I drove a 2 stroke Mack years ago and was told by the dispatcher that those old 2 strokes were the most efficient machines that convert fuel into noise.
I used to drive a TM Bedford with a supercharged 2 stroke, once you got it rolling it was almost uncatchable. The only trouble I had with it was the splines on the supercharger drive-shaft, they used to wear like they were made of plastic.
drive them like you slammed your thumb in truck door.. and wife just left you .. gears ? any gear ,don't lift foot .. drove a L9000 for 3 yrs .. inuvik to edmonton and edmonton to Yellowknife through to lupin mine
I served on several Ton Class minesweepers/hunters in the RN. Starting was fun, they used an explosive cartridge! If they broke we swapped them, took less than 24 hours. Remove all the bolts to the deck housing, disconnect everything, lift out and reverse with replacement engine. If you visit Gunwarf Quays in Portsmouth the preserved crane is what we used when it was HMS Vernon.
The Royal Engineers had their Diving Training Establishment at Vernon up to the late '90's (I think). I did my training there and we used 'the creek' dock to dive (and also at Horsea) and i can vaguely remember it had a crane nearby. I'd guess this dock/inlet was where your boats were berthed for their refit? Arduous training but great memories.
An absolutely Brilliant Engine. I have worked on the Railways for nearly 33 years and just prior to privatisation, a preserved Deltic Loco came to the depot, on it`s way to Doncaster for Crew training. The Guy who was with it Started it up for us to have a look at. Just ticking over, the Ballast was vibrating and moving under the Loco. We opened the Engine room Door and was met with a wall of sound that no matter how loud you shouted, you could barely be heard. An amazing piece of British Engineering.
Years back, was in a tunnel we shouldnt have been in and double head fuel tanker came through pulling hard, i thought my head was going to explode !!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I went to a primary school close to the East Coast mainline. A class 55 used to run one of the high-speed services towards the late-70s. The teacher would shout "Deltic!", we'd open the windows, and all enjoy that phenomenal growl. A true great. Another superb video, many, many congrats on the 1M subs too.
Thas awesomeness....cooool memory for sure. Gotta few like that....I was 8 and my dads friend had a 496 open header in a 68 vette built for rally races....never herd something like that until a Metallica concert
Hi Droid - (Comment attempt #2) Great post! I had the "job" of driving the US Navy's PTF-17 which had two 18 Cylinder turbo supercharged Deltics, 6200 HP total. They idled at 800 RPM, red-lined at 2400 RPM. The British did an amazing engineering job on those engines. Very fast, but not a "low humming sound", I am still hearing that turbo screaming even with the underwater main exhausts...Turning #2 diesel into noise, spray and adrenaline. After Vietnam, the engines were flown back to the USN engine shop which remained at Subic Bay PI for overhaul. The costs associated with that contributed to their eventual removal from USN service. Thanks for the excellent post - good memories!
@@jlo13800 Alongside being an OP layout, these were also extremely efficient not just in thermal efficiency but on fuel as well. Depending on application of course, it's not always a constant measure in terms of how much fuel is being spent but on the contrary of combustion cycle, that's where an opposed piston engine outclasses everything else.
OP 2 stroke could go in snowmobiles too although there are axial flux engines that make over 500 hp and can fit in your lap. How much 2 stroke oil did your boat go through? its time to go with a pulsed plasma 2 stroke that taps aetheric ZPE and elliminates all chemical fuels but in the mean time ethanol would be nice.
Hi Bob as a Kid our house backed onto a field which at the furthest side had the Blackburn to Preston line. I used to run across the field to watch and hear my favorite. I was lucky enough to see the Flying scotsman and the Mallard as a kid pass by. Such great engineering feats.
@@golfhacker9051 Never saw a Steam engine till I started at Saltley diesel depot in 1977. We used to go to York, I was with an old hand driver where we had a few hours at York waiting for our return train and he took me to York train museum and that was the first time I saw mainline Steam engine for the first time and I was amazed at the size of those engines, no wonder train drivers back then we seen with such admiration.
From satelites to dragsters via submaries and cold war near misses...now super-pumper fire trucks with an amazingly powerful engines...Paul, if I'd had you as a science teacher at school, I'd have become a science teacher myself, hoping to educate kids in the way you continually educate me...and I'm 53. Excellent content, as always.
@@kfl611 It is not what is taught , it is how it is taught .. fell asleep on many lectures .. learned more from working field geologists in a tent than I did from boring monotone lecturers.
In your dreams fan boy I am not sure why I'd know this, but let me guess you would might object to 12 liters petrol per kilometer. Just a SWAG. BTW I am agog to get my greedy mits on one as well. Pleasant dreams.
I was just sitting here wondering why I enjoy Mr. Droid's engine videos so much. After a teenage obsession with muscle cars, owning a couple of my own, and later work in a John Deere tractor shop working on diesels the size of small cars, I still can't say that it's a subject that excites me much and I do not watch such videos from any other channel. The reason is that with the Curious Droid channel, the subject matter of each video is only part of the product on offer. The other, and more important part is Mr. Droid himself, and how he presents things. It goes without saying that a skilled teacher can present any topic in such a way that it becomes interesting, even fascinating. Paul Shillito is one of the best examples of a skilled and talented teacher I've ever seen. Every one of his videos is a fascinating experience. I've learned not to pick and choose which of his videos to watch by how interested I am in the subject. It's an easy decision now. I just watch them all. Thank you Mr. Shillito for putting these fascinating videos out there for us to watch. Interesting=entertaining, and that means I am educated in subjects I might never read up on on my own, and enjoy every minute of it.
I used to work for an engineering company in the early 1980's and our office was right by the main line at Stevenage. You could hear the Deltics coming and a bunch of us would peer out of the window to see which one it was. Awesome sound!!
The anecdote about the suggestion from the chap in the drawing office is a detail that makes history really come alive .ps Seeing a Deltic locomotive at work back in the day was always a treat.
If you'd like to hear one again this is one of the best sounding videos ua-cam.com/video/jr99NJHr5qQ/v-deo.html (there are some great night time ones too).
My dad, a royal navy maritime engineer in the 60s Would service these. if I remember right he said the engine started up so fast, and with so much power that the solid metal output shaft was made of an alloy that was designed to TWIST then spring back into shape as a way of dampening the torque output at start-up. MOAR POWER!
@@donaldasayers Just spoke to him, he mentioned that *if he remembers right* the shaft could rotate a turn, and return to its shape , which I find insane.
I love the fact that a draughtsman offered up a suggestion to the engineers, and rather than being dismissed the idea was taken on board. That type of thinking is sadly absent from a lot of companies.
I've always suspected that part of the story is, shall we say, not 100% accurate. I'm not saying a draftsman didn't suggest it at some point but the idea that a draftsman out-thought a whole team of experienced engine designers doesn't seem very credible. I'm pretty sure the engine designers at Napier were more than well aware that piston engines in general, and two strokes in particular, don't really care which way their crankshaft is rotating. Indeed some engines will happily run in either direction "out of the box" whether you want them to or not. There's no reason to think they wouldn't have applied this knowledge to the problem and thought to have one crank rotating in the opposite direction.
@@AnthonyHandcock "I'm not saying a draftsman didn't suggest it at some point but the idea that a draftsman out-thought a whole team of experienced engine designers doesn't seem very credible." Education doesn't create intelligence and it sometimes damages critical thinking skills. British engineers, especially, shouldn't be considered to be some god-like creatures who are always perfect in their thought processes.
@@PistonAvatarGuy "British engineers especially..." You're displaying your predjudice against British Engineers. Shame on you. Predjudice must be stamped out in all forms.
When I was in the US NAVY my neighbor was a PT boat skipper. He had the last wooden PT on the East Coast. He took me to his boat one day and it was in drydock. It had these engines. I had never seen nor heard of them before and they were a sight to the eyes for a reciprocating A/C engine mechanic!
