Deltics



Stevie Freestein II said:
Excuse my ignorance, certain classes of trains were used in different parts of the U.K. even after rail nationalisation?
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The Western was a Diesel Hydrualic , with a trasmission akin to a car automatic gearbox , they were only used on the Western Region , Paddington-Penzance plus S Wales and Bham New St. Basically it was the Western Region following their own path as the GWR once did. The BR board declared all Hydraulics as “non standard” in the mid 70s and as a result the Westerns , along with the Warship Class (42s) were all gone by early 77 , replaced by the Class 50s cascaded from the WCML following completion of the Electrification all the way to Glasgow Central.

Oh and this is the best Deltic clip on Youtube , even though its pitch black and you can see fuck all. Listen to that 36 Cylinder Symphony!
 
Stevie Freestein II said:

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Those Westerns sounded bloody great! Two high-speed Maybach four-stroke diesels. As a lad I was a Deltic and Type 40 fan but one weekend I was in Slough en route to either Gatwick or Heathrow and the house we stayed in was near to the main line from the west to London so I went down to the lines to have a gander. A Western heading an express piled through with the power on and the sound blew my tiny mind!

Deltics howled, Type 40s growled, but Westerns sounded like a bloody propeller aeroplane going past!
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Did you work for British Rail? My dad served some of his apprenticeship at Philli yard I think, did they do rail maintenance there or was it colliery engineering?
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Yes 1960s and 70s, Gateshead annd Gosforth, money was terrible in those days and I left for two and a half times the money, not as happy though but wife and three kids needs must.

Scimmy said:
Those Westerns sounded bloody great! Two high-speed Maybach four-stroke diesels. As a lad I was a Deltic and Type 40 fan but one weekend I was in Slough en route to either Gatwick or Heathrow and the house we stayed in was near to the main line from the west to London so I went down to the lines to have a gander. A Western heading an express piled through with the power on and the sound blew my tiny mind!

Deltics howled, Type 40s growled, but Westerns sounded like a bloody propeller aeroplane going past!
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The engines were unreliable on the diesel hydraulics hence early scrapping.

redgauntlet said:
Yes 1960s and 70s, Gateshead annd Gosforth, money was terrible in those days and I left for two and a half times the money, not as happy though but wife and three kids needs must.


The engines were unreliable on the diesel hydraulics hence early scrapping.
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Phillidelphia was NCB works, An A4 60007 was kept there for some years in the 1960s.
 
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Dmac1969 said:
The Western was a Diesel Hydrualic , with a trasmission akin to a car automatic gearbox , they were only used on the Western Region , Paddington-Penzance plus S Wales and Bham New St. Basically it was the Western Region following their own path as the GWR once did. The BR board declared all Hydraulics as “non standard” in the mid 70s and as a result the Westerns , along with the Warship Class (42s) were all gone by early 77 , replaced by the Class 50s cascaded from the WCML following completion of the Electrification all the way to Glasgow Central.

Oh and this is the best Deltic clip on Youtube , even though its pitch black and you can see fuck all. Listen to that 36 Cylinder Symphony!
Click to expand...

As you obviously know your Deltic stuff, I'm hoping you can answer a question I have never been able to find the answer to. Can the two engines be separately controlled? Sometimes when the loco powers out of a station there is only one exhaust plume visible, and sometimes there are two. Also it seems like sometimes only one engine is audible. However I've never seen separate power handles on a Deltic's driving console. Is there a mechanism inside the loco that senses power demand and throttles the engines seperately?
 
redgauntlet said:
The Deltics were the most powerful single unit diesel locos in the world. Good power to weight ratio, 3,300hp and 98 tons. The wheels were found to spin at speeds of over 90 mph, six wheels per bogie. Wheel slip sensors cured the problem. They (Engkish Ekectric) built a smaller version with one engine for London suburban services but they were not a success.
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That was the Baby Deltic. There's a project to build a new one using the sole surviving power unit and cannibalising a Class 37 body.


Loco history - The Baby Deltic Project
 
redgauntlet said:
Yes 1960s and 70s, Gateshead annd Gosforth, money was terrible in those days and I left for two and a half times the money, not as happy though but wife and three kids needs must.


The engines were unreliable on the diesel hydraulics hence early scrapping.
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Not surprising considering the RPM they operated at!
 
Dmac1969 said:
Best locomotives ever built , Cl 52 Westerns 2nd and Class 40s third , Myyy Looordz!!! Classed the lot of them back in the day and had haulages off most. Appropriate for today , one I never managed a haulage off was 55001 St Paddy. Still a member of the Deltic Preservation Society as well.
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40,English Electric type 4 was the pick of the early diesels for reliability, but underpowered for their size and weight 133 tons, 2000hp.
 
PinzaC55 said:
That was the Baby Deltic. There's a project to build a new one using the sole surviving power unit and cannibalising a Class 37 body.de

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I would like to know where the bloody money is coming from for all these replica locos. I cannot see what future there is in a failed diesel locomotive. What will future generations make of these nondescript relics?
 
Scimmy said:
Not surprising considering the RPM they operated at!
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Deltics throwing pistons was due to the high speed of the engines. It was found in mostvtwo stroke engines according to my friends in the marine industry.

Scimmy said:
You wouldn't be allowed to produce such a smoky loco nowadays, would you!
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Definitely not, particulates are naughty things and there is the planet to think about.
 
redgauntlet said:
Phillidelphia was NCB works, An A4 60007 was kept there for some years in the 1960s.
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My favourite. Listen to the sound of her :cool:


redgauntlet said:
I would like to know where the bloody money is coming from for all these replica locos. I cannot see what future there is in a failed diesel locomotive. What will future generations make of these nondescript relics?
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Tornado was funded mainly through donations and sponsorship.

Sir Nigel Gresley is undergoing an overhaul and donations have paid towards that. I bought my Dad a part to go on her instead of a birthday present and he was chuffed :D
 
Scimmy said:
As you obviously know your Deltic stuff, I'm hoping you can answer a question I have never been able to find the answer to. Can the two engines be separately controlled? Sometimes when the loco powers out of a station there is only one exhaust plume visible, and sometimes there are two. Also it seems like sometimes only one engine is audible. However I've never seen separate power handles on a Deltic's driving console. Is there a mechanism inside the loco that senses power demand and throttles the engines seperately?
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Pretty much yes , all done via the control cubicle just inside the engine room and stuffed full of old style relays and the like
 
redgauntlet said:
I would like to know where the bloody money is coming from for all these replica locos. I cannot see what future there is in a failed diesel locomotive. What will future generations make of these nondescript relics?
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There are also projects to build a new LMS 10000 and a Class 22 Hydraulic.
 

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