Wow that's quite the marathon round trip you did. Thanks again for being able to pickup those two coolers for me. I'm very happy with them and they will work out well for what I want to use them for.

You will have some restoration work on those. Some of the interior wood was pretty far gone, and the insulation almost looked like wool. I was surprised how heavy they were.

Glad someone is going to take the time to preserve a couple. The remainder have languished in the field for at least 40 years or more.

Nice to see you made it back home safely.
 

Quite the marathon....... sure made a lot of people happy..... including me!!!

Until the next time.

Bob C.

it was a great pleasure to meet you finally rob.very much appreciated the delivery of the jeep parts.kindest regards jim.

Funny thing about Jim is that when I was there he asked me if I wanted one of his company ball caps. What a crazy question....I am from the prairies. Those (and toques) are the only hats we know.

Then he asked me if I wanted one in camouflage........

Two new hats in the stable, the next thing he was offering me was a company jacket. I had to get out of there before he issued me a tow truck.

Lots of hospitality out that way. My only regret was that I did not have more time to spend with everyone. The short hours of daylight just wouldn't allow it.

Jim may not have known about your requirement for new socks . . . :devil:

And underwear...

After reading what Jim has done to you Rob, I feel a little bit cheap... However, I do not have ball cap, sox or underwear has the others are stating but I'm a wine and spirit importer on the side... I should have brought you a bottle of wine, but not sure if you drink wine when wearing your ball cap?!

This does sound like a problem. Talk to your Commanding Officer or maybe the chaplain, and perhaps he can arrange something. Or if you post your address here on MLU, perhaps the forum members will mail you some.

Martin:

You are starting to fit in here, but try not to join the degradation of the long-timers. Before any trip like this, I calculate the worst case scenario, and pack that many days worth of socks and undergarments, with one set to spare. And of course there is always a dry pair of socks in the console.....as any soldier knows, there is nothing like a dry pair of socks on a wet pair of feet to raise morale back up.

On the August trip, the socks went out the back window each night, and by the third day, so did the running shoes. Happy to report that there was zero losses in this department during this trip.

While your offer of spirits is appreciated, I gave up that stuff years ago. I cannot afford to maintain my hobbies and that avenue.....other people can pay the government the sin taxes. Just pay it forward at some point to someone else on the forum, and life will balance it all out.

Now to try and get this thread back on track, here are a couple shots taken during the unloading yesterday. In one shot, it was to try and show how close the safety chains were to the ground. I thought it was the tongue weight, which in the end, while it turned out to be OK, it was the 2 Jeep engines and the box of rims, flywheels, and brake drums that had the truck's hitch dragging.

Also happy to report that the flag that Bob applied to the end of the barrel made it through the whole trip. I did see several of the dreaded MTO trucks along the route, but they left me alone. I suspect that, upon seeing the experienced flag, they realized they were working with a seasoned pro and did not want to hassle him.

I was surprised when I read your earlier post about the 25pr not fitting between the fenders of your trailer with the larger wheels/tires. Now I see just how tight of a fit it is! Those guns are a bit wider than they appear when they are sitting out on their own.

Great adventure Rob, and Thank You for your contribution to my cause!

I agree, the flag on the gun is clearly the reason the MTO guys left you alone (definitely the trademark of a pro).

Thank you for the compliment on the flag Wayne, but I have to give credit to Bob and the team at the Hammond barn for putting it on. I personally would not have bothered. There are different standards in each province, and in Manitoba, until it extends about 8 feet back, we don't bother. But the installation was appreciated.

Did some rough calculations on the trip, and it would appear the truck averaged around 16 miles per gallon. I am happy with that.

Of note to the Ontario guys: if you look in the background of some of my photos, you will see what the surface of the earth is supposed to be like: flat. I can tell you that I breathed a sigh of relief when I entered Manitoba, and immediately appreciated the absence of the rock faces at the sides of the roads. Here in Manitoba, skidding off the road into the ditch is not a death sentence, but rather a mere annoyance.

Is that a 20 pr ring Rob?

Yes it is. I have access to surplus 105 L8 leopard barrels, so I may grab one of those and install it on this ring, and have them in the yard for a lawn ornament. Should make a fine hitching post.

Good plan! I must try that on my wife. (for her horse, not herself)

So today I replaced the damaged towing lunette on the latest gun, and moved it out to the side of the quonset for the winter. I have installed the modern tires and rims I got from collectors source for now, but will eventually clean up a pair of 15 cwt rims for this gun as well. In one of the shots, you can see the hole that I will have to patch up in the spring. In the meatime, I must protect the trail from filling with water as the freezing will likely split the trail.

A couple shots.

