Raising Steam 2012 Vol.26 No.3

Raising Steam

NEW APPRENTICES

The SAC welcomes the following new members:

Robert Barber, Wickford, Essex

Teagan Broughton, Stamford, Lincolnshire

Furgus Broughton, Stamford, Lincolnshire

Kyle Broughton, Stamford, Lincolnshire

Stuart Duncumb, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

Eleanor Fenemore, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Link Gormley, Harlow, Essex

Nathan Griffin, Stockport, Cheshire

Ben Griffiths, Wilstone, Hertfordshire

Hannah Mellor, Uttoxeter, Staffordshire

Ben Parrish, Haynes, Bedfordshire

Robert Parrish, Haynes, Bedfordshire

Oliver Prosser, Shefford, Bedfordshire

William Raven, Bourne, Lincolnshire

Caleb Slingo, Bognor Regis, West Sussex

Charlie Southcott, Calstock, Cornwall

Jenson Thomas, Chesham, Buckinghamshire

Jack Venni, Gosport, Hampshire

Matthew Wainwright, Redruth, Cornwall

Edward White, Salisbury, Wiltshire

Thomas Wilkes, Stroud, Gloustershire

The SAC announces its latest new venture, an advancement of our traditional Apprentices Driving Day:

APPRENTICE AND PARENT DRIVING DAY

This time we’re offering Parents (or other adults with an Apprentice) the chance to lear n about the driving of a traction engine or steam roller.

This will take place courtesy of The Stroud Vintage Transport and Engine Club at their Rally at South Cer ney on Friday 3rd August 2012.

The format will be engine tuition in the mor ning lear ning the ropes followed by an after noon of engine games to show off your newly acquired skills

This will, of course, pit adult against Apprentice!

For this first event you can join the fun and mayhem for the bargain price of £25 per adult and Apprentice. Spaces are limited therefore this is strictly on a first come, first served basis. For further details and to book a place see the SAC website at ntet.co.uk/sac

Front cover : Burrell Showman’s No 3926 at the Old Warden 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

Chairman & President

John Durling, 19 Mill Lane, Barton under Needwood, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE13 8HE Tel: 01283 712818

sac chairman@ntet co uk

Vice Chairman

Elaine Massey, 21 Down Close, Northolt, Middlesex UB5 6NS Tel: 020 8248 6570 elainermassey@live co uk

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

Joe Black Tel: 07595 466353 joe@seddonandblack co uk

Emily Drury ecdrury@hotmail.co.uk

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

Matthew Lund Tel: 01329 832462 matt.lund@engineer.com

Kevin Munn Tel: 020 8573 9180 kevinsteam1@btinternet com

Barry Sumsion Tel: 01633 671798 barrysumsion@gmail com

Helen Tyrrell Tel: 01793 751830 helen@thetyrrells org

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 READ T THHIIS ‘CCOS S IT’’S IMMPPOORTTAANNT!

T h e r e i s a h u g e a m o u n t happening in the SAC:-

Competitions, Build a Burrell, A new type of Driving Day It’s all in this mag somewhere – read it!

For those of you who are used to seeing John and me at Masham and Flookburgh, sorry we missed you; we just couldn’t make it this year. This does mean that we’ll be going to the Barton Gate Rally in Staffordshire so maybe we’ll see you there. We will of course be at South Cerney for the exciting new Apprentice and Parent Driving Day – be there. See the advert in this mag. We will of course be at Dorset so I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Nanette Durling, Editor

CHAIRMAN’S BIT

They keep telling me this is the summer! So far we have had two rallies cancelled because of the weather and, if I’m honest, we’re not too confident about the next ones.

B u t t h a t ’s e n o u g h b e i n g n ega t ive . Fo r t h e Gloucestershire Extravaganza at South Cerney we’re planning a new idea – an Apprentice and Parent driving day. This will follow pretty much the same format as a standard driving day but as well as the Apprentices getting on the engines, the adults will get a chance too Then we’ll have a few driving games to see who’s best! There are details of this in this magazine

Of course, this is the issue where you get all your information on the various competitions, including a re-run of the SBSB Ltd one. Make sure that you get your camera out when you go out this season and then send in the results for the photo competition. You’ve all seen the details of the new ‘Build a Burrell’ project. At Great Dorset Steam Fair we will b e h av i n g t h

preservation press, engine people at Dorset and, of course, those of you who couldn’t be at the Old Warden driving weekend. Better still, we’re starting the build there too.

