Volume 30 Number 1 – January 2016
Steam Apprentice Club
Editor
Kevin Munn, 56 Blacklands Drive, Hayes End, Hayes, Middlesex. UB4 8EX. Tel 0208 573 9180 sac.raisingsteam@ntet.co.uk
Chairman
Elaine Massey, 21 Down Close, Northolt, Middlesex UB5 6NS Tel: 020 8248 6570 sac.chairman@ntet.co.uk
Vice Chairman
Hugh Dyson, 32 Granary End, Witchford, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 2WF Tel: 01353 667150 hugh.dyson@inbox.com
Membership Secretary
Lisa Crankshaw, NTET Membership PO Box 10348 Hinckley LE10 9FB membership@ntet.co.uk
Membership fee £15 per annum Webmaster
Nick Bosworth, 76a Main Road, Smalley, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE76EF Tel: 07931 577430 sac.webmaster@ntet.co.uk
SAC Committee
Main email: sac.raisingsteam@ntet.co.uk
Matthew Lund Tel: 01329 832462
Barry Sumsion Tel: 01633 671798 Helen Tyrrell Tel: 01793 751830
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.
N TET is a Registered Charity, No. 291578. Registered in England No. 1302197. Registered Office: 4 Church Green East, Redditch, Worcestershire B98 8BT.
www.ntet.co.uk
www.ntet.co.uk/sac
From the Editor
Kevin Munn
A New Year and a new season around the corner, though with the mild weather we have been having I am not sure the old one has ended! I hope many of you managed to get to a Boxing Day and New Years day engine runs, always a good time is had by all. In the magazine you will see the driving day’s dates for the forthcoming year. We do try to be as fair as we can to all, so if you do put in for multiply events and don’t get all of them it will probably be because we try and get as many
apprentices as possible a chance to have a go, especially the new ones who have joined in the last year. A question for you: - Write and tell me how you started to like and became a steam apprentice and enjoy working on them.
From the Chairman
Elaine Massey
Here we are into 2016 already, my engine “Olive” will be 105 this year! Time marches on and my most significant news is that I have a new apprentice in the family, James. Although only very young, seven weeks as I write this, he has shirts marked “engine” and a full set of Thomas the Tank and Peters Railway books! Not to mention a great set of red overalls to grow into!
Usually this is a quiet time of year but not this year! By the time you read this I will have exhibited on behalf of the NTET and SAC at the London Model Engineering Show, the following weekend is the Engine Owners Meeting and the first weekend of February is Steam Toys in Action, at Abbey Pumping Station Leicester. Hopefully we will have the Burrell chugging around happily outside.
Don’t forget, read this edition carefully, and get your applications for driving days in as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. Places as always are limited.
All driving days will be £15 per apprentice per day.
Our next SAC committee meeting is scheduled for March. Any comments, suggestions, offers of help, are always welcome.
Help wanted with Lady Sylvia
Hugh Dyson
The Steam Apprentice Club is looking for a few more grown up helpers to run Lady Sylvia next year. We would like the engine to travel to more events and get to some of the parts of the country it has not yet travelled to. We would prefer people who have some experience with
engines but would be happy to train those that don’t. A driving licence which allows you to tow a braked trailer over 1000kgs and a vehicle capable would also be useful though not essential.
If you are interested please drop me a line at hugh.dyson@inbox.com
Restoration of a Timber Trailer
Hugh Dyson
I have been looking for a timber carriage or pole waggon as they were sometimes called for a few years now to use with our engine and the vintage tractor I own. These trailers were made specifically to move large tree trunks by either traction engines or tractors from the woods to the saw mills. The engine would pull up alongside the trunk of a felled tree then two poles were placed at either end of the trailer to allow the engine to roll the log onto the trailer with the winch. Earlier this year I had bid on a
timber trailer which was listed on eBay only to loose by a few pennies. Then about two months later the very same timber trailer was advertised again on eBay. Luckily this time it had moved a lot closer to home so transport costs were more favourable. The new owner had also made a start with the restoration so I grasped the chance and decided to bid again. This time I won the auction and as luck has it paid quite a bit less that my previous attempt to buy it.
