Raising Steam 2011 Vol.25 No.3 by Raising Steam

Raising Steam

Venue

Flookborough, Grangeover-Sands, Cumbria

List of venues

Date Leader’s Name

Comments

The SAC have the show arena for the day (Friday). 29th July Tim Holt

Tinkers Park, Sussex 17th Sept Adrian Vaughan

Tinkers Park set in East Sussex. Own roadway so can operate in all weathers

The aim of these driving days is to give SAC members who do not have regular access to an engine the chance to drive one for a day. Therefore, if any course is over subscribed, we reserve the right to offer the places to members from non-engine owning families.

Front cover : Fowler BB1 Ploughing Engine No. 15222 of 1918 at Alan Sparkes Dr iving Day.

Photo James Atkins

STEAM APPRENTICE CLUB

Editor

Nanette Durling, 19 Mill Lane, Barton under Needwood, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE13 8HE

Tel: 01283 712818

sac raisingsteam@ntet co uk

President

John Durling, 19 Mill Lane, Barton under Needwood, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE13 8HE

Chairman

Kevin Munn, 56 Blacklands Drive, Hayes, Middlesex UB4 8EX Tel: 020 8573 9180

sac chairman@ntet co uk

Vice Chairman

Elaine Massey, 21 Down Close, Northolt, Middlesex UB5 6NS Tel: 020 8248 6570 elainermassey@ntlworld.com

Membership Secretar y Sue Cook, Dolfarni, Church Lane, Kirkby la Thorpe, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 9NU Correspondence only

Membership fee £10 per annum

Webmaster

Nick Bosworth, 9A St Wilfrid’s Road, West Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 6HG Tel: 01159 309868

sac webmaster@ntet co uk

SAC Co-ordinators

Emily Drury ecdrury@hotmail.co.uk

Matthew Lund Tel: 01329 832462 matt lund@engineer com

Kevin Lawrence Tel: 01229 838144 k lawrence@dsl pipex com

Barry Sumsion Tel: 01633 671798 barrysumsion@gmail com

Joe Black Tel: 01748 829601 joe1922@googlemail com

The Editor welcomes any contributions of articles, shorter items or photographs for inclusion in future issues All material submitted is voluntary and payment cannot be made for any material published The opinions expressed in the magazine, with the exception of Club announcements, are those of the contributors and do not indicate the views of the Club as a whole All items are held copyright by the contributor and the NTET. The Editor reserves the right to amend or refuse contributions The magazine is normally published during the early part of January, April, July and October The Club accepts no liability for failure to meet intended publication dates.

The Steam Apprentice Club is a section of the National Traction Engine Trust. NTET is a Registered Charity, No 291578

Registered in England No 1302197

Registered Office: 4 Church Green East, Redditch, Worcestershire B98 8BT

Produced by Kearline Graphic Images Ltd, Fairoak House Business Centre, Church Road, Newport, South Wales NP19 7EJ.

FROM THE EDITOR

Hi everyo ne . As y ou ca n se e I have re covered fr om m y op er ation and I’m now ba ck o n fo rm By the time y ou re a d thi s Joh n and I w ill have b e en to Ba n bur y Rall y fo r the first t ime wit h Mor nin g St ar , ho p efu lly th e w e ath er will b e kind to us . N ex t mo nth we w ill b e g oing to Ma sh a m aga i n; on e of our reg ula r ra llie s. I d o love the ro a d ru n u p t o t he t own s q ua re on th e S atur da y eve ning, if the we a th e r is dr y the en tir e squa re w ill b e filled wit h en gine s, t ra c tor s, b ike s, in fac t any thing that ca n move. T his y ear will b e a little diffe rent thou gh as th e Ma sh am ra lly fie ld ha s moved to a new loc at ion ju st o uts ide th e town, this me ans that a n ew rou te ha s to be p lan ne d We usua lly stay in Yor ksh ir e fo r the w e e k foll owin g Ma sha m a nd h ave a h olid ay, d oing th is en able s us to nip ac ross to th e Fl ookbu rgh ra lly th e fo llowin g we ekend. Thi s y ea r t he re i s an ext ra w ee kend be tw e en th e two ra lli e s so w e will n ot b e getti ng o ur we e k awa y, we wi ll have to c o mmu te to b oth and wor k in be t w ee n Urg h

I h ave ha d s om e lovel y le tte rs follow ing the dr ivin g da y a t Sta nt on Dr ew he ld by Ala n Spa rkes. It soun ds li ke it w en t r ea lly we l l a nd ever yon e h ad a r e a lly good tim e. Tha n k y ou Al an for giv ing your time to r un t he dr ivi ng da y a n d I hop e tha t you can do the sa me f or us next y e ar.

