~ugust 1979
ear _.;pprentic e, • ·.-·'•.-._,:.-·. . ,· .1.
-Y<"'uwill all have seen· engi~es· ~n rally. fiei\i~/j,u.t··r_. wonde·r hov,· ··: ·, rr.any uf you have i:foen- an ·engine on the'- r~ad?· I .think-. t,here are :few ':;:.-·· • t_hin_gs more ex'c;i.ting. than to .come round a 09.rne~_. and ·~ee ,~!t eng:f~B 1 ·_; on the roa-c, ahead, vnth steam up and pe~ha-ps tow.ing a trail.er _o;r..·: . livir...g·va·n"_. '.Phey used t0 be ·a c0mmon sigh-t,, c:l,!ld the drlv.,e:.f.,had --i·fttl~·e·=~to w,..,rry ab'Jut except for· hrnr·ses that might be frightenect'-~_''"'c:>ccasJona:f·,;: c~her traffic, and the 1Nhere.abouts of ·the next". pond or _qit.ch for.·· • ~-filling up w i t.h ·wate.r. But =today it·. is much more d if f icul t., _'a.n,d •a • • considerayA driver _will- stop =·regulail.v tn al1ov, the· queue of traffic. -~e, vass. • Ine_v·er mind 'being ·"stuck" behind an e_ngine -. bu_t t.hen,:not • • e·1 eryone . h:~s the: $atne int·erests •..
At of the ••f.ir~t- rii11es 'i ever attended, in Oxfordshire, we stg,yed __ late t" get some photograph$ of the engines leav-ing, the .si te .•-:·i One little tractor pulled slow+y·:out of. the f-i"eld gat-e-a.n-a·•:into.·a ;.:--~ 1:nrro_w lane 9 wher_e it stopped.· At this point a huge red J:a;guar- .b·.,.::·'..,_f<>. round· the corner and screeched ..to, a· halt· ; after a moment an ir.a te .h!e--a~ appeared· o·:i.t 0f its window and"· $houte·d "What on eart:h do you think; ·i·--.: you 1 !'e d (li.:r..g?" The engine driver 1 eaned over, looked at -the· car'. arnl,-_~-·,-;said,· slC"'w::.y, "It's all right. I'm just changing gear 11 • ::-.!
The ·s1-.c seems to be doing very well in its first se·as.on .. Qur._·'ba\:lg-e:. is the e.r:v:v'-of· many oenior club ..members, and it i's attractihg -1··o_ts:of. inte·rest. ~7e have had a request tor an apprentice to help "'~-ith ~:the··::.·-·' ru-nning of an engine in the 'i/est Midlands; and I think·we haver ..~b"e·en...,.:. able to he~p. There have been several talks and events at rall'i·es .,,:·: .. ' for SAC me..-:1bers, and ..a large number Jf engine ·owners-have. bee.rt w_;ill ing to talk to apprentices ~nd show them their engines. All ·in.·all,!.:.:vwe _.,_,.,. seem· ta be off to a good ·start. Keep it go:ing,·· and ·help i"io.make .-i:t even better by getting your friend$ to join. .. . ·. . .Yours stncerely,
/v~(j~1/YJ___1/61t{/uM Editor. •. · •·,
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHICCOMPETITION
filMETh1BER··_'crosi.ng date is October 1st, .;4979, so you vrnn't get a.4•ther re~inder. • • E\ill:·. deta_::i·s •are •in· Newsletter 1, but briefly': l. ;Tw,1t''s13_ct;i.flns: BEST-ENGINE. PHOTO and BEST.Fi.ALLY PHOTO,. with a. prize 'f;or the best colour. print and the best black and wh;Lte, prin.t ir{' ea.eh ·section~ DON'T send colour slides. •• : : ':':>'.
