In the period between1920 and 1930, agricultural and county shows, organised by such eminent bodies as the Royal Agricultural Society of England, attracted large attendance figures and, as such, were seen by manufacturers of agricultural equipment as the ideal venues for new products to be launched to an appreciatve audience.
The 1920 Royal Show, held from 29th June to 3rd July, quoted that 182,892 paying patrons passed through the gate. With such attendance figures, it is easy to imaging how pleased Messrs Crossley Brothers were that they had chosen this particular show to launch their ‘New’ small farm type oil engine.

The Crossley Brothers ‘New’ Farm Engine was originally offered in just two sizes, which would later be designated as the 1060 and 1070 models. The engine had been designed specifically to meet the needs of the farmer and other small power-users requiring an engine that was of the highest quality, simple to operate, reasonably priced, while at the same time offering all the latest improvements in engine technology. 

Built on robust lines, as one would expect for an engine bearing the Crossley Brothers name, the most striking feature  of the New Farm Engine was its twin sideshafts; a design thought to be unique in the small engine world. The lower shaft, the true camshaft, running at half engine speed, operated the inlet and exhaust valves; the upper shaft ran at full engine speed, providing the drive for the magneto and the horizontally mounted governor. The governor weights were housed beneath a simple tin guard. 

With regards to ignition, the majority of the Crossley Brothers New Farm Engines were fitted with a Hills rotary magneto of one type or another but, for a short period, a number of engines were supplied already fitted with a Wico EK trip-type magneto. Why Crossley Brothers should deviate from a proven design with such a modification is, to me, a little strange, but suggests that the company was experiencing supply difficulties regarding Hills magnetos or, maybe, it was an attempt at cost cutting.  

One of the leading trade journals of the day wrote of the New Farm Engine: “A well built, highly finished prime mover, made at a very economical price upon mass production lines, and can be supplied to run on petrol, paraffin, alcohol, benzol, town gas or producer gas. It can also be had either as a hopper-cooled engine or with an ample water-cooling tank, the former compact pattern being especially suitable for export purposes.

“The engine starts up from cold, and has a British made magneto. The adoption of worm gears for both camshaft governor and magneto, together with fine precision workmanship, gives silent, steady running at 500 to 600 revolutions per minute.

“This model delivers from 3 to 3hp at normal loads and 3hp to 4hp at maximum. A larger size is rated at 6 to 6hp normal, and 6hp to 7hp maximum.

“The engine is throttle-governed and well lubricated, with all the main bearings possessing oil rings, running in an oil bath, and are fully accessible.”

As the popularity of the engine grew, so did the range of sizes, and it was not long before the company was offering a wide range of engines to cover just about every application you could think of. Not only was the engine offered in a wide choice of power outputs, from the 1060 at 3½bhp, to the 1095 at around 12bhp, but there was also a choice of fuel types and methods of cooling. To help keep track of these variations, a series of prefix letters were stamped on the maker’s brass plate. 

These prefix letters can, at first glace, appear confusing, but once the code is mastered, it is quite simple to understand just what type of engine you are looking at. The letters used to indicate fuel types were: A - Alcohol, B - Petrol, G - Town Gas, N - Benzol, P - Paraffin, S - Suction Gas. Other code letters included C - Combined engine/compressor, E - Electric type, H - Hopper cooled, and when the letter P appeared at the end on the code series, it indicated a portable engine. For example if the maker’s plate reads 1060 PHP this was a 1060 of 3hp designed to run on paraffin, had hopper cooling and had originally left the works as a portable engine. (The H for hopper cooling was sometimes deleted on portable models, in which case you will find the letters PP.)

Crossley Brothers Ltd, with its vast experience in the export market understood that, should problems arise ‘in the field’, it would prove time consuming, frustrating and very expensive for the operator. These problems would be compounded even further when the engine in question was located in some remote part of the world. The company therefore recommended that for each engine, a number of spare parts subjected to wear, such as valves, springs and piston rings, etc., should be purchased with the new engine. This, it was said, would enable the attendant/engineer to repair the engine as required, with the minimum of fuss. This system worked well, providing the attendant/engineer remembered to re-order more spare parts as they were used.

As one can imagine, the most mundane problems usually arose from operator error, a problem prevalent in remote areas of the world, where the workforce was unfamiliar with things mechanical. With this in mind, every new Crossley Brothers engine was supplied with a comprehensive booklet, Instructions for Working, which dealt with all aspects in operating the engine. The preface of this booklet reads:

“OUR OBJECT. Many thousands of our engines are installed overseas at great distances from our works, both in the British Dominions and in Foreign Countries. As requests for information by letter might cause delay, we have given these Instructions at considerable length in the interest of both the owner and engine attendant. 

“Our object is to produce a reliable engine which is durable, cheap to keep in first-class order, and economical in the consumption of both fuel and lubricating oil. Complete accessibility and silent working have also been striven for, and we are satisfied these engines will be found to be unapproachable in this combination of aims. It will be found possible to see, feel and even hear practically every working part. This is said to be the ideal of accessibility. Owing to the open type crankcase, working parts are cool and require a minimum amount of oil for their lubrication.

“It will be noted that all parts which may need adjustment or attention while running, such as the magneto, governor, valves etc, are safely away from the flywheels, pulleys and other working parts. We have taken great care to ensure not only silent working, complete accessibility and reliability, but also great fuel economy and a generally simple and foolproof engine, and we are confident that our efforts will be appreciated fully, especially as the cost of maintenance and repairs will be found to be extremely low.” I daresay this all worked very well, providing the chap in charge of the engine could read English.

Research indicates that the majority of the Crossley Brothers Farm Engines exported to Australia were handled by the firm Waugh & Josephson of Sydney and Victoria, with a lesser number being marketed by William Adams & Son, Engineers and Contractors of Melbourne, Vic, and C. Atkins & Co., of Adelaide, SA.

One of these Australian engines, a type PH1065 with the S/N 87934, was despatched on 1st September, 1923, to Waugh & Josephson, and destined for Brisbane, Queensland. Unfortunately, I have no early history on the engine, but it was returned to the UK and placed on Ebay, the Internet auction site, in 2006. It was then purchased by an enthusiast and its restoration is nearing completion. If you have any knowledge of this engine, and can provide a little of its history, I would be pleased to hear from you.

Another engine currently in preservation is the type PH1060 S/N 91784, which was despatched to C. Atkins & Co of Adelaide, South Australia on 23rd April, 1925. This engine has survived into preservation and has been restored, even if the blue paintwork is a little different to that originally used by Crossley Brothers Ltd. 

In the early days of engine preservation, the Crossley Brothers New Farm Engine was looked upon by many enthusiasts as being something of an ‘ugly duckling’ but, in recent times, these views have changed and today, the Crossley Brothers New Farm Engine, with its double sideshaft layout, has become a highly desirable engine and is keenly sought after by collectors. After all, they represent British engineering at its best. 

*Patrick Knight, UK. Email: PatrickKnightpk@aol.com