Essex Flat Racer identified

[coppinpr]

What makes you say the crowd background would not be suitable for bike racing? The motorcycle games are all related to Speedway which was unbelievably popular between 1929 and 1954, usually raced in the same stadiums as greyhound racing using the same facilities. The machine makers then, as they do today, latch on to the themes of the day. Incredibly a census of sports done in 1939 showed the top most popular spectator sports to be 1. Horse racing, 2. Speedway, 3. Greyhound Racing and 4. Football - IN THAT ORDER. The only team sport ever held at the old Wembley stadium on a weekly basis was speedway. 80,000 fans for a league match was normal!

[pennymachines]

Hi Roger,

I think these games used a similar background, generic enough to cover most racetrack events. As coppinpr just pointed out, dog and bike races took place at the same venues anyway. If you look at the other horse and dog machines I posted, you'll see they look similar, if not identical (note the little ticket booth on the left).

One of the machines I worked on was identical to yours in every respect, except for the crank handle, which was a strange plastic-laminate knob. Unfortunately, the background was not intact on either of them. All that remained were two torn edge pieces from the sides (which I've kept). These match the edges of your background. Because I had nothing to copy, I had an artist friend make up a suitable speedway race scene (see below).

If you would be so kind as to take a high resolution picture of your background, I would be most grateful.

[roger]

Hi pennymachines...... the next time my son comes to visit I'll see if he can get the stadium picture you requested. With all the great work you do on this site I'm glad I have been given the opportunity to reciprocate. I cannot do it without help as I'm not into modern teck.... I still own a typewriter, a black & white TV, and an outdoor privy (just like Australians) roger.

[roger]

P.S. But unlike the Australians we do have genuine toilet paper, roger.

[pennymachines]

Hi pennymachines...... the next time my son comes to visit I'll see if he can get the stadium picture you requested.

Thank you Roger, that would be very much appreciated - I'll be in touch via email.

I cannot do it without help as I'm not into modern teck.... I still own a typewriter, a black & white TV, and an outdoor privy (just like Australians)

You're among friends - old tech rules!

P.S. But unlike the Australians we do have genuine toilet paper

A bit more quantitative easing and we can all use bank notes.

[bob]

I'm really intrigued to know about Roger's experiences with Australian toilets that he has become so obsessed with them? Mentions of them in four out of his ten posts makes one wonder what the story is.

[pennymachines]

Available on iPlayer until next Friday, BBC 4's The Toilet: An Unspoken History. Fascinating, but no mention of the dunny.

Australians need not reply, as I do not want any more trivia about your antiquated flush toilets...

How about some modern flush toilet trivia?

There are a couple of reasons Australian toilets do not flush backwards. First, the Australian toilet flushes straight down. This question is generally asked by Americans. The toilet bowl in America holds a lot of water while the Aussie version hardly has any water in comparison. So when you flush an American toilet, what's there goes round and round before it disappears. An Aussie toilet simply flushes straight down.

Second, it's a common mistake that the direction water travels when a toilet, sink or bathtub empties is different in the Northern hemisphere where the USA is from the Southern hemisphere where Australia is. This is often attributed to the Coriolis force and even some teachers incorrectly tell their students this.
The Coriolis force only acts on large bodies such as the earth. Things such as toilets, bathtubs, and sinks are too small to be affected. What causes the water to spin clockwise or anti-clockwise is simply how the container is made and how the water empties from it.

http://alldownunder.com/australian-blog/misc.htm

[roger]

BOB wants to know about all the Australian references..... it's all about an inside joke with my Yankee friend who moved to Melbourne and escalated when Australians sent comments on this posting... Reread the entire post and you should get the picture...

P.S. No more references to Australia... I just got a threatening call from "Crocodile" Dundee... roger.

[roger]

to pennymachine...i have tried to reach you via BOARD INDEX Contact (E mail) but does not work....then again it could be my fault....In any case please send me your e mail address so i can send a picture roger

[pennymachines]

Hi Roger, I just sent my personal email address - thanks in advance.

[roger]

to pennymachine.......your email address never received roger

[pennymachines]

OK Roger - sorry about that. I've now sent it to you by Private Message.