A couple accessories I recently picked up for the 25 pdr. The clinometer is from my favorite surplus store. The case for the dial sight came from Jim in Arnprior. It is special in that it is marked with REL, which is of course Canadian. So the challenge will be to find a Canadian dial sight for the gun.

Also, a photo of the stand for the mapboards, which I also got from my favorite surplus store.

Rob,

I have Canadian dial sights and leather here ,also in one picture is shows the handspike foot pedals missing or Brocken , I have these also !

Pm me if you need either.

Rob..................rnixartillery.

Insulated food containers
 

Hi Jordan
I see that Rob Love found you two of these coolers/chilly bins/insulated food containers. They look like the things I have been searching for for some time in order to make a model involving them and mules. You will have noted those two big rings on one side which hook on to the hooks of a pack mule saddle! The actual outer containers appear to have disappeared on this side of the pond, though the inner food containers are still around. I have measured one of those so have a rough idea of the size, but I would be very grateful if you could measure one of yours and let me know the size so I can make an accurate model for my small scale mules.

Chris

Chris

I could get you originals cheap enough, but the postage would kill.

Perhaps if someone has a container going from Canada to the UK I could possibly make something work out, but they almost felt too heavy to even mail.

Jordan: Could you weigh one and let us know?

Rob

Very interested, along with some of the other things we discussed previously. Will shoot you PM and we'll see what can be worked out.

That's fine Rob ,use my private address with the list ,I have loads of small parts as well so anything you think is missing I may have.

Rob..................rnixartillery

Rob

I don't want the actual containers; just the measurements! We corresponded earlier, but you seemed busy so I left it!
Chris

Hi Chris

The 1941 dated container measures the following

20-3/4" wide
14-3/4" deep
16" high to bottom of lid
The lid is 1-1/2" thick.

Each hinge section 1-1/4" wide by 6" long. They are attached via a combination of slotted domed screws and hex bolts. They have also been leaded. I'm assuming to keep them sealed?

The D rings are 2-3/4" wide. The clip holding them is 1-3/4" wide by 2-1/2" long. There is two D rings on the back panel only. The are riveted with 3 rivets. From the edge of the box to the outside edge of the clip it is 1-3/4". From the bottom of the box to bottom of the clip it is 10-3/4".

There is a small data tag 2-3/4" x 1-1/2" riveted centrally on the lid

A grab handle is riveted on each end of the box. The ring is 5-1/2" wide by 2-1/2". The bracket is 4-7/8" wide by approx 4" tall.

My apologies. I know at one point I actually measured them up and took a bunch of photos, but I guess I never followed through.

Coolers
 

Jordan and Rob

My very grateful thanks to you both; a joint effort I think! Just what I wanted; in fact more detailed than I ever expected. I don't think they are quite the ones I was expecting as, as far as I remember, the lids of our ones came off completely - no hinges. But as yours are dated, I think yours are probably more authentic for my model than my memories of the ones I knew.

Now for the dio!

Chris

There were actually a few variations of the chests out there. The one shown was GSW wartime dated. Another that I got Jordan was GSW 50s dated, with different latches. I think there may have been another variation out there....I know I had to dig for a few minutes to find ones that were as good as they were. Time has turned a lot of them into junkers.

Rob,
This story was a great read, what an adventure. Thank you for sharing.

I have said this many times to others and it seems to be an unspoken mantra of those I have met in this hobby. Words to live by.

Rob and Jordan

Once again, many thanks for your trouble and for the exact measurements. Actually, I am quite pleased as my estimate proved pretty accurate, to the extent that my first effort at a model (only 7mm long) is quite near enough (but I didn't know that until I got your measurements). Now I just need to add the hinges (some of my pics showed these too and I didn't understand why), D rings and handles and then to cast a few more. Then to arrange a scale mule or two to carry them! If and when I get round to it all, I'll post a pic.

Chris

I got a couple of the wooden boxes today in the mail, the result of a wanted ad on Gunnutz. A fellow collector from Ottawa had two wooden boxes for the 25 pdr.....a large one and a smaller one. I had hoped it was the tool box for the right side of the trail, ans the spare parts box on the right inner shield. Turns out the smaller box was the CCM1600 tool chest, but the larger one was the tool and spares box cm2882, and was marked for both the 18 pdr and the mk1 25 pdr. These boxes are listed as being stowed on the limber, so I guess I am going to have to get one of those too. I am assuming it gets stowed under the tarpaulin above the drawbar.

I went to take some photos, but the camera battery died, so I am attaching some sent to me by the seller.

On both the 25 pdrs that I picked up, the brackets for the CCM1600 were bent up. Now I have some motivation to straighten at least one of them.

If you're scrapping them, save the carrying handles because they look like the ones used on the wooden battery boxes from WW2. (Battery, Secondary, Portable, 6 volt 85, 100/125 and 170 amp hour versions.)

Chris.