The Great Dorset Steam Fair (3 of 6): The Showmans Engines...

Hi guys. Walking up from the Threshing Section and across one of the access roads, we found the Great Dorset Steam Fair's prize exhibits: the Showman's Engine line. Now, when you go to rallies, depending on which one and where, some consider their selves lucky when they have ONE Showman's Engine on the books. These engines are very large, very attractive and very interesting in that they have a strong history and are very versatile. Not only were they perfect for hauling Fairground Rides and Living Vans around the country, but they were also fitted with Dynamo's to allow them to generate a large supply of AMP's to power the rides once in operation. As well as powering rides they also powered lighting (both their own and other things around them). Some engines were even fitted with cranes on their back end in order to help with ride construction. To make them fit in with the fun of the fair, and to arguably make them more attractive, Showman's Engines were fitted with a lot more brass work than other engines and were often named and polished until they gleamed. Here at Dorset, in the famous line up, I counted over 35 engines ranging from Showman's Engines to Showman's Tractors. The latter engines were the smaller, work-horses of the fairground but were still fitted with dynamo's and ALOT of brass! The Showman's looked marvellous all together, with some generating power for some of the vintage rides that were in action. Behind the Showman's stands the main fairground which includes some vintage rides (including two Steam-Powered Carousel's) and then a huge modern fairground too. Below, Maise tries her luck...

Showman's Engine manufacturers ranged through many, with Burrell and Fowler seeming popular as you look through them. An Aveling & Porter Tractor was spotted amongst them, as was a huge McClaren Road Engine, masquerading as a scrapped sister that was once converted for Showman's use ("Gigantic"). So, here they are, the fabulous Dorset Showman's...

One of the engines in the line that I found particularly impressive was "Dolphin". She is a large Burrell Showman's, probably a Double Crank Compound by the look of her, and was perfectly immaculate. The dynamo can be seen on the front end headstock above her name, and the belt which drives it off the flywheel is also plain to see...

 "Dorset Perfection"

Having admired the many Showman's in the line, with their gleaming brass and wonderful conditions, we moved on to the Haulage Area (see next post) before returning later on. Further around the show, there were yet more Showman's! There must have been over 40 (at the very least!!) at the show, dotted around the site and in the famous engine line...

As can be seen below, the engines often display the names of their former owners from their 'past lives'. The name of Anderton & Rowlands; which still continue with modern travelling fairground operation today; adorns one of a pair of beautiful Showman's in the Organ section...

Later in the day as the sun began to set we returned to the Showman's line. I was very much impressed with them. They were just beautiful. Below, the latter five Showman's in the line can be seen. These are Showman's Tractors, as you will note from their smaller size compared to the large engine to the left of them...

Below, a little Aveling & Porter Tractor sizes up to Burrell Showman's "Ex Mayor", both generating...

Though we were both very tired I decided to wait into the evening a little more until the sun went down slightly. The following scenes were taken at about 7:30pm, with the engines generating to the tunes of the countless organs...

Well guys, they are the Dorset Showman's. They are beautiful, they really are. I can honestly say, also, that with my hand on my heart you will NEVER see that many together anywhere else in the world. This is the Great Dorset Steam Fair...the best in the world. Cheers guys, read on into the next post for more pictures...Sam...

The Great Dorset Steam Fair (2 of 6): Sawing & Threshing...

Hello everyone. Right then...we'll begin! The Great Dorset Steam Fair is held annually in the village of Tarrant Hinton on a huge 600-acre showground. They estimate that around 350 full size steam road engines take part from rollers to traction engines, road engines and steam lorries. This year it was "Roller" year and, as you will see...there were ALOT of rollers! As well as the steamers though there is a huge fairground, vintage cars, commercials, a huge trade area, miniatures, the auto-jumble and countless eating outlets as well as hundreds of other displays. It really is a huge show and I would recommend it...if you like walking! It really is, without a word of a lie...HUGE. We arrived at the show after our 150-mile car journey in the faithful Saxo at about 10am and immediately jumped the queue with our pre-paid tickets (always good). Making our way through the crowds we immediately ended up in the Threshing & Sawing area where Burrell Traction Engine "Charlie B" had just started threshing...

