I have been on her many times , down the Thames going full steam with the tide , she was really running fast and at Southampton to see the new Queen off on her maiden voyage , she ran parallel with the Queen down the Solent both sounding there whistles repeatedly all the way down . Absolutely wonderful. !!!!
Thank you for a wonderful video. I grew up on the Isle of Arran at the time of the paddle steamers - the Waverley was one of my favourites and I was aboard her so often when she served on the Clyde. By the way, she was built in 1946 and is the same age as I am - although she is in better condition !
I sailed on an old cable ship. JW Mackay, with similar engines. Although I was a steward, I often went down below to watch it all working. Amazing engines.
Interesting to hear "efficient" and "steam engine" used in the same sentence. Back when, there were steam engines, sails and horses, depending- few choices. The low thermal efficiency of any steam engine, especially recips, combined with the explosive potential of steam, confines them to museums. Generating stations OTOH have to resort to extreme temps & pressures to get any efficiency, like 3500 psi for current super-critical plants.
@@jacquesblaque7728 Reciprocating steam engines can reach a thermal efficiency of about 31%. And that was in the 1940s, pretty much the last point of any ongoing engineering investment in reciprocating steam engines. That was pretty close to steam turbine plants of the time. Large multiple-expansion engines and uniflow engines had the highest efficiency of reciprocating steam engines.
Gregory, IMO you're a bit delusional with .31 efficiency, given that '40s 600 psig high-superheat turbines were getting in the low .20s. Care to guess why so many state-of-the-art steam plants (e.g. QE II) were converted to diesel? Unsurmountable problem: water's huge heat of vaporization. Big space-hogs besides.
I'm 57 and went on the Waverley many times to the Isle of Wight in the late 60's early 70's with my grandmother, we lived in East Preston so we took the train to get there. I loved going to the engine room, this is exactly as it was 45/50 years ago!!
I'm afraid your memory is playing tricks with you. Waverly never left the Clyde until after the time period you mention, and then only came as far south as North Wales. You are probably recalling the Isle of Wight paddle steamers run by British Railways.
You don't know shit about engineering. Go "service" and "maintain" and "repair' one of those FOR A LIVING and then come back and share your opinion on how wonderful they were/are. We have "modern engines" because those SUCKED for the actual ENGINEERS by comparison.
Sheffield? PS Waverly is a sea-going vessel, which does visit many parts of the UK, but it spends the most time in Scottish waters, either the Clyde or west coast. If you find yourself near Sheffield, you're not going to see it.
Sadly her boilers have given up and they are trying desperately to have new ones built and fitted, so if you can help with a donation to keep this beautiful old paddle steamer going please visit the website and give what you can. 🏴🚢
Awesome video! You've really done well with this considering that you've no control on that ship over what the engines actually do. I've always found the engine room to be really difficult to photograph.
I went to sea in 1952 and during the later fifties the National Coal Board-British,was running two experimental ships,both colliers running between the NE coal ports and London or Portsmouth I believe.They were neither steam not motor ships but,as far as I can recall were using powdered coal which,when gasified was powering gas turbines.The intention was to make coal-fired ships competitive with diesel and steam ships.What the ships were called, what happened to them at the end of the experiment I have no idea but perhaps some other reader out there has some knowledge of this very futuristic development of 60 years ago.
An Australian shipping company had a go at this in the 80's using blast injection with coal slurry but was discontinued as the ring and liner wear was unacceptable.
Seen the mechanic change out those oilers on a similar ship engine- the Circle line that went around Manhattan back in the 70s were steam engines and you could go down and see the engine room which was open to view. I couldnt believe how he could lean over the railing and give an oiler a half a twist each time the rod came around, and then take it off, and screw on it's full replacement while the engine was still running probably around 50 rpm or close to that and get the threads on the oielr started perfectly enough the oiler stayed put for the next go around when he could twist it half a turn in!
If only one of my teachers would have shown me the operation of the Stephenson linkage of a work of art like this one, I would have understood the purpose of geometry.
You watch the people starting stationary steam engines and it takes them 10+ minutes to get it going. This engine however is fascinating, they can start and stop it at will and even reverse it, also at will!
So what was the whoosing sound when the engine stopped and went into reverse for a revolution. Is it a pressure vessel to build up reserve steam for changes in direction/starts? Sounded like a turbine to me
Merle The 3 cylinders are HP,IP and LP.The engine is one,not two!Hence the designation;triple expansion ENGINE!How one could use the engine to assist in steering,especially in a fairway leaves me puzzled.Some Paddle Steamers have two engines,thus enabling them to be reversed independently of one another.