2. -~~rid your entry, i/4ith .details of when and vi_here, tile picture·._~w~s __ • __ taken·, and. ~h~ch -~ngine ( s) and other intere_st i_ng •it-€_ms,..are_-,:~fimv1'.1 1 ~ ,. to: ·Tnn Ed-itor, 43 Halfcot Avenue, Chawn Park, Pedmore,,; St,pµrbr_iog-c-~ West l\.Ldlands. DY9 OYB. • • •
3. S-end a stamped, addressed envelope if you want your· e·r:it:rY-returned. 4. RtM:ElVIBBR _send· ·your full·· name, address and mem.be+,"ship•·number \...;i'th y~ur e\itry. Yot.f may enter one photo in each section -:-•:POt ·rno.re ~. ·~: ,. --- - -
UROrf'iNO=·GP- -WITH STEAM ( 2) . by ...E. E .Kimbell..•.
In tho··e early times, with ·little else mechanical to interest them, boys viould particularly note what their father, uncle or driver-friend did, and tl·:-3y would be always asking questions. They would note the oiling at st'Jpping. times. Crankshaft side bearings, pump a·nd valve eccentric oil-containers :.:. generally with a .wick-feed in them, would be tipped up, as: ..'~ould be the bearing oh the crank. To do this the plug on top had ..'to be u~screw·ed; it was there tq prev.ent the oil being. flunF, o.tJt.· a.s the crank went round. Then the ,slide bans , carrying the join q.,tween':i>iston roa·and connecting rod (...the .sma11· end), where there was [..L:l,so'a.it <?il ing plac'e,, Later engi·:n...es, had cyl !ndrioal slide bars betwe~;·n whJ.9h ::the" c.rosshead 11 ran inside; ::tr:i-ere. w·a~..a ~·~p.gle. oil~er on top fr') i which the smaTl end also·dres~;i~s supI?lY•· ...'On,.:the cylinder, .~ust above the valve dhes.t,.'..w.oul.d. bE;l a bulbous ·brass container ·.i:Lth a tap underneath.' This •:-the' 'driver woul.d, fill wi tfi -1:;hicker oi·. for the piston and slide valv;e w.h.~c!--1workeci in heat; .the oil would ·;.,e.preheated for .·eas~~.r ..,J,:-042::;tn~by leaving the can on· 'the·. exhaust pi ':e. The. tap would be ·.$.djusted to·· drip-feed until , the:,1\ext stop~ But :ometimes .it ran·,.outs"''l.eav·ing· 0piston.and· valve f'ods ·ary and bl·ow ir .; ste2.)n.· Then, to avoid~ the turn'ing motibn, ,.the ·driver. would star.· in his coal barrow 5 turn off .the· tap~ so· that· steam ·would. not come t·:.rough w.he:n he unscre·il.'le.d :th.e. plug,,·ana:· fill up· a-gain.·· The_ later· oil ~unp, driven from the v·alve rod via.-·'a ratchet,' did aw~y . vd th • this :.,:ncert.aip ,.pr-:ic.ed'ure·, g,iving_ ii':mo;r~· e:xa.'ct· oil: flow ana . • lasting al_ day. (It may be noticed· that ·traction engine·s,, in ·s_pit.e of having an ;ii pump, ·also have .the brass c·ontainer. This is to • overJome -:::1e effects of _n·prim'ingu~: - more .wate.P. than steam in the cylinder 1.rough •head-down war.king,, ·or too ·fl1u.ehwater :i,.n the glass.· A good fl1: 3h of oil is ·then '~the··:thing",. ,adding ;to,the .pump's.·supply.} j .• .~nd t~. .: eccentric driven f e~d .:pµmp~ Judgement -in using this also .. ( . 11caffi? in :· 1.ndy". After the .engine was. lin~d up for the :belt by some to- a.nd-L J~ng ~nd a turn this way and ttl.a.t from the horse ·in the shafts, w: ~h sometimes a·bit. of s:Lewing~vdth the··iron bar, a tr~ugh or cut-down ·:·1b would be put·underneath'i-i'1to..,.receive'its two hanging- down pipe.·; and filled V'lith, buckets. W±t!r the engine going and the pump.hand: '3 1toff1t, water would be-sucked up one pipe and returned down the ~her~ ~Yith the pump hana1·e '\ 1 o'n1t 'the tap closed the return pipet. and -,he water, having to go somewhere, inent into the boiler, agaihst i--:s pressure t through the non-return valve. A good driver w:::nl\<l gau __ 3- his ·pump~tap so -that it let -some water return, ~ith just; enou g~ing into the boiler to keep up w~th that being lost in making st .am.. . _ _ - .---: _ _ _ ,. ·-· - • -,,