@@jordanbrandtner2745 I believe that's correct as I've seen photos and some books that said that. However the Lt. told me this was the last wooden PT on the East Coast so maybe they did a mod to see if they could improve them? He said every year they had some sort of NAVY get together with all the EC PT boats and he was always the fastest of the group. They must have put out the power! Wish I could have heard them running. Seeing them was a treat for me. Wish I remembered his name or the number on the boat. It was in drydock and raised quite a bit in the air. Very intimidating looking up at it!
@@rogerhuber3133 they are really cool I think all of them were wood there is one here in Portland OR and it’s wood with the 3 packard’s I think it has been getting overhauled the last 10+ years I remember hearing it run when I was a kid but never saw it move
@@rogerhuber3133 after a google search it would be possible the one you saw was an experimental one and would make sense if they would test with different power plants
@@Dave5843-d9m This has only happened a couple of times, and not since 2017 I think. You might be thinking of class 37s which look quite similar on the outside.
Funny you metioned that, I worked on a mining project in Yukon that had a deltec powered pump, I had thought it was a screaming Jimmy . Even when corrected, at that time, I never really grasped the significance going to make some same area had a dredge that's pumps were run by surplus aero radials long ago looted..
@@borderreiver1806 Do you have any photos or further information? I have ben trying to find out what happened to the US Deltics after they were taken out of service.
@@nigelpaine2914 I'm sorry , I don't have anything, as I was only hauling heavy equipment out.Most of those projects were cleaned up under reclamation bonds .. steel etc.. pulled out for scrapping ..I know that that pumphouse is long gone, as is the scrapped equipment.. Even old Ruston Bucyrus engines and Draglines. I doubt anyone really would know their significance.. I might be wrong but I thought that that pump setup was supposed to have come from a Jet barge ,then later used to pump water from the river up to a dam for sluice boxes
I'd heard about the Deltic but couldn't quite figure out how they managed to to make three crankshafts feed into one main one, but looking at the timing gears at the front it becomes pretty obvious how it was done, im an 80 year old and I'm still learning,😂😂😂 thank you for posting this video, very informative.
Yeah like the total disaster L60 engine in the Chieftain tank. Only the uk could come up with something so bad. Industry would have changed it right away to a commercially reliable diesel engine , like cummins or cat.
@@paralogregt Oh, I don't know so much, but even the mighty USA has its own engineering failures in history, and bear in mind, if you don't fail sometimes, you're not going to learn much.
ive been an 'all types of engine' fanatic since my early teens and have known about the deltic for many years however what a fantastic historical and informative overview you have made of an amazing engine, very well presented and riveting to listen to, much better than just reading about it and the video backup was equally awesome. well done.
This week i saw a rare Jumo opossing piston diesel engine working and imediatly thought of Napier Deltic engine. Still on my bucketlist seeing on of those working.
Good video which brings back memories as I worked for Napier on the production of the DELTIC engine in the 1960. It was very interesting work as I played a part on the production of the SUPER PUMPER engines , the overhaul of the Type 55 loco engines and others. The Royal Navy used the engine on their mine hunters up to 2015 which gave the DELTIC a service life of some 65 years and over 600 units were built.
I have restored a number of fire engines in the USA. I have also run a "Special Interest Autos and Motos" restoration and mechanical repair company for many years. My two latest projects were a 1942 American LaFrance with the ALF produced V12 and a 1946 Kenworth with a 1191 Hall Scot. This video about the history and development of the Napier Deltic power plant is one of the best videos I have seen on the subject of power plants in my entire 57 years of doing in depth mechanical work on many different power plants. Great Video.
As a student traveling frequently to and from York in the 1960s, I always had tingling in the back of my neck when on an express train hauled by a Deltic locomotive. As the engine revs increased and the familiar 'whistling' of the huge fans in the roof of the locomotive increased; the engine pulled away from the platform effortlessly. It didn't seem to make much difference whether there were 10 or 15 carriages behind, it was always thrilling to be on the train.
@@fidelcatsro6948 wow! Didn't expect a comment on a remote clip some three months ago. I live in Bolton and (when they bother to run them) the new trains are those tinplate trains that seem as though you could dent them with cornflakes. The Deltics made every journey exciting.😊👍
5:24 Oh hay. That's my animation. Glad to see people using it! Great video, and more weird British engines please! You could do a whole series on Napier alone with the Nomad and the Sabre.
Your animation is great at showing the phasing of the pistons and made it easier to understand what is going on in there, thanks for making it available :-)
As a kid, I remember watching the Class 55s locos run. They made an incredible sound. The Napier Deltic engines were British engineering at its finest.
They ran the deltic on the epping and ongar preserved line . Standing next to it as it pulled off you could feel the vibrating air go through you ..what a feeling .
Seems as this thing progressed it's career, it was almost hand me down... And not because it wasn't enough and unwanted... More like way more than anyone knew what to do with lol
Brilliant!!! Have loved this engine since first learning of it. Never knew the Super Pumper used one though. 10,000 gallons a minute is serious flow. I've worked on airport crash tenders that flow 5000 litres a minute and they made the 30 tonne truck rock when you fired the monitor. No wonder the Mack would take the buildings down with the fire!
@@dakkan5433 pressure needed to throw the water/foam the distance necessary for aircraft fires as they burn very hot and the appliance and crew needs to be a safe distance to avoid compromise. 80 metre throw is normal from the roof monitor. Super pumper designed to feed hoses run into tall buildings so pressure needed to overcome the losses. 15psi lost every ten meters you go up. Volumes necessary because you are feeding multiple satellite vehicles/relay pumps and you are bound to get leaks etc. Also a big fire has a lot of energy sonyou need the volume of water to cool the fuel stock or the fire reignites.
@@paid2getdirty1 That’s impressive considering the technology possessed at the time,,the 2 stroke configuration made it lightweight and therefore easy to transport at relative speed aswell!
Good lord. The engine designers from almost a hundred years ago were incredibly intelligent and visionary. I'm ashamed to say I've never seen such a design, other than rotary, that didn't have cylinder heads. Those engines were designed WITHOUT COMPUTERS. Much respect to the minds behind such incredible machinery. I've always wanted one of those fast attack PT boats...just bc I'm still a kid at heart and they're very impressive. Can only imagine the feel and sound of them opened up at full speed. What a feeling it must have been.
Compression ignition engines are a brilliant concept in themselves - so hats off to those who thought to run the pistons back-to-back in the same cylinder, and those who then thought to run three of them in a triple-V! I hope to hear one in person some day.
I'm staggered at the complexity and excellence of all this, imagine the metallurgy, design, development, test, manufacture; pattern making too .... all at 'ultimate level'. Thanks fr the vid!
Just looking at the complexity and scale of these engines is quite bewildering. I mean to develop the prototypes, test them, further develop them and have the final product at the end of it must of cost an absolute fortune! The machining time alone on 1 of those crankshaft gears must of been days and days, let alone the rest of the engine.
It's expensive yes, but if you can prove the idea works on a small scale, alot of really expensive mistakes can be avoided. Cosworth did something very similar recently, 2 companies wanted v12s, it was cheaper to build a 3 cylinder prototype rather than do months of computer simulation. Worked out very well for them and the results are mind blowing, 12100rpm for a street legal car, and one hell of a soundtrack!
@@MontyPython12 Aston Martin Valkyrie and Gordon Murry Automotive T50 are those 2 cars which would house the magnificent Cosworth naturally aspirated V12s.
Napier Nomad wouldn't be a bad one for a video - a combined piston and turbine engine - there's one almost forgotten in the museum at East Fortune - I'd love to get in running again !
In the US we had the Wright radial turbo-compound engine that powered the B-36 bomber and Boeing Stratocruiser airliner, but it had a tendency to break down.
Thank you Mr. Shillito, for this outstanding video.The details of your research and the professionalism of the presentations set your works way above the standard of UA-cam. I had heard of the Deltic engine because I follow rail history and technologies, but I never come across such wealth of precisely referenced info - both historical and technological. I'm so positively impressed by your work - hence have my most sincere congratulations. Regards,
Curious Droid, please (just a suggestion) do a video on the *Electro-Motive 710* / 567 /645 engines (all essentially the same block with incremental improvements). It is / was perhaps one of the most important catalysts in dieselization of the railroads and medium marine vessels from coal to diesel. It and the Napier were some of the most important and remarkable engines ever constructed.