It i s nic e to se e tha t Kev in, your c hair man, is ge ttin g on r e a lly w e ll with his en gine K atie . He ha s put in s ome very in ter e stin g p ictu res of his bo iler, wit h the next ins ta lme nt o f th e wor k bein g ca r ri ed out.

Now it i s t ime agai n to g et out your ca mera s a n d s t a r t t a k i n g s o m e p h

co mpe tit ion th is ye a r is e nti tled The Fairgroun d , we de ci de d thi s a s the mo de l c ompe tition is a fa irg ro und hor se or c oc ker el f r om a gallo per an d it woul d b e ni ce to ma tc h the two to gethe r. T he

colouring c om pe ti t i on p ic ture i s you r m iddl e p ag e s Whichever compe tition y ou de ci de t o en ter p le as e rea d the rule s w hic h can also be foun d in th e ma gazine Al l the competiti on s wil l b e judge d a t Gr e a t Do rs e t Steam Fair. It’s t im e to ge t th is off to t he pr in ter or you will never g et it. Ho pe to see loads of you a bout at th e ra llie s during t he ye ar, do come and say hi if yo u s e e me .

Nanette Dur li ng , Ed itor .

CHAIRMAN’S BIT

We are now we ll into the s ea so n w i th m any d riv i n g d ays and ra llie s ta king plac e. I hope you h ave m an ag ed to pa rt ic ipa te i n a s team ing act ivity, learn ing an d putti ng your new found k nowl edge into ac ti o n. T he re are sti ll som e p laces availa ble a t Tinke rs Park i n Septem be r for th ose o f yo u w ho a re new to s tea m ing. See t he advert e lsewh er e i n t he m agazine. Ju st a rem inde r if you wa nt to go on an eng ine at a rally le t me k now in advance a nd I wi l l spe ak to th e Ral ly’s steam sectio n leader to see wh at c an be arranged

Pl ease rem em b e r y our ma nn er s w he n y o u ar e wo rk ing with any e ngine . It is very rude to leave th e e ng ine, re fuse t o he lp, not li sten to you r d river and tha t in tu rn m a kes l i fe very h ar d for the Club as a w hol e. You a re always ambassado rs for th e SAC, m a ke us prou d a nd at t he same time y ou w ill learn more, enjoy mo re and al so be eli gi bl e for one o f our n um er ou s tro phies.

In hot wea th er, y ou r ar ms a nd l egs mu st st i ll be c overe d, a nd make s ure you always have a dri nk availa b le.

Don’t forge t… .. the re’s n o ne ed to g et bored in the ho liday s.

• Make up y ou r m od el gallope r hor se or cockerel for the competit io n at GDS F. Pl an s an d instr uc ti on s a re i n the la st Raisi ng St ea m and onli ne at w ww. n tet.c o.uk/ sac.

• Enter the c ol ou ri ng c omp eti tion .

• Do n’t forge t t he f re e a rt compe ti tion where you can use any med ium yo u like, pe nci l, paintin g, p as te ls , et c. wit h the sub je ct b ei ng Th e Fairg rou nd .

• Keep sna pp in g away to o f or t hose or igi nal sho ts, winn ing the trop hy at Do rs et a nd getting yo ur na me on th e shi el d f or a ll to see!

Happy Ste am in g.

Kevin Mun n, Ch ai rman

KATIE – THE NEXT STAGE

by Kevin M un n

On ce I ha d d el iver e d t he b oile r t o t he repairers they had to d o so me wor k on it to prep are it fo r th e in spec tor. L ike ma ny p eo pl e who d o work on th eir own e ngine s I d on’t nece ssarily h ave a ll the e qu ipm en t or s kil l s n ee de d One of the thi ngs th e repa ire rs w ere going to d o was re move the re mn an ts of th e s t ay s t h a t we re in th e ou ter wr appe r of the boiler. To d o t hi s th ey n ee ded to dr il l a h ol e i n th e c entr e o f th e sta y (I h ad alre ady ground them flu s h with the wr a ppe r) a nd t he n, us i ng a gas torc h, melt th e meta l of th e st ay so it fl owed out a nd away. I th ink t h er e was a bou t 100 sta ys that n e ede d this t reatment s o i t kep t the m very busy a nd wa rm wi th t h e ba d w eath er they wer e h avin g at the time . Ot h er work they ha d to do was c le an off t he re ma ining sc ale in side th e box , wh ic h was e as ie r t o ge t to o nc e t he stay s we re c om pl et ely re moved.