Not sure how I am just now seeing this 12 year old video. I thought I watched every steam and diesel video on YT already. Hell if I were on that vessel I would not be able to leave the engine room viewing area. Except maybe to watch the steam powered windlass. LOL
Es gibt Schmierstoffgeber in allen Lagern, zusätzlich die Kolben regelmäßig geschmiert. Die Plattformen, die Sie sehen können, sind vorgesehen, um den Zugriff zu geben. Waverley verbraucht viel Öl!
Chas. Baird That makes sense, but does she operate in any heavy seas? Because another problem with side wheelers is that when they roll and one paddle comes out of the water it causes a lot of strain on the machinery.
The first PS Waverley, 1899, was sunk off Dunkirk in 1940. As she was on loan to the Navy she had to be remplaced by a one to one copy. As the UK was at war, it was thought that a heavier built version would be better, the foredeck was built to take a cannon. The war ended in 1946 so the cannon never happened, but the extra steel helps when she runs into things, Rothesay 2017 ! The hull will not twist, bend or break, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zaybtYIAURc.html To learn more about this fantastic ship/machine en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_Waverley
@@alexbain9762 She wasn't a one to one copy. The only thing copied was the name - and the war ended in 1945, long after the allies were building purpose built minesweepers and had no purpose for a coastal paddlesteamer. They were not even owned by the same operating company. The Waverly lost in Dunkirk had served in WW1 and was laid up inoperable before WW2 started, being re-activated by the Navy. The Waverly featured in the video was built for the London North eastern Railway and had almost 80% greater displacement. wartime considerations played no part in her design.
There was/is an old wooden ship which ran aground on ANEGADA REEF in the BVI,all was left was the CAPSTAIN. EASY DIVE 16 feet of water, I last saw it in 1986, more werecks on that reef, a steam ship from SOUTH AMERICA, TO FLORIDA, they keep a ROPE NOOSE on that were killed, where the CAPTAIN HUNG HIMSELF, that went down in the 30s much metal still there , it was carrying animal bones for fertilizer.,,, 🇲🇸🇲🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
was it my imagination, or were there THREE paddle wheels involved? There were three pistons cranking away, one for port & one for stbd; the third was????
+Merle Morrison The 3 pistons and 2 paddle wheels are all on one shaft. They're three pistons to allow the steam to fully expand, it goes through all three cylinders in sequence.
Propellors? On a Paddle steamer? Paddlers were driven by a wheel each side, bolted onto the ends of a crankshaft as long as the width of the ship - gets the main bearings built into the ship's sides which are rigid enough to hold them. There were a few that were able to turn the wheels independently but that was rare and success with that arrangement was even more rare. Like most paddlers Waverly's 2 wheels turn together ahead, astern or stop. The master's skill in making 3 point (or perhaps more like 30 point) turns using just his rudder with ahead and astern is a sight to behold.
It's a triple expansion engine, with High Pressure, Medium Pressure and Low Pressure cylinders. After the steam has driven the first (HP) piston it's piped the the MP and then the LP cylinders in turn before being passed to the condenser to be turned back into water for re-use. The three cylinders are different sizes, the HP being the smallest in diameter - that way, as the piston diameter increases, so does the area on which the steam is acting - therefore you get the same amount of push each time, even though the pressure is lower.
We used catheads in the oilfields and it's the most dangerous thing out there, ships call it a capstan I do believe, I saw a man get his arm scratched off by one some years back
تصميم السفن لابد ان يأخذ فى الإعتبار مقاييس المد و الجزر الفزيائية و هذا ليس شيئا كثيرا من اصحاب التصميمات لا يضعونة فى الإعتبار ..... عشان كدا لسه فى حاجات افضل و لسه فى more safe conditions
I have a technical question, at 1:50, the push rods are sliding on a flat surface, there are circles on that flat surface, I think they are to hold oil, does anyone know if that's right?
100% correct, the upright brass "cans" that you can see on most of the moving parts are grease filled and everything s l i d e s on a thin film of the stuff. No metal to metal contact, never. Mosts of the moving parts that you can see date from 1946.
@@alexbain9762 I know about grease cups, and oil cups, I actually have an antique grinder I use regularly with grease cups. Oil cups use gravity, grease cups you have to give the top a little turn now and then to force the grease in, I love old tools and machines, they built stuff to last forever back then.
