The Legendary Napier Deltic - 88 Litre Opposed 2-Stroke Triangle Engine

[@jenpsakiscousin4589]

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.

[@Neojhun]

Other than a V8 Air Siren.

[@bryanmartinez6600]

@@Neojhun pretty sure a TU-95 is louder Those planes have their own sirens

[@dbmail545]

I have permanent hearing damage from racing unmuffled 2-stroke motorcycles in the late 60's.

[@nicksykes4575]

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.

[@borderreiver1806]

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

[@gerrywaters2995]

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.

[@everything777]

Great comment!!

[@Ethan-iv8fs]

Thats amazing. Thanks for the sharing your knowledge!!

[@cycleSCUBA]

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.

[@millomweb]

Some tractors were started with a blank 12 bore cartridge.

[@markrobinson1135]

I've often wondered how the explosive cartridge start the engine?

[@justins.1283]

I'm glad that pumper got saved and is in a museum to be appreciated for the unique feat of engineering that it is.

[@howinteresting2]

yes - I checked their website but no videos of it working 😕

[@Allworldsk1]

Can we give respect to the engineering teams who created these engines..? Very impressive.

[@AugustoV8Cesar]

this Oposed piston Technology is being used in achates power engines.

[@donbrashsux]

What anightmare

[@ian_s7481]

I spent my entire engineering apprenticeship in the early 1980’s machining all the various aluminium castings and cylinder liners of these engines.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

you shouldve built one at home!!!

[@stephenhamer1702]

And now you repair Saxaphones👍

[@adamberndt4190]

No you didn't....

[@Somethingisntright64]

Engineering Apprenticeship? Don't you mean Machinist Apprenticeship or at the very least an Engineering Internship.

[@brock2364]

@@adamberndt4190 yeah he did.....................

[@stephensmith4480]

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.

[@paulsanderson9027]

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 !!🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bobp6742]

I was a driver on British rail until 1985 and was lucky to drive a Deltic, awesome sounding locos

[@golfhacker9051]

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.

[@bobp6742]

@@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.

[@jasonjanes3256]

@@bobp6742 Admiration

[@bobp6742]

@@jasonjanes3256 Never noticed, thanks 😂😂

[@-xirx-]

Wow!

[@sidsquid9782]

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]

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

[@TheSilverShadow17]

@@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.

[@jlo13800]

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.

[@jlo13800]

here is the new cummins OP ACE 2 stroke mart.cummins.com/imagelibrary/data/assetfiles/0058689.pdf

[@thecheaperthebetter4477]

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]

That was the drive shaft that ran from the phasing gears to the supercharger.

[@thecheaperthebetter4477]

@@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.

[@RtB68]

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]

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.

[@borderreiver1806]

@@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.

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

Well said, this is how you teach and keep it interesting and fun.

[@gilzor9376]

'Nasty' class Motor Torpedo Boat . . . . . now that sounds like a boat I would like to own.

[@loginavoidence12]

I'd prefer the same just without the 'cl'

[@THESLlCK]

@@loginavoidence12 you sound like one for sure lol

[@giovannimorrisone483]

@John Dillermand But did you know that "nasty" is the Norwegian word for "very cute"? Eh? Eh?

[@peterweller8583]

Ha ha you would need dump trucks full of flaming Pound notes

[@peterweller8583]

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.

[@richardsproulle2691]

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!!

[@paulsanderson9027]

Lol EVERYONE has a merlin engine, when i win the jackpot i'll have one of these !

[@MichaelThomas-be7gq]

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.

[@tgmccoy1556]

Like your teacher who obviously appreciates great machines.

[@sotagoat4623]

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

[@SubTroppo]

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.

[@hypergolic8468]

If you'd like to hear one again this is one of the best sounding videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKOcaoGAfddop7M (there are some great night time ones too).

[@SubTroppo]

@@hypergolic8468 Thanks for the link.

[@geoffhemmings6546]

Taking notice of such guys is why spaces advances so quickly, give it a try! And vertical integration.

[@flybobbie1449]

I would say often it's the draughts person that comes up with solutions.

[@michaelpowell4193]

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 .

[@josephledux8598]

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.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

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.

[@AnthonyHandcock]

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.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

@@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.

[@mpetersen6]

@@AnthonyHandcock A four crankshaft layout can easily run with all the cracks rotating the same direction. A three crank engine simply can't.

[@procatprocat9647]

@@PistonAvatarGuy "British engineers especially..." You're displaying your predjudice against British Engineers. Shame on you. Predjudice must be stamped out in all forms.

