Oil Out, Rained Off, Oil In

After my last attempt to prevent oil leaking out of the front engine's cam-shift shaft oil chamber, I set out to cure the leak with a gasket of 1.5 mm rubberised cork sheeting.

The offending leak area is shown below in an old photo of the rear engine (which means I probably have a leak on that too!).

Oil Chamber Leak

First a little background: I poked my camera around underneath a Super Sentinel waggon at the 2013 Langport steam rally recently. Sentinel 7109 has very similar engines to the Super Waggon but mounted vertically instead of horizontally beneath the waggon's load platform.

I found the method of moving the camshaft to be quite different on the waggon. Chronologically, the waggon came first so Sentinel 7109's engines are an adaptation of the original approach.

The waggon used the 7109 oil chamber filler location to attach the shaft rotation lever, unlike Sentinel 7109 which has the lever on the end of the shaft.

Waggon shaft rotation technique

This is how it works: (Also on YouTube). Apologies for the background commentary!

Sentinel 7109, instead of having the waggon's rotating sleeve (which did not have to retain oil), has a clamp on sleeve, originally without a gasket.

Clamp on sleeve detached

View to the left...

...and to the right

For my second attempt at sealing the chamber, I painted a 2.75" x 11.75" rubberised cork strip with Heldite and wrapped it around the centre section, secured it in place at the top with gaffer tape and tightened the sleeve over it.

And here's what it looks like:

Attempt No. 2 with rubberised cork gasket

The proof of the pudding is in the filling with oil so that's what I did next but initially with an unexpected surprise.

Not so easy to fill; gasket a bit too effective!

Of course, I hadn't thought that the gasket would also be blocking the filler! Undeterred, I tried the hi-tech solution and jabbed it with a screwdriver.

Hi-tech solution...

...Now holding oil

About half a day later, I took this photo:

No leaks this time (after half a day)

So it looks like I've won this time round!

[Postscript: About a week later there was slight leakage - but not enough to worry about!]

Despite my early difficulties here, Sentinel obviously had faith in the method as they were still using it in post-war locos, the latest I've found it on was built in 1958 (Sentinel 9622).

In 2008, I took this picture of William's engine at Elsecar. (Sentinel 9599 built 1956).

William's Oil Chamber Sleeve

The sleeve is up from and to the right of centre. And guess what? It leaks too (unlike the modified 7109 version, attempt 2)!

Sentinel 8590 'Elizabeth'

On Monday 3rd September 2012, I did something I'd wanted to do for a long time: to have a ride on the Sentinel Steam Bus at Whitby, Yorkshire, on the east coast of England.

Elizabeth (1)

Possibly the only Sentinel Steam waggon still earning a regular income for its owners, 'Elizabeth', Sentinel Works Number 8590, departs for a trip around Whitby about every 20 minutes or so from near the eastern end of the northern quayside. (She is easy to find).

Elizabeth (2)

Built in 1931, Elizabeth is a Sentinel DG6P (Double Geared, 6-wheeled vehicle with Pneumatic tyres). But I mustn't steel the thunder here - have a look at Elizabeth's own website for more detail; it's a fascinating story.

Elizabeth (3)

There is also a facebook page on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth (4)

From the terminus, Elizabeth starts a steep climb from the quayside up to Whitby's higher levels. Not my best video but you get the idea. (Also on YouTube).

If you ever get the chance to visit Whitby, firstly beware of any vampires and secondly, make sure you seek out a ride on Elizabeth; you won't regret it.

Many thanks to Vernon, Viv and Andy for a brilliant Steam Bus experience!

Bressingham Days

When Sentinel 7109 left Croydon Gas Works in 1968, it spent some time at Bressingham Steam & Gardens at Diss, Norfolk. Whilst there, it was still in its original working livery of bright green.

Original Livery at Croydon Gas Works

I visited Bressingham in Summer 2009 to see if anyone remembered 7109 and if they still had some of the missing parts. One or two people did remember it saying that it had not spent long there as some visitors had remarked unflatteringly that it 'looked like a diesel'! Seemingly it never steamed at Bressingham and hence it's understandable why it might be thought of as resembling a diesel. Believe me, underneath its skin, it's not a diesel! Also, despite being made very welcome, the missing parts were also missing there.

