Easter at Rudyard

The delightful little 10.25 inch gauge Rudyard Steam Railway woke up from its winter slumbers a few weeks ago. I was there last Saturday for the day and I've been down there volunteering again this weekend. I'm rostered all Easter from Good Friday until Easter Monday, and though yesterday was quiet because it rained most of the time today was far busier and Sunday and Monday will probably be busier still.

I spent yesterday on the footplates of Excalibur and Pendragon, two of the Exmoor Railway-built 2-4-2 steam locomotives with drivers Peter and Alan, getting to know the best firing technique for these little engines. It's not the same as 'Planet' or 'Agecroft No.1' at MoSI (see here as an example: Easter at MoSI 2 years ago ), much larger standard gauge locomotives on which has been most of my firing experience to date, but I'm pretty sure I'm au fait with it now.

As ever, please click on any picture for a larger image.

A scene of frenetic activity at Rudyard this morning as three 'Exmoor' steam locomotives are prepared for duty; Excalibur in black nearest the camera, Pendragon behind, and in the shed entrance Merlin. The diesel locomotive on the right is drawing empty coaching stock from the coach shed, and I spent some time driving it this morning. 

Today the weather was more like spring, and that was reflected in far more passenger numbers than yesterday. We had three 'Exmoor' locomotives in steam; Pendragon, Excalibur, and Merlin. We ran two trains, one every half hour from 11:00 until 16:00, the trains passing each other at Lakeside Loop.

 Matt prepares Pendragon.....

....Until waylayed by a playful Alex; "put me down or I'll polish yer nuts!"

It was so busy today that there was not time for practicing steam loco driving, though I did drive the diesel locomotive this morning hauling the coaching stock out of the sheds. Instead, I spent the day as guard on the half past the hour trains.

Alex with Excalibur at Hunthouse Wood station, the terminus of the line, on our first train of the day, the 11:30 from Rudyard 

The view from the guards van as we trundle up the valley past the lake on the 12:30 train 

 Pendragon runs around her train at Hunthouse Wood, ready for the return journey to Rudayrd. Note my guards van (the 'Dog Kennel') on the left.

Pendragon ready to return to Rudyard from Hunthouse Wood 

  Is that Alan's ciggie or Pendragon making all that smoke? Alan's (our driver's) legs can be seen sticking out of Pendragon's cab before departure back to Rudyard.

When the light is as it was this morning, this end of the lake can be quite delightful. The RLSR waggon in the foreground is used for carrying buggies, bicycles, or other bulky objects. It also houses an electrically-driven compressor for the train's continuous air brakes. 

Pendragon and the guards van which I dubbed the 'Dog Kennel' as its small, dark, you can't see out, and you have to bend double to get in and out

Driver Matt at Lake side Loop exchanges tokens with Merlin's driver. Lakeside Loop is where the hourly and the half-hourly trains pass each other.

I drove this last year! 0-6-2 locomotive King Arthur's boiler undergoing maintenance in the workshop.

Today was busy. I expect tomorrow and Monday will be busier still, especially if the pleasant weather continues.

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Aerodynamic Centre, Centre of Gravity, and pitch stability in aeroplanes

A 'lively' discussion between me and Malc on pitch stability of aeroplanes led to a most interesting morning and early afternoon today at Salford University with my mate Thurai (Professor of Aeronautics).

Thurai freely gave his time to explain to Malc, Pete, and myself the lift force on the wing due to camber (always static in that its position doesn't vary) and lift force due to Angle of Attack or alpha (which moves fore and aft with varying alpha), and how these can be combined into a non-moving but varying total force called the Aerodynamic Centre (AC).

As I had tried to get Malc to accept, in order for the wing (therefore the aeroplane) to be stable in pitch (i.e. returns to trimmed alpha after a disturbance)  the AC has to be behind the Centre of Gravity (CG). The further behind the more stable is the aircraft in pitch, but also less maneuverable. If the CG ever got behind the AC, the aeroplane would be divergent in pitch rather than stable and therefore unflyable by a human pilot. And because the CG is ahead of the AC, a nose-down moment is induced which is countered by a downforce from the tailplane in the form of downward lift (the Americans call the tailplane the horizontal stabiliser which I think is a much better name - 'cause that's what it does!).

Generating lift generates drag (it's called Induced Drag) and drag uses more fuel, so the download on the tail is something it would nice to get rid of. What I didn't know until Thurai told us today is that some clever aeroplanes, such as the A380, can do just that.

With the CG carefully positioned at 35% of the mean aerodynamic wing chord the tailplane negative lift (downforce) can be reduced to zero. This requires that the aircraft has an intelligent 'CG shift' system, moving fuel fore or aft to achieve the minimum load on the tail, and hence the highest flight efficiency. This 'zero tail lift' is only possible to achieve while the aeroplane is in steady cruise. When any maneuvering is required, the CG has to be moved to the conventional position, and the tail download returns.

