Raising Steam 2013 Vol.27 No.3

Raising Steam

Steam Appr entice 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 Secretary

Sue Cook, Dolfarni, Church Lane, Kirkby la Thorpe, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 9NU

membership@ntet co uk

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 Committee

Joe Black Tel: 07595 466353 joe@seddonandblack co uk

David Lee davidjameslee2003@yahoo.co.uk

Matthew Lund Tel: 01329 832462

matt lund@engineer com

Jenny Lee jen massey@hotmail co uk

Kevin Munn Tel: 020 8573 9180

sac contact6@ntet co uk

Barry Sumsion Tel: 01633 671798 barrysumsion@gmail com

Helen Tyrrell Tel: 01793 751830 helen@thetyrrells org

Burrell Project Co-ordinator

Hugh Dyson Tel: 01353 667150 hugh dyson@inbox 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 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, 15 Church Road, Newport, South Wales NP19 7EJ www.kearline.co.uk

Fr om the Editor

Nanette Durling

Hi all John and I have just come back from our holiday in Kenya. We had a fantastic time. Being a safari we were moving from one location to another every other day so we were glad it was not too hot, coldest month and no sun tan. Early morning starts 5.30am and finish at 10.00pm made the days very long We saw every animal we wanted to see, learned a lot about Kenyan culture and ate far too much. I even went horse riding for the first, and last, time

By the time you get this magazine some of you will have been on the Build a Burrell weekend at Elvaston Castle. Sadly I was not there, work got in the way, so I am hoping that you will send me your stories. The next rally that I will hopefully be at is Barton Gate in Barton under Needwood, 20th and 21st July; this is a local rally just around the corner

for us The next big rally is South Cerney, 2nd, 3rd and 4th of August, I am hoping that this year the rally will have plenty of sunshine, it was a little damp last year.

Please make sure you read the Chairman’s Bit for any important information that you may need.

It would be nice to hear from you all, I do struggle to write a magazine without any letters. If you do visit a rally and want to write about it please remember to make a note of the name, and the number of the engine, of course which rally you visited. If you would like to send me some pictures then you can do so by either sending me the pictures on a disc or e -mail, please don’t scan the pictures into your story as the quality of the pictures may not be good enough to print

Hope to see you all soon

The Chairman’s bit...

John Durling

By the time you read this your Burrell engine Lady Sylvia will have the first coats of paint applied to the boiler and tender. Craftmaster Paints have hosted a work weekend at their premises in Over, Cambridgeshire and Adam Brown is advising us on the choice of colours, paint type and how to apply them. At South Cerney we’re hoping that Adam Meredith will start to teach some of us the basics of applying the lining . Hugh Dyson, the organiser for this

build, is already talking to those museums, workshop owners and engineering exhibitions that have made offers of hosting a build weekend later in the year; you’ll see details of these here in Raising Steam, if that is possible, and on the website.

Once again we’ve been invited by the organisers of the South Cerney Rally, to hold a Parent and Apprentice day on the Friday of the rally. This was pretty good last year, despite the weather and we’re

looking forward to seeing some of you there. This is a chance for Mum or Dad to have a go as well as you Apprentices. If we’re lucky we’ll have a chance to see who drives best! Should be good!

The colouring competition for you younger members this year is based on the Great Dorset Steam Fair theme of rollers so we have another one of Chris Wells’ drawings for you. For the technical section we have reports on Kate’s new firebox and a repair to the regulator for Morning Star. Thinking of the technical bits don’t

New Appr entices

The SAC welcomes the following new members

Ollie Anesi, Bedford

Seb Austin, Truro

Richard Bailey, Tonbridge

Marcus Bennett, Bedford

Josh Bloomfield, Gamlingay

Matthew Bradshaw, Stamford

Annaliese Broughton, Stamford

Ross Colledge, Belper

Lucian Crosby, Hertfordshire

Kyle Dawson, Wellingborough

Poor Steaming

The title for the model section in the last magazine had Mamod spelt wrongly.

forget the Technical Achievement Award – see last issue of Raising Steam or the website.

We are also looking for nominations for the Jack Beeby Cup – Apprentice of the year. Obviously you can’t nominate yourself but think around for who you think is a really good Apprentice. (Or who could nominate you, but I didn’t say that!)

I hope you enjoy this issue and we look forward to seeing many of you round the circuit.

