“Tea and dates with Mr.Haji”

Mohammad Matbouei tells how a trip to Ahvaz revealed an exciting collection of abandoned engines and tractors.

Pic 1/. “Mr Haji”(left) with Mohammad at Agricultural Development Agency, Ahvaz.

Sometimes, when I need a break from my job, I decide to go and find some old machinery as Iran must be one of the last ‘old engine scrap yards’ left in the world today. I had heard that the Agricultural Development Agency at Ahvaz was the home of a collection of old engines and tractors so I decided to go and have a look, while at the same time gather pictures for my friends in the UK who read Stationary Engine magazine.
Before starting my trip I can I tell you that Ahvaz is a city in south-western Iran, one of Iran’s largest cities and the centre of the region’s oil industry. It is located at the convergence of the Karun and Shatt al Arab rivers on the lowland plain of Khuzestan.

Pic 2/. Tractors with a horizontal hot-bulb engine have become increasingly popular recently. This Lanz Bulldog, in a somewhat dilapidated condition, would still command a high price in Europe!

So on a freezing February morning I left home at 6-30 am in a snow storm which was so bad that I almost missed my flight. Yet, illustrating the size and diverse climate of our country, it was 15 degrees C when I arrived at Ahvaz, so I had to strip off the winter clothes and use only a T-shirt!
I had previously made contact; booking at appointment at the A.D.A. (Agricultural Development Agency) so all I had to do was get there by taxi.

Pic 3/. A finned hopper Wolseley WLB 8 (another is lying behind it) with integral 4-inch impeller type pump of the type supplied by the Witton factory.

Tea and dates with “Mr Haji”.

I was welcomed by the boss at the A.D.A. and we sat down to cups of tea and Arabic black dates. He did not tell me his name but the staff referred to him as “Mr.Haji” which is a crazy name—let me explain. Haji is the same as Sir in the U.K!
All Muslems must go to Mecca if they are rich and can afford the trip; when a Muslem returns from Mecca others must add "Haji" to his name when addressing him! Calling a person Mr Haji in Muslem countries will show that person is not only a religious person but also as a rich man! My father is a “Haji” and because of our business people call him “Haji Lister”!
Back to the A.D.A. where this particular “Mr.Haji” started asking a lot of questions about Stationary Engine magazine---as I happened to have magazines and books with me. When he saw my recent article about my visit to Mr.Mustafa’s scrap yard he was amazed because Mustafa’s yard was just up the road, and he had bought engines and parts from this same scrap yard.

Pic 4/. And a very rusty Wolseley WLB 9 still boasting traces of green paint. This example has the later exhaust silencer (shown in another photo) and later water hopper.

Under interrogation by a “Mr.Doctor”

We were discussing this when another man came in. He obviously held a higher position, calling himself “Mr.Doctor”. Bother men set about asking more questions about my visit and the magazine, I must admit they were getting rather heavy. Both men were pointing at certain pages of the magazine and appeared to be deep in discussion---what was of such great interest, were they maybe offended by something? You won’t believe it when I tell you; it was the CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS and the prices that fascinated them. Maybe they thought I was on a buying trip for the UK!
Suddenly they lightened up, and produced more tea and dates, and suggested we look at their collection of old engines and tractors.

Pic 5/. This is probably the remains of a Petter-Reavell compressor-set, the type using a Petter W2C and compressor on a common crankcase. We’ve discussed these on several occasions Engine Torque.

They started collecting twelve years ago, following a visit to Holland by “Mr Haji”, who was fascinated by various museums and collections he saw. Upon returning to Ahvaz he started to form the nucleus of a collection by gathering abandoned engines and tractors from the farms in the area. Unfortunately no funding was available so any form of restoration was out of the question, except for re-painting of certain of the static exhibits.

Pic 6/. A Bamford Z direct injection diesel of the 1950s, fairly complete except for a disabling blow to the valve cover.

"Mr Haji" founded a centre for training local farmers and tractor drivers, while at the same time the A.D.A. imported agricultural equipment from the Netherlands. I should say that Ahvaz has plenty of water and enough hot sun through the year, so it is a good area for farming. Sadly the museum project ended when the Government punished "Mr Haji" for wasting money gathering up old junk, so he moved his collection into a corner and was 'forced' to lose interest in it.

Pic 7/. The remains of what appears to be a Bamford AC1. Without the various essential cowlings, covers, appendages and nameplates, diesels like this take on an anonymity that’s often difficult to crack!

“Mr Haji” was really happy to show me the collection because nobody ever wanted to see it. When we returned to his office for even more tea with lots of Arabian black dates, I gave him copies of Stationary Engine and a copy of the book The Lister CS Story. He could not believe he was receiving something from the UK! He was unable to reach much English but we looked at the pictures together.
By 12-30 pm I made tracks to leave but “Mr Haji” insisted he take me to the best restaurant in the town where I ordered Golden Persian Gulf Shrimps with spicy Spanish sausages—sadly they did not have any British Beer!

Re-visiting “Mustafa the Beard”.

As we were near to the scrap yard of “Mustafa the Beard” (see Engine Torque 146) we decided to drop in and show “Mustafa” his picture and engines in Stationary Engine. It was the first publicity he ever had in forty years! He is a man of many stories, the majority of which are apocryphal, like the man who called his sons Robson and Ruston, and folklore about competition, and a certain animosity, between Mr.Petter and Mr.Lister. “Mustafa”, like many older people here love the UK, and remember the good products and machinery that were imported into Iran many years ago. Everyone I meet wants to have a copy of Stationary Engine; they love to see the old British engines.

Pic 8/. A Lorenz of Czechoslovakia. Although only a 4hp size it looks a heavy old lump!

By 4:30pm “Mustafa” asked “Mr Haji” and I back to his house to stay the night and, I’ve no doubt, more tea and a copious supply of Arabian dates. However I had a return ticket to Tehran and need to go to the airport. Altogether it was good fun. Next time I am feeling the need to escape from my business I’m going to fly to Syria where I’ve already picked up a few leads----watch this space!!