Thurai also went on to explain that of course it isn't only the wing that has an AC. Every part of the aeroplane has an AC; the fuselage, the tail, the engine pods, even the winglets on the wing tips. The average AC of the entire aeroplane is called the Vehicle Aerodynamic Centre (VAC) or Neutral Point.

And just as I pointed out to Malc that for longitudinal static stability the CG must be ahead of the AC, so it must also be ahead of the VAC, or Neutral Point.

After that intensive lesson in aerodynamic theory Thurai took us for a tour of the laboratories. He showed us research projects being carried out by his students, model aircraft used for research, wind tunnels, both subsonic and supersonic, and various aero engines from a 1940s Rolls Royce Nene centrifugal compressor jet engine developed in Barnoldswick (the 'B' in RB 211) to a giant General Electric CF6 turbofan engine from a DC10.

By now it was mid afternoon and time for a pint. Peter left us in Manchester to head off home while Malc and I searched out a cosy Holts pub for a couple of jars of excellent bitter. By late afternoon we were getting peckish, but a handy and remarkable value Chinese buffet restaurant across the road from the pub cured that.

Thank you Thurai for an excellent and most informative day!



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Bye bye to a faithful friend

The C90, no longer mine, in the hired van of its new owner this morning

Those who have followed these ramblings for the past three years will be familiar with K101 XMO, my lovely little C90. It has taken me on many 'little bike' adventures but a couple of months ago I bought a Honda Innova to replace it. The Innova is Honda's ultimate development of the Cub (which began life as the Honda 50) with the engine enlarged to 125cc and fuel injected, and four gears instead of the C90's three, so it is a bit more usuable. However, I doubt the Innova will ever be the classic that the C90 is. Honda's latest small bikes use a completely different engine with continuously variable belt drive instead of the Cub's conventional gearbox and chain drive, so are no longer 'Cubs'.

Some videos of the bike taken last Saturday. Malc is the pilot:

Start and ride away: http://youtu.be/Ss8a_fFHLOc

Ride past: http://youtu.be/zCCHgwPSdKc

Ride up and park: http://youtu.be/olMK69R-Vl0

Walk around with engine running: http://youtu.be/PU401CxO_zg

For a while I contemplated keeping the C90, but with the Suzuki Freewind 650 and Moto Guzzi Griso 1200, space in the garage is tight. Also, the Innova does everything the C90 was formerly used for so chances are the C90 would see very little use. So it had to go.

A mature chap from Longton, Stoke on Trent, came today to collect it in a hired van. He seems a sensible type, who I hope will give XMO the same level of care and attention it has received while resident in my garage.

My Honda Innova, which has replaced the C90

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Winston Churchill's funeral train at the NRM

The great man died 50 years ago - January 1965. I can remember watching his St Paul's Cathedral funeral on black and white TV, and afterwards his remains were carried by special train from London Waterloo station to his place of burial in Oxfordshire. The train was hauled by Southern Region pacific locomotive bearing his name, and that locomotive together with the luggage waggon that conveyed his coffin have been cosmetically restored and are currently on display at the National Railway Museum's Great Hall in York. Today, Malc, Pete S, Pete A, John and me went to see them.

John, Malc, Pete A, and Pete S by the locomotive in the museum today

'Battle of Britain' class locomotive 'Winston Churchill'. Many of these engines were re-built without the air-smooth casing and with the removal of such unsuccessful features as chain-driven valve gear in an oil bath casing. When rebuilt they were considered to be much better locomotives fully realising their basic good design of boiler and running gear which had been hampered by Bulleid's (the designer) more eccentric features.

The locomotive's somewhat untidy cab

The restored luggage waggon which conveyed Churchill's coffin

This view of the locomotive shows its white 'Southern Railway' headcode indicators and the gap in the streamlined casing designed (none too successfully) to lift the smoke from the chimney clear of the boiler to aid the train crew's view ahead

Furness Railway 'Coppernob'  in the Great Hall at York 

Probably the first locomotive to travel at more than 100mph, the Great Western's 4-4-0 'City of Truro' 

Majesty in steam; LMS Stanier Pacific 'Duchess of Hamilton' displayed in its original streamlined condition. Many Duchess Pacifics were originally built in this condition, but all were later 'de streamlined' as the casing offered little aerodynamic advantage and added more than 3 tons of weight. 'Duchess of Hamilton' was re-streamlined some years ago, but is unfortunately not in working condition at the moment.  

Me 'driving' a top steam loco!

