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Ian and Jack are old friends of Salvage Squad, having previously restored the boiler for the steam gallopers in the second series. They are true steam fanatics and are also very determined. Just before the Salvage Squad filming started, a devastating fire swept through their workshops, destroying their beloved Fowler ploughing engine Renown, but they still wanted to take on the challenge of restoring the 1937 Grafton steam crane.
Ian and Jack both loved steam when they were children and built scale models and visited steam fairs to admire the engines. When they grew up, they both purchased steamrollers – Jack bought a Burrell and Ian a Marshall. Fifteen years ago they went into the steam restoration business together. They describe it as 'a hobby that got out of hand'.
They both live and breathe steam and engineering. Jack says: 'Working with steam is wonderful – it seems crude and basic, but it requires real precision.' At their workshop in Derbyshire, they have the skills and experience to build road locomotive boilers from scratch, doing all the rolling and riveting themselves.
Ian and Jack had previously worked on vertical boilers like the one on the Grafton steam crane, but they had never seen one of these cranes in one piece. Claire presented them with a pile of rusty bits – it was like being given a massive jigsaw puzzle. They had to work out how everything fitted together, without any plans.
Although they are very experienced steam engineers, it was a serious challenge to get the crane back together as it's always difficult for a restorer to reassemble a machine that someone else has taken apart.
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