It's a shame that we cannot share pictures here in the comments section, as recently we received, via a Liverpool history page on Facebook, various pictures of my grandfather (Sid O'Brien), working on the development of this engine.
If you would like to share photos you can upload them to a image hosting site (imgur, google photose, etc) and post the link here. Or you could link the facebook page here.
My family Napier who came down from Scotland to England as father and son was also developing it,I'd love to find out about them+pics as my mother's father (my grandad-Arthur Charles Napier)was always telling her of this.
The machine work for the times is truly impressive. There were no CNC machines in the 1920's-1940's. It took talent to cut those large parts within tenths of a thousandth.
I showed my pop , a Vietnam veteran of two tours with a combat engineer company, this video and he said the spec ops guys had their quick insertion and extraction boats equipped with these engines and they were maniacally fast for their size. Up to now I had never heard of them before. Great video
Used to take the night sleeper train London/Scotland behind these in the '70s. I remember leaning out of the windows, listening to the 18-cylinder music and smelling all that smoke. Happy days!
Currently in an internship at Cummins it’s really interesting and strange to see such big diesel engine being built and the care of the spare parts division has to those engine
Engines are funny things. In service, they can get smacked around and covered in shit and keep running like nothing happened, yet each part is an incredible piece of high precision manufacturing that can be completely ruined during assembly if you so much as rest it on a bench the wrong way!
@@OliverWagnerOliwerix Paul here and Scott Manley are the two channels Ive seen every video of. Kind of odd knowing I can post a comment anymore and get a bunch of likes, so I try and wield that power cautiously
I live in Bay City Michigan!! I've seen that truck many times, it's on Patterson Rd., Wow, small world.. totally wasn't expecting the video to close,so close to home
@@fouloleron2002 The engines are surprisingly small for their size. They had a strange design of steam boiler, unlike those installed in most other classes. It was located between the two engines. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to attend to the boiler when the engines were running at full power.
There were some Nasty Class PTF’s that would come in and resupply at our pier in RVN, they were highly classified at the time, and we wondered what the hell powered them that made such a strange noise... at last I know, thanks. 👍
Go to PTF Nasty for a lot more info on what these boats were used for in Nam. I was at MST-2 Danang for two six month tours. Spent a bit of time on these at sea.
I have always loved the Deltic..there was just something about the design coupled with an absolute mountain of pure power from its engine... There have been some great trains come through the British Rail era but the Deltic has always been the king of the tracks for me. My first hornby train unit that I purchased years ago from a store called Beaties in Romford, Essex was a Deltic.
Didn't know about this engine - what a monster! A remarkable piece of engineering. Can you do one on another superb diesel engine - the Paxman Valenta?
The Valenta engine was used as a Bow Thruster power unit on the Dart Line container ships . I changed the pistons and sorted problems out on one of these many moons ago for Bibby Line.
Knew an engineer called Les 'Nobby' Clarke many years ago, who'd worked on these for the railways around Nottm. He said that standing in the walkway next to one at full chat, was the nearest he'd ever had to a religious experience!
@@davidtucker3729 - Certainly was. I last saw him 40 yrs ago, almost retired but still building race engines for the Haslams. Lovely man, taught me a great amount.
The piston crowns off these Deltic locos ended up in a few homes in the Doncaster area as ashtrays or doorstops. Thanks to the lads at the Doncaster Plant loco works spiriting them away.
I remember the FDNY super pumper! I was a scrawny kid living in South Ozone Park, Queens, when the Super Pumper was called out to assist in a brush fire in the marshland just outside of Idlewild (JFK) Airport. It was the most glorious thing to watch operate and listen to ….
Napier really deserves much more praise & attention for how successful their developmental methods of new technologies were, turning those ideas into world leading technology! The Napier Sabre is also a fascinating engine! An engine that improved drastically during the war, as the engineers took brand new engine design ideas for getting more power. They followed their vision for how to gain extra power, and also reduce weight, but they had to design a new supercharger system that could keep up with the 4000rpm engine. Love how they just worked towards a goal and constantly improved each element, culminating in an amazing engine with no competitors being able ti make a power to weight number anywhere close to the Sabre by the end of the war!… Well other than those new jet engine things…But hey those jets will never take off… 😂
Enjoying this, i well remember working on 2 stroke diesels in plant equipment many years ago mainly GM 6,8 and 12 cylinder some where Turbo charged and inter cooled but they all had the gear driven blower between the cylinder heads. We would get about 3 months use from repair then a tune up was needed and perhaps another 3-4 months and the air box drain pipes would be blowing oil out so time for another repair!. Happy days, long days and dirty days!.
@@dorleysflir5350 3 engines without a heavy cylinder head! Being a 2-stroke, it doesn't need a cylinder head in the conventional sense and it means that almost the entire mass of the engine is used to generate power. The 'high speed' is the key term - the pistons do not suffer from a huge moment of inertia as they change direction hence high speed. Just compare the mass/power to inline or V diesels.
@@dorleysflir5350 My mistake, sorry. I note that the BMW diesel revs to 5500 and their were rumours of Formula 1 using DERV and they managed 8000 RPM! That said, Audi managed 9000RPM. Diesels are usually more torque than power so god alone knows if they had to tame that torque or conrods through crank cases would be commmonplace.
That's a complete misrepresentation. To produce the same power would have required two engines each with their own heavy cylinder head. This got rid of two cylinder heads, not just one. That second engine did work; it doubled the swept volume (although in practice it used to engines, each with rather shorter strokes as that allowed higher RPM whilst still being able to reach the required compression ratio for ignition).
Fairbanks Morse 38 8 1/4.Most of the WWII US diesel submarines used them as well as destroyer escorts and landing craft. My first submarine had 4 of them, it's the museum boat in Baltimore. They are still using later versions as auxiliary engines in modern nuke submarines. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_Morse_38_8-1/8_diesel_engine
Fantastic engine, sound of my childhood Deltic locomotives with two of these engines going past our house, my late friend Bill was a engine minder in the test house at Napier’s in Acton You need to do a film on the Napier Nomad another compound engine I seam to remember Ricardo put this idea forward , there is a person that you could talk about to Top work thank you Don’t forget during the Cold War the Aspidistra radio station has pair supplying power
As a railfan I see the Class 55 Deltics quite often. I can't help cringing when they shut down and you can hear all the synchronising gears grinding to a stop as oil flow reduces. One on my best memories is the sight of double headed deltics on all 4 engines pulling out of the KWVR station at Keighley . Very impressive ❤
What an incredible video! I think this is your best one yet. I will probably watch it 5 more times as it was just so much information to take in. I had no idea these engines even existed, much less that the engineering behind them was successful! The opposed piston 2-stroke without a cylinder head is simply brilliant.
What a great video! Thank you for sharing your info. That museum is about an hour from my house, I've already planned a trip for next Saturday to go and check it out. I'm definitely taking pictures and you're welcome to any of them if you like. Thanks again for the effort you put into such a well-made video👍 Cheers to you!
I love the Napier Deltic, such power and an incredible growl. Great channel, but I don't always like the shirt. Well done on 1,000,000 subs you deserve it.
@@CuriousDroid I think the shirts are great mate. When in the US (I'm a UK resident Englishman), I do a bit of competitive shooting & wind up the high speed, low drag, desert tan 511 fans by wearing baggy shorts & Hawaiian style surfing shirts. There's a photo somewhere on the internet of me & a mate dressed like this whilst holding our winning King Match targets. 😁
As a kid, I remember walking along the pennar branch line in South Wales, when the coal trains from Oakdale pit passed. You would hear the tracks chiming and chirping as the massive baby Deltic loco, or occasionally the big boy, with 30 coal trucks and a guard van approached. "TRAIN.....TRAIN...." you would shout to all the kids, and then all hell broke loose as this mighty leviathan boomed past, horns blasting, driver waving and a sound which cannot be described, (but should be experienced by all who love engines of any kind) with massive exhausts belching the breath of the mighty beast into the sky. Being only around 4 feet tall myself, and standing just feet away from this unstoppable giant, really mad us feel like ants. 8 have NEVER heard such music from any engine. 😍
Excellent ! I was hoping you'd cover the engineering marvel of this diesel engine there is a great cut away Deltic engine in the national rail museum in York and working model to show how it works.