A Garrett and Burrell tractor with a timber trailer loaded with about 15Tons of Oak
A few days later I had arranged some transport and it was delivered. On first inspection it looked quite good, just a bit of painting I thought. Just like most things old and well used on closer inspection I found a few problems. Quite a few rust holes in the chassis and lots of brake parts broken or missing. Over this year when time from work and rallies have allowed I have cut out all of the rotten bits of steel and welded in new plates, rebuilt the drawbar to better suite the vehicles we will use to tow it and repainted the trailer. We even managed to get the
brakes working having made some of the missing bits. Whilst undergoing restoration I was able to discover some of the history attached to the trailer. It was built in Scotland from parts of another trailer possibly a Dyson trailer or dray of approx 1930’s age. There is a similar trailer which still survives in Scotland. The axles wheels and brakes all come from a donor trailer. The top frame looks like it comes from another timber trailer and has been cut down to suit. I hope to find a large tree trunk this winter and to load and move on the road with steam power.
NTET Driver Training Course
To be held at Astwood Bank, Redditch, Worcestershire on 7/8 May 2016. Steam Apprentices (age 13-15) £80, (age 16 – 21) £115 for the two days. DISCOUNT of 15% If you pay for 2 years at the same time. Contact Joe Black at :training@ntet.co.uk or Tel: 07595 466353
For more information about the training course, see the NTET website: www.ntet.co.uk/owners-drivers/driving-experience-courses
The timber trailer now restored.
Crossing Bell River
Kevin Munn
The picture below shows a more picturesque shot of two Fowler engines ‘off roading’, not in the U.K. but out in Australia. The river is called Bell River in the state of New South Wales. Notice the rather larger tender extensions this is because they are running mainly on wood. One of the engines called Sooty travelled from a place call Maitland to Wellington and they kept interesting records of the journey. Distance travelled from Maitland to Wellington 350km. Burnt 5 Ton of wood and 200kg of coal. Consumed 11,000 litres of water and 12 litres of oil. Spent 44 hours of steaming
time on the road. The engine ran at an average of 250 RPM & rotated 680,000 times. Out of bed at 4.00am & 2 hours each morning preparing the engine. Whistle out and on the road at 6.00am. Average time on the road 8.5 hours. The 6 man crew spent an average 2 hour shift operating Sooty and at the changeover of the crews the engine was oiled and filled with water. It made me exhausted just reading them.
Picture and facts courtesy of Paul Lousick of the Maitland Steam & Antique Machinery Association, Inc.
Sooty is the smaller engine at the front, on the other side of the river crossing. I am driving Sooty with Jamie Gersbach and the big engine was driven by Noel Woodyard and Peter Garnham.
Models are a good way to show how things worked. Here is a ploughing set with one engine in the foreground and the other in the background ‘pulling’ the anti balance plough between them.
A Colonial Portable
Kevin Munn
It was not only traction engines that went abroad, but portable engines as well. Used in many different ways as you will see from the facts accompanying the picture.
Manufacturer: Marshall Sons & Co Ltd Britannia Iron Works, Gainsborough, England
Year of Manufacture: 1907
Country: Assembled Ian England
Manufacturers Number: 46296
Nominal Horse power: 5nhp
Number of cylinder s: Single cylinder double acting 7” Bore 10” Stroke
Type of boiler : Colonial
Boiler pressure: Original 120 PSI , Current 80 PSI
Fuel used: Wood
Weight of machine: 4 tons
History of Ownership: ? – 1979: Wilga Downs (a farming property in NSW)
Used to power the property’s Sheep Shearing stations.
1980-1983: Major Boiler Repairs
1992-1993: Renovation project as part of Higher School Certificate Industrial Technology Major Work
2014: On Loan to Maitland Steam and Antique Machinery Association
Description and Use: Engines of this type which combined a light weight engine and boiler drove pumps Chaffcutters and other agriculture machinery. They were called portable because they could be carted easily around the country side as needed.
Pictures and ‘facts’ courtesy of Paul Lousick, Maitland Steam & Antique Machinery Association, Inc.
Driving Days 2016 Linda Allen
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great time over the festive period. It’s time to get your applications in for this year’s Driving Days, it seems to have come round very quickly!
After many years, we have decided to raise the cost of the driving days from £10 to £15 as the various costs of running the days has increased over this time.
