New Napier Sabre being built..

There is a Deltic cab in a garden between Royston and Barkway, Herts!

Would I be right in remembering the Deltic hauling the Royal Scot thundering through Preston station when I was a kid – way back in 1957 ???

Or is my memory totally up the swanney ???

I did see one on a Pickfords million-wheeled low-loader parked outside Preston North End some years later. I remember the pale blue colour scheme with those white stripes.

Ah ! Nostalgia…………………

Ken

Another one for spanner-wielders. A Deltic piston and rod assembly. The picture’s not great as the subject was in a glass display cabinet.

Couple of pics taken at the Deltic Preservation Society’s new workshop a year or so ago.

The prototype Deltic and a couple of engines from Norwegian Navy “Nasty” class MTBs.

Hello,

For the answers try; http://www.thedps.co.uk/ for The Deltic Preservation Society.

Definitive Deltic Library ..http://www.55s.co.uk/

And for more info and Deltic photos etc http://www.preserved-diesels.co.uk/engines/index_55.htm This site also covering all preserved UK Diesels except Shunters which are covered here..http://www.preservedshunters.co.uk/psh_intro.php.

All the best,
Clive.

I’m fairly confident there are 6 left. However, that’s not much use as I can’t remember whether that includes the prototype or not. So 6 or 7. 🙂

The cab on a trailer is at Barrow Hill too.

There is an animation of the insides of a Deltic here:-

http://www.wis.co.uk/justin/deltic-engine.html

Jonathan

Pictures of the original Deltic, first one at Grantham, taken by me August 1960, second one taken by my brother at Doncaster the month after.
The Deltic society have 4 survivors, 3 at Barrow Hill, Staveley and one at York where the original example lives.
I’m sure that there are other survivors including a cab sat on a trailer.
When built, they were considered to be the most powerful single unit diesels in the world at 3300 BHP.
The 30 members of the class replaced the entire fleet of A1, A2, A3 and A4 steam pacifics.
I recall hurtling down Stoke Bank behind one of these whining, smoky monsters and clocking it at 117 mph with 12 coaches.
Last sight of one in service was at Berwick on a parcels, 1978, they were replaced by HST’s.
Anyone know exactly how many are left.

Amazing and, to me, fascinating engines. Including ones in locos, there are about a dozen of them 3 or 4 miles down the road from here at the headquarters of the Deltic Preservation Society.

In a book somewhere I’ve got a drawing of the geartrain that connects the three crankshafts. Truly mind-boggling.

What a hideously complex arrangement that engine is – 3 crankshafts and pistons flying every which way. Horrible waste of space in the middle too. I doubt it if helped with cooling.

Can someone explain (in laymans terms) what advantages the Deltic held?

In simple layman’s terms the advantage was simplicity and power density. The Deltic was an opposed piston 2 stroke diesel. These engines have no valves and rely on a supercharger to scavenge the cylinder via ports in the cylinder wall, a bit like a sleeve valve engine. If any of you are old enough you may remember the Commer diesel trucks. They had 3 cylinder versions of the Deltic.

Each Deltic cylinder is roughly equivalent to 2 normal 4 stroke cylinders. As each of the Deltic’s 3 banks is 6 cylinders, it’s the equivalent of 3 V12s or a boxer 12s and you could say the Deltic was a 36 cylinder engine that could fit into the same space as an engine of half its power.

Hello,
If you have a rummage through http://www.55s.co.uk/ and find a link from in the Technology section it shows the full size loco power unit undergoing a strip down and repair….I’m better with Suffolk Super Colts etc..!!

All the best,
Clive.

The bit that also caught my eye was that HUGE piston (11x13in?) he bought for 25quid at some Pompey scrap yard. I’d love one of those to go on the mantel 🙂

The Deltic locomotive had two engines, there was a smaller version with one known as the Baby Deltic. They were also used in “ton” class minesweepers, like the one Prince Charles captained when he was in the Navy, and a bunch of those engines ended up in Pounds scrapyard in Portsmouth.

The bit that also caught my eye was that HUGE piston (11x13in?) he bought for 25quid at some Pompey scrap yard. I’d love one of those to go on the mantel 🙂

What a hideously complex arrangement that engine is – 3 crankshafts and pistons flying every which way. Horrible waste of space in the middle too. I doubt it if helped with cooling.

Can someone explain (in laymans terms) what advantages the Deltic held?

All these years, and with only a mild interest in things railway, I have assumed the name “Deltic” came from a weird amalgum of “Diesel” and “Electric”. Now I see the cross section of the loco’s engine I see it’s name is more likely derived from “Delta” – anyone know?
Roger Smith.

Yes I do, having worked for English Electric at the plant where they built Napier engines. (East Lancs Road – Huyton – Merseyside)

The derivation was from ‘Delta’ (Triangular). The connection to their diesel electric use in railway motive units was just a bonus.

Moggy

Which was based on the Junkers Jumo aircraft engine. It is basically three of them linked together.

All these years, and with only a mild interest in things railway, I have assumed the name “Deltic” came from a weird amalgum of “Diesel” and “Electric”. Now I see the cross section of the loco’s engine I see it’s name is more likely derived from “Delta” – anyone know?
Roger Smith.

Superb model, without question (but its a Napier Deltic diesel engine!).

I think, though, the reason that ZRX61 brought it up was the piece in the article (and I haven’t read it all) is that the guy’s NEXT project is to be a Napier Sabre.
Somebody volunteer to build a scale Typhoon to put it in?
I envy the guy’s skill.
Roger Smith.

Which was based on the Junkers Jumo aircraft engine. It is basically three of them linked together.

The Jumo 205/207 engines (as used in versions of the Ju86) only had a single vertical bank of opposed pistons rather than the triangulated arrangement of the Deltic which is what I assume Melvyn meant by linked together.

Superb model, without question (but its a Napier Deltic diesel engine!).

Which was based on the Junkers Jumo aircraft engine. It is basically three of them linked together.

Superb model, without question (but its a Napier Deltic diesel engine!).