Across from "Charlie B", a 4" Miniature was raising steam in the shadow of the fairground whilst the many locomotives in the wood-sawing area were hard at work. I was particularly interested in seeing how they attach the drive-belt which always seems to be fairly tight around the flywheel, though it must have slack to allow it to be fitted. The process I saw on "Charlie B" looked quick and simple. The belt was started on the flywheel and when around half of it was on the wheel it was tied on using some strong string. The flywheel was then turned a further half a revolution in order to bring the belt on fully. I was really surprised at the ease and simplicity of the process and "Charlie B" was quickly threshing away. Below, a rack-saw bench with a huge blade cuts through a sizeable log, powered by a Fowler agricultural...

There was even a Baler in operation in the Threshing area...

Below, another engine gets to grips with wood sawing...

The wood-sawing area was particularly impressive and seemed very popular with the public. There must have been at least 10 saw benches in action at the very least, with more engines to work them!...

Below, John Antell's Fowler "Dreadnought" is driving a huge circular saw, much to delight of the adoring public. John is a respected haulier and has been hauling Shackerstone locomotives for many years, plus countless others country-wide...

One thing that I have never seen properly demonstrated (until now!) is the Centrifugal Governor on a Traction Engine. This device, situated on top of the cylinder block, allows more steam into the system when the engine is working harder, allowing the engine to maintain a constant speed rather than speeding up or slowing down depending on the load. "Dreadnought" in particular was working very hard when a cut was put on, though her regulator was left in the same position and the reverser left at full-forward at all times. The flywheel and valve gear meanwhile remained at a constant speed, though the beats at the chimney changed in depth and volume...but not speed. This is a perfect example of a Governor at work. Without the governor, the driver would have to be working the regulator with perfect accuracy at all times, making the job more labour intensive than it has to be. What an invention!...

Having studied the wood-sawing area in detail, and enjoyed "Dreadnought"s impressive show of strength, we continued to the Model Tent. There was a good selection of models on offer. We then walked upgrade towards the famous Fun Fair and the Showmans Engine Line... 

The Great Dorset Steam Fair (1 of 6): An Overview...

Hi guys. Today we visited, for the very first time...the GREAT DORSET STEAM FAIR at South Down! Over the next FIVE posts on this blog I will describe our visit and the things we saw. I will warn you now...it will be Picture Heavy, it will probably be Word Heavy and it will probably be, at some points...Quite Boring. However I will try and put across both my opinions and the facts of the 2013 GDSF. So please, sit back, relax and enjoy the following 5 posts about the remarkable Great Dorset Steam Fair...

Achilles Report No36: Back In The Game...

Hi guys. Today I was working on "Achilles" again. Since her very successful outing to CMES in June where she took part in the public running (see here), she has been sitting in the workshop, cold and quiet. Her lack of use over the last 2 months has mainly been due to time constraints and dates not really matching up, what with my regular firing turns at Shackerstone and such. However, she now has three outings lined up within the next couple of weeks to get her back into the swing of things so I thought I'd better get going. Having cleaned out all of her tubes and emptied the smokebox, I turned my attention to the gauge glass blow-down which hasn't been working correctly for a few weeks now. Having removed the cab roof, cab and bunker in order to access the set-up, the handle wound off in my hand! "Damn"! The gland nut then had to be unscrewed before the spindle was taken out. The ensemble was then cleaned up...

The locomotive meanwhile was then looking pretty sparse...

Having repacked and repaired the gauge glass blow-down, I decided to repack the troublesome blower valve which has been 'passing' for some time now. With these usually awkward to get at valves repacked, I put the cab back on following cleaning of its windows and 'fake' whistle. With the loco pretty much operational again it was time for the cleaning regime to begin:

• Brasso for the Brass
• Wadding for Buffers and Drawhook
• Paraffin & Oil Mix for the Black Paintwork
• Polish for the Blue Paintwork
• Neat Paraffin for the Valve Gear & Framing
• Oil for the Backhead

This cleaning regime, which I have sort of tried & tested by now, seems to result in a presentable engine and it tends to stay clean for a maximum of 10-minutes or so once its on the track! However, for admiring her in the workshop with her white lamps, CMES badge and chrome bucket as well as shining brasswork...she looks "OK"!...