The view from Hamilton's driving seat 

The massive Duchess firebox. These locomotives were the most powerful steam engines to run in Britain. Their ultimate power output has probably never been realised as a fireman cannot feed this massive fire box fast enough to fully satisfy a Duchess in full cry. Nevertheless, Duchesses have put up efforts of power output, in service and in preservation, unmatched by any other British steam Locomotive. 

Duchess of Hamilton's cab 

Nearby in the Great Hall is the Great Western 'King', 'King George V' complete with the bell (not the original) it acquired when it visited the USA before WW2. These were designed by the GWR's then Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett in the 1920s and were the most advanced steam locomotives of their time. The GWR never developed any main line steam locomotives to follow the 'Kings'. It was Collett's assistant at the GWR, William Stanier, who, when head-hunted by the LMS (London, Midland, and Scottish) Railway to develop a 'Super King' embodying much of Swindon's best practice and enhancing it. These were the 'Princess Royal' pacifics built at Crewe in the early 1930s. Stanier's development of the Princess Royal, the Princess Coronation or 'Duchess' class of the late 1930s and 1940s really was 'the ultimate in steam'.    

Another look at Princess Coronation 'Duchess of Hamilton' and its iconic art deco train 

In the NRM workshop is the boiler of the NRM's biggest embarrassment. 'Flying Scotsman' (4472) purchased many years ago without a thorough enough survey it has proved to be a money-pit, soaking up millions of pounds that could have gone to restoring other locomotives. And years later, it's still a long way from seeing service. 

Flying Scotsman's tender in the workshop 

'Evening Star', the last steam locomotive to built (in 1960) for British Railways. Perhaps if 4472 hadn't absorbed so much of the NRM's funds this locomotive could have been restored to working condition.

'Evening Star' is a BR standard class 9F, a freight locomotive. However, as she was the last Swindon gave her a name, a lined green paint finish instead of black, and a GWR-style copper-capped chimney  (the only 9F to receive these embellishments). Evening Star and many other 9Fs actually proved very capable engines on passenger trains, especially on hilly routes such as the Somerset & Dorset. But only in summer, as they were never fitted with steam heating apparatus to provide heat for the coaches.  

Back to the 1800s. A Midland Railway 'Single' in the Station Hall, our last look at the museum before returning home. By train of course!

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The Churnet Valley Railway goes supersonic!

Last Wednesday eighteen members of Hazel Grove Rotary Group and some friends came to the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport for a full technical tour of Concorde. The group was led by a friend of mine, John, who is a volunteer guard on the Churnet Valley Railway.

Concorde G-BOAC in her hangar at the Runway Visitor Park. The restaurant is on the left side of the hangar and has changed hands since this picture was taken.

All day parking is included in a tour so many came early and enjoyed a coffee and lunch in our restaurant. Their afternoon with me started at 14:00 in our 'Avro Suit' where I welcomed them with an introduction and the showing of a short video about the aeroplane. From here we went into Alpha Charlie's hangar for a first sight of the magnificent white bird. 

I introduced this impressive aeroplane to the group, and we spent about forty minutes walking around her looking at the features that make Concorde the special aeroplane that she is. Some aspects of this section of the tour, such as that fabulous wing with an enormous speed range with no high-lift devices and its vortex lift below 300 knots, and the engine air intakes with the engines always in a subsonic environment and pressure recovery in the intake supplying over 70% of the forward thrust at Mach 2 supercruise, can be challenging to explain to a lay audience. However, feedback in the pub afterwards indicates I had probably pitched it about right!

Inside the Concorde hangar

My colleague Ross joined us as we went on board the aeroplane. Our visitors settled themselves into the comfortable dark blue leather seats in the forward cabin where Ross talked about Concorde's history, time in service with British Airways and Air France, reasons for retirement to the museums, and entertained them with supersonic anecdotes.

The dark blue leather Terence Conran designed seats in Concorde's forward cabin. Concorde was a 'one class' aeroplane (Concorde class!) with 100 passenger seats in two cabins.

I settled down in the cockpit to where the visitors came forward in groups of four at a time for me to explain how the aeroplane was flown. Concorde pre-dates today's 'automatic' computer controlled airliners where the aeroplane is 'operated' by the flight crew rather than 'flown'. Concorde, with her analogue-instrumented 1970s flight deck with not a computer screen in sight, was very much 'flown' rather than 'operated'.

CVR volunteers Kevin (crossing keeper and whipper-in for the volunteer roster) and me (Consall signalman) in AC's cockpit

Nice view of the Engineer's panel as I demonstrate to a visitor how afterburner was selected 

Our tour lasted over two hours, finishing with the handing out of an individually-named 'Concorde Certificate' to each visitor. The group kindly invited me to join them afterwards at the nearby 'Romper Inn' for a meal. Over dinner, Concorde and various other conversations continued and it was obvious that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon. As this tour had been my fifth and final one that day, a pint of 'Tatton' bitter was most welcome to 'wet the whistle' after all that talking.