Lucy Goodwin, Cornwall

Tia Harlcup, Sheerness

Cody Hoole, Milton Ernest

Ethan Paterson, Stotfold

Harry Roberts, Pershore

Laura Saxon, Stevenage

Jennifer Stanley, Basildon

Steven Sutton, Peasenhall

Harry Vigers, Okehampton

Tom Zoilo -Hitch, Letchworth

Appr entice and Par ent Driving Day

Once again we’re being given the chance to let Mum or Dad have a go too! The SAC is offering parents (or other adults with an Apprentice) the chance to learn about the driving of a traction engine or steam roller.

This will take place cour tesy of The Stroud Vintage Transpor t and Engine Club at their Rally at South Cerney on Friday 2nd August.

The format will be engine tuition in the morning learning the ropes, followed by an af ternoon of engine games to show off your newly acquired skills.

This will, of course, pit adult against Apprentice!

We have kept the price the same as last year; 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 ser ved basis.

For further details and to book a place see the SAC website at ntet.co.uk/sac.

Mailbag

Write to us!

H o r s h a m D r i v i n g D a y

Dear Editor,

My thanks again for another great day driving the steam engines at the Horsham Driving Day I really enjoyed driving Boadicea and would like to thank Dave who was in charge of the engine and the owner Dave was very patient and

Steam Fair at Stotfold Mill

Dear Editor,

Just been to the steam fair at Stotfold Mill. A good day out. We saw a really nice showman's engine called Ex-Mayor and a small Garrett showman's engine Nice to smell steam again The overall experience was great with a spectacular flight past with a Spitfire and a Hurricane from the

helpful It was a very cold day but dry My family and I would also like to thank the organisers of the day for their hospitality; there was a nice warm room to go in when we got cold, with tea and cakes which was much appreciated I look forward to the next time.

Many thanks, Kieran Barnett

Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Charlie Scouller, aged 11 Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Editor’s note: Charlie, what was the Garrett Showman’s tractor called? You must see her quite a lot round your part of the Countr y

Another SAC Wedding

A lot of you will know Jenny Massey. She has been an Apprentice for many years – she sort of had to really, being Elaine Massey ’s daughter – and has helped us out on the SAC stand at many shows over the years. A couple of years ago Nan and I held a birthday party at home and amongst the guests were Jenny and a young chap called Dave Lee. These two just seemed to click. One thing led to another and we were invited to their wedding at Statfold Barn Farm on 27th April this year We even took Morning Star along for the day too

Dave’s Granddad, who owns Statfold Barn Farm, has a brilliant 2 foot gauge railway and therefore a special train was laid on to carry Jenny and Dave to the reception marquee.

The picture shows the happy couple alighting from ‘their ’ train. Congratulations Dave and Jenny from all your friends at the SAC!

Colouring Competition 2013

For SAC Members of all ages

CAREFULLY remove this page from the magazine – ask an adult for help if necessary – be especially careful of the staples. We are happy to accept a photocopy of the drawing if you don’t want to damage your magazine

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.

ADDRESS for entries is:

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

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

The competition is open to all apprentices of any age

A badge will be awarded for every entry and prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place – please see April 2013 edition for details of prizes.

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

Name Age Address

G e t Te c h n i c a l !

NTET driving course in Redditch

James Atkins SAC 4683

On the weekend of the 11th and the 12th of May, Chris Forbes (a fellow steam apprentice of whom you most certainly know) and I went on the NTET driving course in Redditch. On the morning of the 11th May, I had to get up at 5 30am and face the long drive from Fareham (on the south coast near Portsmouth) to the venue for the driving course The car journey lasted a good 2¾ hours, but when Dad and I finally arrived, the action began Chris and I were signed up for the intermediate level driving course, which involved some practical lectures as well as theoretical lectures and best of all LOTS OF DRIVING!!!

At about 9.30am, Chris and I were allocated to our engine, Morning Star. When I found out I would be on that engine, I very nearly jumped for joy, being that the engine is quite literally the SAC engine and most of all I have heard many great things about it. Once we were all steamed up and we eventually had pressure after a struggle with the wind –that was in such a direction it caused a draught away from Morning Star’s side mounted damper, causing issues with the fire being drawn towards the damper rather than up through the boiler – we set off trundling around the dirt track and grass that made up the roadway. At about 2 30pm we decided to go down to the bottom field; that meant traversing down a very steep hill. At one

point we began to accelerate very rapidly downhill and we had no choice but to use the flywheel’s footbrake that the driver operates with his foot. However, I operated the foot pedal in this case as Chris had a lot on his hands trying to get the engine to slow down using the reversing lever and trying not to let the water drop too low in the sight glass (plus the Chairman of the SAC was watching him very closely!) so I, the steersman, operated the foot brake to save some stress. After this though, we had to get back up the hill, giving Chris a chance to do something he has always wanted to do; drive a steam tractor hard up a very steep hill. Obviously, we wouldn’t normally do this but in this case we had to, being the hill was very steep and Chris couldn’t resist opening the regulator to more than half way open!