Whilst many pictures exist of Sentinel 7109, most of them are in monochrome and very few in colour. However, on Sunday 16th September 2012, I spent an afternoon at the Bedfordshire Steam & Country fayre somewhere not far from Biggleswade.

It was the annual big outing for the Sentinel Drivers' Club to show off their road waggons together and there was an impressive turnout.

Sentinel Waggons at Bedford (1). (Click picture to enlarge).

Sentinel Waggons at Bedford (2)

Amongst the Sentinel exhibitors, I met Neil Matlock, the Sentinel Drivers' Club's diesel waggons officer. In conversation, he mentioned that he had a small number of colour photos of 7109 in 1973 and the he could email them to me. This he did kindly and, with his permission, they are here below.

7109 at Bressingham (1)

7109 at Bressingham (2)

7109 at Bressingham (3)

7109 at Bressingham (4)

From the above, it would seem that 7109 had not steamed for some time. Bearing in mind that its new boiler was installed in 1951 and that it was taken out of service around 1960 and then not moved to Bressingham until 1968, five years later in 1973, it does not look like it had had a recent overhaul.

So, should it have red highlights to its lower features? Hmm.

Sentinel 8571 restored by the Salvage Squad

Sentinel 8571 at the SDC 'Noggin & Natter' 25th April 2009

Some time ago, I heard about a program in the Salvage Squad series which featured Mendip Steam Restorations Ltd repairing a Sentinel Waggon boiler for Waggon 8571. This is the same company that has also done the repairs to Sentinel 7109's boiler. Tony Thomas, the records' officer of the Sentinel Drivers' Club, also appears.

To my great satisfaction, I recently found the program by accident on YouTube!

It's split into four parts which can be run from the links below. It's a fascinating program and includes many challenges in common with Sentinel 7109's restoration.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

Same day, same venue

Same day, same venue (same caption!)

Sentinel 8843 - A different sound of steam

Coming off the rails for a posting, the more I discover about Sentinels, the more interesting they get. In answer to a request earlier in the year, I was invited to spend Saturday 16th July 2011 at the Langport, Somerset, steam rally paying particular attention to John Goold's beautifully restored Sentinel Steam Waggon, works' number 8843.

Who's the happy-chappy in the passenger seat?

Built in 1933, it is a S4 type (meaning shaft-drive, 4-wheeler) with three-way tipping gear (left, right & centre).

Unlike Sentinel 7109, 8843 has a four cylinder, single acting steam engine (2-stroke) driving the rear wheels via a shaft and axle-mounted differential. Sentinel Super waggons before the 'S' type had two-cylinder, double-acting engines and were chain driven with the differential as an integral part of the engine's crank-shaft.

I was able to have good explore of 8843 during the day but what caught my attention was the engine ticking over in neutral gear. I'd always thought that steam engines were permanently linked to their driving wheels but here was not the case. I was also interested by the sound of the engine; having my camera with me, I used it to record the engine ticking over. Initially it is in late cut-off (starting), then shortly after it starts, the middle (intermediate speed) cut-off setting is selected then finally the late (fast) cut-off setting. Note how the sound changes before it finally stops. (Also on YouTube).

Listen rather than watch (the paint is already dry!)

Even more interesting is that this engine sounds far more like a diesel engine than a steam engine yet there is no internal combustion here!

Whilst out on an evening trip on the roads around Langport, I was sitting just behind the cab and able to catch the 'bark' from the chimney. This next video clip is of 8843 starting from rest and changing gear (cut-off) as it accelerates. (Also on YouTube).

Listen rather than watch (the paint is still dry!)

What also impressed me was the turn of speed. Although 8843 struggled a bit on the hills, on the flat it had no trouble getting to 40mph or so and apparently it can do quite a lot more! I always thought vehicle were pretty slow in the 1930s; clearly Sentinel had produced an advanced, modern vehicle but still propelled by steam!