Curious Droid, you and your site, or be it Magellan, provide an enormous amount of historic but still relevant knowledge and information. Your narrative is excellent. Thank you for what you present on UA-cam. Respect is due to you.
Taking out wall and roofs lol. It did sound pretty useful though when you needed water of a ridiculous amount, or at a ridiculous pressure. Is there anything similar in service today?
I'm glad that a few of the locomotives were preserved and are still running occasionally. I'm a big fan of the diesel electrics. I think i'm going to check out Magellan TV if for no other reason than the transportation/shipping video you mentioned because that's one of my favorite subjects.
Actually they were sent to the Philippines for service. Not sure of the hours, I thought it was 500. I was a crewmember on one PTF being transferred from MST-1 to the Philippines for overhaul aboard the USS Monticello, LSD-35. Was on many "DD OPS" off the coast keeping our cruisers and destroyers on their toes against PT boat attacks up north. Changed out a couple of engines there at the lower base also. I remember one that had let go and was pretty damaged with cylinder and rod/piston and block damage. The biggest problem with this set up was the Vietnamese crews not always following the precise pre start procedures for these engines. I was a member of BSU-1 from Feb.,1968 thru Dec.,1972 and had two trips to Danang at MST-1 and one trip down south at Dong Tam/MyTho, MST-2.
@@seniorrider9337 Great, thanks for your corrections 👍🏼 I first read about the boats on a site over 10 years ago. I do remember it said (incorrect) starting was when most issues occurred!
As a trainspotter in Peterborough in the early 70s, these were my favourite locos. Still my favourite now, I have two of them on my model railway layout.
It has to be said, a Deltic is something you have to see yourself to understand- I'm a rail enthusiast so when it comes to Deltics, naturally the BR Class 55's are my go to. Hearing all 32 cylinders going up a gradient under load is an engineering symphony!
I drove a 2 stroke Mack years ago and was told by the dispatcher that those old 2 strokes were the most efficient machines that convert fuel into noise.
Other than a V8 Air Siren.
@@Neojhun pretty sure a TU-95 is louder
Those planes have their own sirens
I have permanent hearing damage from racing unmuffled 2-stroke motorcycles in the late 60's.
I used to drive a TM Bedford with a supercharged 2 stroke, once you got it rolling it was almost uncatchable. The only trouble I had with it was the splines on the supercharger drive-shaft, they used to wear like they were made of plastic.
drive them like you slammed your thumb in truck door.. and wife just left you .. gears ? any gear ,don't lift foot .. drove a L9000 for 3 yrs .. inuvik to edmonton and edmonton to Yellowknife through to lupin mine
I served on several Ton Class minesweepers/hunters in the RN. Starting was fun, they used an explosive cartridge! If they broke we swapped them, took less than 24 hours. Remove all the bolts to the deck housing, disconnect everything, lift out and reverse with replacement engine. If you visit Gunwarf Quays in Portsmouth the preserved crane is what we used when it was HMS Vernon.
Great comment!!
Thats amazing. Thanks for the sharing your knowledge!!
The Royal Engineers had their Diving Training Establishment at Vernon up to the late '90's (I think). I did my training there and we used 'the creek' dock to dive (and also at Horsea) and i can vaguely remember it had a crane nearby. I'd guess this dock/inlet was where your boats were berthed for their refit?
Arduous training but great memories.
Some tractors were started with a blank 12 bore cartridge.
I've often wondered how the explosive cartridge start the engine?
I'm glad that pumper got saved and is in a museum to be appreciated for the unique feat of engineering that it is.
yes - I checked their website but no videos of it working 😕
An absolutely Brilliant Engine. I have worked on the Railways for nearly 33 years and just prior to privatisation, a preserved Deltic Loco came to the depot, on it`s way to Doncaster for Crew training. The Guy who was with it Started it up for us to have a look at. Just ticking over, the Ballast was vibrating and moving under the Loco. We opened the Engine room Door and was met with a wall of sound that no matter how loud you shouted, you could barely be heard. An amazing piece of British Engineering.
Years back, was in a tunnel we shouldnt have been in and double head fuel tanker came through pulling hard, i thought my head was going to explode !!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I went to a primary school close to the East Coast mainline. A class 55 used to run one of the high-speed services towards the late-70s. The teacher would shout "Deltic!", we'd open the windows, and all enjoy that phenomenal growl. A true great. Another superb video, many, many congrats on the 1M subs too.
Like your teacher who obviously appreciates
great machines.
Thas awesomeness....cooool memory for sure. Gotta few like that....I was 8 and my dads friend had a 496 open header in a 68 vette built for rally races....never herd something like that until a Metallica concert
Hi Droid - (Comment attempt #2) Great post! I had the "job" of driving the US Navy's PTF-17 which had two 18 Cylinder turbo supercharged Deltics, 6200 HP total. They idled at 800 RPM, red-lined at 2400 RPM. The British did an amazing engineering job on those engines. Very fast, but not a "low humming sound", I am still hearing that turbo screaming even with the underwater main exhausts...Turning #2 diesel into noise, spray and adrenaline. After Vietnam, the engines were flown back to the USN engine shop which remained at Subic Bay PI for overhaul. The costs associated with that contributed to their eventual removal from USN service. Thanks for the excellent post - good memories!
Thats is a lot of power them deltic 2 strokes had. 4 joke stroke dont even come close to that rating for the sames sized engine
@@jlo13800 Alongside being an OP layout, these were also extremely efficient not just in thermal efficiency but on fuel as well. Depending on application of course, it's not always a constant measure in terms of how much fuel is being spent but on the contrary of combustion cycle, that's where an opposed piston engine outclasses everything else.
OP 2 stroke could go in snowmobiles too although there are axial flux engines that make over 500 hp and can fit in your lap. How much 2 stroke oil did your boat go through? its time to go with a pulsed plasma 2 stroke that taps aetheric ZPE and elliminates all chemical fuels but in the mean time ethanol would be nice.
here is the new cummins OP ACE 2 stroke mart.cummins.com/imagelibrary/data/assetfiles/0058689.pdf
I was a driver on British rail until 1985 and was lucky to drive a Deltic, awesome sounding locos
Hi Bob as a Kid our house backed onto a field which at the furthest side had the Blackburn to Preston line. I used to run across the field to watch and hear my favorite. I was lucky enough to see the Flying scotsman and the Mallard as a kid pass by. Such great engineering feats.
@@golfhacker9051
Never saw a Steam engine till I started at Saltley diesel depot in 1977. We used to go to York, I was with an old hand driver where we had a few hours at York waiting for our return train and he took me to York train museum and that was the first time I saw mainline Steam engine for the first time and I was amazed at the size of those engines, no wonder train drivers back then we seen with such admiration.
@@bobp6742 Admiration
@@jasonjanes3256
Never noticed, thanks 😂😂
Wow!
I spent my entire engineering apprenticeship in the early 1980’s machining all the various aluminium castings and cylinder liners of these engines.
you shouldve built one at home!!!
And now you repair Saxaphones👍
No you didn't....
Engineering Apprenticeship? Don't you mean Machinist Apprenticeship or at the very least an Engineering Internship.
@@adamberndt4190 yeah he did.....................
From satelites to dragsters via submaries and cold war near misses...now super-pumper fire trucks with an amazingly powerful engines...Paul, if I'd had you as a science teacher at school, I'd have become a science teacher myself, hoping to educate kids in the way you continually educate me...and I'm 53. Excellent content, as always.
That proves it is not the subject that is interesting but the way the subject is presented that makes it interesting and a joy to learn.
@@kfl611 It is not what is taught , it is how it is taught .. fell asleep on many lectures .. learned more from working field geologists in a tent than I did from boring monotone lecturers.