Even -hen;-£djus-tmeniis were sometimes·neces.sa.ry, like "off-" when·· lo in st -3.Cl until firing caugh't up, then.more in·· to maie up. ·,And, __ al"Aays nc._" to fill up 'fhe .glass to?tards ~he end, uf the da·y. Variation3,in aJ;er level, so·long as·they weTe w-ithin safety limits. were prel'_:.rable 'to variations in steam.pressru:;e, whicl:l affected the speed anc efficiency of the driven machine. Safety limits? Prim~ng, if there .as too piuch water,, as has be.en said,. And burning the fire tl!x .;p if _:t.oo 1.i ttl e,: This vias largBly prevented· by the fusible plug, thE. lead Jn .which '.i,1rnuld melt with t.ell-:-tale leaking into the lire, or: if· left too il,-,·ng, blowing thro~h a4d "·blowJ.ng the· fire ou.t 11 •
ANS;f8RS '.;J) Ll,S'.I: ·rrn~E•s:·~ENGDJE PUZZ4E:.·<Mr.'. Jone.s c-~ns "Excaliburll • ..- The - black e~ine is a Foster o • ,. ••
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR-----
Our first letter comes from Robin Moss, whc lives in Warrington. He says:
I am held its Tne club a family member of the-Lancashl:ce Tfriction Engine Club, which annual Traction Engine Rally at Haydock Park last weekend. is encouraging young m_embers to learn about the working of engines •.
At tho Rally they asked owners of er.giries if they would adopt an • "app,rentice". • •
I was on a Fowler Eoad Roller number 20122 which· is ~§"till in its or:ig;inal :-1uwler paint and hasn't been overhauled since -its 1·ast job. - I was told how variuus things work, arid thei:r uses,· ·such as -hhe injector, anq als(' about safety and runnfng -and maint~i4±~g an • :;· engine. I al so helped clean it and generally look after 'it. , _
I wen:·; 01;1the engine in the Grand Psrade s, the Sl dw Rae~ which it won, a_nd slso a winching demonstration·v;:iic•h was using a Road loc-o--;-. motive to. pull an.agricultural engine ar __ d the·roller. ·.- :: ,-,-~-, __ -I thought the idea uf going un an ergine tc learn was very good-~·-;-, The crub -r.re also hoping tu hold lecturE s in the winter on the ,_i t ech.pical side of engines fur the yc.ung members.·· : _
·-1·tho{1_ght the newsletter was very good; I liked the interesting,J"'\art:t'cles 1,y E.E.Kimbell and Mr. Whartonc The photogra'Phic competit·i:oni 1s a: very gdud ·idea. I always· take. a lut of pictures of engines and .:: l rall'y ·vie·.is ahd. I hope to enter the competition..._ • . _ _ I am :~nterested in making mcd,e~$ ancl· nuti~_ed thB $,rticl,e on the ,,.:: Ba'hdai showman's engine. I read that it ne_eds a bit of modification·" -tc- make i~ look absolute·ly authentic .• aLd wondered if it would _be i;:iossible -~o· include an article on mt1dif~ring it_. •
Tharik you very much, Robin.- What' a- magnj.f icent. time you, had at. that' r_alI:y! An rone else within reach of-the La.n9?,sh1re TE Club wuuld ~e ~ell advised t) join, as they obviously do a_lot for their younger membe,r_s. I hope to have an article•. possibly w i tl 1 • drawings, on modifying tna • Bancfai en.-;ine socn. The only trouble is that the ." expert ki t:-rn'ah 11 who ::·will -,:iri te it hasn_' t q_ui te finished making it yet, so there may be even rn.Jre modifications to come! H0wcver, I'm hoping.
