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Thursday 11am - 5pm Saturday 11am - 5pm

The Robey Trust

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The Robey Trust

We are a charitable organisation dedicated to the preservation & restoration of steam engines. Following some research into the history of Robey & Co.
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It was the acquisition of a Tandem Roller that led to the creation of the Robey Trust in 1983. Damaged and corroded after 20 years in a playground, the roller was donated by Tavistock Town Council to The Robey Trust, formed to restore it to original condition and full working order, a task that took seven years. Other engines, boilers and plant have been donated to, or purchased by, the Trust, whi

ch will continue to rescue and restore further examples of Robey manufacture as funds and manpower permit. In placing these engines and other exhibits on public display, the aim is to enhance awareness of the contribution which Robey made to the pre-eminent position of this country in mechanical engineering during a period of over a century. The acquisition of our own museum building was achieved in 1996 with assistance from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The money was used to purchase land and for the construction of a purpose built 'works' on the site. It is our long term strategy to develop the Works into a museum in the proper and legal sense so that our restoration and demonstration of steam artefacts to the public can take place in a safe and accessible environment. in 1984, the Trust now holds a growing archive of historical and technical publications, drawings and photographs and is always pleased to receive items to add to the collection or to copy and return. A 'Robey Register' is being compiled to record details of Robey manufactures known to exist world wide so members can often be furnished with information to assist them in their own research or restoration tasks. We meet most Saturdays between 11 am and 5pm so if you wish to visit to see what we are all about then this is the best time.

28/06/2024

After the Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair 2024 the engines made their way back to the workshop, going up Pixon Lane. There is a short ‘nip’ before the railway bridge, which makes for good footage of the engines working away!

24/06/2024

Two steam driving experiences successfully completed this weekend! 🤗

03/06/2024

We had a small material handbag left on one of our trailers yesterday at the Steam Fair. If its yours please contact us, we have it safely at the trust.

02/06/2024

Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair 2024! What a fantastic day; great weather and a great turnout! 🤗

31/05/2024

Roll up, roll up for this year's Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair 🚂
Held in the Bedford and Wharf car parks, this is an annual tradition that is a brilliant day out 😍
The steam fair boasts steam-hauled trailer rides around town behind a selection of full size steam vehicles plus
🚂 Vintage tractors
🚂 Classic cars
🚂 Commercials
🚂 Local crafts
🚂 Model engineering collections
🚂 Locally produced food and drink
🚂 Live music.

Entry is just £3.50 per person (no concessions), which includes a free trailer ride. All proceeds will support 'The Works', a heritage engineering charity operated by The Robey Trust.

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31/05/2024

Music line up for The Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair 2024

29/05/2024

The Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair is this Sunday, 2nd June! We are open between 10am-5pm, at the Bedford Car Park. Entry for visitors is £3.50, which includes a steam-hauled trailer ride. Please come along and support the event, if you can! 😀

26/05/2024

Two of our volunteers roaded the Tri-tandem Roller to Bere Alston Carnival yesterday. After having some work done over winter the engine behaved wonderfully, the weather held up just enough and much tea and cake was had!
Well done to the team for being awarded 2nd place 👏 It's always nice to be appreciated, these are very long days.

21/05/2024

Today five engines passed their hot inspections, and one passed its hydraulic. Smiles all around. 🤗

13/05/2024

One of the passenger trailers has been given a light overhaul over the winter period, largely by the apprentices. Tasks have included cosmetic work, and maintenance to the brakes and steps. The trailer will be on active service at this year’s Tavistock Steam & Vintage Fair 2024. 🤗

30/04/2024

28/04/2024

It’s been a busy weekend on many fronts at ‘The Works’. The new thrashing drum fore-carriage towing beam has been finished and partially assembled, whilst a few knackered grain sieve frames have been rebuilt. A few of the suspect thrasher bearings, where the ‘newness has worn off’, are next on the machining list, along with pulley wheel repairs! 🤗

27/04/2024

Our mission to secure a permanent and sustainable replacement for coal continues.

Get more from CCF - Compressed Carbon Fuel on Patreon

04/04/2024

Ten bags of Charcoal delivered as the base for our briquettes. One is already powder, ready for pressing tomorrow. This is enough for a day's hard running to put them through their paces.

A huge thank you to our supporters who have made this possible. The more support we get, the more we can do!

