Getting steamy at Alvecote

[mykaskin]

Hi Folks,

 

A video of a bit of fun at Alvecote:

 

 

Enjoy,

 

Mike

[Athy]

It was indeed fun - we were watching from the towpath side (we may be dimly visible in a couple of shots but that should not detract from your enjoyment of the video).

 

What surprised me was that, even when working hard, the boats did not "chuff" in the way that a railway loco or traction engine would. No doubt someone will know why this is.

 

The whole gathering was a lot of fun - all credit and thanks to the participants, and to Mr. Burge and his staff, not forgetting the typical take-no-prisoners commentary from CWF's Chris B.

 

My favourite overheard comments from the weekend:

In second place, a plaintive cry from one of the proud new co-owners of a converted historic boat: "Odin, you live HERE!"

 

And the winner, from one of a group of senior ramblers resting on the wall beside Narrowcraft basin, and delivered in authentic Last Of The Summer Wine style: "The only thing I ever in'erited was a boodgerigar".

Edited September 10, 2015 by Athy

[Barry]

I did enjoy that. Made me smile. Nice bit of editing too

[IanD]

Interesting that Hasty looks to be making far more wash than Adamant but without much advantage -- is Adamant deeper in the water with a bigger prop?

 

If both boats are condensing that'll explain the lack of chuff -- non-condensing would use an awful lot of water.

[Athy]

Thanks for the info about condensing - I remember seeing tank locomotives fitted with condensing equipment, but I don't think I ever saw one moving to know whether it chuffed or not.

 

In fact they had five or six tugging contests in a row and I think Hasty won all but one, so she had some advantage. What went wrong with the other one is as mysterious as why England thrash Australia soundly one day and then are routed by them a couple of days later.

[Ray T]

I stand to be corrected but I believe both Adamant and Hasty have compound engines.

 

Slightly some the LNER N2's were condensing loco's. I was never at Kings + when the were there neither have I seen the sole survivor, much to my shame.

 

 

I have no idea whether the chuffed when in condensing mode in tunnels.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Ray T

[Athy]

Ray, those (and maybe the N7s) were the ones I meant. I recall seeing a very clean one, alongside an immaculate 0-6-0 tank, maybe a J72, on station pilot duties ay one of the London termini - could have been Liverpool Street. Earlier, the Metropolitan tank engines had condensing gear too but, although one survives, I have never seen it.

[alan_fincher]

My favourite overheard comments from the weekend:

In second place, a plaintive cry from one of the proud new co-owners of a converted historic boat: "Odin, you live HERE!"

Like!

 

And the winner, from one of a group of senior ramblers resting on the wall beside Narrowcraft basin, and delivered in authentic Last Of The Summer Wine style: "The only thing I ever in'erited was a boodgerigar".

Like again!

 

In fact they had five or six tugging contests in a row and I think Hasty won all but one, so she had some advantage. What went wrong with the other one is as mysterious as why England thrash Australia soundly one day and then are routed by them a couple of days later.

Possibly my favourite quote of the weekend was the steerer of "Adamant" yelling out after he had lost 3 or 4 rounds with "Hasty".....

 

"How about best of SEVENTEEN???"

[Athy]

 

Possibly my favourite quote of the weekend was the steerer of "Adamant" yelling out after he had lost 3 or 4 rounds with "Hasty".....

 

Er, like.

 

Oh dear, we are going all facebooky here!

[churchward]

Thanks for the info about condensing - I remember seeing tank locomotives fitted with condensing equipment, but I don't think I ever saw one moving to know whether it chuffed or not.

 

In fact they had five or six tugging contests in a row and I think Hasty won all but one, so she had some advantage. What went wrong with the other one is as mysterious as why England thrash Australia soundly one day and then are routed by them a couple of days later.

A condensing engine can still chuff however a compound engine is less likely to visibly chuff as the energy of the steam is used up in the larger low pressure cylinder before being exhausted. It also depends on how the steam exhaust is used in terms of aiding the drafting of the fire.

[Ray T]

Athy, Metropolitan condensing loco's:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Railway_A_Class

 

Edited September 10, 2015 by Ray T

[archie57]

Like!

 

Like again!

 

Possibly my favourite quote of the weekend was the steerer of "Adamant" yelling out after he had lost 3 or 4 rounds with "Hasty".....

 

_ the steerer of "Adamant" is a bit of a dubious character anyway......!

[DHutch]

... the steerer of "Adamant" is a bit of a dubious character anyway......!

 

Chris is all right really....

 

 

But yes, as well as both being 2cyl compounds, both boats also condense, as does EmilyAnne, which is the reason there is no exhaust note.

 

Hasty is about 3ft4 depth with a 28x42 prop, Adamant is with I think 3ft with a 24x34 prop. EmilyAnne being 2ft8 with a 26x32 prop.

 

 

 

Daniel

[DHutch]

Infact

 

Hasty http://www.steamboat.org.uk/user.php?id=61278

Adamant http://www.steamboat.org.uk/user.php?id=61282

Emily Anne http://www.steamboat.org.uk/user.php?id=61403

[IanD]

 

Chris is all right really....

 

 

But yes, as well as both being 2cyl compounds, both boats also condense, as does EmilyAnne, which is the reason there is no exhaust note.