Steam Locomotive "Achilles"

Thanks very much for reading guys. The locomotive will be out & about on the following
days:

• August 31st - Onley Lane, Rugby (Rugby MES Visit)
• September 7th - RPMR Steam Up
• September 15th - Hinckley Model Railway Show (Static)
• September 22nd - RPMR Public Running
• October 17th - 20th - Fosseway Show (M.M.E.E 2013 - Static)

Thanks guys - Sam

Great 38'...

Hi guys. Once again today I was firing the huge Great Western 2-8-0 No3803, with Driver Pockets. It was a 5:30am start today for a 'Footplate Experience' course, which requires us to leave shed at 9am. We had a new trainee with us today: Richard: who was inspired to join the steam department after his attendance at my MTEW in April. 3803 steamed up nicely on a fire that Pockets (Andy) had lit. I meanwhile went around the locomotive, performing the Fitness-to-Run that is done each morning and of course doing the oiling up across the locomotive's countless oiling points. As the rain fell, we pulled out of the shed at around 8:45am ready for the 'Foot-Ex'. I always enjoy doing these courses as I enjoy seeing other people enjoy something that we help to keep running. Our participant today was a Church Minister and so it was politeness all around on the footplate...much to his annoyance! Following an enjoyable 'Foot-Ex' we had 5 round trips of the line to complete with the 38'. I fired the first run and drove the 2nd with Pockets firing. The third & fourth trip allowed me to let Richard fire with much assistance from myself: it was his first time. The locomotive continued to perform well and I drove the final trip...

3803 - At Shenton

I must thank Pockets for a cracking day on 3803 with him and Richard, as well as thanking Pockets again for rostering me as he is the Roster Clerk! The 38' seems to be performing well at Shackerstone and finds the 4-coaches she has to pull positively child's play! Cheers guys - Sam...

Another Visit to a Private Railway...

Hi guys. This time last year I was driving a beautiful 7.25" gauge Shay locomotive on a private garden railway in Warwickshire. One year on...I was doing the very same! This astonishing garden railway is only opened to invited guests on a handful of occasions during the year and, for this particular event, three of us from CMES were again invited to drive the three steamers for the day. The many invited guests were mostly Vintage Car owners from across the country, who all converged at the railway's site for a tranquil afternoon of train rides and boat trips. "Boat trips?" I hear you ask: "Well...yes", half of the railway (which runs for around a mile in a figure-of-eight shape) circles a sizeable lake upon which a steam launch is sailed during open days, offering rides to guests. Emma was in charge of steaming and operating the launch whilst myself & Peter busied ourselves with the two resident railway steamers. The unusual Shay locomotive was to be my steed for the day once again, whilst Peter took over operation of the 'Stafford' locomotive: a product of Station Road Steam. As well as the resident steamers, the resident Class 08 electric was out & about as well as Ken's 0-4-0 electric shunter "Janet". Two visiting steamers: Romulus "James" & another 'Stafford' were also in attendance. Having checked over the impressive 'Shay' I was ready to light up and so duly did so, with smokey results!...

"Smokey Steam Up"

It turned out, upon closer inspection, that the coal provided was in fact house coal (very smokey!) and so the mixing of this and paraffin-soaked wood seemed to smoke-out the steaming area! However, the coal certainly seemed to start burning well and so the Shay warmed up fairly quickly despite her large boiler. As usual, a mechanical blower was used atop the American engine's spark arrestor-style chimney to create the draft necessary for raising steam. "Stafford" was also raising steam in front of the 'Shay' whilst the visiting steamers began to unload. Meanwhile, the Steam Launch "Roundtuit" was also being readied for the day up on the lake...