Please could you include an email address on your applications, as well as a parent’s mobile phone number? It’s useful for the organisers to have a more immediate way of contacting you if there are any changes to the day. Don’t forget your Log Books, so you can have your news skills with engines recorded, and please, please send Raising Steam a short article and a picture or two of what you
have been up to! We really enjoy hearing about what you have learned and the new friends you have made.
Please note that it doesn’t matter if you have never been on an engine before, or whether you have been on several driving days, the applications will be dealt with as they arrive. Those of you on reserve lists from last year will be considered first should you wish to attend an event this year, but please get your applications in quickly, even if the driving day you’re interested in isn’t until the autumn as it helps the organisers know well in advance how many Apprentices they will be hosting.
I hope that you all have a great year on these amazing machines!
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 and those who were on the reserve lists in the previous year.
Tinkers Park Sussex 17th
Sep Adrian Vaughan established now at Tinkers Park set in East Sussex own roadway so can operate in all weathers
Leeds 10th
Sep Ollie Maslin On the Otley Vintage Vehicle Extravaganza ground near Leeds.
July Tim Watson County of Salop 27th
Aug Doug Milns Being run on the Saturday before the County of Salop Rally.
St Albans (Sun) Location TBC 17th
SAlbans (Sat) Location TBC 16th
Stithians (Sun) Cornwall 8th
Stithians (Sat) Cornwall 7th
Two SEPARATE days as demand was high.
July Tim Watson Held an event two years ago which was well liked. All weather course.
May John Sawle
Two SEPARATE days run by the WESES as demand last year was high. See special applying instructions on application form.
May John Sawle Being run on the showground at Stithians.
Fengate Farm, Weeting, Suffolk. 2nd & 3rd April Richard Parrott Mr Parrott has a collection of 4 or 5 engines with others also on site. Again they are running over two days. Camping/caravanning space is available.
Horsham West Sussex 26th March
Dee Searle
Dee kindly did a driving day last year and is now back for more! Plenty of engines to try.
Location Date
Leader
Comments
Steam Apprentice Club Driving Days
2016 Driving Day Application Form
Send this form, with a cheque/postal order for £15 payable to the NTET. The cheque/postal order to be dated 3 weeks before the event and an SAE to:Linda Allen 2 Stephenson Drive, Frome, Somerset BA11 2XD For Stithians ONLY send this form with a cheque payable to the NTET with an SAE to:Amanda Menear, Tregonning, 52 Rectory Road, Camborne, Cornwall, TR14 7DS
I would like to take part in the driving day at ......................................................... on ....../....../16 EXPERIENCE
• Please indicate the number of Driving Days that you have attended .......................
• Please tick the appropriate boxes to indicate your experience in working with traction engines: Cold Engine preparation i.e. General inspection & cleaning, water levels, lighting fire and oiling up.
Boiler Management i.e. Water injectors and feed pump, running out of gear, regulator and motion control.
Moving off i.e. start, stop, basic steering and driving; fire and water management.
Advanced Techniques i.e. Working with a trailer, winching and belt work.
I HAVE ENCLOSED A STAMPED SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE FOR JOINING DETAILS.
Driving days are one of the important things we do which is getting you on engines. We hope you will look at going to the one nearest to you to learn more about looking after an engine, steering and driving. When you go to these events you are of course representing the club. We want you to enjoy your day and be safe, therefore please pay attention to what your instructor tells you at all times and be on good behaviour. In your invite letter there are words that the organizer ‘has the final say’ on all matters and that would include removing you from an engine if deemed necessary.
I have read and understand the above Signed......................................................................................
If you are under 18, please ask your Parent/Guardian to sign below.
Important Notice to Parents.
The NTET has a Child Protection Policy and would never knowingly put a child at risk. The SAC could not run the driving days without the help of a large number of volunteers. Please note is not practicable for the NTET to check all helpers. You are welcome to talk to the volunteers or stay and observe. If you chose not to we will assume that you are satisfied that your child is safe. Please can parents/guardians also inform us on the application of any particular support needs your child may require, so that event organizers can make reasonable efforts to accommodate them. I have read the Notice to Parents and agree to my son/daughter taking part in the driving day as detailed above.
Signature of Parent/Guardian ......................................................................