Come and see what’ s happening!

You said you wanted it – now make it happen. See you somewhere round the circuit.

John Durling, Chairman

SAC Schedule for the Great Dorset Steam Fair 2012

Please bring all competition entries to the NTET marquee as soon as you can. There will be additional activities with miniatures and some talks throughout the rally Please watch our notice boards for news of these and other opportunities………………

Wednesday 29th August

09.00 Come to the NTET marquee promptly to join in with our engine tutorials.

15.00 The Official Burrell Launch – join us at this event to celebrate the very beginning of our ‘build a Burrell’ project. Meet the team from Steam Traction World, who are generously sponsoring us, find out more about when and where.

Thursday 30th August

09.00 Come to the NTET marquee promptly to join in with our engine tutorials.

17.30 Be at the entrance to the Heavy Haulage ring in order to join in the fun of the SAC Cavalcade (weather permitting)

Friday 31st August

09.00 Come to the NTET marquee promptly to join in with our engine tutorials.

Saturday 1st September

09.00 Come to the NTET marquee promptly to join in with our engine tutorials.

Sunday 2nd September

09.30 Best Breakfast of the Year! Bring your chosen foods with you and we will cook your breakfast ‘on a shovel’ in the firebox. We will supply drinks, paper plates, sauces and of course FIRE!

11.30 Prizegiving in the marquee. Please come and support those who have entered our competitions! (hopefully that’s all of you……..)

REPORT FROM THE SAC DRIVING DAY AT HORSHAM

by Kevin M u nn

As my gr and s on and mys el f he a de d o ff to H o rs ham from Wes t Londo n the skie s were grey a nd overc a st , s o w e pr a ye d that at leas t it wou ld stay d ry all da y, whic h it nearly did ex ce pt for a few dr op s of rain in the aftern oo n, but nothin g to sto p the apprentice s d riv in g. He re e nds th e we a ther forecast ! On to th e d a y its elf w hich was held i n Les Sear le ’s yar d at Hor sh am , West Su ssex. It is a goo d size site with its ow n driveways s o d rivi ng co uld t a ke p la ce witho ut th e worry of anyon e else be ing aro und ot her than fe ll ow en g i ne s! The Se a rl e’s had m a n ag ed to g et tog eth e r a cross sect ion of engines fro m a 6 inc h sc a le Walli s & Stevens to a very larg e an d h e avy Fowler ! (See photo).

After t he bri efin g, a p pr ent ic es a nd e ngin es were p aired up size for siz e so to spe ak, bi g a pprent ic es o n b ig e ngin e s ( som e o f whi ch had 3 o n), an d th e sm aller a ppr entic es on more ap pr op ri at e s iz e one s . Alt oge ther 2 2 app rent ices to ok p art ma king it one of the bi gger driv in g da ys t hat ar e h el d. T he re were beginn ers th roug h t o more expe rie nced ones. As us ua l th e en gi ne s ha d t o be pr epared for work so rakin g out the ash es e tc fro m t he firebox, cle an ing the tube s, and c heck ing th e water before lig ht ing the fir e to he at up the wat er. (Se e phot os .) A nd t he n o f cou rs e cl e ani ng, a mu ch love d a c tivity by a ll of you By the ti me a ll of th is was don e it was time for l unch break w h ilst the en gines go t up to press ur e.

Lunch of cou rs e di dn ’t t a ke lo ng a s everyone was keen to get g o ing on the e n gine s

What do you notice is unusual about this photo?

