June 1980 . -
Dear Apprentice , •
! Well, we ~re now a fully-functioning Steam organisation, having now held our first event·. ··Abt>ut"twenty-three apprentices managed to get to Minster Lovell on 12th April for the first Steam Engine Proficiency Tests, and a thoroug~y-go.a. time··was had by all. A full accou:at appears later in this newsletter and· apprentices will no doubt be pleased to know that t"Wf', and possibly three f simi],ar events have now been arranged during the _seasons. - These will be at rallies, on Sunday imrnings. F\lll details further on in this issue··. ••Don 1 t •forget to let us know if y~u are comi11g to f?..nynr all of them.
• ; For those ,vho are interested, there. are now one hundred and nine apprentices. -Quit.e' a nµmber of these now need to renew their subscriptions, or they won't get-any- .IJJOrenewsletters. Please check your membership card and •if you .:first joined l8:$t _spri19,g or early summer,· renew now' You won •t get into rallies with last year's card either.
We are rather short of letters· this time -obviously you write more in the Wint~r V'lhenyou. aren't. so busy looking at engines~ Please keep them coming, they are on~of the-most -interesting parts of the newsletter, at least according \o· sever,al apprentices I talked to at· Minster Lovell. Here is scmething to keep you ' looking out; Who can manage to see the greatest number or· different makes of·· e'I1gii}e, in Britain, b9fore 1st November this year? The possible mtal is aboui; ·::53,-?i.ow hear can you get? (If you ,vant. a list of names, look at the Crowsword . olues:given-in Newsletter 4)
I •m hoping to see you at a rally some time this su.umer, and particularly • :at_.Stamford, Rempstone or Roxton Park.
Yours sincerely,
1fa~garet Joachim Eilitor
BOIµj:R SUIT SOS ANS"WERED~
We h~v~ received ~e addresses of_ two suppliers of small boiler suits. Unfortt',ll'.lately the material is nylon·· in both cases -not a terribly good idea_ w.ith a fire, around, but much better than no overalls at all. Thank you Michael Rule .and Pam·Coulson for your help.
a) - Fraser! s Farmwear ,·:'"47 Buzns. Statue Square Ayr, KA7 1sz _ Scotland
(This fi nn als • supplies them in co·cton drill, at about £1 o, • according- to size.)
b) Lilliput 2 Ward.Street Manchester
Price for ·nylon is about £4.50, again according to size.
1ifo have made definite arrangemen-ts, 0i'e-r 0 .two,.more·:-steam training sessions this year. Unlike the first, they will both take place at rallies ( so that there is something for the rest of the family to do). The details are as follows:
1) StamfoJ?(l, T_ract:r.ort Engine' Rally,··Burghley. Pc:1.rk/St~ord, Lines·.
Sunday, 29th Jw1e ... :..... . • Time; 10 G-30am_to· 1 .ooj\~ •
2)
Rempstorie ·st~am. and Vintage· Rally, Lo~ghborou·gi, Leics -·•. _(-Onthe A69/A6006; M1• e:::it 23/24)
Date: SW1day, 13th July Time: 10~30 amfo 1 -~0O·pm
We cannnt _give any details cf the ehgines that will be ..used, 'because they will be selected from those which actually arrive.-.at the ralliEfs::,P However, the.·prcgr~e should include some steering and driving, instruction on a static -.engine and manoeuvering vrith a trailer:./. :There will also be space f'oi-·.caravans, if. the :whole. family wants to come for the weekend. ( To bool< caravan 'space,· get in touch wi, th. the rally organiser as shovm on the rally list.)_ • •
Reme:n'ber to bring suitable clothing and an up to,-date membership-card._ You.will be able to·renevl your subscription \vhen you· arrive, anil' buy a club badge -if you have·n 1t already got one.