[pennymachines]

Roger - I just received the image via JP. I'll put it through Photoshop and print off a copy.
Thanks for going to the trouble. I really appreciate it.

[gameswat]

I was just re-reading this thread and something that the owner of the Greyhound machine being talked about never seemed to broach was: how could a circa 1900 Watling machine have an alloy payout cup and many other alloy castings? Alloy really didn't come into use by the coin-op makers until the mid 1920's or slightly later!?

I meant to say, "alloy didn't come anything but very rare use until the mid 20's". I once had a US made Sittman & Pitt trade stimulator dating 1893 with tiny alloy hubs inside but with every other casting in iron.

[gameswat]

I'll soon have one of this family of machines on my work bench to look over closely, as a local friend just purchased the Essex Horse Race example sold at the recent Morphy auction. On looking at the Braithwaite book I see there is a machine listed as "Flat Racer" 20's/27, the 27 version with improved mechanism and strengthened. Seems likely this is the machine and would cover all versions, Horse, Greyhound and Motorcycle.

Just realised this machine is the same exact example as shown in the black and white photo by mr PM at the beginning of this thread! From a Dec 1976 UK auction sale. Note the wood grain fingerprint.

[pennymachines]

Interesting... "Flat Racer" seems to cover it, doesn't it? (Thread re-named accordingly).
So the cash door on this one was replaced. I did think it unlikely the manufacturer would have used a brass hooded drawer pull as a coin payout cup! Is it this sort of thing you will be remedying, or does the mechanism need work also?

Regarding the different mechanisms, as I said earlier, I know the metal-fronted "Racing Investor" was different from the ones I restored, but I don't think I have a picture of the innards. It still looks to me like the earliest version. The one you are taking on also looks earlier than the first one in this thread. So would you agree that the punched drum is Mk1 and the punched disc is the "improved, strengthened mechanism"?

[gameswat]

So would you agree that the punched drum is Mk1 and the punched disc is the "improved, strengthened mechanism"?

I'd suggest you are correct PM as that was the way I was leaning about both mech styles. Appears to be a zig-zag of strings that connect to all the horses which I assume would be the major weak point of this design.

Is it this sort of thing you will be remedying, or does the mechanism need work also?

The auction blurb stated it needs adjustment and oiling. And the cashbox door and payout cup to be replaced. It doesn't look like the Watling style cup will fit that small size door properly though? Which I'm kind of happy about as I've had two recasts made of those before and my foundry kept having issues with the plug so gave up in the end and had to cast with the chutes solid! A lot of machining and hand work to cut those out I can tell you. I have yet to see another Essex case that matches this very short cash door style.

My friend is almost as particular as I am about getting his machines back to as original as possible. But sadly for him doesn't have the time or skills to do the work. So I've dug him out of many machine holes he's fallen into!!

[pennymachines]

Well, I don't think that's such a hole he's fallen into. A nice machine and champion restorer to get it all sorted.
I also had trouble trying to recast one of those cups. The caster kept my original for over 10 years while considering how to mould the undercut, then it went missing. Fortunately it emerged again when the business closed and everything was cleared out.

[gameswat]

OK PM, finally found time to start on this rare circa 1905 Watling Derby machine.......little joke for our old mate Roger. I mean Essex Flat Horse Racer of course! So far there isn't a number punched into anything, there are lots of hand made parts and small alterations, plus I'm fairly sure the cabinet has been recycled in some way. Which all lead me to believe this is most likely a prototype for the machine. The cabinet may just have been recycled from an earlier prototype of the same or similar game of course. I've worked on a handful of Essex games over the years and they were all finished to a much higher standard than this one. I'm not thrilled with the mech design as a lot of weak points and currently not working due to numerous failures and a terrible "restoration" in the last 20 years, the poor work of an amatuer owner I'll bet. So it doesn't surprise me at all that Essex came up with the much improved and simplified design as seen on all the other surviving machines. Days of fun ahead for me with much pulling of hair I'm sure.

[bryans fan]

Days of fun ahead for me with much pulling of hair I'm sure.

Well, judging by your previous restorations, you are the man for the job! I look forward to following your progress.