So, to a st ag ge re d sta r t t he en gine set off. So me sl owly as app rentic es got u sed t o actually o pe ra ti ng the regul at or ‘in anger’ rat her than tryin g it ou t wh ilst th e en gine was st ationary a nd out of ge a r. So on th ey were all away going arou nd th e diff er ent cir cuit s you c ould f ol low i n the ya r d Everyo ne h ad mu lti ple t urns at driving and ste erin g the engine they wer e assi gne d to. With the new starters and tho se with limited expe rien ce you c ould s ee th ei r co nfide nc e inc re a se as th ey becam e mo re fam iliar with the variou s operations , a lways of c our se unde r t he watchful eye of an en gin eman with exp erie nce . I don’t th in k any o ne cam e o ff the ir en gines witho ut feelin g really plea sed with wha t t hey had do ne an d al so f e el ing ver y tired as th ey had over three ho urs of dr iving a nd st eering exp er ie nc e ( See phot os ) A r ound 5 00p m the day was d one, engin es p ut to bed , l og books si gn ed , a nd tha nk y ous sa id before h eadi ng ho me fo r a w ell-de served re st. A bi g thank s t o Les an d D ee Se a rl e f or arran ging t he event, th e use of their ya rd, and to t he engine own er s a nd dr ive r s a nd t he ir crews for helpin g th e day to b eco me a succ ess, especially fo r al l t he l ovely c a kes th ey baked for everyon e’s enj oym ent

Engine line up at Hor sham whic h inc luded 3 off Burrell Gold Medal Tractor s

2012 ART COMPETITION

The theme for this year is

MODEL STEAM

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 18th August, by email by 25th 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 2012 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 2011 to 31st July 2012

3. Entries must be sent to Nick Bosworth, 9A St Wilfrid’s Road, West Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 6HG. Posted entries should arrive with him by Saturday 18th August 2012. He can receive emailed entries until 25th August 2012.

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 2012 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 18th August

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

ADDRESS for entries is:

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

Name Age Address

BOOKS FOR STEAMERS

Here’s another great book for you:

The Haynes Manual of Thomas the Tank

Yes, I am serious!

This is a wonderful book for young and old. It’s taught me a good few things. I appreciate that you will be thinking, “Thomas?” but even though he is a rail engine, there is a chapter about Trevor t h e Tr a c t i o n e n g i n e w h i c h a c t u a l l y explains the workings very well.

Young apprentices will obviously love this, but the technical side will be of good use for older apprentices, or simply those who are newer to the hobby.

If you have read a book about steam (fiction or fact) that you would like to share with others please drop the editor an email about it

DEAR EDITOR

We had a n ea rl y s ta rt to g et to Le s Se ar le ' s y a rd b y 9 3 0 whe re we signe d in and w ere allo ca t e d ou r e ngine s . El i za be th was on Pu ffing Billy , a Foden stea m bus, i n stru ctor ‘La nky ’ Dave M ai n a nd I w ere on Gl adst one , a B urrell Go ld Medal tr acto r, i n stru ctor Pa ul Tur ver. L e s gave a q uick safet y briefing an d w e w er e off !

We all se t ab ou t cl ea ning out the smoke bo x an d b rushing out t he tub es. E lizab eth was s en t u nd er t he s te am bu s t o c le a n ou t th e as hpan as she was th e sm allest a ppre ntice on her en gi ne . I he lpe d r a ke out Gl ads tone ’s ashpan wit h O liver, the oth er ap pren tice I was work in g wit h. Pa ul le t O liver an d I li ght th e fi re - which we had t o try twic e as the rag went ou t the firs t time . O nc e it was real ly well aligh t, we adde d lots of wo od, followed b y co al . Th en i t wa s t ime t o wai t for t he pressure to rise and we st arte d to polish t he b ra ss . On ce the p res sur e h ad risen a bi t we o iled the eng ine up . Paul le t us prac tise usi ng the reg ul at or on ce we had eno ugh pres sure so we could ge t th e f eel o f it be fo re we s ta rt ed m ovin g. I t was qu ite hard t o st art with , but after a little w hile I m ana ged t o g et t he ha n g of i t.

We h a d a qu ic k lu nch w hil s t the e ngin es came u p to pressure an d the n we we re off! Les ’s yard i s r ea ll y g ood for a dr ivin g d ay as it has lots of turns an d so me ge ntle slope s t o negotia te , so we ha d to pa y re al ly close attenti on all the time. Paul let Olive r a nd I t ake it in tu rn s t o ei the r s te e r o r o pe rate the reg ulator and we h ad a gr e a t after noon driving rou n d t he ya rd.