We are. also trying to arrange ·a· similar event at Roxtoll'_Park Rally, vmi~h ~uld be on ·14th'·September. This· is not yet defl~ite, but we'will let, you know in time.-if it does ta1ce place. As a general ni.le we shall try to arrange all future_ events.,fc;,r SW1day_mor.nings, from 10030 to about 1 ~00a •
Please let us ( specifically the lliembersh:i:P Secretary) know if you ~~e/1:ikely _to come. A p0stcard vcill d~ and of course we won't kick you out if you haven't written first, but it will help us t·o pla.n:· for a suitable number of engines and tutors if we have some idea of the nUJ~bers expected.
+ + + See the Photographic Competition details for a special class+ + + + + + for pictures taken at a 6team Apprentice event + + +
LETTERS
Ohly one this timE:3_,·but a very jieasarit one~ Robin Moss frbm Warrington Writes!.,, ·••r•
I have been asked by my father, who is membersbip secretary· and ·sales •of f:foar for the Lancashire Traction Engine Club, to inform you that.members of. th~ Steam Apprentice Club w.i.ll be allowed in free to their rally -at,Haydock .Park Racecourse, close to the M6 and A580·interchange, on the 12th and 13th.July. • •
During this winter I have been helping to ·overhaul _Burrel~ roll.er No.. 3535, from 1913. This is named 'Old Err..ie' after Ernie._Cooper, _who used~t_o 9-rive __ it for Layland Council and was President of the LTEC until his de~th t,o-day ,WB.h~d the first trial 'steam-up', but to get the roller from a large garage we· had· to-drag out Sentinel lorry No. 8714, Burr.ell .agrtcultural ,Emginf;) No·.- 4037 and Fowler :rcller No~ 20122. We did all this using a very pcwerful 1942 Field Nia.r shall tractor. After' tightening up lea1cing mud hole doors and glands we had it going round the yard, when I ·had a go::nt driving and stee-ringc.it.. -
SECOND JREAT PHOTOGrtAPHI~ COMPETITION
There will te another photogr~phic l~pmpetition for- Apprentices in 1180. ' The rules are very similar to last jear 1 sOlv1PE'~' IT I vN lJE'l~b:112
a. There will be· two c:..asses: best Engine Photograph and Best Rally Photograph.
b. There will be one prize in each class; black and white or colour prints may be entered.
C • Colour slides will not ·ce 9-ccepted - but you can easily get a print made from your best slice if you want to enter.
d. Each S.AoCo member may_er.ter one print for each class, NOT lvIOhE!_
e.Send your entry, with you:· full name and address, and membership number, to: The Editor, >:: Fewburgh Hoad, Acton, London w3.
f. CLOSING DATE: 1st. Octobe~, 1980.
g. If vc,u wanttvour entries r~turned, .vou must send a stamped addressed emrel.opc wi n your entry, L ') tnat we c&rr--p-os t tne pictures oacic
BEST ENGINE PHOTO-. We are loo·.:<:io.g for really ~ood photos o_f1enar:rines on diBplay or working, at a r&-lj, on the roan, on private an or even parked up.
BEST RALLt PH.OTO- Many events take place at rallies, not all of wtdch involve engines. v:c are looking ::or pictures of these events with lots of activity. You could also send ~hotos of people, animals or equipment, for example a fairground scene or a coal delivery.
SPECIAL EXTRAPRIZE
There will be a special extra priz8 for the best picture of a Steam Apprentice Club member involved in an activity to do with traction .• engines. This prize may be awarded ~o one of the class prizewinners, or to an entirely different picture, at the judges' discr~tion. fo enter a picture for this prize, the name and address of tte Apprentice in the picture must-be sent with your entry, as well as Jour o«n name and .addrees. (if the picture is of a ~umber of Apprentices, you need only identify one of them.)
A.LL Pl-GZES WILL BE V\Yu_;.H.Ei-tS Tu Sl'END AT 'l'liE NTEC SALES Sl'ANl).
hemE.mber - any· picture you ent€r must be your own unaided. worK. please send us brief details of ~he engines and places in your pictures.
Good shooting, and Good luck!