Soon enough the Shay was ready for action and she steamed gracefully off shed. The locomotive is surprisingly smooth in its operation, despite the massive amount of gearing and rodding on her right side. The stock for the engine was soon out of the carriage shed and we steamed away, bound for the station. The locomotive was a little sluggish on her first outing of the day, whilst the three cylinders had yet to get truly warm (believe it or not!). Once at the station the locomotive simmered away happily with full pressure (90psi) on the gauge and 3/4 of a glass. The picture below shows the locomotive about to leave on her first sunny journey of the day at about 11:30am. Notice the smoke drifting from the chimney, proving she was still on house coal!...

The concept of the 'Shay' locomotive was patented by Ephraim Shay, and they were arguably the most successful geared locomotive. The regular fire-tube boiler of the loco is off-set on the frames to compensate for the extra weight of the so-called 'motor' on the right-hand side. The cylinder arrangements came in numbers of two or three and this particular model has three. Mounted vertically on the right-hand side, the cylinders drive directly down onto longitudinal drive-shafts which extend towards both the front & rear of the locomotive at axle-height. The drive-shafts were connected by universal joints which allowed the swivelling trucks under the locomotive to take on corners whilst being driven. Bevel gears were then used to transmit the power from the drive-shafts to the axles on the trucks. This gearing creates a very powerful locomotive. For example, this model locomotive can easily haul the driver & a passenger on her driving truck, followed by her three log-trucks (which are heavy when empty) and each of these carries two passengers. Therefore she can haul 8 adults which tests her when going up the steepest (and longest) gradient on this challenging railway but, she does it...and well. I think the heaviest train I had forced her to go up the hill on full-regulator but she wasn't in full forward gear and she did not slip. A conventional engine with cylinders this size would not even think about doing this!

The Shay's were renowned for high tractive effort, and were not known as 'slippers' due their unusual but effective gearing. Their only real drawback was speed (around 10mph at a 'normal' engine pace), though some examples were known to do almost 'ridiculous' speeds for their design. This model is happy at a 'modest' walking pace (about 3 - 4mph) and will chug around at this speed all day, blowing off most of the time and pulling good weight. Each trip she would plod along at about 85psi before heading up the bank and blowing her head off on full regulator all the way up. As long as you kept the fire bright and the boiler well-filled she was an absolute pleasure. The electric's did find her speed a little 'trying' though shall we say!...

"Janet" The Vulcan Electric, Owned by Ken

Myself, Peter & Ken were busy pulling passengers all afternoon with services operated by the 'Shay', 'Stafford' & 'Janet' the electric. In between, "James" and the other 'Stafford' chugged around happily, making the railway look very busy. "Roundtuit"s rides around the lake were also very popular and Emma was kept busy throughout the afternoon...especially if the loadings on the railway were anything to go by! I think me & Peter sat down for a minute or two over a cuppa' (thanks Peter!) before being marched into action once again. Mind you, we didn't mind...it was a fantastic day! Later in the day, 'Shay' took 5-minutes break as the sun continued to shine...

The basic cab of the 'Shay' was easy to work from and she was, as I've said, a pleasure to operate...

Later in the day, the 'Shay' and "Stafford" stand together at the station as the sun begins to set...

Sunset

The Shay had performed perfectly and I ran her down before taking her down to the steaming bays with the train. It was lucky I still had some embers left as I had to rebuild the fire slightly in order to return some of 'Stafford's passengers to the station as she had stopped playing ball. The 'Shay' continued to run well and after a final ascent of the bank she descended to the steaming bays with an almost dead fire. The locomotive is seen awaiting the road to the shed...

So I then disposed No1 after a fantastic day. Around 6 hours after she had begun her hard work she was done...and still steaming very well. The grate was removed revealing very little clinker and the smokebox was then cleaned out...revealing ALOT of ash (no wonder really)! I must thank the owner of the railway for inviting me along to drive again and of course Peter & Emma for their company. We had given countless rides and both loco's and the launch had performed very well. A job well done. For further encounters with this wonderful railway please check out here and here. Thank you for reading folks, Best Regards...Sam...

