Engineers to the World

Summary

Promotional film for the Ruston group of companies. Looking at the engineering work of Ruston and Hornsby Ltd; Davey Paxman; and Alfred Wiseman and Co.

Year:

1963

Duration:

0:29:20

Film type:

Colour / Sound

Genre:

Documentary

Company:

Mottershaw Commercial Films

Master format:

16mm

Description

The workings of the different companies of the Ruston Group is shown through the eyes of a group of overseas students visiting the firm and its subsidiaries. We first see the group arriving at Lincoln Central railway station by train where they are met and are driven to the Lincoln factory of Ruston and Hornsby Ltd. We also see them visiting tourist attractions in Lincoln including the Cathedral. We see foundry work underway at the Lincoln forge and the manufacture of large marine diesel engines. The application of these engines is shown with views of shipping and fishing trawlers at Grimsby. The company also makes large stationary diesel engines and gas turbines which are seen being manufactured and in use at Crossens pumping station near Southport; Tophill Low pumping station in Yorkshire; and Beckton in London. We then see workers leaving the Lincoln works and move on to the research centre where engines are tested at extreme temperatures. After a shot of a historic Hornsby-Akroyd oil engine we see the work of the small engine division with applications in excavators and diggers. The final section in Lincoln shows us industrial welding of large boilers. We then move to the subsidiary firm of Davey Paxman in Colchester. After views of the Essex town we see shot of the firm making their Paxman Ventura diesel engine and casting with aluminium. Back in Lincoln we see small diesel shunting locomotives being assembled and see their various applications by both British Railways and industrial firms. We then see London underground trains because they use gears made by another subsidiary firm, Alfred Wiseman of Grantham. At their works we see gears being cut and another application in the Jodrell Bank telescope in Cheshire. We then see the work of the group's spares department before one of the overseas students is seen leaving Britain by ship from Liverpool.


Credits

Photography: Ian Gillott
Direction: John Mottershaw
Production: Alec Dalby