DUKE OF ELINBUBG-li I S A\:ARD
We heard.recently th~t someone had taken 'Traction Engines' as a spec1a~_1nterest topic for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. If you have _ done ~nis, ?r something similar, please let us know. Other members would ?ertainl~ like to hear about it, and the National Traction Engine Club 1s also interested in this sort of activity.
- ··· • -!iL~s_mond. Kimbell
A keen hoy would know much of this hefore he became a mate or a second man with a threshing set. Then he would have plenty of prcictic~ at keeping steam, using the chains, handling the wire rope and steering, long before he became a driver. Sometimes he would have a lesson at • 'setting to the drum' on dry, level ground. 1 .Not too much steam', the driver would say, 'seventy-five pouna is enough for a learner, tnen- • she 1 11 handle gentler. ' Then the engine would move gently towards the threshing machine, roughly in line with it, and then he ste~red little to the left until, looking along the inside of the flywheel, it came in line· with.the outside of the. machine.
'That could do, 1 the driver would say as he walked behind, looking alortg, 'but come a shade more out. to allow for the blower pulley's space on the inside of· the drum pulley~ .And another thing, them as don't know will always try and set. to the pulley, which is more difficult and generally less true. Though a belt will run ·up to a footaway on either side b_ecause of flywheel and drum pulley cambers. Often, on slippery_ ground or _wheriyou 1 re in a hurry you have to let·it be a bit out of true. 1 He would then pull the belt out, its end on the drum pulley, and ask for a 1 come back' or _tgo forr~rd', until the engine hub axle was level with his hands~ when _he would ·shout 1 stop! 1 Generally, .then, the belt wculo go-on anC::be utthe right tension.·If_ not, _a turn or two witt1 the ratchet jack up against a 1:ipud bolt 7 in one of the wheel's holes for these when spudded-up, would move it forwards or back.
With_ the driver himself, Betting, steam pressure did not· matter so much, as 1 he could-handle her anyhow, and would know hi::; ;Length near enough; head up, closer, head down, further away. 1 Should t,he·belt be· too slack, he would Jsteam tighten' by a whiff of steam intb the cylinder when in the reverse position. Which, after a slip of belt would get the drum just turni_ng,_ when he would. quickly slide into gear and let. the momentum of the drum -kinetic energy once again - ease -_ the engine back yia the belt, the mate mean~hile_ki~king the wheel sc<;>tc_hthos·e few inches for the road wheel to :res-t on when c.he. gear. was slid out; • ·
A boy who grew up with -oteam-, some-times_ with fat_her ana even grandfather 'drivers, took t-0_ it naturally wi\hout thinking why- h~ did this- or ·that. It 'Nasn't n:atural,, for .instance, .to get of-fan, ?ng1ne and leave your lever in the central notch, 1 though \here Ne~e th~m as said you shouldl I Because of now-and-then part primings, few traction engine regulators shut off cleanly, so you left your lever open one way or the otbe~ to be 1 0n stroke'. cyiinder ~&ps were left open to let leaking-t~ -steam come out here rather than blowing ·through piston, rod and vaive rod giands and disturb their packing. And you ~i9n 1 t think how to stand or where to put your hands ·which, when dr1v1ng, was as natural as walKing. Lots of other things a young driver knew, and did, 11~hic~WO!JJd be hardly understood now; with engines so long out of use, which made drivin·g a cra:ft, like ·machinicg, erecting-, fitting and boilermaking are.
No_wadays amateurs ·perform miracles in th_ese -latter skills, -using ae6ns of ti~c~ p~tience and en~µrance, because they still exist, even if in changed :form·, and aid, adv_ice and example can be drawn from them. Not so; however, with driving; as the last.boys ~ho grew up with_ steam are now old men, or have passed on. So a connection ~s been lost, and present-day--boys- -have---to start .fr.om .scratch and learn by t.hinking it out for themselves and picking up hints here and there.