After this we had some lectures to go to These were not as much fun as the driving but even so were very interesting . I must admit though they could have been a little more compelling and more active and exciting . Such as the way some of the lectures could have flowed more easily and some of the lectures could have stopped at an appropriate time (which is when there are no more questions to be asked at the end of the lecture. In my opinion, this is when it is time to get a cup of tea) However, despite this the people taking the lectures did a great job.

In the evening there was a meal that

Mor ning Star at the NTET Driving Course. Photo James Atkins.

was very good and replenished the energy Morning Star took out of me both from physical and mental effort.

On the second day, I was very tired and had a lot on my mind: the following Monday and Tuesday I had some important exams to do. Even so I still had another great day. I started off in the lecture tent with what must be the most hilarious lecture I have ever been to! The lecture was about boiler treatment and was taken by a person that not only said that the Seddon and Black boiler treatment was too expensive (in front of Mr Joe Black himself!) but he taught me how to treat a boiler with some bath salt and a tea bag! What you do is for every weekend’s running you put 1lb. of bath salt in the tender per tonne (per cubic meter) of water in the boiler alongside one cup of tea that is to be poured in the tender for every weekend’s running . The bath salt acts as a neutraliser that changes any acidic water from a steam rally water tank to a suitable strength (pH7 if you have done Chemistry above year 7 level) The tannin in the tea stops any deposits of salt clustering and forming together. He also taught me that if you fill the boiler up with water to very nearly the top of the gauge glass before you are finished for the day, you should then leave the engine overnight and then in the morning when there is no more pressure in the boiler, open the blow down valve until the water drops to just over half way up the gauge glass, you remove any of the salts that have settled in the bottom of the boiler without scalding yourself when opening the blow down valve at about 50psi It saves you money and it quite literally saves your skin.

After other lectures and practical demonstrations, such as how to chain an engine to a low loader and how to hitch

up to a trailer, it was time for more driving , this time on a Fowler compound road loco, again with Chris. The engine was nothing like I have ever driven before and was surprisingly tame and gentle to drive for such a beast. The engine certainly showed me that Fowlers are renowned for their mechanical qualities and not their cosmetic qualities, because the engine may have been a dream to drive, but it wouldn’t win the most beautiful engine of the year award!

After this it was time to go home again and do a little revision for the exams I had the following Monday and Tuesday

I would recommend the NTET driving course to any SAC member so long as you fulfil the NTET’s criteria for doing the course. You learn a lot over the weekend, and you most certainly enjoy yourself regardless of what course you do whether it’s foundation or fourth year advanced, or if it’s tipping it down with rain or if it is bright and sunny. It’s great fun and makes you walk away thinking ‘I wouldn’t mind a traction engine for Christmas!’

Thank you to all of the organisers and engine owners giving Chris, me and all the other NTET students a weekend to remember.

Chairman’s note (sorr y Editor, I got in first this time): I’d like to say one thing about James’ account of the weekend regarding the drive up the hill James says that the engine was driven hard and that Chris had to open the regulator ‘more than half way’. On an engine like Morning Star this is a regular experience when working on hills and is not ‘bad driving’ or harmful to the engine. Morning Star loves it, and so do the photographers! I would also like to say that it was a pleasure to have these two lads on Morning Star and that the way they handled the engine round the site at Davis’ yard was always controlled and considerate. See you next year boys

How to stop the steam escaping ...

John Durling

As you look around the engine lines at the rallies you go to you will probably

n o t i c e t h a t m o s t e n g i n e s h a v e a l i t t l e steam escaping from the cylinder drains when the engine is standing still. This is

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

p r o p e r l y w h e n i t i s s h u t . A l i t t l e b i t o f

s t e a m w i s p i n g a w a y i s n o t m u c h t o b e worried about However, during last year

t h e l i t t l e b i t o f s t e a m l e a k i n g f r o m

Morning Star became a steady flow and then a jet! It got so bad towards the end

o f t h e s e a s o n t h a t t h e e n g i n e w o u l d

d r i v e h e r s e l f f o r w a r d i n l o w w h e e l with the regulator shut! Something had to be done.

