This is an engine

[Electraglide]

English Electric DP1 'Deltic', and one of the 18-cylinder 2-stoke Napier Deltic engines that powered it.

British Rail DP1 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Napier Deltic - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[pagey]

Saw one of these at the railway museum at York just amazing

 

[Electraglide]

Saw one of these at the railway museum at York just amazing

A friend who is retired Royal Navy engineer said they used them as well, but he thinks boats and engines have all been scrapped.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Great bit of design - but needed careful maintenance. Still in use with the Hunt class MCM vessels in the RN

 

[Chipster]

Yes. Fascinating design. Worth a look at the Barrow Hill roundhouse when stuff reopens, the Deltic preservation are there. Walkable from Poolsbrook site along the canal.

Barrow Hill Roundhouse Museum – Britain's last surviving working Roundhouse

www.barrowhill.org

Home | Deltic Preservation

The Deltic Preservation Society (DPS) is a nationwide society whose aim is to keep in operational order, three of the legendary 100mph Deltic diesel locomotives, the precursor of high speed rail travel in the UK.

www.thedps.co.uk

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[63720]

Trainspotter's holy grail.

 

[PeteH]

The one in York museum Is sectioned If I remember correctly?. Never worked on them but they did service as Marine Propulsion and Power generation. Needed lots and lots of TLC according to a Colleague who did work with them. The Opposed piston design idea, features in the (Much) larger Doxford Marine Engine. For anyone who wants to "see" one, Here:- <Broken link removed>

 

[Tincataylor]

Deltic's were also used by the Royal Navy in some of their minesweepers. Another fascinating detail of the engine is that in boats they used a "cartridge start" whereby what was in effect a blank cartridge was fed into a chamber similar to a revolver and fired to kick the engine over.

 

[Barclaybasher]

Trainspotter's holy grail.

Not to the trainspotters at Tamworth in the 60's....

I remember standing with at least a hundred in a field when Deltic came through to boos and sandwiches and fruit being thrown towards it as it raced by...

We were all there to spot steam engines

 

[Electraglide]

Deltic's were also used by the Royal Navy in some of their minesweepers. Another fascinating detail of the engine is that in boats they used a "cartridge start" whereby what was in effect a blank cartridge was fed into a chamber similar to a revolver and fired to kick the engine over.

My mate described that process and blames his Tinnitus on it

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[DBK]

Opposed piston engines were used in a few British armoured vehicles introduced in the 60s. The L60 engine used in the Chieftain tank was notoriously unreliable. The problem was the cylinder liners and getting them to stay in place. There is a story, which may or may not be true, that the Germans had an engine with opposed pistons in WW2 made by Heinkel or someone like that. They went over to Germany to find someone who had worked on the project and asked them how they solved the problem with the liners. The answer, apparently, was "We didn't."

 

[poppycamper]

Great bit of design - but needed careful maintenance. Still in use with the Hunt class MCM vessels in the RN

Think I disagree... was it not the "Ton Class minesweeper... If memory memory serves correct was it not Rushton diesels (or maybe Cats) in the Hunts. Served and worked many years on both as marine engineer....Ps yea quite an experience hearing a Deltic exploding into life.. not the long pick up to normal idle...Bang and it's at idle instantly

 

[hchris]

The company I first started work was manufacturing the conrods, cylinder liners and bearing housings for Paxman.
The conrods for the minesweepers were made from a high grade stainless steel fully machined and polished to a mirror finish. The rods were made as a fork and blade http://www.napier-chronicles.co.uk/7.jpg
From what I remember the value of a conrod in 1975 was about £1000

 

[SIFTA SAM]

As an apprentice I witnessed the final testing of DP1 and it's delivery preparations from the West Works of English Electric, Strand Rd. Preston.

 

[Steve N Tracy]

When I was at Southampton technical collage they had a Commer TS3 opposed piston diesel engine from a Commer truck, for us to look at.

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[DuxDeluxe]

Opposed piston engines were used in a few British armoured vehicles introduced in the 60s. The L60 engine used in the Chieftain tank was notoriously unreliable. The problem was the cylinder liners and getting them to stay in place. There is a story, which may or may not be true, that the Germans had an engine with opposed pistons in WW2 made by Heinkel or someone like that. They went over to Germany to find someone who had worked on the project and asked them how they solved the problem with the liners. The answer, apparently, was "We didn't."

yes, the idea was based on a Junckers Jumo engine which was a flat opposed piston type. Of course another famous opposed piston engine was the good (maybe) old Doxford

Think I disagree... was it not the "Ton Class minesweeper... If memory memory serves correct was it not Rushton diesels (or maybe Cats) in the Hunts. Served and worked many years on both as marine engineer....Ps yea quite an experience hearing a Deltic exploding into life.. not the long pick up to normal idle...Bang and it's at idle instantly

Yes - the "ton" class but also the more recent Hunt class but it looks as if they may have been re-engined subsequently with Cat engines.

Quote
Following the sale of Bicester and Berkeley to the Greek Navy, the sale of Cottesmore and Dulverton to the Lithuanian Navy and the decommissioning of Brecon, a contract to re-engine the remaining eight vessels was signed by BAE Systems in 2008, whereby the existing 30-year old Napier Deltic 9-59K power units were replaced by Caterpillar CAT C32 engines, together with new gearboxes, bow thrusters, propellers and control systems, in a six year refurbishment programme that was completed in 2018.
Unquote

Apparently they tried a development Napier deltic in an old E Boat - the engine was half the size and a firth of the weight compared with the diesel engine it replaced for the same power output.