We need m.)re letters for the next .edition,. please, on any topic _ to do wi_th -saeam. S'end them to:_The EditorJ 43 Halfcot Avenue, Chawn Par!?, Ped•nc.re, Stuurbridge, West Midlan(:.s, DY9 OYB
NEWS ALSO df- two other members, A+an We:)ster and ·David Mills._ who Fiave JGin-sd for.ces _with two Cor.hiE:>h eng· ne uwners. They went to one - • Steam-Up _'.1VhEi'rethere were seven engines and a-n organ, and they· are ·hoping to g0 to the St. Agnes Rally. Le-~ us khow ail about itt Alan and David! -, •-
ARE YOU PROPERLY DTIESSED?
All ,:appre :1tices should be wearing a biu·-:i-and-gold SAC badge! ·:tf you _·i h~veft•t got yours yet, just send a cheq~e or postal ofder ±or (pa_yable to the National Tracti0n Engin.--, Club), to the Edit_n _ at ·the add~~§S,. a:P,QJe ._ R~member,_ engine owners -:3end tu be much n_~cer to at>titefi'tic er:f wea~ing badges. • _ • • -- -- - - -- -- - -
We promised to teil •you··how·· each of the officers· of the SAC became interested in Steam,. so he-re• to begin v.vith, is our Chairman's story:
• • J •
ALL MYLIFE IN STEAM
·r· ; J · :. .. , ·-- by
·John Whar.t9n.
• • . .-
I assure you thaG when you reach.the ag~- of twenty five you will still consider yourself as being ~uite young, altho~gh I can remember-how eld a twenty five-gar·old seemed when I was under twenty oneposi t:Lvely ·archaic. Whe.n Jlargaret Joac.him. -.invi t_ed me to write about my J'lif e in steam" I feLt:_:I- was. being ·a.s.ked ab·out fifty· years tooearly~ as I·-,cuns,ider- tti?t I still have a ·1ot to· learn arid ex·perience-~·It is not unlike; Ea-mq~ An9revrn tapping you on 'the sho~ulder and saying 11 T_his is your'· lo;i._fe" whe-n_you are· still -sitting in a pram.·· ,, ••• -
• A'lthough -I a.m only twe~'"ty five .it can be said that I have had twenty five years ·with steam engines. ,I ha,ve grown up with the· preservation movement •. Like many of the Steam App.J;'_~htices my father,.·· was· already a· steam pres-ervationist before I was born. It is an interest that I have inherited rather than one I ha,/:e, procured myself, but this does not detract from the enthus;Lasm and enjoymentc Once you.have been bitten you wil~ -almost certainly fall do~n with steam ,dis ease for the rest vf .your. 1 if e.
·when I was only.nine weeks old my father bought me a rather excellent Christening present; not the usual glittering silver mug but aj. filthy 1,921 Burrell· scenic. showman's engine, called "Earl Beat~y" (no •. 3896 for the record' keepers}. In 1953 steam engines, were. a lot cheaper, but· to me· the value· then was as great as it is now. What;a pity that inflation should have hit st·eam engines, to the · point.of them having invest~ent value.