Well said, this is how you teach and keep it interesting and fun.
'Nasty' class Motor Torpedo Boat . . . . . now that sounds like a boat I would like to own.
I'd prefer the same just without the 'cl'
@@loginavoidence12 you sound like one for sure lol
@John Dillermand But did you know that "nasty" is the Norwegian word for "very cute"? Eh? Eh?
Ha ha you would need dump trucks full of flaming Pound notes
In your dreams fan boy I am not sure why I'd know this, but let me guess you would might object to 12 liters petrol per kilometer. Just a SWAG.
BTW I am agog to get my greedy mits on one as well. Pleasant dreams.
Can we give respect to the engineering teams who created these engines..? Very impressive.
this Oposed piston Technology is being used in achates power engines.
What anightmare
I was just sitting here wondering why I enjoy Mr. Droid's engine videos so much. After a teenage obsession with muscle cars, owning a couple of my own, and later work in a John Deere tractor shop working on diesels the size of small cars, I still can't say that it's a subject that excites me much and I do not watch such videos from any other channel.
The reason is that with the Curious Droid channel, the subject matter of each video is only part of the product on offer. The other, and more important part is Mr. Droid himself, and how he presents things. It goes without saying that a skilled teacher can present any topic in such a way that it becomes interesting, even fascinating. Paul Shillito is one of the best examples of a skilled and talented teacher I've ever seen. Every one of his videos is a fascinating experience. I've learned not to pick and choose which of his videos to watch by how interested I am in the subject.
It's an easy decision now. I just watch them all. Thank you Mr. Shillito for putting these fascinating videos out there for us to watch. Interesting=entertaining, and that means I am educated in subjects I might never read up on on my own, and enjoy every minute of it.
I used to work for an engineering company in the early 1980's and our office was right by the main line at Stevenage. You could hear the Deltics coming and a bunch of us would peer out of the window to see which one it was. Awesome sound!!
Lol EVERYONE has a merlin engine, when i win the jackpot i'll have one of these !
The anecdote about the suggestion from the chap in the drawing office is a detail that makes history really come alive .ps Seeing a Deltic locomotive at work back in the day was always a treat.
If you'd like to hear one again this is one of the best sounding videos ua-cam.com/video/jr99NJHr5qQ/v-deo.html (there are some great night time ones too).
@@hypergolic8468 Thanks for the link.
Taking notice of such guys is why spaces advances so quickly, give it a try! And vertical integration.
I would say often it's the draughts person that comes up with solutions.
I used to rebuild the 18/7 A Deltic back in the early eighties That were fitted to the Royal Navy's minesweepers.
Thanks for the memories .
My dad, a royal navy maritime engineer in the 60s Would service these. if I remember right he said the engine started up so fast, and with so much power that the solid metal output shaft was made of an alloy that was designed to TWIST then spring back into shape as a way of dampening the torque output at start-up. MOAR POWER!
That was the drive shaft that ran from the phasing gears to the supercharger.
@@donaldasayers Just spoke to him, he mentioned that *if he remembers right* the shaft could rotate a turn, and return to its shape , which I find insane.
I love the fact that a draughtsman offered up a suggestion to the engineers, and rather than being dismissed the idea was taken on board.
That type of thinking is sadly absent from a lot of companies.
I've always suspected that part of the story is, shall we say, not 100% accurate. I'm not saying a draftsman didn't suggest it at some point but the idea that a draftsman out-thought a whole team of experienced engine designers doesn't seem very credible. I'm pretty sure the engine designers at Napier were more than well aware that piston engines in general, and two strokes in particular, don't really care which way their crankshaft is rotating. Indeed some engines will happily run in either direction "out of the box" whether you want them to or not. There's no reason to think they wouldn't have applied this knowledge to the problem and thought to have one crank rotating in the opposite direction.
@@AnthonyHandcock "I'm not saying a draftsman didn't suggest it at some point but the idea that a draftsman out-thought a whole team of experienced engine designers doesn't seem very credible."
Education doesn't create intelligence and it sometimes damages critical thinking skills. British engineers, especially, shouldn't be considered to be some god-like creatures who are always perfect in their thought processes.
@@AnthonyHandcock
A four crankshaft layout can easily run with all the cracks rotating the same direction. A three crank engine simply can't.
@@PistonAvatarGuy
"British engineers especially..."
You're displaying your predjudice against British Engineers.
Shame on you.
Predjudice must be stamped out in all forms.
@@procatprocat9647 Even when it's well deserved?
When I was in the US NAVY my neighbor was a PT boat skipper. He had the last wooden PT on the East Coast. He took me to his boat one day and it was in drydock. It had these engines. I had never seen nor heard of them before and they were a sight to the eyes for a reciprocating A/C engine mechanic!
I thought PT boats got 3 gas packard 2500 v12’s from aviation side of stuff
@@jordanbrandtner2745 I believe that's correct as I've seen photos and some books that said that. However the Lt. told me this was the last wooden PT on the East Coast so maybe they did a mod to see if they could improve them? He said every year they had some sort of NAVY get together with all the EC PT boats and he was always the fastest of the group. They must have put out the power! Wish I could have heard them running. Seeing them was a treat for me. Wish I remembered his name or the number on the boat. It was in drydock and raised quite a bit in the air. Very intimidating looking up at it!
@@rogerhuber3133 they are really cool I think all of them were wood there is one here in Portland OR and it’s wood with the 3 packard’s I think it has been getting overhauled the last 10+ years I remember hearing it run when I was a kid but never saw it move
@@rogerhuber3133 after a google search it would be possible the one you saw was an experimental one and would make sense if they would test with different power plants
@@jordanbrandtner2745 No, some of the boats were metal. I believe aluminum. There's youtube video about them.
There is a nice exploded view example at the railway museum in York England.
Deltic railway locos are still in use pulling freight on the U.K. west coast main line.
@@Dave5843-d9m This has only happened a couple of times, and not since 2017 I think. You might be thinking of class 37s which look quite similar on the outside.
Are the good old original York, so restrained and understated they only named it once.:)
My grandfather was one of the first drivers of the Deltic Prototype loco (out of Edge Hill)
I was there in 17 and either missed it or it was not there.
A place worth visiting.
That museum in Bay City, Michigan with the supper pumper is about 80 miles from me. I will go and check that out.
No shit, i go past bay city all the time heading up north
*super pumper. Supper is a meal.
Funny you metioned that, I worked on a mining project in Yukon that had a deltec powered pump, I had thought it was a screaming Jimmy . Even when corrected, at that time, I never really grasped the significance going to make some same area had a dredge that's pumps were run by surplus aero radials long ago looted..
@@borderreiver1806 Do you have any photos or further information? I have ben trying to find out what happened to the US Deltics after they were taken out of service.
@@nigelpaine2914 I'm sorry , I don't have anything, as I was only hauling heavy equipment out.Most of those projects were cleaned up under reclamation bonds .. steel etc.. pulled out for scrapping ..I know that that pumphouse is long gone, as is the scrapped equipment.. Even old Ruston Bucyrus engines and Draglines. I doubt anyone really would know their significance..
I might be wrong but I thought that that pump setup was supposed to have come from a Jet barge ,then later used to pump water from the river up to a dam for sluice boxes
I'd heard about the Deltic but couldn't quite figure out how they managed to to make three crankshafts feed into one main one, but looking at the timing gears at the front it becomes pretty obvious how it was done, im an 80 year old and I'm still learning,😂😂😂 thank you for posting this video, very informative.
I never cease to be amazed by the resolve, power, tenacity and genius of the U.K. It's just astonishing. Cheers! (from the US)
Yeah like the total disaster L60 engine in the Chieftain tank. Only the uk could come up with something so bad. Industry would have changed it right away to a commercially reliable diesel engine , like cummins or cat.
look at the DOXFORD engine
@@paralogregt Ouch! Tuff crowd" :O) Cheers!
Blah blah special realtionship blah blah
@@paralogregt Oh, I don't know so much, but even the mighty USA has its own engineering failures in history, and bear in mind, if you don't fail sometimes, you're not going to learn much.