Meanwh il e, El iz ab eth was g iven the j ob of cl eani ng the paint wor k o f the Fode n bus w hile steam was ra ise d. Mum he lp fu lly tol d h e r wh ere sh e’d miss ed a bit. The n i t was El izabeth ’s t ur n t o be sh own how th e bus operated and get to g ri ps with the regula tor Sh e had a gr eat tim e dr iv ing an d be in g a passeng er on it - t hey rang th e bell lots of t i mes!

Toward s t he en d of t he af te rnoon , Pau l asked Mu m and Dad if they’d eve r driven a n engine. W he n they sa id ‘ n o’ he sa id they co uld h ave a go ! H e sh owe d the m how to use th e reg ul at or an d the n they h ad a go roun d t he yard with Paul. Th ey h aven't s toppe d grinn in g ye t. ..

At th e en d o f th e af te rn oon, La nky D ave and Paul gave the appr entic es a nd the ir families a ri de int o Ho rs ha m on t he Fo den bus. There w ere lots o f str a nge looks fr om t h e Saturd ay a ft er noon shop pe r s! We had a l ovely ti me!

The wh ol e All en fam ily would li ke to s ay an eno rmo us thank you to De e a nd L es Se arle for h os ti ng th e dr ivi ng da y, a nd to the engi ne own ers who gave up their Satur day t o help out . M um and Da d wo uld e spe cially like to say than k yo u again to Paul for th e r i de - it wa s am az in g.

James Al le n SAC M em be rship N o. 479 2

Editor’s Note I’ve a sneaky feeling that this was written by Keith, Elizabeth and James’ Dad, but thank you anyway for your account of your day.

DEAR

EDITOR

I had a great time at the driving day in Horsham. This was my second driving day which I had been looking forward to for weeks We were put on a Foden steam bus called Puffing Billy (This turned out a lot better than I had expected). This was a lot easier to drive than some of the engines I have driven previously. At the end of the day we were also lucky enough to get to have a go on a 16 ton Fowler crane engine The Great North that had taken part in the London to Brighton heavy haulage run, but this did not go too well......we hit a Ford Transit! Fortunately I was not driving at this time.

The engine was moving quite fast and we had become used to the Foden with its very quick steering. It was the last run round of the day and...oh dear. At least nobody was hurt but the poor transit did look a bit of a mess. Many thanks for an enjoyable and interesting day. I am looking forward to my next driving day.

Yours sincerely, Arthur Selby. Member 5132.

P.S. My Dad enjoyed being driven round Horsham in Puffing Billy, it made his day!

Editor’s Note: The last run on The Great North was ‘just to show the youngsters how fast she would go. It’s a shame it didn’t all go exactly as planned. The transit was mended a couple of days later, no harm done

DEAR EDITOR

This is my report for you of my day at Mr and Mrs Searle’s on Easter Saturday. My Dad dropped me over to the yard Wow, what a sight to see; all the engines and I wondered which one I would be put on. Mr Searle talked to us and put all the apprentices to their engines for the day My engine was called Harry Burrell No 3442; just the right size for me. I met Mrs Marsh who taught me for the day. We spent the morning preparing the engine then we stopped for lunch In the afternoon we drove around the yard and had a great time. Thank you for a great day.

Jack Comber, Age 8 SAC number 5239.

DODMAN ENGINE

by Kevin Munn

A engine name you don’t see on the rally field too often is Alfred Dodman. Looking at my edition of the Traction engine register, not one is noted as having survived into preservation. It is therefore good that model engineers can produce a model so we can see what they looked like. (See picture) The picture shows one of only six made so far taken at the Basingstoke model traction engine rally in mid April The size is approximately the same as a 4 inch scale single cylinder Foster agricultural, but in this instance the Dodman is a compound engine What is a bit unusual is the design of the ‘cylinder block’ with the high pressure cylinder ABOVE the low pressure cylinder. (See picture) and the shape of the block compared to ‘normal’ design where they are square in shape

Photographs taken by James Atkins at the Old Warden and Horsham driving days