ROSSENDALE PROBUS CLUB

ALF Molyneux entertained the club with a talk entitled ‘On the Road with Fred Dibnah’.

Alf had been a coal miner and had been invited to look at pit shaft winding gear that Fred was reconstructing in his garden.

Fred’s enthusiasm for bringing past industrial engineering back to life was infectious and Alf soon became involved in Fred’s work.

Under Fred’s tutelage his practical skills developed and he built his own large replica railway engines and a side-on steam traction engine.

As Fred’s health deteriorated, a TV project was born which portrayed Fred and his steam traction engine on a tour of the UK’s agricultural areas.

Alf was the driver of the engine accompanying Fred on the journey.

He described the challenges of controlling the front steering wheels of the engine and building up steam pressure for long inclines.

Alf accompanied Fred to Buckingham Palace when Fred was awarded his MBE.

Alf still works voluntarily at Fred’s Shed, the Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre, now a popular tourist attraction in Bolton, where a group of enthusiasts keep Fred’s projects alive.