The Deltic loco had an amazing sound they had a deep throated throbbing sound and was even better when both engines were running
Yes - a distinctive sound that's missing from this excellent presentation
@@Mute_Nostril_Agony I spent so much time at Kings Cross in the 1960s when these locos were King of the ECML.
@@Taz1451 it would be disheartening to some extent.
I remember the locos when new, also saw he original running on the ecml
Like a vw beetle!
@@donotwantahandle1111 What ever you think
Beetles should be stamped on
Had the pleasure of operating these in the Royal Navy. Total beasts.
The ton sweepers had twin deltics, pretty reliable engines.
ive been an 'all types of engine' fanatic since my early teens and have known about the deltic for many years however what a fantastic historical and informative overview you have made of an amazing engine, very well presented and riveting to listen to, much better than just reading about it and the video backup was equally awesome. well done.
This week i saw a rare Jumo opossing piston diesel engine working and imediatly thought of Napier Deltic engine.
Still on my bucketlist seeing on of those working.
Good video which brings back memories as I worked for Napier on the production of the DELTIC engine in the 1960.
It was very interesting work as I played a part on the production of the SUPER PUMPER engines , the overhaul of the Type 55 loco engines and others.
The Royal Navy used the engine on their mine hunters up to 2015 which gave the DELTIC a service life of some 65 years and over 600 units were built.
I have restored a number of fire engines in the USA. I have also run a "Special Interest Autos and Motos" restoration and mechanical repair company for many years. My two latest projects were a 1942 American LaFrance with the ALF produced V12 and a 1946 Kenworth with a 1191 Hall Scot. This video about the history and development of the Napier Deltic power plant is one of the best videos I have seen on the subject of power plants in my entire 57 years of doing in depth mechanical work on many different power plants. Great Video.
What a cool engine. I have always been fascinated by 2-stroke diesels and these turn that volume knob to 11!
and that is on a 0 - 10 scale ;-) I believe that the Foden FD6s were quite noisy too. I have a pair of aluminium ones that I need to get rid of.
Diesel is extremely toxic to lungs the nano particles are deadly. The noise is intolerable. Good riddance.
As a student traveling frequently to and from York in the 1960s, I always had tingling in the back of my neck when on an express train hauled by a Deltic locomotive. As the engine revs increased and the familiar 'whistling' of the huge fans in the roof of the locomotive increased; the engine pulled away from the platform effortlessly. It didn't seem to make much difference whether there were 10 or 15 carriages behind, it was always thrilling to be on the train.
you lucky cat!! all we have today are boring 4 stroke diesel gensets running elevctic motors for locomotion!!
@@fidelcatsro6948 wow! Didn't expect a comment on a remote clip some three months ago.
I live in Bolton and (when they bother to run them) the new trains are those tinplate trains that seem as though you could dent them with cornflakes. The Deltics made every journey exciting.😊👍
@@derekmills1080 🐱👍🏿
5:24 Oh hay. That's my animation. Glad to see people using it!
Great video, and more weird British engines please! You could do a whole series on Napier alone with the Nomad and the Sabre.
Your animation is great at showing the phasing of the pistons and made it easier to understand what is going on in there, thanks for making it available :-)
Thanks for making it!
Nice animation on Wikipedia
This is not just a great engineered engine, it's a legendary engine.
As a kid, I remember watching the Class 55s locos run. They made an incredible sound. The Napier Deltic engines were British engineering at its finest.
Standing on New St. Brum railway station in the 70's next to them starting and running was always exciting.
They ran the deltic on the epping and ongar preserved line .
Standing next to it as it pulled off you could feel the vibrating air go through you ..what a feeling .
Seems as this thing progressed it's career, it was almost hand me down... And not because it wasn't enough and unwanted...
More like way more than anyone knew what to do with lol
Bit ott for the epping and ongar line, but fun.
Would it possible to collevt farts and make it run on methane instead..
How many calories have farts....
The quiet sweet ones have..,,???
Brilliant!!! Have loved this engine since first learning of it. Never knew the Super Pumper used one though. 10,000 gallons a minute is serious flow. I've worked on airport crash tenders that flow 5000 litres a minute and they made the 30 tonne truck rock when you fired the monitor. No wonder the Mack would take the buildings down with the fire!
I had to read that twice and process it…Why would such pressure and volume be needed though?
@@dakkan5433 pressure needed to throw the water/foam the distance necessary for aircraft fires as they burn very hot and the appliance and crew needs to be a safe distance to avoid compromise. 80 metre throw is normal from the roof monitor. Super pumper designed to feed hoses run into tall buildings so pressure needed to overcome the losses. 15psi lost every ten meters you go up. Volumes necessary because you are feeding multiple satellite vehicles/relay pumps and you are bound to get leaks etc. Also a big fire has a lot of energy sonyou need the volume of water to cool the fuel stock or the fire reignites.
@@paid2getdirty1 That’s impressive considering the technology possessed at the time,,the 2 stroke configuration made it lightweight and therefore easy to transport at relative speed aswell!
Good lord. The engine designers from almost a hundred years ago were incredibly intelligent and visionary. I'm ashamed to say I've never seen such a design, other than rotary, that didn't have cylinder heads. Those engines were designed WITHOUT COMPUTERS. Much respect to the minds behind such incredible machinery. I've always wanted one of those fast attack PT boats...just bc I'm still a kid at heart and they're very impressive. Can only imagine the feel and sound of them opened up at full speed. What a feeling it must have been.
Compression ignition engines are a brilliant concept in themselves - so hats off to those who thought to run the pistons back-to-back in the same cylinder, and those who then thought to run three of them in a triple-V! I hope to hear one in person some day.
it's not just the hearing, it's the feeling
I'm staggered at the complexity and excellence of all this, imagine the metallurgy, design, development, test, manufacture; pattern making too .... all at 'ultimate level'. Thanks fr the vid!
Just looking at the complexity and scale of these engines is quite bewildering. I mean to develop the prototypes, test them, further develop them and have the final product at the end of it must of cost an absolute fortune! The machining time alone on 1 of those crankshaft gears must of been days and days, let alone the rest of the engine.
It's expensive yes, but if you can prove the idea works on a small scale, alot of really expensive mistakes can be avoided. Cosworth did something very similar recently, 2 companies wanted v12s, it was cheaper to build a 3 cylinder prototype rather than do months of computer simulation. Worked out very well for them and the results are mind blowing, 12100rpm for a street legal car, and one hell of a soundtrack!
@@MontyPython12 Aston Martin Valkyrie and Gordon Murry Automotive T50 are those 2 cars which would house the magnificent Cosworth naturally aspirated V12s.
@@MontyPython12 I want to know more.
@@junejuly532 drive tribe has done videos about cosworth, GMA has a whole series about the T50s development, well worth a watch
@@MontyPython12 Thanks
God that's a beast of an engine. Cool shit Mr. Droid.
Napier Nomad wouldn't be a bad one for a video - a combined piston and turbine engine - there's one almost forgotten in the museum at East Fortune - I'd love to get in running again !
Never even heard of such a thing until this video.
Yes,seen that one years ago in East Fortune.Great museum but bit pricey.
In the US we had the Wright radial turbo-compound engine that powered the B-36 bomber and Boeing Stratocruiser airliner, but it had a tendency to break down.
The most comprehensive video on the Deltic that I have seen, you earned yourself a new subscriber.
Congrats in advance for reaching *1 million subscribers!* Your channel, Scott Manley, and The Exoplanets Channel are my favorite ones!!
It shows him at 999 hundred thousand tho not a million :(
Took long enough.. He would have hit it years ago if the algorithm knew what quality content actually looked like.
CD, Scott Manley, Plainly Difficult, Dark Docs, New Mind, and Bright Sun’s Abandoned clips.
@@MRblazedBEANS "in advance" as in "almost there". :)
If you dig a little deeper Paul is almost at 200 million views as well and much deserved!
