! His last year was buoyed by two things; one his Harley Davidson and getting well enough from a previous set-back to be able to drive it again. The other was progress on his mill. I am pleased that we had reached the milestone of finishing the planks on the water wheel in time!
Compagnes Drift Mill. No 107. Old Time Harvest Day at Brakfontein
Having cut some sheaves of wheat growing wild in the field below the Mill house just before the Open Gardens weekends, we have been talking about the possibility of growing a patch of wheat, cutting and binding it, threshing it and then milling it, then baking bread from it, all in one day!
I was hoping that Jayne & Sebastian would be able to accompany me on a fact-finding mission to the Old Time Harvest day at Brakfontein, between Heidelberg and Riversdale this year; in the end I went on my own.