When we have received your application I shall post your membership number on the website, or if you are happy to give me your e-mail address I will send a message. Joining Instructions will be sent two weeks before event and a note posted on the website confirming despatch. Acknowledgement of application does not guarantee a place on a driving day. Non engine owner apprentices and those on reserve lists 2015 will be considered first.
Photocopy this page, or download a copy from our website - www.ntet.co.uk/sac/events.htm
Here we have a photo sent in by Richard Warren
A photo of Charlotte Coulls, like father like daughter seen cleaning Marshall general purpose engine number No 23885, though not owned by the family is in good hands.
Anthony Coulls, Charlotte’s father is chairman of the National Traction Engine Trust, and was once a member of the Steam Apprentice Club!
What do you think this might be?
Kevin Munn
Last time we asked if you knew what this might be?
Unfortunately, no-one guessed the correct answer!
The item in the photo is the ‘puck’ that forms part of the regulator. It sits in the holder (shown below-right) which is connected to the regulator rod.
The whole assembly sits inside the cylinder block, usually in the steam space underneath the cylinder block.
When the regulator is closed the puck covers the steam passage to the cylinder, but when you open the regulator (in the direction of the green arrow) the holder moves the puck away from the hole, letting steam through into the cylinder.
Help Wanted
Nick
Bosworth
We have a request from an engine owner for some help.
Phil Clements is looking for an apprentice to help out with his Marshall Traction Engine ‘TeaPot’. Phil is located on the Nottinghamshire/Lincolnshire border.
Ideally Phil is looking for a mature apprentice who can help out with both rallying and general maintenance.
If you are interested, please send an email to sac.webmaster@ntet.co.uk, telling us your name, age, location and experience with steam engines.
We will review all applications and speak to Phil about any suitable candidates.
SAC Annual Awards
Nick Bosworth
Every year we award trophies for Technical Achievement, Apprentice of the Year and also in recognition if a person or organisation who have significantly helped the SAC.
In November 2015 we awarded the following at the NTET AGM.
The TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD was won by Thomas FieldsPattinson in recognition of his work in the resoration of a full size steam, building a miniature and volunteer work at Claymills pumping station.
Thomas is the recent owner of a derelict Aveling & Porter GND tractor which formerly resided on the banks of Loch Ness. Since purchasing the engine almost a year ago, tom has virtually completed the boiler work and he is making good progress manufacturing the
SAC Model Trophy
Do you know where it is?
parts needed for the rest of his engine.
The APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR AWARD was won by John Hawkes and was nominated by Dr Raymond Rowe. John has grown up with steam and spends a lot of his time helping out with a 1904 7hp Clayton & Shuttleworth traction engine ‘Peggy’
John was awarded a scholarahip to the National Traction Engine Trust’s driver training course in 2014.
The Doc Romanes Trophy was awarded to Richard Parrott, who for many years has run a SAC driving day on his grounds in Weeting, Norfolk. Richard has devoted his time and effort into running the events and has required little or no input from the SAC.
For winning the model section of our Great Dorset Steam Fair competitions we award a trophy, which is held for one year until it is passed onto the next winner. Unfortunately we seem to have ‘lost sight’ of it. If you have the trophy or know who has, please contact us so we can arrange for its return.
sac.raisingsteam@ntet.co.uk
Free Entry to Rallies
Did you know you can get free entry to rallies when you show your membership card. Not all rallies do this but many do. Always check ahead with the rally organiser if they are willing to give you free admission. It is for YOU only and will not include family and friends. The NTET has a Authorised list of rallies at www.ntet.co.uk/events, so have a look.
My Passion for Steam
Jack Wallbridge
I am Jack, I am 8 years old and I live in the New Forest in Hampshire. For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about steam. I went to my first Steam Rally when I was 5 months old and I have loved steam engines ever since! I still remember my dad saying “the fire heats the water creating steam that turns the wheels”, as every dad does! As I have got older, I have wanted to learn more about these machines and how they work. I joined the Steam Apprentice Club, when I was 4.
A few years ago, my dad found his old Mamod and we enjoy steaming it. Then at the Copythorne Steam Rally in 2013 we saw a display by two local families – the Smarts and Wingham’s. They were displaying K-nex models powered by Mamods. They were keen to share their knowledge and invited us to join
them the next year! This really inspired me and I was determined to do it!