[@PistonAvatarGuy]

@@procatprocat9647 Even when it's well deserved?

[@ovalwingnut]

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)

[@paralogregt]

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.

[@stuarth43]

look at the DOXFORD engine

[@ovalwingnut]

​@@paralogregt Ouch! Tuff crowd" :O) Cheers!

[@alfexsinosystems9205]

Blah blah special realtionship blah blah

[@whitesapphire5865]

@@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.

[@1955piet]

There is a nice exploded view example at the railway museum in York England.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Deltic railway locos are still in use pulling freight on the U.K. west coast main line.

[@Infinity-lc4eq]

@@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.

[@tomnwoo]

Are the good old original York, so restrained and understated they only named it once.:)

[@davidpriestley1650]

My grandfather was one of the first drivers of the Deltic Prototype loco (out of Edge Hill)

[@ldnwholesale8552]

I was there in 17 and either missed it or it was not there. A place worth visiting.

[@alecmccance8409]

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.

[@Steven_Rowe]

The Deltic loco had an amazing sound they had a deep throated throbbing sound and was even better when both engines were running

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

Yes - a distinctive sound that's missing from this excellent presentation

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@Mute_Nostril_Agony I spent so much time at Kings Cross in the 1960s when these locos were King of the ECML.

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@Taz1451 it would be disheartening to some extent. I remember the locos when new, also saw he original running on the ecml

[@donotwantahandle1111]

Like a vw beetle!

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@donotwantahandle1111 What ever you think Beetles should be stamped on

[@ronniescott5179]

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.

[@kc8bdr]

That museum in Bay City, Michigan with the supper pumper is about 80 miles from me. I will go and check that out.

[@ionbusman2086]

No shit, i go past bay city all the time heading up north

[@thevogonpoet6306]

*super pumper. Supper is a meal.

[@borderreiver1806]

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..

[@nigelpaine2914]

@@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.

[@borderreiver1806]

@@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

[@obelic71]

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.

[@ThUnDaHuNtA_Australia]

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.

[@dbmail545]

What a cool engine. I have always been fascinated by 2-stroke diesels and these turn that volume knob to 11!

[@sbkenn1]

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.

[@oneginee]

Diesel is extremely toxic to lungs the nano particles are deadly. The noise is intolerable. Good riddance.

[@davidpratthk]

Had the pleasure of operating these in the Royal Navy. Total beasts.

[@geoffpope5076]

The ton sweepers had twin deltics, pretty reliable engines.

[@derekmills1080]

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]

you lucky cat!! all we have today are boring 4 stroke diesel gensets running elevctic motors for locomotion!!

[@derekmills1080]

@@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.😊👍

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@derekmills1080 🐱👍🏿

[@thromboid]

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.

[@apj6y]

it's not just the hearing, it's the feeling

[@randyhavard6084]

This is not just a great engineered engine, it's a legendary engine.

[@justandy333]

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.

[@MontyPython12]

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!

[@utuberme1]

@@MontyPython12 Aston Martin Valkyrie and Gordon Murry Automotive T50 are those 2 cars which would house the magnificent Cosworth naturally aspirated V12s.

[@junejuly532]

@@MontyPython12 I want to know more.

[@MontyPython12]

@@junejuly532 drive tribe has done videos about cosworth, GMA has a whole series about the T50s development, well worth a watch

[@junejuly532]

@@MontyPython12 Thanks

[@rogerhuber3133]

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 thought PT boats got 3 gas packard 2500 v12’s from aviation side of stuff

[@rogerhuber3133]

@@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!

[@jordanbrandtner2745]

@@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

[@jordanbrandtner2745]

@@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

[@rogerhuber3133]

@@jordanbrandtner2745 No, some of the boats were metal. I believe aluminum. There's youtube video about them.

[@1fourcore]

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 .

[@MadScientist267]

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

[@stevehead365]

Bit ott for the epping and ongar line, but fun.

[@tonygoodlad1487]

Would it possible to collevt farts and make it run on methane instead.. How many calories have farts.... The quiet sweet ones have..,,???

[@3RTracing]

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.

[@AndyinMokum]

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.

[@flybobbie1449]

Standing on New St. Brum railway station in the 70's next to them starting and running was always exciting.

[@scenicdepictionsofchicagolife]

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.

[@mrb.5610]

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 !

[@thisguy7254]

Never even heard of such a thing until this video.

[@eugeneoreilly9356]

Yes,seen that one years ago in East Fortune.Great museum but bit pricey.

[@kpadmirer]

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.

[@richardkell4888]

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!

