Mark’s dream
Brian Moore meets Mark Hurlstone, who successfully restored one of Dorset’s most iconic steam engines
Published in October ’21
Arthur Field and Fippenny Queen prepare to lead the Grand Parade at the Great Dorset Steam Fair
IT IS late spring 1968. Twelve-year-old Mark Hurlstone from Weymouth stands in the cab of Fippenny Queen, a 1930s Fowler road roller owned by his uncle, Arthur Field of Shillingstone. The fire-hole is alive with burning coal, the boiler has a head of steam and one of the most majestic vehicles ever built by man is ready to explode into life. ‘Pull the lever,’ his uncle orders. Mark does as he is told and feels the mighty engine strain at the leash as a burst of steam, under enormous pressure, forces the giant piston down, drives the engine forward – and snares the boy for life.
At that moment, while savouring…
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