The day th en ca me fo r the boil er insp ecto r to have a loo k at th e co mplete inside of t he boi ler to as cer ta in whe the r a ny ad di t io na l wor k ne ede d t o be c ar ried ou t. His prognosi s was “ overall the b oil er was n’t in b ad c on d it io n” He rec ommend ed t he wo rk wh ic h the re pai re r an d I th oug ht wou ld ne ed t o be c ar ri ed out. I ref err ed to this in m y previous a rt ic le This co nsiste d of build in g up b y wel din g of some small are as w her e t he boiler ma te ri al wasn’t a s th ic k a s the su rr ou nd i ng area . We wou ld a lso nee d to inser t a new piece of pl ate in the ba c k pl at e (so me times kno wn as a to mbstone – Ed ) wher e

Boiler going away for repair s

View showing corrosion just below foundation r ivet holes .

t he c or rosio n h ad sp rea d over to o large

a n a rea to b e built u p by w eldin g. A n ew

s moke box w ill be ne ede d as the to p

t hir d wa s thin ne d o u t due to cor ro sio n

c a use d by s oot, h ea t, gases and wa te r all

m i x i n g t o g e t h e r. F i n a l l y, t h o u g h t h e

t ub e pla te wo uld be o kay fo r t he next

t en y ea rs, I mig ht wish to con sider c ha ng ing it n ow.

If yo u re c a ll in my las t ar ticle I wrot e

t ha t I ha d to ma ke a de c isio n a bout th e

t ub e p l ate w hic h o f cou rse would c ost

q ui te a b it o f mon ey to d o. Th e pr o ble m

w ith t he tu be pl ate was w ith wha t the i nspe c tor re fe rre d to as th e ligame nts.

T he se a re th e na rrow piec es of me tal

b et we e n the b oile r tu be hole s. O ver th e

y ea rs the tub e s g e t c hang ed; e a ch tim e

t h e y a r e c h a n g e d i t r e d u c e s t h e

t h i c k n e s s o f t h e l i g a m e n t s T h e

i nspe c tor sa id th ey would do o ne mo re

t ime o f rollin g the tu bes in an d th e nex t

t i m e t h e p l a t e w o u l d n e e d t o b e

c ha nge d If I d id leave it until th e n ext

t i me th is wou ld involve qui te a bit o f work removi ng th e fron t rolls, he adstoc k, as well as th e tube pl at e, l on gitu dina l s ta ys a nd tub e s . In ten years ti me I h ave no d oubt that i t would be a l ot d ea rer tha n it is n ow ! S o, I decided to bit e t he bul let , as they say, and get t he tubep la te re newe d. T hi s me a ns tha t everyt hing t o b e d on e was n ow in the hand s of t he boiler rep ai rer ; t hou gh I di d volunt eer to go dow n and help , as muc h for th e experience a s fo r a nyt hing e l se .

DEAR EDITOR

Driving Da y at Ala n Spar kes ’ y ar d in Stanton Drew, B risto l.

I woul d l ike to t al k t o you a bou t how much fun myself an d so me other app rent ices had at the dr ivi n g da y at Al a n Sp ar kes’ y ard in B ri stol on Satu rd ay the 7th May. At 8.00am w e a ll gathe red in o ne of t he th ree sh ed s for our b ri efin g and to c ho ose the engines wh ic h we wi ll be wo rking on for the re s t of the day There w ere six eng ines to choose from , th es e ra nge d from two Fow l er plou ghi ng en gin es, two Ave ling & Porte r rollers, on e Bur re ll s howm an ’s ca ll e d Th e Mast er piece and a 6” sc ale B ur re ll showman’s en g i ne na me d Sna pdragon . Th en we went over all th e sa fe ty che cks, e .g. checking t h e bo il er h as e nou gh wat er a nd the tender is full A fter th at we lit the fi re an d t hen the lo ng wait began. Af t er w e ha d gain ed ab out 25 t o 30 ps i on the gaug e we bega n our d rive o ut o f th e s he d an d out i n t o the y ard after a s ligh t shower of rain We a ll then split up for s o m e wel l ea rne d l u nc h leav ing th e engi nes fo r a mome nt to gain the working pr es su re of 100 psi a n d gr ea ter on th e p loug hin g engi nes