[@MrRadicalMoves]

These engines are some of my favorite engines from the past. Powerful yet compact by just thinking WAY outside the box!

[@coddiwomplecolster7329]

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.

[@Sturmovik1946]

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.

[@wend9819]

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.

[@paid2getdirty1]

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]

I had to read that twice and process it…Why would such pressure and volume be needed though?

[@paid2getdirty1]

@@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.

[@dakkan5433]

@@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!

[@BuzzKiller23]

The designs of some of these engines just blow my mind.

[@lucasteo51]

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

[@dannywilliamson3340]

Are you at the plant that makes the engines for the Ram trucks? Or the new engines for the Siemens Charger locomotive?

[@TonboIV]

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!

[@agauld3212]

You are incredibly lucky, enjoy it and learn as much as you can about everything

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! Thanks SO MUCH for this rich enlightenment on the Deltic engine. Indubitably pre-eminent engineering indeed!

[@TonboIV]

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.

[@CuriousDroid]

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 :-)

[@theq4602]

Thanks for making it!

[@benwilson6145]

Nice animation on Wikipedia

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

Deltic locomotives are still running today and appear on several British railways.

[@InvestmentJoy]

An eccentric British engine? No way!

[@OliverWagnerOliwerix]

Didn't expect to see you here lmao

[@InvestmentJoy]

@@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

[@UnoDos96]

Next video: " I bought a run down machineshop!"

[@worldcomicsreview354]

Napier did the engine for the Typhoon ground-attack aircraft in WW2. It's a work of art, though was apparently unreliable.

[@THESLlCK]

@@InvestmentJoy good on you chap, that's right proper

[@olliefoxx7165]

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.

[@RAM-BAWN]

It is truly amazing what engineers came up with, without the use of computers.

[@jlo13800]

Yeah it was called common sense and our brains! We seemed to have lost that 6th sense.

[@chrisdooley6468]

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

[@aerialcat1]

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. 👍

[@gmonynegro595]

The Napier overhaul shop was located at the Subic Bay naval station. SBU 12 also had PTFs stationed there.

[@seniorrider9337]

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.

[@SvenTviking]

Sound a bit like this, kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWjVoJdqedp2qJY

[@brianarnold4819]

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

[@antoniomaglione4101]

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 KZbin. 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,

[@nigelpaine2914]

Shame it was not entirely factually correct. It definitely is not precisely referenced information, sorry :-(

[@robertwest3093]

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.

[@2ToneWalt]

The Class 55 Deltic Is my all time favorite diesel locomotive, what a monster. what a clever engine 👍🚄

[@davidstewart4570]

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!

[@Cooe.]

Why do you spell like an American as a Brit? O_o

[@gamerfan8445]

The peaks are my favorite diesel locomotive

[@2ToneWalt]

@@davidstewart4570 You lucky man. 👍

[@2ToneWalt]

@@Cooe. What did I do then?

[@andyhill242]

The most comprehensive video on the Deltic that I have seen, you earned yourself a new subscriber.

[@sevex9]

God that's a beast of an engine. Cool shit Mr. Droid.

[@williamtetrault1300]

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!

[@TheJimmy80808]

Always been fascinated by this engine after I saw a cut away example of it at the British National Railway Museum.

[@fouloleron2002]

You should stand next to a class 55 with both running, you won't forget that in a hurry.

[@srfurley]

@@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.

[@simonmcowan6874]

That was brilliant, thank you

[@jonathansmythe6273]

Awesome sounding engine, one of my favorite diesels. The 55's totally fabulous.

[@garymahony2844]

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.

[@mpetersen6]

When it comes complicated mechanical devices it seems Naiper's was smoking crack. I will give them credit though. Most of them worked.

[@vaclav_fejt]

**Looks at H24 Sabre.**

[@nichfeiock802]

That is the difference. Turing was a coke feind and the nazis were doing meth.

[@vaclav_fejt]

@@nichfeiock802 Was this Turing a Napier engineer or designer? What was his name? Any relation to Alan Turing?

[@BobOgden1]

Just don't drop that spanner

[@MadScientist267]

They *cough*.. these things... *hack*... Were to... *spit*.. fly? 🤣

[@Stratboy999]

My favourite Diesel Loco. Deltics had that unmistakeable sound, just fantastic.

[@garryclelland4481]

they run a Deltic occasionally on the Glasgow /Springburn /Coatbridge line , wonderful engine note , kinda thrumming almost musical

[@paulnolan1352]

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!.

[@justcarcrazy]

"This 2-stroke H6 design... had no heavy cylinder head." Because they replaced it with an even heavier 3/4 of another complete engine.

