Adventures of Mamad

"The Blackstones of Jask"

 Mamad’s Father worked for the British Lister Company in Iran before the Shah of Iran fell from power. Mamad followed in his Fathers foot steps to learn all about the mighty Lister, and he is an expert in Iran and the surrounding areas regarding the Lister, and other British built long life stationary engines. Mamad Speaks Farsi, the Arab lands to the south west are strange and mostly wonderful places to visit according to Mamad, the Language, the food, and the culture is far different. Now the story told by Mamad.

 It started when, one of my customers, (we are the same as old friends), called me from Jask Iran. It is a hot and wild land on the coast of the Oman Sea. My friend explained he had some problems in the camps of workers and some of construction equipment and Gen-Sets needed mending.

I flew to Bandar Abbas and after arriving to Bandar Abbas Airport, a taxi was waiting for me to drive to Jask, it is about 6 hours to Jask from Bandar Abbas by car! It is a VERY bad road because of sand and dust storms, many wild Camels and also some highway robbers. But I like this road; it is the same as Australian outback. it was about +39*C and more than 80% humidity. After arriving at the Camp of workers in middle of the Sahara, I mended some engines in very hot weather under direct sun ,in fact every second in that weather is the same as a year at home in Karaj, but I was here because others cannot stand the heat at all!

When I was mending the engines I heard PET...PET... sounds from around us and I asked  one of the locals about the engines that were working beyond  He told me all of them are Blackstone and Lister CS. I was confused that in that SAHARA that there was not any greens around us--what are that engines for? I asked that local man (we call the locals of that place of Iran as BALOCH.  About the job of engines? He told me that the land of this place of Iran is the best land for agriculture, and it only need water, he told me that it is more than 8 years in that land since it rained, He remembered the rivers that were full of water and the lands that were full of greens but now only some gardens that have wells are green. As there was not any electricity, it is the same as 40 years ago that many

Blackstone (OP&JP) and Lister CS are working. I asked that man to show me one of that gardens and he took me to see a Banana and Palm garden.

Above: British Blackstone pumping water in Jask Iran

Above: It’s 102 degrees F with high humidity!

All that is green owes it’s life to the diesel engine and pump.

 In the pictures you can see the Banana garden that have about 100,000 trees of Banana and is watering by 3 Blackstone Engines. it is interesting that you can see in pictures that they had made a shady place over Blackstone by a green that is watered by Blackstone itself. The Blackstone was working VERY nice and that BALOCH man told me that all local farmers call the Blackstone as BLACKGOLD. He said that Blackstone was a real friend of poor farmers during the drought.

This “Garden of Eden”, is diesel powered.

Hand Dug, shallow well in Jask Iran

Notice the hose on the output side of the pump, this is the ‘bleed’ water to cool the engine.

 Thanks Mamad! utterpower.com