_::_, My very earlie,_st recollection· -was -steering .{or attempting to .st_eer) my father '.s _l.91}_Burrell ·showman's_ engi:ne ··.!1King George VIJ' (no. 3489) ·at _Pc:.rk rally in 195-B-.--This engine he had purchased in 1949, and it became th·e first showman's engine to attend a rally in 1952 at Appleford. . , ..A lot had .happened bef_ore I eve_·n go.t onto the footplate of· c'.n engi.pe. Alm0st all steam engines had ceased to be used commercia-lly; the preservation movement had started and the National Traction Engi-b.e Club ha_q b€en form_ed :fn 195 4. Inc id en tally, I can onlyremernher· seeing one engine being used commercially, and ,,th~t was a. Fowl:Elr roller 0wned by the Mechanical ·Tar Spraying and Grouting qo.;, some~here in the Thames Valley· district. •
In 1958 my father (Jack Whart0n) purchased a rusty hulk called 11Supreme 11 (Fowler no. 20223). He already had the ,reputation of_a __. ~-knac}cer •. buying seemingly worn out relics, but 'this_f.Eially took the·· biscuit.· :tt was, o:f course, une .o:f the largest and ·newest sh0" 1!lla.n1 s • engines existing, but it was stripped uf all twisted brass (chromium· pla t:ed) , 9-ynamu, dynamo plate, the crane turret at the rear of the engine, the can,,py had been shortened, a·nd apart from -all- this it was :worn uut. An ardent-. 25,000· hours c.rer the following twelve years was spent. restoring this· engin·e -t ··which came· out -of our workshops in 197P~ We are still .v_ery pruud of. the ·engi"ne -and its -·condition-t but the past nine years have been spent on rally-fields do-ing no work at: all in compa_ris0n.,to the, years before we 0wne-d it·.' . : ·
In 1961 "Supreme' s 11 resturation was in_terrupted for· ·t·our montqs_ while.we .(rem_emger I was only eight at the time) totally reR+.'ored : the :,vhartun family ·engine·, our ·1887 t;Iarshall tract i·on e·ngine , · (no. 15391), for the Royal Cuunties Centenary Show at Windsor. It was
- 5here _that the most embarassing experience of my life occurred. I was busily nibbling away at a ham sandwich when someone annou.nced that the Duke of Edinburgh was coming.onto the Steam Engine section. With my upbringing of never wasting anything I shoved the complete sandw·ich in my mouth. Th,ere were about, ten engines there, and as you might expect, he came straight to our engine. I was rend~red absolutelj dumb.as he J spoke to me, in. fear that if I answered h.im I w.ciuld shower him with. ham sandwicri. I a,m'.reminded of that infernal sandwich ~very time I polish the Royal Coat of Arms that was preserite·d that day and now adorns the 1887 Marshall.
After attending the Great -Steam Fair at Shottesbrooke Park, White Waltham,· in 1964, "King George VP' was put away to enable more restor,atiort time to be put in on "-Supremet. 1 -. In 1975 11K G VI 11 was resurrected for the twenty first anniversary of the National Traction Engine Club~ celebrated· by a road run -from Nettlebed to Appleford. Before we took the engine out the majorit-y of the paintwork was varnished. Some of the engine had to be repainted where we did a. 1 i ttl.e rebuilding (particularly th,e tender) . Eventually we will compl.e-tel.y.rest0re .this engine again. but·for the moment I am enjoying ma.ny, :hours a yea.r going to rallies with it.
John hai:squs~ied so muc~ into his 25 years that we shall have to•holdthe'::second half of his stbr.Y over until next time. Do any of our :_. members have an engine of their own?
Ti:ie showman can certainly not be blamed for cribbing the idea· of'· ·• ; the roundabout from cpildren.· The origin is, of course, from the wheel. It' is~ thought that the del:ights •'bf a roundabout were first .enjoyed by•: m~n whJ rode on horses that·were the.power .source for rotating mill. stone~. The rourid~bout· dev·el'oped slov'lly from a manually-pushed cartwheel on a vertical axi's in the seventeenth century. In the mid-nineteenth • •. J century the. pony or· horse roundabout appeared. Not only did the riders: · sit on wooden hbi'ses; the roundabout was ·pu'i:3hed around by a real hors·e·,: harneF3sed in shafts in between· the wooden horses and the centre of tbe" ride
S·t·eam was probably-first applied tb a roundabout by George Soame ., • of Norfolk in 1865. The idea was developed by Frederick Savage, who· was s~ll ing _ste_am:-_driven roundabouts in 1870. On trie early steam-driven ride/ named the "Dobby Horses"• the hor.ses •did not "gallop". They did not go up nnd pown:,•.. th~y just. swung out·. The "Galloping Ho!'.ses" Vlere a later: innovation. -The dominant names in t-his market were F. S$.vage of King's Lynnt Norfolk; R.Tidman· of Horwich. Norfolk; and Walkers· of Tewkel3bury • Gl '"lS.
