| Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam. |
| John Chapman |
Hi from John ChapmanAs Rog. has started the trend for introductions I thought it was high time I joined in.I was born in St Columb Minor in Cornwall in 1947. I presume that makes me an early post war utility model. The family moved to Bexleyheath in Kent when I was still at school. On leaving school I joined the Post Office and became a telecomms. Engineer, a career that took me to Nottingham in the mid seventies. A couple of years ago I took early retirement (great aint it Rog?). Recently I moved back to Cornwall with my wife Jenny, this time to St Columb Major. My first steam engine was an SEL Junior I was given as a Christmas present when I was ten years old, back in 1957. I have always had an interest in steam, presumably kindled during train spotting days in the fifties and early sixties. About four years ago I visited Steam Toys In Action in Leicester and that re-kindled my interest and started me collecting. I have exhibited a couple of times at STIA and in the process made some good friends. Whilst doing an Open University course I learned HTML and that led to me creating a website as a project. It is still going so please feel free to visit www.steamtoys.co.uk. I get my bus pass next month and if I watch “Grumpy Old Men” on the TV I tend to agree with nearly every thing they say, must be getting old. 
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| IndianaRog |
Yup John,
We Grumpy Old Men have a certain kinship and toy steam seems a great place for it grow even stronger. Thanks for sharing YOUR life story...you left out only one bit...you are a hand/street organ collector and you and the wife can both play them as I recall. THAT is not a common hobby any more than collecting steam toys!! As for retirement...just hit the 3 year mark for me (2 years for you)...it IS all it's cracked up to be, totally enjoying having my time to dole out as I see fit. Spending a bit of it on this forum and finding it is time well spent. cheers, Rog |
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| SillyBilly |
Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
There are introdutions been added by the hour! |
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| Chris |
Great website. The electro-magnetic engine looks very interesting. It is interesting how the first engines powered by electricity were based on how steam ones worked. Never realised that.
Any chance of a video of it in action? |
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| John Chapman |
Be a pleasure, assuming a. I can find out to take video with my camera and b. How to upload the video to the forum.
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| John Chapman |
Ah! My secret is out! [img]  [/img]
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| MTA |
Ahh organs. I've always liked them, a fair/fayre wouldn't be the same without at least one organ playing merrily in the background! | ||||
| tmuir |
I would love to get one of those old hand organs but in Australia I would have more luck collecting hens teeth. 
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| James |
How much would one of them organs cost in England? | ||||
| IndianaRog |
John,
You look the part of a hand organist from a century ago and are wearing a very satisfied smile...in American vernacular, we'd say "you're a happy camper". Great pic of you and the missus...and the organ ain't bad either!! cheers, Rog |
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| John Chapman |
About £2300 James. That one was made by Peter Trueman in Derby but a guy called Alan Pell also makes them in Spalding http://www.alanpell.com/ |
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| James |
£2300? 
Ok I'll pass 
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| John Chapman |
If you fancy building one from a kit, such a thing exists in Australia - http://www.castlewoodorgans.com/ |
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| IndianaRog |
John,
Just visited the Pell site you provided link for...darn those sound nice...I listened to the Hello Dolly example and found it very charming. I wonder if a person could transfer a sound file like that to a cell phone, making it the ring tone??? Wouldn't that be an interesting bridge between old and new technology and likely your ring would stand out in a crowd!!! thanks for sharing, Rog |
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| SillyBilly |
You didn't tell everyone you dress like a victorian! You look very mutch like victorian people in books in that picture. | ||||
| John Chapman |
Look like a Victorian, moi? 
By the way the photo was taken at the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans near Cardiff. I can thoroughly recommend a vist. |
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| SillyBilly |
LoL | ||||
| Sandman |
Jeez John. No disrespect, but I thought you were Acker Bilk for a moment. (Pic with the organ)
Great pic and interesting update. 
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| Chris |
Nothing wrong with Acker Bilk.
Keep it mellow. |
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| tmuir |
Thanks for that. The guy that makes them is only about a 45 minute drive from where I live but at a tad over $1400 with a 4 week old baby I may have to wait for a while.
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| Wallace |
Great to hear from you John, and I like the pics.
The 2nd one looks great 
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| MooseMan |
What John leaves out is that he is one of the true gentlemen of steam toy collecting....he's one of the first steam collectors I corresponded with, and we've swapped the odd bits and pieces....John's a goldmine of information on many and varied subjects, and I daresay I know more Cornish now than when we started corresponding. 
In short, a bit of a diamond geezer all round! A pleasure to know you John!
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| John Chapman |
Aw shucks  cheers mate.
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| erikl |
Thanks for the introduction John.
Those organs are nice to collect too, but you can buy a lot of Mamods for te price of one organ 
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| oldstuff |
Hello John! Wonderful photos, mate. Your missus is quite fetching,
and does you proud...what's her views on your steam hobby? I just can't help it...I must ask about the monkey with the tin cup!? Do you rent one when you do shows? |
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| John Chapman |
Jenny is very supportive of my hobbies and no we don't have a monkey. I've no idea where to rent one . Seriously, we collect for the Lifeboats so have one of their boxes with the organ.
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| Griffin |
That has got to be one of the most worthwhile charities going. |
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| IndianaRog |
John or Griffin...can you explain what the Lifeboat Charities are all about???
I envision funds collected to man boats at the beaches??? Just curious, we don't have such a thing over here. Rog |
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| Graham-Jilly |
John we have visited the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans a couple of time and agree its a great visit.
Need more than one day to get it all in tho 
G-J |
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| MooseMan |
G-J, if you visit again, let me know - I live a couple of miles up the road! |
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| Graham-Jilly |
That would be great Moosey. But I think it will be a long time before we get back there. We are planning to go to the uk again when we retire and buy a mobile home and tour uk and europe. we loved our 14 months we spent in swansea and wouldnt hesitate going back.
Cheers G-J |
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| Griffin |
Rog, here is a link to their web page http://www.rnli.org.uk/ I think Winston Churchill once quoted to the effect, something as important as the RNLI cannot be bound by the constaints of government. |
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| MooseMan |
Don't worry - I'll still be here. I've lived all over the UK, but I'm staying in Cardiff now, I love it here!
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| mj |
I'll wave as i drive past early on monday morning, on my way to Cross Hands. I'm working in the land of the leek all next week, can't wait to get a few pints of brains down my neck (packing my clean wellies too ).
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