The other day I was passing a building site to drop off some supplies and noticed a stationary engine driving a pump, which was emptying a huge volume of water from some tanks that were being demolished. The thud thud of the engine drew me across to look at it, a single cylinder, only to find it was an early 1940’s engine, a Lister which was still being used, in this case on a 24-hour basis. Petter and Lister seem to have had the market cornered in those days when such engines were seen as ultra-reliable, simple and cheap to use.
When the current owners bought Leyton Fasteners some 15 years ago, we investigated the inner recesses of the warehouse and initially thought we would simply scrap much of the stock that we found there. However, as time went on, we realised just how many obsolete and elderly machines were still operating, often on farms, working pumps, supplying electricity etc, or in the case of some public transport, still in daily use. I remember a few years ago getting on an Underground train in London, noticing it had been refurbished a few years ago, although dated from before the war!
We have spent time cataloguing and in some cases placing some of our obsolete stock into the web shop, however, we are still amazed at the calls we receive, trying to locate threads or fastener types long since obsolete. However, given the increased interest in older machinery, whether its older tractors, tanks, trains, or cars, it seems that rather than diminish, the appetite for obsolete stock is rising. We’ve supplied railway enthusiasts, tank restorers, as well as people who still used their cherished machines daily. Certainly, when you look at the number of elderly Land Rovers still in daily use, with farmers, tree surgeons and horticulturalists, it’s clear that there are also plenty of hidden machinery still being used. I walked into a machine shop the other day to find a 50-year-old machine stamping out classic car parts, albeit needing a little more servicing that modern (& expensive machinery.
For your obsolete fastener needs, call or email 0151 355 8045 or sales@leytonfasteners.co.uk.