I remember when I was a kid, they had a deltic on display in the science Museum

 

[bigwood]

The British army used several opposed piston engines. The L60, K60 and a smaller three cylinder for the chieftain generator engine. The L60 was a Leyland engine and a fitters nightmare. The K60 was a Rolls Royce engine and reliable. I can’t remember who built the generator engine but it didn’t give much trouble other than the exhausts blocking with carbon.
If the Chieftain had been diesel powered rather than designed to be multi fuel it would have been a lot simpler and more reliable.
The Deltics did have problems but nothing like the L60. A big simple Diesel engine like a Gardener might not have been environmentally friendly and slow but they rumbled on for ever.

 

[poppycamper]

yes, the idea was based on a Junckers Jumo engine which was a flat opposed piston type. Of course another famous opposed piston engine was the good (maybe) old Doxford


Yes - the "ton" class but also the more recent Hunt class but it looks as if they may have been re-engined subsequently with Cat engines.

Quote
Following the sale of Bicester and Berkeley to the Greek Navy, the sale of Cottesmore and Dulverton to the Lithuanian Navy and the decommissioning of Brecon, a contract to re-engine the remaining eight vessels was signed by BAE Systems in 2008, whereby the existing 30-year old Napier Deltic 9-59K power units were replaced by Caterpillar CAT C32 engines, together with new gearboxes, bow thrusters, propellers and control systems, in a six year refurbishment programme that was completed in 2018.
Unquote

Apparently they tried a development Napier deltic in an old E Boat - the engine was half the size and a firth of the weight compared with the diesel engine it replaced for the same power output.


I remember when I was a kid, they had a deltic on display in the science Museum

Sorry you quite right The old brain cells getn a bit fuggy.. obviously mixing my Hunts up with my Sandown class. Still thinkn thru this thread is bringing back some nice memories.

 

[Electraglide]

Sorry you quite right The old brain cells getn a bit fuggy.. obviously mixing my Hunts up with my Sandown class. Still thinkn thru this thread is bringing back some nice memories.

And a couple more places to visit when we are allowed out.

 

[Bluemanc100]

We had some 2-Stroke Diesel fire trucks starting to filter in when I was in the RAF.. amazing power output for such a small engine block

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[DuxDeluxe]

We had some 2-Stroke Diesel fire trucks starting to filter in when I was in the RAF.. amazing power output for such a small engine block

I remember one of my car club friends who used to be an RAF firefighter telling me about them. And the 6 wheel range rovers.

Nearly all marine diesels above about 3000SHP are two strokes. Very efficient

 

[PeteH]

"Coffman Starters", using a blank Shotgun cartridge, where used across Many Aircraft and Military vehicles from the 30`s onward. THIS:- is also an interesting read. https://achatespower.com/opposed-piston-engine-history/

 

[PeteH]

I remember one of my car club friends who used to be an RAF firefighter telling me about them. And the 6 wheel range rovers.

Nearly all marine diesels above about 3000SHP are two strokes. Very efficient

Westland Helicopters used to have a 6 wheel Range rover fire truck, if I remember correctly on the Airfield at Yeovil?.

Unfortunately most of the High Power Marine engines produced now are multi-cylinder medium and high speed 4 stroke. 2 strokes struggle with current "emissions" requirements.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Unfortunately most of the High Power Marine engines produced now are multi-cylinder medium and high speed 4 stroke. 2 strokes struggle with current "emissions" requirements.

Sorry, but that is not correct. 95% of the non coastal merchant vessels run on 2 strokes. Mostly MAN B&W or (ex)Sulzer Winterthur - now Wartsila. Smaller ships and ships where space is a premium do run 4 strokes and some cruise ships run gas turbines. LNG is becoming a popular fuel but has storage issues and low energy density

I have just retired from a job heavily involved in consultancy for fuels, fuel testing , exhaust emission abatement etc for major shipowners - the Very Low Sulphur fuel oil meets and exceeds the IMO 2020 fuel specifications for pollution. Google the Viswa Group......... interesting company

 

[Electraglide]

There was a six wheel Range Rover fire truck at the RAE Farnborough in the early seventies

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[Stealaway]

I sat in one at Doncaster works aged about 14. I was amazed how far from the front you could see. Nothing closer than 50 ft I recon.
We have the largest collection of Deltics near by us at Barrow Hill Roundhouse.
Well worth a visit

Barrow Hill Roundhouse - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[DuxDeluxe]

There was a six wheel Range Rover fire truck at the RAE Farnborough in the early seventies

There is one at Brooklands, or at least there used to be

 

[benellioldman1]

These machines were a worthy successor to the steam engines (albeit in retrospect) on the East Coast Mainline they did some good work on the fastest tralns. Hated by some residents at the side of the tracks and parked up in the stations ticking over but loved by enthusiast for their raw power and sound when I worked on the farm near Doncaster I could hear them picking up speed away from the station I was what seemed miles away from the railway. Good times for some

 

[Electraglide]

Seems there a few Range Rovers about

TACR2 (Range Rover) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Stealaway]

There was two types BR locos and sad to say I collected them all in my trainspotting years.
10x type 23 Baby Deltic and 22x type 55
They sounded awesome

The "Deltic" engines were used in two types of British rail locomotive: the 1961–62 built class 55 and the 1959 built class 23. These locomotive types were known as "Deltics" and "Baby Deltics", respectively.

The Class 55 used two D18-25 series II type V Deltic engines: mechanically blown 18-cylinder engines each rated at 1,650 hp (1,230 kW) continuous at 1500 rpm.[7] The Class 23 used a single less powerful nine-cylinder turbocharged T9-29 Deltic of 1,100 hp (820 kW).[8][9]

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