Frederick Savage was the pi'oneer of the "Swi tohback 11 ride in 1888 The Switchback is a roundabout. They usually ha:d ·eight large cars·, knl"wn. as •11Motqr Cars", "Gondolas", "Whales", 11 Peacocks 11 , !'Dolphins" er "Dragons·,,·. ·T~he cars tra,velled ori rails in a circular path, 1 .with ..:hills. and v&3-ll_eyf:i.'Savage{s ..first Switchbacks were driven by a s·tearit centre engine in the centre of the ride. Later the cars were- equipped with electric motors, current being generated by the showman's road locomotiv-e and travelling to the cars via live rails on the ride. Savage and H~6rton and· Spooner V'iere the dominant manufacturers of t-he scenic ··rides:~ which·were later superseded by the "Noah':s itrk" and ·"Speedway'; machines.
. Quite apart frnm the rides; there was a tremendous atmosphere on
- 6the fairgrGi.lnds of days gone by. One great contribution was supplied by the fairgruund organs. Practically every ride in the fair housed an organ •. The makers' names of Marenghi, Limonaire and Gavioli are so familiar. The larger organs were first seen un the front of the "Bi'Jsoope" shows. The word Bioscope was the early· term for what we now call the "Cinema", (derived from "Cinematograph"). At the front of the B1oscope shows there would be a mighty fairground organ, playing awe-inspiring music. This would attract a crowd. A man with a bellowing voice would then introduce the audience to the neoteric Bioscope. A troupe of chvrus girls would then take the stage and dance· to "Can-Can" music f rum the ·organ. The man with 'rthe thunderous voice would·then invite members of the ·audience to see the "moving pictures", hinting that the dancing girls were nothing to what the fl iekering screen c.ould reveal. These films were silent, so a man stuod ·at· the side of -the .screen giving an enthusiastic narration, whilst peopie standing behind the screen created artificial sound effects. •
,..,.,Of the 1.,ides in the steam age, there are example·s of most machinBs i. still in existence, including the Steam Yachts and the Gondolas .• The : ride that continued to be profitable for many showmen was the· Gallopers •. More people could sit on a set of -.:3.llopers than on most other rides. They did go out ·of fashion on the tobers, but with the fairly recent emphasis• on preservation many showman have brought them out again for a second lL:e.
T~e fairgrounds are no longer powered by the gleaming steam shuwm~n•s engines that stood in a line at the back of the fair. These have ,peen replaced by the inhuman, droning 9 internal combustion engin~.
Good ef.forts have been made to reconstruct the "steam age" fair. Perhaps the best of them all was tbe "Great Steam Fair" at Shottesbrooke Park, - near '.•vhite Waltham, Berkshir?, in August 1964. Al though many showtn$n requested that their diesel gene.rators were on hand. to generate power~ the 'J.nderestimated steam engines.-~upplied the whole load of electricity~ and the internal combustion ,engines hidden in the bushes were pever started. On that occasion the showman's engines did not stand: in a line behind the fair; they were out in fronti
Now at the steam engine rallies 9 the strident music of the surviving fairground organs is joined by the mellower tones of the Dutch strs0t organs
'-Thefajrs h.ave gone a very long way. Perhaps the evolution of the fairground: c~_n _be simply demonstrated when looking at the play area: in the local p~{rk - "the "Pointed Hat" roundabout• the swings, the slides and, most i:nporta:nt of all, children enjuying themsel ve-s. I
' That p oncli.;.de s '\All the Fqn uf the :fair 11 , by John Whartun.
ONK~iBT WORD Dne ur two apprentices seem to have ·misunderstood the~ arrangemen·ssfur purchasing goods at a discount from the National • Tract inn EY!gine Club --sales Stands. The discuunt for ·apprentices is ·:.:, the s~~e as that for NTEO members - there isn't another red~ction as well~·
: ...
AND·E1INALL2:..; anyone near Sheffield who would like to ~ork on an. engine---:--Sorid a stamped, addressed envelupe to the Membership Secretary, Pounce Hall Cottages Sewards End, Saffron Walden, Essex, CBlO 2LE~ Y0u ~ay hec:-.r something to your advantage!