It's always good to do a tour with a group of lively and interested visitors, and John's Rotary Group had certainly been that. An enjoyable end to a busy day!

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A visit to the MoSI railway

It's been a while since I went to the Museum of Science & Industry (MoSI) in Manchester to the railway where I'm volunteer footplate crew, so I decided to go today even though not rostered on the loco.

Please click on any picture for a larger image.

'Agecroft No.1' at Liverpool Road Station, MoSI, today. This locomotive spent its working life at Agecroft colliery transporting coal to the nearby power station. It arrived at MoSI several years ago as little more than scrap, and was rebuilt by MoSI volunteers to as-new condition.

This railway is under threat from Network Rail's proposed Ordsall Chord railway line, which is projected to cut across the eastern end of the MoSI site truncating the railway at the 1830 'Liverpool & Manchester Railway' original station, the oldest railway station in the world. This would reduce the length of the MoSI line to a hundred metres or so, taking only a few seconds to cover. The present 'Y' shaped railway offers passengers a round trip of around ten minutes, so one fears for the railway's survival. A dwindling number of dedicated volunteers are keeping services running for now, albeit with days when operations are cancelled due lack of staff.

Here's a video of 'Agecroft' departing Liverpool Road Station today on a public train trip. Bev driving, Mike on the shovel:

Agecroft No.1 departs Liverpool Road Station

 Our guard, Richard locks the doors of the passenger coaches before departure. Next week is half term for local schools, so a fairground has been set up in the Museum yard to attract families.

At Ordsall ground frame, fireman Mike changes the points for us to propel the train back down the 'Pineapple Line', the other arm of the 'Y' shaped layout 

Looking back from the guard's seat at the back of the train as 'Agecroft' propels it down the Pineapple Line, the futuristic Beetham Tower dominating the sky line. The centre rail is to prevent the train falling off the viaduct in the event of a derailment.

In the Power Hall, MoSI's other steam locomotive, replica 1830 Liverpool & Manchester Railway Stephenson's 'Planet' is nearing completion of its winter overhaul 

The wooden boiler cladding is being replaced as the original was rotted. Through the window of the Power Hall can be seen the Museum's Great Western Warehouse.

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Avro Heritage Museum

Please click on any picture for a larger image.

The British Aerospace site at Woodford Airfield in Cheshire closed a couple of years ago. Woodford was Avro's company airfield and the birthplace of many famous aeroplanes such as the Avro Lancaster. All the Vulcans, Nimrods, 748s, ATPs and many other types were built here; it's a historic site with a rich history.

This part of Cheshire hasn't resonated to the music of a Lancaster's Rolls Royce Merlin engines or been deafened and vibrated on a daily basis by the earth-shaking thunder of a Vulcan's four Olympus turbojets for many decades now, and the later Woodford products such as the 146, ATP, and RJX were easier on the ear.

But as the flight sheds and runways vanish under the bulldozer to eventually be replaced by yet more housing estates it's important that the heritage of this historic place is remembered. BAe are funding the creation of an aviation museum on the site. 

Artist's impression of the new Avro Heritage Museum building

The museum building makes use of the former airfield fire station, extensively renovated and modified. That work is coming to an end soon and the team can then begin to fit the building out with artifacts and storyboards ready for the museum's opening later this summer.

Adjacent to the new museum building, which is on the south side of the airfield where the flight sheds used to be, will be Avro Vulcan B2 XM603. This aeroplane has been at Woodford for many years now, and I well remember sheltering under its massive delta wing during the all too frequent rain showers at various Woodford air shows (so it was a long time ago!).

 Vulcan XM603 at a Woodford air show while a still-airworthy example of this fabulous aeroplane gives a display. Some scattered fair weather Cu clouds are evident, but no need to use that big wing as an umbrella that day.

XM603's paintwork has deteriorated since the above picture was taken many years ago, and there is corrosion present. The aircraft will be restored to static exhibition standard and located adjacent to the museum, and will retain its white 'anti-flash' cold war colour scheme the V-bombers carried when their primary role was to deliver Britain's nuclear deterrent (now the job of the Trident submarine fleet). Thankfully the cold war did not heat up, and as we know that dreadful scenario did not come about, though it came close to happening at least once. The deterrent worked. 

Inside the museum it is planned for visitors to access the cockpit of sister Vulcan B2, XM602. This is just a nose section, not a complete aircraft, so can be fitted into the museum building. 

Inside the museum's Vulcan nose section, formerly XM602. All the Vulcan's were, of course, assembled at Woodford. 

The museum web site is HERE. At present it displays the picture at the top of this post, but nearer the opening date it should be a fully populated site.

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