After l un ch we ret ur ne d to t he e ng ine s for a drive across th e fields a long th e small gravel pat h de sc en di ng down th e hil l and once at t he bo ttom turne d back a rou nd and drove as fas t a s we c ould a l l th e way b ack to t he yard ; thi s was th e mo st fun b it! We completed th i s ab ou t f ou r o r five ti mes throu ghou t the day with at le ast 15 minute i ntervals t o r egai n t he pr e ssu r e f or th e next trip. At ab out 4 .30 pm w e lin ed up a ll the engines an d h ad a few pho to s ta ken . After t hat the two ro llers w ere d rive n down the gravel lan e at a fa ir ly slowl y pa ce t o flatt en the small sto nes w her e th e plo ughing engine’s s t rakes ha d ch ur ne d i t up . At abou t 5. 15pm we all sa id our than ks an d goodbyes a nd we lef t Ala n a nd the r es t of the inst ru ct ors in p eace un til nex t year.

Dan Jon es , SAC Memb ershi p No. 4 905.

Editor’s Not e. Da n , it so unds like you al l had a bril lia nt tim e. On e thi ng eve ryon e els e should not e is th at Dan sa ys they lit the engin es a nd then, later, d rove them out. He really mea ns it th is way rou nd. Ala n ’ s shed ha s smo ke flu es ab ove ea ch en gine so th ey can be lit u p in si de.

Al an ran SAC d ri vi ng d ay s for u s fo r several yea rs and it’s lovely to see him d oing it again – a b ig th an k you from all o f us at the SAC

NEW APPRENTICES

The SAC welcomes the following new members:

Connor Andrews, Cornwall

George Balsdon, Exeter

William Balsdon, Exeter

Marshall Bawden, Cornwall

Archie Chenery, Dartford

Thomas Fogg, Cornwall

James Guy, Cumbria

Peter Heal, Cornwall

Daniel Herman, London

Richard Hough, Bedfordshire

Ben Isaac, Salisbury

Rebecca Jarvis, Oxfordshire

Molly Kelly, Anglesey

Karl Langley, Cambridge

Edward Martineau, Worcestershire

Gregory Moir, Buckinghamshire

Joshua Mow, Dorset

Katherine Nicholson, Lincolnshire

Laura Nicholson, Lincolnshire

Lauren Patterson, Buckinghamshire

Jodie Pattle, Bedfordshire

Louis Probitts, Norfolk

Hannah Raven, Lincolnshire

Talvin Russell, Hertfordshire

Arthur Selby, Dorset

Jason Streets, Devon

Jack Wallbridge, Hampshire

Keelyn Warner, Bedfordshire

Thomas Williams, Lincolnshire

2011 ART COMPETITION

The theme for this year is

THE FAIRGROUND

This is the theme for the Dorset Show so we are looking for your ideas based on this subject.

Entries can be in any medium, pastels, oils, watercolours, crayons, felt tips, anything you like. The maximum size will be A3. That is not to say you have to use that size, you can choose to go much smaller if you wish. If you are using pastels or charcoal, then please use some fixative to preserve it, especially if you are forced to post it (even hairspray works!).

This competition will be open to those aged 12 and over

Entries to be sent to Nick Bosworth by post by 21st August, by email by 28th August, or handed in at the stand in the NTET tent no later than 10.00am Saturday of the Great Dorset Fair. See Nick’s details in Rule 3 of the Photographic Competition.

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

The 2011 Steam Apprentice Club Photographic Competition

The annual photographic competition is an ongoing one, and starts almost as soon as the last one has finished, so let’s have as many of you as possible entering your best photographs that you have taken this year. The competition is split into 2 age groups – up to 15 years and 16 years old and over. Engraved medals and other prizes will be presented to the winners. The best overall entry will be presented with the Dorset Trophy and will receive a book donated by NTET Sales

Rules

1 Entry to this competition is restricted to fully subscribed members of the Steam Apprentice Club (SAC).

2. Each member’s entry will consist of 3 photographs. They may be 6” x 4” prints, colour or black and white, and can be digital. If supplying digital entries they may be supplied on disc in jpeg format or you can supply 3 prints on photo quality gloss paper Because they may be reproduced in this magazine afterwards, the resolution should be not less than the maximum setting on a 2 megapixel camera. All pictures should have been taken during the period 1st August 2010 to 31st July 2011

3. Entries must be sent to Nick Bosworth, 9A St Wilfred’s Road, West Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 6HG. Posted entries should arrive with him by Saturday 21st August 2011. He can receive emailed entries until 28th August 2011.