[@dorleysflir5350]

Even better, 2 engines without those heavy cylinder heads.

[@badpharma461]

@@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]

@@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.

[@badpharma461]

@@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.

[@TheEulerID]

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).

[@nigelclark7360]

One of the modern wonders of the world in engine design and possibly the best diesel engine made in those days. Excellent video.

[@rayhathaway7831]

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.

[@mickd6942]

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

[@Michael_Michaels]

At last, the Deltic!!!! Thank you so much!!!

[@Al-Fiallos]

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.

[@BerlietGBC]

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

[@nigelpaine2914]

The Diplomatic Wireless Service owned around 10 Deltic engines Chris.

[@williamroberts6803]

I worked on jimmy’s for years I built over an engine a day. They are the best in my opinion. Fast rev great torque. Tuned right they are a beast.

[@letthetunesflow]

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… 😂

[@harveyshearer6264]

Tons of trips to York in the seventies, from my home in Blackpool, to see the Deltics. Only a twelve year old at the time but when a Deltic thundered into the station, some drivers would change shift. That was our chance to "cab" them for 10 seconds or so! What glorious days!

[@Soknik01]

It never ceases to amaze me how this channel manages to make every video interesting from beginning to end.

[@otm646]

Going to have to give his museum a visit! Didn't know we had that monster sitting right here in Michigan.

[@oldfatbastad6053]

you just got to cover the massive Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop. not only has it been the worlds most powerful turboprop engine it is also the longest running continually serving engine with a new modified NK-12MPM version introduced in 2018. even its propellors are massive, 18ft 4in and 20ft 4inches.

[@TheAmazingAdventuresOfMiles]

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?

[@nigelmusham2366]

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.

[@Hattonbank]

Most notable use was on the BR HST 125, brilliant train set all round

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Top video, thanks. I've always had a fascination for those Deltics, I saw one in action on a British wooden hulled minesweeper in about 1953 - it was driving the huge electrical generator that supplied the massive current needed to produce a large magnetic field through a cable that was towed astern, the purpose being to explode magnetic mines. I thought the Deltic/generator combo was going to leap off its mountings when it started up, it shook like a mad thing, but the power it obviously had made a lasting impression on me as a 13 year old naval cadet.

[@loddude5706]

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]

Amen to that. A true engine lover was he then!!

[@benwilson6145]

An Engineer told me before he died, and I have no reason to believe that he lied

[@arthurrytis6010]

Yes, and I’ll bet that he had much better ear protection than we had as secondman on these locos

[@loddude5706]

@@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.

[@alanwestwood7341]

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.

[@alexandermartin1837]

Congrats in advance for reaching *1 million subscribers!* Your channel, Scott Manley, and The Exoplanets Channel are my favorite ones!!

[@MRblazedBEANS]

It shows him at 999 hundred thousand tho not a million :(

[@mikedrop4421]

Took long enough.. He would have hit it years ago if the algorithm knew what quality content actually looked like.

[@edlampe6700]

CD, Scott Manley, Plainly Difficult, Dark Docs, New Mind, and Bright Sun’s Abandoned clips.

[@billpostscratcher2025]

@@MRblazedBEANS "in advance" as in "almost there". :)

[@02markcal]

If you dig a little deeper Paul is almost at 200 million views as well and much deserved!

[@Stig10001]

I used to see the Deltic Class 55 loco when I was a kid, and it's no understatement about the humming sound they used to make. They made a sound like nothing else. You could hear it from quite far off as it was loud, and close up, you not just heard it but you could feel it in your chest as well. As each loco had 2 engines, then the sound waves from each would intermingle and distort and they and would inter and overlap. I'll never forget that sound, you can quite easily search for vids of the Deltic Class 55 on here to sample some of that sound, but believe me, nothing beats actually standing next to one to sample it for real.

[@Wheatley101]

Congrats on the 1,000,000 subs my friend!! 1 MILLION?!?! WOW!! That's amazing!! You deserve more buddy!!

[@CuriousDroid]

Thanks a million! LOL

[@xrayjosh]

@@CuriousDroid Love this channel, fascinating and often surprising engineering history, just my cup of tea! Thanks!

[@paulfreeland8927]

Two of these on Ton class minesweeper/mininehunters. I used to drive these from the bridge..... They never let me down. Along with the Tiff's, mechanicians and stokers who kept them running. So proud to have served on the last wooden boats in the Navy. Hearts of Oak ...

[@glauberpdf]

The best between the best channels! Much love from your fan in Brasil!