The lovel.y weather from 'the Ea:.;ter wee.t<end managed to hang on for APfil 12th, for the. S.A~C Stearn Proficiency ·t~tits _at Minster Lovell. fhis was our very firat club event, so .the orr1cers were naturally very concerned ttiqi;, every~hing should go well. About 23_members had saia they ~ere coming. aco m9ny of then.had already arrived by 9-~0 am., and were· already in-1e3tigating· the engi.ne she:::is &nd watching ligi1Eingup procedures whert I arrivect.·John Sha~ton was already in f~ll swing, explainir..g and demonstrating. an 2-ct,ivj_ty which he kept up all day, almost without a break. 1 SuprR~0 1 w~s on display, p8rtly stripped for maint~·nce, en~ a whole variety of ~nterestin~ bi~s of machinery \';ere laid out to show ho,, v.::1rtous p1:tr-ts 'l'!:)r;,..:0c1, and hor.v they should be looked after. Soon after 10 am, the G teer i ng e:~erc is e:s started, a_nd the~e continued all day. There w2s a zig--zag course for both forwar~ and rever~e st0.ering, cL1d an e::ercise in bac!:ing onto a trailer. Those who were old enotlgh were ab:;..'= to try their hand at driving as well: To begin with, only t ...: Wharton· ~vlarshal}. no. 41151 wa~ on the field, b~t l~ter in th~ more~~~ J0h~ rJ.nist2r·s ~2~sh2ll r~. 7~837 and Brian \Vallington's :~obey r.o. Z~O~N an•~_,_rpj by lc- 11; ,lo.'.:.de:c~~ar·i soon there v:cJ:•r, t 11.r-ce eP:;;fre:,i ir.. -:,t::2.·:, an.,' t:., o~.?ent'csG wcr2 runn.i.!J.6 ~achrtards and b2tv. ce:1 -:-,t',t=!,_--r'.G'1'.'.: t.cr:i'i. ~.,.
1.mfort•J,1ately a r·i-,,_::'_c er~~) c: aiff.iCL: 7_rJiec: prc.;cnted the other two c:-igin.es tli.at ~''';re eYpcct.s::l frc-r.i rret.:-5 nz to 1•:nster Lovell~ but by the tJ me Fred Al5.l)c;-,-:: r :.:d c~'p.l a i r..~c~ nnd JeQo'.:'· "".-_.J.ted the w:10le prcces s of getting up cte2.rJ c-, a sho\':i.22!11 _, r!:1r;L,2 t'ie h2d :.:·our engines in 8team, thr22 rn:.-· 1 tn,G 8J-:J or.~ gcr:s"'."o.t._;_t·.;:t::,:::-:.ts o•:m lights. A complete range of·expert tuit~on -w~a pro?j_d~~ by J~ck a~d John ·~harton, Fred Alibone, J::oh~ .1'~2v1tc.n,·rE-ri2n 1J:3.lli~_gtcn;_ }·c~rn .2=..aister 2 Esmo~d. Kj mbel~ and Steve i\!C\'J.lle, ar.o t'.,.c oth~r Cll..b o.:.::i::1ce:"J w?:~-:- dJ).nc; a ::ir1sl: traae in r2 newed membe.:cship·, n.n.d c 1111:"bs.d :5es , ':'.7ewere part i ".!ularly pleased to see Alan T'iilsc;:,--:, wLo h3.d very kinc' 7 ./ b:-ougL1t t:12 N.r:='o:S,,C. Sa.les Stand (and his son) with h~.m- Tt-: refreshl:,ent va::-: did gooc bL~siness all day; there wad no fo~mal lucch break a~d 9oople a:~ply ate when they felt like i-:,.