I saved up my money to buy a Mamod and my dad found his old technical Lego tractor kit and this was the start of Steam Jacks Lego contraptions! We worked on this over the year and we were ready for our first display at the Copythorne rally in 2014 with the Smarts and Wingham’s. A dream come true! We had a great time and bought more Lego to build new models which we displayed at two rallies last year. I will soon start working on this year’s model. You can see some of my models on YouTube youtube.com/watch?v=NVB9J6UFjyE
My passion does not stop there. Last year I enjoyed getting a lot more involved with miniatures and full size engines and had a fantastic time at the SAC driving days at Horsham and Tinkers Park. I have
Aged 3 with my Dad
really enjoyed joining in with the SAC activities at the Great Dorset Steam Fair over the last 4 years, especially helping to build Lady Silvia and Glen’s tutorials. By going to rallies - Netley Marsh, Bill Targett, Twyford Waterworks, Bursledon Brickworks, Great Dorset and even Torbay this year, I am getting to know engine owners and they are willing to let me get involved. Before Christmas I enjoyed a day with Gemma and her engine Liberty (1903 Wallis and Stevens General Purpose engine), getting the engine ready for a Victorian Christmas Steam Spectacular. I would really like to be able to get more involved with local engines, so if you live in Hampshire and would be willing to let me help, please get in touch (helenwallbridge@hotmail. co.uk).
Of course, my biggest dream is to own my own engine and be able to take it to rallies. I hope that by saving up and continuing to learn as much as I can through getting involved, this dream will one day come true!
My Second Display, Bill Targett Rally 2015
Horsham SAC Driving Day, April 2015
Teething Problems with Kate
Kevin Munn
One problem I had was a knocking noise on the backward stroke of the piston. I listened everywhere to try and track down where it was, but like a rattle in a car which gets ‘amplified’ I had the same. After asking around the consensus it was one of two things, either the wedge that connects the piston rod to the crosshead, or incorrect setting of the length of the piston from the centre line of the crankshaft. I double checked the security of the wedge in the crosshead and found with my trusty hammer it could sit down more into it. I then took off the piston end cover and had a look in there. From what I could see maybe the piston wasn’t coming quite up to be level with the steam inlet port so I did some measuring, got out paper and pencil and did some calculations.
As you know the boiler gets very hot
when at full pressure as mentioned in last magazine, reaching nearly 200C when at 200psi, this causes everything to expand, including the length of the barrel of the boiler on which the cylinder sits that houses the piston.
So what you have to do is calculate how much the cylinder moves ‘away’ from the crankshaft. You can properly measure it if you have an extremely long barrel, but you wouldn’t get it down to an accuracy of a few thousandth of a inch. I therefore measured from the centre line of the crankshaft to the end face of the cylinder, see Fig 1. I then looked up a chart the temperature of the water and hence the temperature of the barrel at 140 p.s.i. which I found to be about 353 F or 178C. The next thing to find out was the coefficient of expansion for steel, which is 0.000016 in/in F or m/m C.
Next came the calculation which was the initial length (as per Fig 1) x linear expansion coefficient x (final temperature (353 F) - initial temperature (in my case 70F) the answer came up that the expansion was around 0.225 inches.
If you aren’t sure how much that is, this black box is 0.225 inches wide.
For the purposes of the calculation and for ease of getting an answer I have assumed everything else is at 70F and does not expand hopefully the reason why will become clearer later. The expansion was more than enough to cause the knocking sound if the length from the centre line of the crankshaft to the back of the piston is set incorrectly (See fig 2). To adjust the length between the centre line of the crankshaft and the back of the piston on the Aveling there are shims between the end of the
connecting rod and the main bearing (See Fig 3). I therefore when the engine was cold I measured the rods, the end cap that keeps the steam in , thickness of the gasket used for sealing and added them altogether from which I took away the calculated figure plus end cap etc and found that indeed the piston was hitting the end cap. I then added sufficient shims as shown in Fig 3 to in effect ‘move the piston away from the end cap. When I looked again at the forward end of the piston bore with the piston in the forward position I could see it was closer to the steam inlet port. Everything was then put back in place and tightened up and steam raised, the engine turned over and all I heard was the normal sounds one would expect to hear, a result! Whether it was the tightening of the wedge or the additional shims in place that stopped the banging sound I don’t know but it was good not to hear it.