The Day We Sprung Into Action...

Hi guys. Today, after work, I made my way over to Shackerstone where a portion of the Steam Department had been called together in order to undertake a repair task. The Great Western No3803 had failed last Sunday with a reported broken spring and, with two spares on site, we had at least one to change! The engine is reported to "like" breaking springs but I think in a way this has probably come about as many people forget just how many wheels this thing has got! The engine carries 16-wheels in total, from buffer to buffer - all of those have leaf springs; 8 of which carry a fair old amount of weight as they are driving axles. A few springs a year out of 16 doesn't seem bad to me when an engine like "Sir Gomer" may only break one a year...though she only carries 6 in total!

The process of changing a spring on this big engine involves, of course, jacking her up. The front and rear of the loco is jacked up using very heavy lifting jacks with very heavy sleepers as packing. The very heavy locomotive slowly begins to rise, millimetre by millimetre...groaning slightly as she does so. In the pit underneath the engine you can get a good view of all of the driving axle springs and also check them for damage/condition. Tapping each leaf with a small tool hammer will often show up damage as the leafs will begin to separate if the spring is broken. The springs are fastened to the bottom of the locomotive by three pins. The outer two pins are attached to the loco's frames via a bracket, one of which is riveted to the frames whilst the other is nut & bolted. Below shows a picture taken last year on 3803 with a spring in view beneath an axlebox. The bracket is the right-hand one and so is riveted to the frames, with the right-hand spring pin being visible to the left of it...

"Spring" - by Jan Ford

The central pin goes through a hanger for the main spring buckle. Anyway, where the locomotive is high enough on the jacks is decided by tapping either of the two outer pins with a small hammer to suggest movement. When they start to move, the loco is high enough. The two outer pins hold up a hanger which is threaded and allows two large nuts and two pieces of packing to pull the spring against the bracket, thus holding it still during use. This is how the locomotive holds itself on the spring (via the framing), whilst the central pin holds the axlebox in turn...and there is locomotive springing! In short the three pins allow the locomotive to stretch the spring with its weight and this gives the locomotive some form of suspension. With the two outer pins out the central pin is the last and this is whacked out before the very heavy broken spring falls away. The very heavy new spring can then be brought in and fitted by people who are, shall we say, better built for carrying or lifting very heavy things. Us skinny, muscle free folk can then move in and bolt up the very heavy spring now that the very heavy part is nearly over. With everything tightened up and all pins and brackets firmly attached and secured, the locomotive can be dropped back down. Its quite a sound as the big engine groans its way back down onto its 10-springs. And that's it...a job well done!! Don't get me wrong...I may have mentioned it before but...this is a very heavy task...don't try this at home! Cheers guys, Sam...

Sunny Day with a 38'...

Hi guys. Today I was on the Great Western 2-8-0 No3803 again...this time with Phil as Driver. I arrived at 6:30am and started, as normal, by checking around the engine and lighting the fire. The big engine was a bit sluggish to get going this morning, for one reason or another, but we managed to get off shed for coal before 10:15am so all was well. Myself, Phil and trainee Dennis prepped and cleaned the loco before heading down to the North End where the JCB filled the tender...

The JCB must have put about 5 or 6 bucket-loads into the tender during our filling as it was quite empty...

"One Lump or Two?"

With the tender replenished heartily with the smoky Russian Coal, 3803 steamed through Platform 1 and then ran round the 11:15 departure. We were on the train with about 20 minutes to spare and the loco simmered happily with about 200psi on the gauge. After changing into my good overalls there was time for a quick snap before building up the fire for departure...

3803 steamed very well on the first journey, and on the way back in particular I felt like I had it nailed. Being on more often does certainly help your firing technique as you get more practise in, especially as I've been on the last three weekends and with three different drivers! With a thin fire the loco steamed well, as long as you regularly checked the 'hump' in the grate where it begins to slope. The hump is where 3803 seems to eat away the coal the most. If you have coal there, she'll steam like mad and you can just fill the holes in elsewhere when required. This technique is obviously very different to that experienced if you were on the main line with this engine as you would need a much deeper fire to keep the pressure up if working very hard and at about 45mph. The preserved railway life is much easier on these ex-GWR 2-8-0s as their raw power allows them to simply saunter along with 4 or 5 coaches as its no effort for them at all. Less effort = less wear in my book and so not taxing her too much may be a good thing, ay?

