New fuel to power our cars?

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Gives me a chance to post up a purple deltic though!



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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by Zelandeth »

Can't view that on my phone, but will look in the morning. Purple one was the Gordon Highlander if I remember rightly.

Was lucky enough to see (and hear) it pass through Aberdeen one day from Denburn Viaduct. What a sound...

There really is no way to describe the noise a Deltic makes is there? It's really something you have to encounter to understand. I had no idea until after seeing that one at random and the "what on earth is that?!?" Reaction resulting in some internet searching when I got home that evening. Fascinating power unit.
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

I remember them first hand from the 1960's. Railway stations are cold and draughty, but there was always something comforting and warm standing on the platform next to to the locomotive purring, and throbbing away and none more so than the Deltic. They carried with them exotic names of thoroghbred racehorses, or army regiments, and looked like they sounded literally awesome.

There are a few left including Alycidon, and if you are anywhere near the east-coast mainline from Kings Cross to York on 2nd June 2015, The "White Rose" pulled by Alycidon is likely to pass your way. I think its even more atmospheric at night time to enjoy the Arrival or Departure of these iconic locomotives from the platform, probably even better than being on the train itself.

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

Always happy to see a topic go off-topic toward a Deltic :-D

Iconic they certainly were and having been right next to a running one (as a static standby generator for a radio transmitting station!) they have a very special place in my affections...

The engine was originally designed by Napier for a fast Navel vessel and in fact they were used in the Hunt Class Countermeasures Vessels

There, dragged even further off-topic...

But... Could you run a Deltic on veg? If yes then this topic is well and truly back on-topic... :twisted:
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

CitroJim wrote: Just so long as they make enough noise of a pleasant sort to let you know they are in the vicinity...
Maybe when the electrics replace the diesels and petrols on our roads there's bound to be someone clever enough to give them an infinite variety of "sounds" just like mobile phone ringtones. So a C-zero could appear to have twin napier deltic engines when waiting at traffic lights in Newport Pagnell! You could even take it one stage further and just like e-cigarettes, and create a bit of non-toxic nostaglia with scented and coloured water vapour emerging from false tail-pipes, generating the exhaust pulses of old but without the pollution!

I read this about the deltic engine from wiki
The cylinders were divided in three blocks in a triangular arrangement, the blocks forming sides with crankshafts located in each apex of the triangle.
Couldn't work it out, but then I saw this nice litte GIF and it all made sense!
Image

so no need to use words to decribe the 18 cylinder firing order sequence. Its like this!
Image

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by Stickyfinger »

http://www.damninteresting.com/the-six-stroke-engine/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

Neil, the thought of a C-Zero sitting at traffic lights sounding like an idling Deltic really appeals to me :-D 8-)

I'm a very audible person, hence my love of V6 engines...

And then the gorgeous sound of a Deltic starting off when the lights turn green... Lovely..

Or, how about the sound of an HST 125 with the now retired Paxman Valenta engines taking off from a standing start? That is an absolutely magical sound, turbo whine at its very finest...

I could spend forever standing near an HST at any station they called at listening to that incredible sound..

I was so disappointed to find the new MTU 4000 engines don't makes anywhere near such a lovely sound and the noise of the turbo is entirely absent :( Not all progress is good.

Isn't it incredible that the HST 125 is still in front-line service after nearly 40 years of sterling service... For a train designed as a quick and dirty stop-gap before the APT entered service it's not done bad at all... Possibly the best piece of railway engineering ever and it was all done in-house and in the UK by British Rail...

Little known fact perhaps that the design of the HST 125 was based very heavily on the earlier 'Blue Pullman' trains...

For my money they put the new stuff to shame. They're more comfy and certainly more airy and spacious. May they live on for another 40 years...
Sticky, that's most interesting on the six-stroke engine... What's the betting if it did ever find its way into mainstream cars the government would tax the water... They'd dye it yellow to detect fraud in the way they do with red diesel... Or is that taking the pee?
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

Zelandeth wrote: Purple one was the Gordon Highlander if I remember rightly.
Indeed it is Zel :-D

It's in good nick too. By Deltic standards it's hardly smoking at all!!!

Nice to see the Class 40 on the back of the train as well..

Whoever would have thought early diesels would become as well-loved as steam locomotives? They are though..

One of my favourites aside from the Deltic are the Western Region Hydraulics, especially the Hymeks... Used to watch them speeding past my grandparents house when I was a kid. The bottom of their garden ended at a nice fast bit of the Westbury cutoff line about 10 miles up from Taunton... I used to spend hours watching the trains... My dad's little sheltered bungalow also faces the line and he does the same thing now... Often he tells me of interesting stuff going up and down the line..

Western Hydraulics have very interesting transmissions - basically big automatic gearboxes... A sort of 4HP20000000000000000000....
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Anyone with a spare £325 could do worse than blow it driving a Western Hydraulic

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

And while we are waiting for inspiration to get back on topic how about

A nice trio but too easy for a whatsthisthen? The poor warship has sad eyes.

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by daviemck2006 »

NewcastleFalcon wrote:And while we are waiting for inspiration to get back on topic how about

A nice trio but too easy for a whatsthisthen? The poor warship has sad eyes.

Image

regards Neil
Or that could have gone in a two-tone also[emoji15]

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

Ohh that's just lovely Neil :-D All three varieties together!!! So many forget the little Hymek so excellent to see it..

The sad Warship looks so cute.. Or as cute as a massive railway locomotive can look!

So sad they were all retired early due to BR wanting to standardise on Diesel Electrics... Maybe that's why the Warship looks so sad...

I'd love to drive one....
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Fascinating fact number 1

Western Champion was delivered in an experimental livery of "Golden Ochre" (thanks again Wiki). A case of the exception to the rule that nothing looks good in brown!

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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

NewcastleFalcon wrote: Western Champion was delivered in an experimental livery of "Golden Ochre" (thanks again Wiki). A case of the exception to the rule that nothing looks good in brown!
I remember that one well from my early trainspotting days :-D

It looked sensational 8-)
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Re: New fuel to power our cars?

Post by CitroJim »

daviemck2006 wrote: Or that could have gone in a two-tone also[emoji15]
Or, in the case of the Hymek, triple-tone 8-)
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