 

Hasty is about 3ft4 depth with a 28x42 prop, Adamant is with I think 3ft with a 24x34 prop. EmilyAnne being 2ft8 with a 26x32 prop.

 

 

 

Daniel

Blimey, 28x48 (not 42, according to various sources) is a *monster* prop, no wonder Hasty shifted a lot of water...

[Athy]

Athy, Metropolitan condensing loco's:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Railway_A_Class

 

What a fine sight first thing in the morning! I would guess that this is one of the two Met. engines which worked their Brill branch, just about the furthest-flung outpost of the "tube" network, until its closure in 1935, thereby outlasting the rest of their class by many years.

[1-Cylinder Wonder]

Marine Boilers and locomotive boilers are of different design and the exhaust blast is not used to create draught for the fire hence no chuff.

 

Compounding does make some difference but if an engine is working hard it is not that noticeable to the ear. Non-compunding (single cylinder) engines usually work at lower pressure so the exhaust blast pressure is not that disimilar to a compound that will run at a higher pressure to facilitate the benefits of compounding.

 

It is the venturi effect of the exhaust being routed through the chimney that creates the draught and the sound created is the chuff.

 

Its very nice to see such enthusiasm for steam on canals again after it seemed to have wained a few years ago. I sold my boat and bought a steam roller and now own a traction engine onced owned by G. Garside of Leighton Buzzard who also had their own fleet of boats. The engine was used to take sand from the pits down to the railway and to the wharf for onward shipment. I think it is the only engine left with a direct canal connection.

 

FMC did own a number of Foden Steam Waggons but I think none survived.

 

Sorry for going a bit off topic.

 

John

Edited September 12, 2015 by 1-Cylinder Wonder

[Athy]

Marine Boilers and locomotive boilers are of different design and the exhaust blast is not used to create draught for the fire hence no chuff.

 

Compounding does make some difference but if an engine is working hard it is not that noticeable to the ear. Non-compunding (single cylinder) engines usually work at lower pressure so the exhaust blast pressure is not that disimilar to a compound that will run at a higher pressure to facilitate the benefits of compounding.

 

It is the venturi effect of the exhaust being routed through the chimney that creates the draught and the sound created is the chuff.

 

Its very nice to see such enthusiasm for steam on canals again after it seemed to have wained a few years ago. I sold my boat and bought a steam roller and now own a traction engine onced owned by G. Garside of Leighton Buzzard who also had their own fleet of boats. The engine was used to take sand from the pits down to the railway and to the wharf for onward shipment. I think it is the only engine left with a direct canal connection.

 

FMC did own a number of Foden Steam Waggons but I think none survived.

 

Sorry for going a bit off topic.

 

John

Not at all, this type of info is always of interest.

 

There's a (Marshall?) road locomotive in Sussex which spent its last working years at a boatyard or shipyard in Ulster where it was used to haul boats out of the water. I don't know whether this was on a canal, a river or by the sea. It was used in this job till 1967, long after most road locos had gone to the scrapyard, hence its survival.

[IanD]

Marine Boilers and locomotive boilers are of different design and the exhaust blast is not used to create draught for the fire hence no chuff.

 

Compounding does make some difference but if an engine is working hard it is not that noticeable to the ear. Non-compunding (single cylinder) engines usually work at lower pressure so the exhaust blast pressure is not that disimilar to a compound that will run at a higher pressure to facilitate the benefits of compounding.

 

It is the venturi effect of the exhaust being routed through the chimney that creates the draught and the sound created is the chuff.

 

Its very nice to see such enthusiasm for steam on canals again after it seemed to have wained a few years ago. I sold my boat and bought a steam roller and now own a traction engine onced owned by G. Garside of Leighton Buzzard who also had their own fleet of boats. The engine was used to take sand from the pits down to the railway and to the wharf for onward shipment. I think it is the only engine left with a direct canal connection.

 

FMC did own a number of Foden Steam Waggons but I think none survived.

 

Sorry for going a bit off topic.

 

John

I don't think the steam enthusiasm ever went away, just the boats. It's a great shame that Keith Jones's "Firefly" isn't still around and available for hire, I'm sure it would be booked solid by people who'd like a steam-powered narrowboat holiday. We had a fortnight on it back it the eighties and it was brilliant -- sneaking up on fisherman, gliding along with just the gentle rumble from the (gas) boiler and a tiny bit of engine noise, steering in cold wind and rain snug inside the back doors next to a half-million BTU boiler and watching the poor sods shivering on other boats, blowing the whistle at blind bends and watching the reactions of passersby. OK it had the acceleration (and stopping power) of a 3HP 20 ton slug and burned gas like it was going out of fashion, but I'd go on it again in a flash given the chance...

[1-Cylinder Wonder]

I think the additional cost of maintenance is what puts people off. What it costs me to keep my engines going makes running a boat seem pretty cheap. I rather imagine that once an issue comes along where serious work is required to repair the boiler the whole steam plant is often removed and replaced with an "ordinary" engine.

 

I remember a boat called, I think, the Swan as a child that we used to pass when out on Summer holidays possibly in the 70's/80's. It was moored on the T&M I think.

 

John