It was a very pleasant day and I enjoyed 4 trips firing (2 of which was shadowing Dennis) and a trip driving to boot...very pleasant. The day seemed to fly by and it wasn't long before we were awaiting the 'right away' on the final northbound departure of the day from Shenton...

"Sunny 38"

After a good run back on the last trip, 3803 retired to the shed and was disposed of as appropriate. The only problem we'd had during the day was a trip where the pressure gauge needle decided it didn't like us anymore and dropped off the shaft and thus the gauge read 0psi!! We managed to get back by keeping the safety valves close to blowing off most of the way to highlight the fact we were still at full pressure. The gauge was quickly repaired at Shackerstone and after about 30 minutes fiddling it was back in its rightful place and reading properly once again...things that happen, ay?! Cheers guys...a very pleasant day, Sam...

The Cromford Steam Rally...

Hi guys. Today myself and Maisie had been invited up to see the Cromford Steam Rally, by a new acquaintance of mine who I met during the MTEW that I organised in April. There were just over 50 miniature steamers in various scales, with the largest being a superb (and huge!) 9" scale Burrell Road Loco. The full size engines were also numerous with over 30 examples on the rally field, of varying types, makes and sizes. As well as the steam exhibits there were countless tractors, commercial vehicles, cars, 'pop-pop' barn engines, fairground rides and of course trade stands. There was a lot to see so, rather than describe everything, I thought I would just add a lot of pictures of what we saw..

Right then. Above we see A.Baker's immaculate Fowler Roller "Survivor" and P.Warwick's matching Organ "Alpen Rose". I found this pair particularly impressive and the Roller has to be the best kept roller I have ever seen! Below we can see just three of the countless vintage Tractor's heading down to the Arena...

A Foden steam wagon; probably 3" scale by the look of it; simmers away...

The Foden wagon's certainly seemed popular at this rally and the one below particularly caught my eye. The owner tells me that he didn't want his 4.5" Foden to look like the rest and so he made it as a Fire Engine look-a-like...

Now for an engine that I gladly had at MTEW...4.5" Foden "Heather"...

Below, two 'big' Burrell's. The one on the left is a 6" Road Engine, and the one on the right is the huge 9" Burrell...

Now...the next photo sort of begs the question..."Why did they not build a full size one?". This 9" Burrell was extremely impressive and very, very large indeed! At 3/4 scale it is a very big engine and is definitely the biggest 'Miniature' I have ever seen...

Another visitor to MTEW was 3" Burrell Showmans "The Griffin" and her organ (which she powers via dynamo)...

Yet another Foden...this time a 6" one...

And another MTEW attendee...beautiful 6" Garrett Showmans Tractor "Michael"...

A full size engine...

Foster Traction Engine "Sprig", which is a rally stalwart around these parts...

Three 'big boys toys' line up...

Now for something really special. Below is "Lord Nelson"...a beautiful Burrell Showmans Engine. I find many full size engines impressive but an immaculately turned out Showmans really is something else...a work of art some might say.

A few of the full size engines lined up...

Something different...a pair of Case Traction Engines. I find them a little strange looking!...

Below, a pair of Garratt's stand together..."Michael" the 6" Showmans and a 4" Agricultural...

Yet another MTEW visitor, and a very welcome one too...6" Burrell "Wandering Star". This is a very big miniature...at about 3 tons in weight!...

Finally, a little Burrell steaming well...

The photo's above show only a minimum of what was on offer but it does give you a little idea at least! It was a very impressive rally and we did enjoy it very much. Next stop...the biggest Steam Show in the World..."THE GREAT DORSET STEAM FAIR"...Cheers guys...Sam...