He must be loco! Grandad converts his old Land Rover into a steam engine
SHE trundles along in the slow lane, belches through 100lb of coal an hour and is fascinating enough to keep her owner out of the pub.
This is Mildred, an old Land Rover Defender lovingly converted into a cheerfully chugging steam engine by enthusiast Frank Rothwell.
He wasn’t content to indulge his passion for 18th century technology by riding on a rickety heritage railway or browsing in a museum. Instead he set about building his very own transport back to the Steam Age.
And so successful was his £24,000, 400-hour labour of love, he has even taken the car, with her array of levers and pulleys, on his six-mile commute to the office. Mr Rothwell bought the derelict Land Rover – nicknamed Mildred by the seller because of her mildew problem – without revealing his plans. He then set about achieving his dream by fitting the 4x4 with a steampowered engine.
The car works like a traditional steam train, with a coal-fired boiler heating water to power the small engine. At full throttle, she can travel at a top speed of 15mph.
Mr Rothwell, who owns a manufacturing business in Oldham, said: ‘We all need a hobby and I like doing things that are difficult. I’d already built a 1910 steam wagon and got a real kick out of that so I just thought what else can I do? I wanted it to be something unique and recognisable and which no one had ever done before.’
While Mr Rothwell’s three grandchildren ‘absolutely love’ riding in the car, his wife Judith thinks he’s ‘absolutely crazy’. He added: ‘[She] hasn’t even had a ride on it yet – but at least it keeps me out of the pub.’
He now hopes to take his steampowered Defender to car rallies around the country – to show the public ‘what a proper motor looks like’.