T h e r e g u l a t o r o n Av e l i n g Tr a c t o r s

( a n d m a n y o t h e r e n g i n e s ) c o n s i s t s o f a bronze disc sliding over a raised hole in

t h e c y l i n d e r c a s t i n g w h i c h w i l l a l l o w

steam in to the valve chest. This raised ‘ring’ had been worn and re - cut several times over the engine’s life to the point

w h e r e t h e r e w a s n o t h i n g l e f t t o c u t ; i t was flush with the surrounding casting . The reason for the leaking was that the surface of the ‘ hole’ had worn concave –

t h a t m e a n s t h a t i t w a s c u r v i n g

d o w n w a r d s a w a y f r o m t h e b r o n z e

s l i p p e r. I n t u r n t h e s l i p p e r h a d w o r n

c o n v e x , b u t i n a d i f f e r e n t s h a p e

t o t h e t o p o f t h e c a s t i n g . T h e r e f o r e

t h e y d i d n’ t m e e t i n m a n y p l a c e s a n d leaked badly

O b v i o u s l y w e n e e d e d t o p u t

s o met h i ng i n t h er e t h a t wo ul d a ) s t a nd the heat, b) stand the pressure and c) be able to be machined flat.

Va r i o u s i d e a s w e r e c o n s i d e r e d

i n c l u d i n g b r a s s , b r o n z e a n d P T F E

E v e n t u a l l y w e d e c i d e d t h a t t h e

b e s t c h a n c e o f s u c c e s s w o u l d b e g i v e n

b y m a k i n g t h e r e p a i r p l a t e o u t o f stainless steel.

The idea was to make a flat plate with a h o l e i n i t w i t h a c o l l a r p o i n t i n g downwards that would fit tightly in the

e x i s t i n g h o l e i n t h e t o p o f t h e c a s t i n g Luckily I could buy stainless steel tube of e x a c t l y t h e r i g h t d i a m e t e r t o b e a s n u g

p u s h f i t i n t h e h o l e ! A f r i e n d w h o i s

h a n d y w i t h a T I G w e l d e r ( i f y o u d o n’ t k n o w w h a t t h i s m e a n s G o o g l e i t ! )

w e l d e d t h e c o l l a r t o a f l a t p i e c e o f stainless steel and then the top face was ground to remove any distortion caused by the welding . See picture 1.

T h i s r e p a i r p l a t e w a s f i x e d i n t o t h e cylinder using a high temperature Loctite sealant adhesive (Loctite 5910) to hold it in place. Because the engine was out of service we were able to leave this to cure for a week before we did any more work in the area.

The bronze slipper was then re -faced t o b e f l a t a n d t h e w h o l e l o t p u t back together. See picture 2. But would it work?

It was several weeks before the boiler

i n s p e c t o r w o u l d c o m e a n d t h e

f r o s t s s t o p p e d , t o a l l o w u s t o p u t t h i s repair to the test.

I a m p l e a s e d t o s a y t h a t t h e s t e a m

l e a k i n g f r o m M o r n i n g S t a r ’ s c y l i n d e r dr a i ns wh en s h e i s s t a ndi ng s t i l l i s no w no worse than most other engines The plate is still bedding in and I hope it will seal better as time goes on.

Nearly 21 years old?

SPECIAL PRICE NTET MEMBERSHIP FOR SAC MEMBERS

If you ar e appr oaching the time when you will be too old for the SAC you can benefit fr om half price membership of the NTET for the first year.

Send your expir ed SAC membership car d to Sue Cook, together with a cheque payable to the NTET for half of the full member price (curr ently this will be £15) and you will r eceive your first NTET membership car d.

(This offer only applies to SAC members who have been in membership at their 21st birthday)

The next stage in K ate’s new fir ebox

Kevin Munn

Next came the fitting of the box. As you can see from the accompanying photos they do it all upside down for ease of access and handling using gravity to help them do the work.The new box with foundation ring is lowered into the boiler into the correct position and bolted into place. The rivets are then heated to red hot and put into place and squeezed down so that they are firmly held in place.

The squeezer is a very powerful machine and can exert a pressure of 150 tons per square inch! The box is then drilled and tapped using the holes in the outside wrappers for the guide for the new stays These are then screwed into place with just enough material either

side so that they can be formed over to hold them in place, have sufficient area to stop the wrapper and box coming apart, as well as ‘seal’ the threads to stop the water coming out.

Once this is all done the tubes are put in place and expanded so they are also held properly in place to keep the water in the boiler and allowing the gases and smoke from the fire to go along them. At the firebox end they are beaded over, this gives them extra strength and thickness to cope with the heat etc they get in the firebox. Then it is time for the cold water pressure test. This is where the boiler is filled up with water to the very top and pressurised to 1½ times its normal working pressure, in my case to 210

pounds per square inch (psi) My normal working pressure being 140psi This is to ensure there are no leaks from the newly assembled boiler as well as no distortion of any of the metal work. I am pleased to say it passed! See photo. TO BE CONTINUED

F itting the r ed hot rivets.