[@SebastianScholle]

Opposed piston engines are still used today in the military. Great tech video. Thanks.

[@Webleys]

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

[@StaxRail]

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!

[@BazilRat]

It does have a lovely hum doesn't it?

[@ArcturanMegadonkey]

Absolutely!

[@flitetym]

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 ….

[@cavemanballistics6338]

One very large point you leave out is, this engine is very complex and not many repairs could be done in the field. Anything much more than basic service required a power swap. And that is one of the reasons that help to kill this engine.

[@bsimpson6204]

He did say that when British Rail designed the Class 55 Deltic Loco it was designed so an engine swap could be done in a day because repairs to an engine could take days. These engines were down tuned and very reliable in service.

[@rogerwhittle2078]

Caveman Ballistics. Err....point of order, if I may? This engine wasn't 'killed'. It was, to be sure, superseded, but that isn't the same thing. You must have missed it, but the video did show and quite clearly state that; British Railways designed the class 23 and 55 so the Deltic engine could be swapped easily, in a day. Thus the failed engine could be worked on in the shop. To the wider audience, just for a moment I thought the Droid was going to say the FDNY Superpumper had been scrapped! I was relieved and glad it has been preserved, although I doubt it is ever run? British preservationists would never allow such an iconic machine to be embalmed. It would have to empty swimming pools in seconds and soak crowds a mile away - on 'high days', holidays and bonfire nights.

[@cavemanballistics6338]

@@rogerwhittle2078 Thank you for the reply, I did see that part of the video. My point was this, with the EMD Engine that came out in the 30s if you had a cylinder failure 2 men could preform this task in about 3hrs. That was a impossible task with the DELTEC.

[@nigelpaine2914]

ERRRM wrong! The engine used the "repair by replacement" principle. It was designed to be simple to exchange (we swapped two engines in one day) meaning the vessel or locomotive would not be out of service for long. The system worked well and definitely DID NOT bring an end to the engine. The end of the Deltics came when the vessels in their primary use, MTB's, were superseded by surface to surface missiles.

[@cavemanballistics6338]

@@nigelpaine2914 And the repair by replacement principal was far more costly, yes it was easy to swap out the engine but the cost to repair was far more per cylinder than a EMD or a GE Diesel. The Deltic engine was a very complicated design and required a highly trained technician to do what would be considered a average repair on any other prime mover engine.

[@CarsandCats]

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.

[@Gentleman_Songster]

Back in the 1990s I worked at the open University in England. I was lodging with a couple of technology academics for a time, and described the Deltic engine one day. One of the guys was adamant it couldn't work! Well, I know it did: I remember clocking a couple of locos in their attractive pastel livery in my train-spotting days as a kid around 1960.

[@redtobertshateshandles]

University academics don't know everything, they just have a piece of paper that says they do.

[@1999Valkyrie]

One of the best and most comprehensive videos I've ever watched!!

[@admiralcraddock464]

I worked on the deltic locos and the engines were a pain to work on, everything about them was awkward to get to.

[@kenneththompson1809]

The opposed piston diesel is supposed to be the most efficient ever but operationally they don't work out for some reason most likely the high cost of changing out a piston or any cylinder work requires removing a crankshaft. I used to work for EMD and it only took an experienced team 30 minutes from draining the water, replacing a complete power assembly then then starting the engine up.

[@andymath1523]

@@kenneththompson1809 Worked on the EMD 710 in UK we never did it in 30 min but don't doubt it can be done as very little to remove . I remember them massive crab nuts and tool to undo them I was always worried would get tool jammed on LOL . Bottom end on them never looked like it would hold together but they proved otherwise as very reliable , we got told they could come apart if lost compression that's why crankcase protector was fitted

[@306champion]

Thank you for that video, very enjoyable and I learnt a lot. There was so much great innovation in the the first half of the 20th century and WWII that led to much of what we have today.

[@awlonghurst]

Thank you for another fascinating video. The Deltic is an amazing feat of engineering.

[@johnmichaelrichards]

At 11:57, spot the golliwog on the bridge of the Ton-class minesweeper HMS Crichton (M1124): this dates the picture sometime between 1983, when the golliwog was adopted, and 1987 when the boat was decommissioned. HMS Crichton golliwog badges were issued to all the crew. I was fortunate to see many Deltics stripped down and rebuilt at the Vulcan Locomotive Works, which in its end days was taken over by Mann B&W and Alstom, specialising in locomotive and marine engines.

[@30LayersOfKevlar]

That one kid was so stoked to see and hear deltic loco.