4. All entries must have the following details on the reverse of the photograph (or on the disc): name, address, age and SAC membership number; place, date and details of the engine or subject (It is better to write these details on a piece of paper and then stick this on.)

5. Copyright in all entries will remain with the SAC member submitting the photographs and the organisers promise that prints will not be used in any manner or display other than in connection with the 2011 photographic competition

6. All entries are to include a suitable stamped addressed envelope to ensure all materials can be returned.

7 Entries will be displayed at the 2011 Great Dorset Steam Fair in the NTET tent Entries will be returned after display and/or publication in the magazine.

8. The competition will be judged in two age groups: up to 15 years; 16 years and over. Prizes and engraved medals for First, Second and Third places in each group will be awarded The best overall entry will receive the Dorset Trophy shield, to be held for one year.

Judging

The judges will be looking for originality, composition and technical ability. Photographs do not have to be of traction engines, but other subjects must clearly be related to the traction engine movement. The judges’ decision on all entries will be final and members are asked to accept them in a spirit that will bring credit to themselves and the Steam Apprentice Club.

COLOURING COMPETITION

For Members aged up to 14 years old

CAREFULLY remove this page from the magazine – ask an adult for help if necessary –be especially careful of the staples.

COLOUR the picture using pencils, crayons, paints or felt pens.

WRITE your name, age, address and membership number in the space provided

POST your entry in a large envelope, to avoid folding it too much.

ENCLOSE a large stamped addressed envelope if you want your entry returned.

REMEMBER to send your entry to arrive with Nick Bosworth by Saturday 21st August

The competition is open to all apprentices up to the age of 14.

ADDRESS for entries is:

SAC Colouring Competition 9A St Wilfred’s Road West Hallam Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 6HG

Name Age Address

WATER LIFTERS

by Kevin Munn

Our Chairman spotted this slightly unusual water lifter on what I suspect is an Aveling & Porter roller and writes

Something you don't see often on rollers is a water lifter. I took this picture on one whilst out and about. I suspect, looking at its position and style, it might well be a later addition to the engine. The water lifter works on the venturi principle. This means that the diameter of the passage through the lifter body gets smaller and then larger. At the point of the smallest diameter the water suction pipe is connected.

As the steam from the boiler passes through the venturi it speeds up, this causes a reduction in pressure which is greatest at the smallest diameter. This reduction in pressure ‘sucks’ the water into the lifter which is then piped into the water tank.

If you want more information and some diagrams to describe this, look on Wikipedia. In days gone past engines used to lift water from a local stream or pond, probably not the best of ideas sometimes especially if the water was muddy as it would end up in the boiler.

DEAR EDITOR

SAC Driving Day - Bristol

“I wonder what my engine will be?” That’s what I was thinking as I got up early for the long drive to Somerset. When we got there we had a very friendly greeting, then I looked at the engines. There were two showman’s engines, one was full-sized and one was half-size. Their names were The Masterpiece and Snapdragon. It turned out that I was going to be with Snapdragon. Because they were showman’s engines, The Masterpiece and Snapdragon needed lots of polishing! First we swept the tubes and put wood on the fire. It took us several attempts to light the fire, because we were inside and there was no wind. Eventually we decided to tow it outside. Then the fire lit first time.

Our instructor told us to put some coal on every now and again and listen for the boiler making noises like a kettle heating up. We also had to watch the steam pressure and, more importantly, the water level

It was quite hard doing the steering because with a car you just turn the wheel left and right. On Snapdragon you had to turn 20 turns for each corner and we could not see when the wheels were straight again.

At the end of the day Mr. Sparkes gave us a quiz to see how much we had learned. Thank you Mr. Sparkes, Jim my instructor, and everyone who helped. It was a very fun day, I learned loads!

What do I remember most about the day? Brasso!

Elic (Age 7) SAC membership number 4885