Thank you Mr. Shillito, for this outstanding video.The details of your research and the professionalism of the presentations set your works way above the standard of UA-cam. I had heard of the Deltic engine because I follow rail history and technologies, but I never come across such wealth of precisely referenced info - both historical and technological. I'm so positively impressed by your work - hence have my most sincere congratulations.
Regards,
Shame it was not entirely factually correct. It definitely is not precisely referenced information, sorry
:-(
These engines are some of my favorite engines from the past. Powerful yet compact by just thinking WAY outside the box!
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! Thanks SO MUCH for this rich enlightenment on the Deltic engine. Indubitably pre-eminent engineering indeed!
Curious Droid, please (just a suggestion) do a video on the *Electro-Motive 710* / 567 /645 engines (all essentially the same block with incremental improvements). It is / was perhaps one of the most important catalysts in dieselization of the railroads and medium marine vessels from coal to diesel. It and the Napier were some of the most important and remarkable engines ever constructed.
The designs of some of these engines just blow my mind.
It's a shame that we cannot share pictures here in the comments section, as recently we received, via a Liverpool history page on Facebook, various pictures of my grandfather (Sid O'Brien), working on the development of this engine.
If you would like to share photos you can upload them to a image hosting site (imgur, google photose, etc) and post the link here. Or you could link the facebook page here.
My family Napier who came down from Scotland to England as father and son was also developing it,I'd love to find out about them+pics as my mother's father (my grandad-Arthur Charles Napier)was always telling her of this.
The machine work for the times is truly impressive. There were no CNC machines in the 1920's-1940's. It took talent to cut those large parts within tenths of a thousandth.
Congrats on the 1,000,000 subs my friend!! 1 MILLION?!?! WOW!! That's amazing!! You deserve more buddy!!
Thanks a million! LOL
@@CuriousDroid Love this channel, fascinating and often surprising engineering history, just my cup of tea! Thanks!
I showed my pop , a Vietnam veteran of two tours with a combat engineer company, this video and he said the spec ops guys had their quick insertion and extraction boats equipped with these engines and they were maniacally fast for their size. Up to now I had never heard of them before. Great video
The Class 55 Deltic Is my all time favorite diesel locomotive, what a monster. what a clever engine 👍🚄
Used to take the night sleeper train London/Scotland behind these in the '70s. I remember leaning out of the windows, listening to the 18-cylinder music and smelling all that smoke. Happy days!
Why do you spell like an American as a Brit? O_o
The peaks are my favorite diesel locomotive
@@davidstewart4570 You lucky man. 👍
@@Cooe. What did I do then?
Deltic locomotives are still running today and appear on several British railways.
Currently in an internship at Cummins it’s really interesting and strange to see such big diesel engine being built and the care of the spare parts division has to those engine
Are you at the plant that makes the engines for the Ram trucks? Or the new engines for the Siemens Charger locomotive?
Engines are funny things. In service, they can get smacked around and covered in shit and keep running like nothing happened, yet each part is an incredible piece of high precision manufacturing that can be completely ruined during assembly if you so much as rest it on a bench the wrong way!
You are incredibly lucky, enjoy it and learn as much as you can about everything
It is truly amazing what engineers came up with, without the use of computers.
Yeah it was called common sense and our brains! We seemed to have lost that 6th sense.
An eccentric British engine? No way!
Didn't expect to see you here lmao
@@OliverWagnerOliwerix Paul here and Scott Manley are the two channels Ive seen every video of. Kind of odd knowing I can post a comment anymore and get a bunch of likes, so I try and wield that power cautiously
Next video: " I bought a run down machineshop!"
Napier did the engine for the Typhoon ground-attack aircraft in WW2. It's a work of art, though was apparently unreliable.
@@InvestmentJoy good on you chap, that's right proper
I first heard of the Napier Deltic when I was in the US Navy over in Vietnam. I was fascinated by what I had heard of the engine!
The best between the best channels! Much love from your fan in Brasil!
One of the modern wonders of the world
in engine design and possibly the best diesel engine made in those days.
Excellent video.
At last, the Deltic!!!! Thank you so much!!!
I live in Bay City Michigan!! I've seen that truck many times, it's on Patterson Rd., Wow, small world.. totally wasn't expecting the video to close,so close to home
Always been fascinated by this engine after I saw a cut away example of it at the British National Railway Museum.
You should stand next to a class 55 with both running, you won't forget that in a hurry.
@@fouloleron2002
The engines are surprisingly small for their size.
They had a strange design of steam boiler, unlike those installed in most other classes. It was located between the two engines. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to attend to the boiler when the engines were running at full power.
That was brilliant, thank you
Awesome sounding engine, one of my favorite diesels. The 55's totally fabulous.
Facinating engine. I saw a YT on British MTB's of WW2 and they had Napier engines. Now I know how remarkable they were. Thank you.
There were some Nasty Class PTF’s that would come in and resupply at our pier in RVN, they were highly classified at the time, and we wondered what the hell powered them that made such a strange noise... at last I know, thanks. 👍
The Napier overhaul shop was located at the Subic Bay naval station. SBU 12 also had PTFs stationed there.
Go to PTF Nasty for a lot more info on what these boats were used for in Nam. I was at MST-2 Danang for two six month tours. Spent a bit of time on these at sea.
Sound a bit like this,
ua-cam.com/video/_7rod4DuCr4/v-deo.html
I have always loved the Deltic..there was just something about the design coupled with an absolute mountain of pure power from its engine... There have been some great trains come through the British Rail era but the Deltic has always been the king of the tracks for me. My first hornby train unit that I purchased years ago from a store called Beaties in Romford, Essex was a Deltic.
Didn't know about this engine - what a monster! A remarkable piece of engineering. Can you do one on another superb diesel engine - the Paxman Valenta?
The Valenta engine was used as a Bow Thruster power unit on the Dart Line container ships . I changed the pistons and sorted problems out on one of these many moons ago for Bibby Line.
Most notable use was on the BR HST 125, brilliant train set all round
My favourite Diesel Loco. Deltics had that unmistakeable sound, just fantastic.
When it comes complicated mechanical devices it seems Naiper's was smoking crack. I will give them credit though. Most of them worked.
**Looks at H24 Sabre.**
That is the difference. Turing was a coke feind and the nazis were doing meth.
@@nichfeiock802 Was this Turing a Napier engineer or designer? What was his name? Any relation to Alan Turing?
Just don't drop that spanner
They *cough*.. these things... *hack*... Were to... *spit*.. fly? 🤣
Knew an engineer called Les 'Nobby' Clarke many years ago, who'd worked on these for the railways around Nottm.
He said that standing in the walkway next to one at full chat, was the nearest he'd ever had to a religious experience!
Amen to that. A true engine lover was he then!!
An Engineer told me before he died, and I have no reason to believe that he lied
Yes, and I’ll bet that he had much better ear protection than we had as secondman on these locos
@@davidtucker3729 - Certainly was. I last saw him 40 yrs ago, almost retired but still building race engines for the Haslams.
Lovely man, taught me a great amount.
This is the best video on the Deltic I have ever seen, well done Sir, and Cheers from Florida, USA, Paul
It never ceases to amaze me how this channel manages to make every video interesting from beginning to end.
One of the best and most comprehensive videos I've ever watched!!
The piston crowns off these Deltic locos ended up in a few homes in the Doncaster area as ashtrays or doorstops. Thanks to the lads at the Doncaster Plant loco works spiriting them away.
used to go to Doncaster as a kid to see the Deltics, the sound of the Napiers was more like a plane than a train and is firmly fixed in my memory
they run a Deltic occasionally on the Glasgow /Springburn /Coatbridge line , wonderful engine note , kinda thrumming almost musical
I remember the FDNY super pumper! I was a scrawny kid living in South Ozone Park, Queens, when the Super Pumper was called out to assist in a brush fire in the marshland just outside of Idlewild (JFK) Airport.
It was the most glorious thing to watch operate and listen to ….
Napier really deserves much more praise & attention for how successful their developmental methods of new technologies were, turning those ideas into world leading technology!