Get more from CCF - Compressed Carbon Fuel on Patreon

28/03/2024

With the reliability of the Coal Supply an ever present worry (and the price only going up), one of our members has set up a project to make a 100% Sustainable replacement.

The ambition is to have a bunker full by the Steam Fair in June where we can gain real-world experience with it.

But we can't do it without your support.

To that end, there's now a Patreon page where you can support this available here:

Sustainable Fuel for the future of Steam Power

09/03/2024

Winter maintenance is progressing nicely on all fronts, meanwhile the living van, thrasher and Undertype are all being progressed in various areas. Soon, these will all be on display for visitors to see during our various group visits and Open Days this year. But, if you fancy popping in, please do! 🤗

13/01/2024

Another busy winter weekend at The Works, in all departments! 😃

06/01/2024

It’s been a busy start to 2024 inside the workshop. The living van body is starting to take shape, the Robey thrasher fore-carriage is receiving some much needed attention and the tri’s belly tank is currently off for some tlc. 😃

25/12/2023

Merry Christmas, everyone! Thank you to everyone who has supported us in the last year! 🎄 🎁 🎄

03/12/2023

The weekend has been rather festive participating in both Tavistock Dickensian Evening & Christmas Lights, and the Bere Alston Victorian Evening. Roast chestnuts were plentiful, as were the crowds and the fantastic volunteers helping! 🤗

27/11/2023

Roasting chestnuts on an open fire; it's that time of the year! We'll be attending the Tavistock Dickensian Evening & Christmas Lights this Friday evening with two steam engines and plenty of roast chestnuts on offer! :D

27/11/2023

25/11/2023

Today a few volunteers started some remedial repairs on the thrasher, largely surrounding the fore-carriage. 🤗

07/11/2023

The Robey Class A has sat quietly in the Works for many years.

This winter, it'll finally get the attention it deserves with work on the bearings, valve timing and governor.

06/11/2023

Progress continues on the living van chassis. All the bracketry is now complete and in the final stages of painting and assembly. Meanwhile, the underboxes continue to take shape - not long before the whole underside is complete 🙂

Address

The Works, Pixon Lane
Tavistock
PL199RQ

Opening Hours

Thursday	11am - 5pm
Saturday	11am - 5pm

Website

http://www.therobeytrust.co.uk/

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Videos

Robey tri-tandem ‘Herts Wanderer’ No.45655 of 1930.

Aveling and Porter ‘Kiwi’, No.11220 of 1925.

Robey convertible ‘Shamrock’ No.40991 of 1923.

Robey wagon No.42522 of 1925.

The Robey Class A has sat quietly in the Works for many years. This winter, it'll finally get the attention it deserves with work on the bearings, valve timing and governor.

The three-point roller, No.32387 from 1913, arrives at RAF Harrowbeer late Friday evening.

The tri-tandem on a water jaunt. 💦

With the cold inspections in the bag for no fewer than five of our engines, here's a quick introduction into what that involves.

Our small blue engine running well after an overhaul of the valve gear.

Wagon Tubeplate rivets going in.

Tuesday saw the tubeplate riveted into the Wagon's boiler. This is a major milestone in the restoration of the Wagon back to operational condition.

Last weekend, after some tweaking and plumbing in, saw this vertical Robey stationary engine pleasantly surprise us all. 😃

Tri-tandem going through Plymouth

A quick reminder of the tri-tandem's trip through Plymouth on the final day of the Devon Coast-to-Coast charity fundraiser last August. Here, on Outland Rd passing Home Park. 😀

Stop. Hammer Time!

The removal of Stumbles' 96 year-old firebox in 4 minutes, kindly captured by the talented Emily Friend.

Coast to Coast Charity Challenge - Update

Just a quick update on the Coast-to-Coast Challenge. In the previous crowdfunder video, Jack explained his grandmother's battle against cancer. Despite COVID-19, 'NHS Charities Together' are carrying out research to improve cancer treatment, and distributing funds for patient care and support. That is what this challenge is about, and something Graham, who owned a little bit of the tri-tandem, faced during his own fight with cancer.

Tri-tandem trials and tribulations!

This tri-tandem restoration appeal was very kindly put together by the wonderfully talented Emily Friend, as part of a grant bid. The application was sadly declined on this ocassion, but we thought we would share the appeal anyway! If you're interested in supporting the restoration please let us know, any contributions would be gratefully recieved.