Iri the aft2r~oo~ the.drivi~g and steer:~g tests conttnued, and the final att:r-,2tion was to 'tJJ.tch Esror.~ Kir:1bell sho1.-ving t.:s. all how to set to n C.:rum. By this stag9 a n!:~.ibcr :)f 1LT.E.,C offic<.:rs had arrj_ved; we i:rerc delightef) to see Peter Barber~ tne Cha ..rman, and A.ntr1ony heal~ oned of. t t1ehVj_se r'res iden' ,s. Jac.k Wharton, on 1-,rJ.os0.dl2,g,d t he 0 event was d: b:;J. , • 1s t, 2 .trcsJ.oent; _:.;o w:, 1•vere ver1 \-leLI .Loo.Ke a:..T.2I'. nee Esmon . had s hoi:m 1~3 all l1p·.,, to set to a dr'Jm 'in t n2 2.pproved fa.s hj_on (see page 4 of this newale~ter!), seve~al ~pprenticcs ana some older enthusiasts also h3d a try. !t io app2rentJ.y nothtng,- lj '.ce as e-.sy as :.t can :.ook.
During this period your ed:.tor had a quiet steering sessicn on the Babey Nhfle almost nobody ~as looking; she is pleased to report that not only did she not demolish a~y of the stake3 but that every single stake? stLyed intact throughou-t:, tt,2 day - itvell done, everyone. The trailer proved more difficult~ but ~ost people managed it i~· the end ..
·,;.j.2 NOLild like to th2.':'!.!: everycr12 who helped to make the c·,ent l3uch a success. ~ost ~f them &~e above~ but others; like the people on the refresh~ent stall &ild the doctor who volunteered to helpSand was_fortunately r!ot needed) also deGl?PVe our thanks. Sylvia, c,:ohn, Eric and I have ncv1 met many of ou:7 r:;smbers, and have a better idea of what you would like thR ~lub to do. and the N.T.EPC. now knows that we are thoroughly capable of coing the job v-1e set out to Co.
Perhaps the r.1ost. memorable ever.:t of the vrhole day Yvas the: expression on the face of one father, ~hJ had not only brought his son but had _ then stayed to watch, and who 20~ more o~d more envious during ~he : da:( ~s he v~at~hed the boy cUt:1bing 0,1 and off engines, oteering arid driving. 1 I wish I could do that, 1 i1e eventualJ.J said. .
FREE ENTRr TO RALLJES
tau may have noticed that the ttally List ~his yea~ does not indicate which rallies are alloNing Apprentices free admission, as it did last year. The r~ason for this is that, when the form for aally Approval was drawn up,·_ the· question asking rally organisers to say Nhether tne,t would allow Apprentices free entry was unfortunately lef~ of:'. This was a complete cccident and we are assured that it will not happen again. Nobody noticed the omissio~ until the Rally list ~as printed, and by that time it was much too late to do anything about it.
A number of Rally Organisers have been contact.ea 1 and we .have been able to assemble the· following list of rallies Nhere we know Apprentices will be admitted free if they show their ·membership cards.
Banbury, 2b-29~une
Stamfo~c, 2ci-29 June
Haydock Park, l~-13 July
1:.<:i.n:irk;2-3 A·~~,sust
Fair.ford, lo-17 August.
(Fu11 details are in t.1-- 0 .r~3lly list.)
' We.shall try to get in touch with other organisers, particularly if their rallies gave free admission last year. It will not•be possible, because of the cost of production and postage; to produce a .full list this year in time for it to be any use, so we suggest that you take • your card with you to· rallies anyway 7 and ask at the gate wheth~r a free acHooion scheme is operating.
We are very sorry that t.his has happened, and will do o.ur bes.c. to make sure that a proper list j_3 available again next year, ·as promised, ....
COlviING_§OO,N
In·the next ·few j_ssues of·the newsletter we shall have articles o_n: Building the Bandai kit of the.Garrett Showman1 s engine, by a pretty good kit-builder;
·The History of tne Steam En~ine and the Preservation Mqv~ment, by John Wnarton;
Lool:ing after your photog1·a.phs, by Alan Martin, and, hdpe'f't:113:y, Taking good engine pictu-rc;s, by Dick Blenkinsop. So make sure your ~ubscription ib up-to-date, and don't miss the experts.
If you want to come to the S.A.C. events at Stamford, Rempstone or (w-e hope_) Roxton.· Park, (see page 2), please senp us a postcard saying: Which event (s) you will be attending, whether you want c.amping space, and (of ~Jurse) who you arP.