The Napier Sabre is also a fascinating engine! An engine that improved drastically during the war, as the engineers took brand new engine design ideas for getting more power. They followed their vision for how to gain extra power, and also reduce weight, but they had to design a new supercharger system that could keep up with the 4000rpm engine. Love how they just worked towards a goal and constantly improved each element, culminating in an amazing engine with no competitors being able ti make a power to weight number anywhere close to the Sabre by the end of the war!… Well other than those new jet engine things…But hey those jets will never take off… 😂
Enjoying this, i well remember working on 2 stroke diesels in plant equipment many years ago mainly GM 6,8 and 12 cylinder some where Turbo charged and inter cooled but they all had the gear driven blower between the cylinder heads. We would get about 3 months use from repair then a tune up was needed and perhaps another 3-4 months and the air box drain pipes would be blowing oil out so time for another repair!. Happy days, long days and dirty days!.
"This 2-stroke H6 design... had no heavy cylinder head." Because they replaced it with an even heavier 3/4 of another complete engine.
Even better, 2 engines without those heavy cylinder heads.
@@dorleysflir5350 3 engines without a heavy cylinder head! Being a 2-stroke, it doesn't need a cylinder head in the conventional sense and it means that almost the entire mass of the engine is used to generate power. The 'high speed' is the key term - the pistons do not suffer from a huge moment of inertia as they change direction hence high speed.
Just compare the mass/power to inline or V diesels.
@@badpharma461 Yes, for the main subject of the video the Deltic👍, but I was replying specifically to the original H6 which is like 2x 3cyl engines.
@@dorleysflir5350 My mistake, sorry. I note that the BMW diesel revs to 5500 and their were rumours of Formula 1 using DERV and they managed 8000 RPM! That said, Audi managed 9000RPM.
Diesels are usually more torque than power so god alone knows if they had to tame that torque or conrods through crank cases would be commmonplace.
That's a complete misrepresentation. To produce the same power would have required two engines each with their own heavy cylinder head. This got rid of two cylinder heads, not just one. That second engine did work; it doubled the swept volume (although in practice it used to engines, each with rather shorter strokes as that allowed higher RPM whilst still being able to reach the required compression ratio for ignition).
Opposed piston engines are still used today in the military. Great tech video. Thanks.
Fairbanks Morse 38 8 1/4.Most of the WWII US diesel submarines used them as well as destroyer escorts and landing craft. My first submarine had 4 of them, it's the museum boat in Baltimore. They are still using later versions as auxiliary engines in modern nuke submarines. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_Morse_38_8-1/8_diesel_engine
Fantastic engine, sound of my childhood Deltic locomotives with two of these engines going past our house, my late friend Bill was a engine minder in the test house at Napier’s in Acton
You need to do a film on the Napier Nomad another compound engine I seam to remember Ricardo put this idea forward , there is a person that you could talk about to
Top work thank you
Don’t forget during the Cold War the Aspidistra radio station has pair supplying power
The Diplomatic Wireless Service owned around 10 Deltic engines Chris.
As a railfan I see the Class 55 Deltics quite often. I can't help cringing when they shut down and you can hear all the synchronising gears grinding to a stop as oil flow reduces. One on my best memories is the sight of double headed deltics on all 4 engines pulling out of the KWVR station at Keighley . Very impressive ❤
Thank you for another fascinating video. The Deltic is an amazing feat of engineering.
What an incredible video! I think this is your best one yet. I will probably watch it 5 more times as it was just so much information to take in. I had no idea these engines even existed, much less that the engineering behind them was successful! The opposed piston 2-stroke without a cylinder head is simply brilliant.
Going to have to give his museum a visit! Didn't know we had that monster sitting right here in Michigan.
As usual: Very good information to the point with no unanswered subject left. Thank you very much, mr. Sillitoe!
Three crankshafts? Opposing pistons? in a Diesel engine? I can't believe my eyes!! Great video and another great shirt CD!
been done before....look up "Commer knocker"
@@harbselectronicslab3551 cheers will do!
@@greenvolksi7886 Only 2 crankshafts but those old trucks ran around the road for years.......super charged 2 strokes
What a great video! Thank you for sharing your info. That museum is about an hour from my house, I've already planned a trip for next Saturday to go and check it out. I'm definitely taking pictures and you're welcome to any of them if you like. Thanks again for the effort you put into such a well-made video👍 Cheers to you!
I love the Napier Deltic, such power and an incredible growl.
Great channel, but I don't always like the shirt. Well done on 1,000,000 subs you deserve it.
Fair enough!
@@CuriousDroid I think the shirts are great mate.
When in the US (I'm a UK resident Englishman), I do a bit of competitive shooting & wind up the high speed, low drag, desert tan 511 fans by wearing baggy shorts & Hawaiian style surfing shirts.
There's a photo somewhere on the internet of me & a mate dressed like this whilst holding our winning King Match targets. 😁
Nowt wrong with the shirts lad. You keep em going mr droid sir. 😊👍
As a kid, I remember walking along the pennar branch line in South Wales, when the coal trains from Oakdale pit passed. You would hear the tracks chiming and chirping as the massive baby Deltic loco, or occasionally the big boy, with 30 coal trucks and a guard van approached. "TRAIN.....TRAIN...." you would shout to all the kids, and then all hell broke loose as this mighty leviathan boomed past, horns blasting, driver waving and a sound which cannot be described, (but should be experienced by all who love engines of any kind) with massive exhausts belching the breath of the mighty beast into the sky. Being only around 4 feet tall myself, and standing just feet away from this unstoppable giant, really mad us feel like ants. 8 have NEVER heard such music from any engine. 😍
Excellent ! I was hoping you'd cover the engineering marvel of this diesel engine there is a great cut away Deltic engine in the national rail museum in York and working model to show how it works.
Now that is very annoying! I've been twice to the Museum ....and missed it! Cheers.
Curious Droid, you and your site, or be it Magellan, provide an enormous amount of historic but still relevant knowledge and information. Your narrative is excellent. Thank you for what you present on UA-cam. Respect is due to you.
Absolutely fascinating, thank you. I'd never heard of this bit of madness. Ive got to take a trip up to Bay City to give it a look.
Taking out wall and roofs lol. It did sound pretty useful though when you needed water of a ridiculous amount, or at a ridiculous pressure. Is there anything similar in service today?
@@phoenixh87 Used to fight skyscraper fires, that's some serious power. I also wonder if they're in use, or are they not needed due to sprinklers.
I'm glad that a few of the locomotives were preserved and are still running occasionally. I'm a big fan of the diesel electrics. I think i'm going to check out Magellan TV if for no other reason than the transportation/shipping video you mentioned because that's one of my favorite subjects.
Apparently, the US version of the "Nasty" boats had their engines removed and sent to the UK for rebuilding every 200 hours, from memory!
Actually they were sent to the Philippines for service. Not sure of the hours, I thought it was 500. I was a crewmember on one PTF being transferred from MST-1 to the Philippines for overhaul aboard the USS Monticello, LSD-35. Was on many "DD OPS" off the coast keeping our cruisers and destroyers on their toes against PT boat attacks up north. Changed out a couple of engines there at the lower base also. I remember one that had let go and was pretty damaged with cylinder and rod/piston and block damage. The biggest problem with this set up was the Vietnamese crews not always following the precise pre start procedures for these engines. I was a member of BSU-1 from Feb.,1968 thru Dec.,1972 and had two trips to Danang at MST-1 and one trip down south at Dong Tam/MyTho, MST-2.
@@seniorrider9337 Great, thanks for your corrections 👍🏼 I first read about the boats on a site over 10 years ago. I do remember it said (incorrect) starting was when most issues occurred!
Untrue - when used in Vietnam they were repaired in a dedicated workshop in Subic Bay.
As a trainspotter in Peterborough in the early 70s, these were my favourite locos. Still my favourite now, I have two of them on my model railway layout.
It has to be said, a Deltic is something you have to see yourself to understand- I'm a rail enthusiast so when it comes to Deltics, naturally the BR Class 55's are my go to. Hearing all 32 cylinders going up a gradient under load is an engineering symphony!
It does have a lovely hum doesn't it?
Absolutely!