What's the Greatest Machine of the 1930s...the Sentinel Steam Waggon?

STEAM POWERED WORKHORSE: the Sentinel Steam Waggon (1934)
With a boiler pressure of 250 pounds per square inch (the same as a steam locomotive and five times as much as petrol lorries), the Sentinel Steam Waggon was well and truly the 'go to vehicle' for the construction industry. Unlike conventional lorries, driving a Steam Waggon involved a baking hot fire in the cab - important to be kept constantly burning by shovelling in coal (as taken care of by the stoker).
The vehicle would typically travel at around 50 mph a day for up to 100 miles, which would use a vast quantity of water in order to produce the necessary amount of steam. Extra water could be derived from nearby ponds and streams and sucked up with a hose - although in extreme circumstances the driver would need to seek alternate sources of water.
What makes it great… The sheer amount of steam power meant the Sentinel was perfect for carrying large loads at impressive speeds - ideal for construction and engineering.
Time Warp… The Sentinel Steam Waggon was one of the first steam powered road vehicles, first released to the public in 1934.
This film features Chris Barrie taking a ride in a signature Sentinel S4.
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[@altyndom7039]

Imagine the billboards of that age “Don’t drive and shovel coal”, “Shoveling at high speed kills”, “You can afford the fines stop shoveling”

[@wantahertzdonut]

"shovel the coal, don't roll it!"

[@kishascape]

On low traffic and rural roads I could easily do that 1 person.

[@voiceofraisin3778]

If your in a hole, stop shovelling?

[@tommyhatcher3399]

"Don't drink and shovel."

[@toucan221]

ha ha ha funny 😀😁😂😎

[@jonnda]

Mar Felton Productions music in the background, haha.

[@ScienceAlliance]

lol I will never not associate it with imovie music because that's one of the short music tracks you can use in imovie well spotted by the way

[@RabbiEfrayimShekelmantz]

RTCW

[@craigcunningham3458]

I was waiting for mark to be the stoker when i heard it.

[@MinutemanOutdoors]

First thing I noticed

[@Bob.martens]

@@ScienceAlliance What's the name of the track?

[@roboko6618]

Bet the farmers used to love the local steam racers theivin Barnaby's water whenever they weren't lookin

[@ziiofswe]

@Emilio Aryan Fuck off spammer

[@ziiofswe]

@Owen Wilson Fuck off spammer collaborator

[@barryscott3327]

@Emilio Aryan why are you commenting this on a video about a steam lorry?

[@nemo6686]

@@barryscott3327 Because when I watch a video about 1930s steam wagons it naturally causes me to think "Hmm, but can it hack an Instagram account?"

[@protorandom9097]

@@nemo6686 What is that not what you use your steam wagons for? Do you use it for something boring, like "transportation"?

[@noneck3099]

" Steering and stoking was a 2 man operation...and this is my stoker Kryten..." "OH!...Why thank you sir!.."

[@lightdark00]

Kryten is on another youtube channel about cars, but he never acts like Kryten there 😥

[@kishascape]

@@lightdark00 don’t say stuff like that if you’re not going to bother naming or linking the video/channel.

[@lightdark00]

@@kishascape Oh come on it should be easy to find. Just searching for his real name might find the channel.

[@bruhmania7359]

You’re lying

[@Taniwha351]

@@bruhmania7359 What Neither of those buggers mention is that you have to search for the Second Kryten. Presenter of Scrap Heap Challenge, Robert Llewellyn. His Channel is called Fully Charged

[@LancasterResponding]

“This is definitely a two man operation” Zooms out to British Bill Murray

[@hoilst]

"Jim Sarney" is about the most English working-man's name ever, too.

[@CannaCJ]

As a Red Dwarf fan I must say what a thrill it is to see Mr. Barrie presenting this piece of British heritage for our enjoyment.

[@smithyMcjoe]

I thought his fucking voice was familiar. Smoke me a kipper.

[@DFMurray]

Can't wait for him to get to Victorian era power poles.

[@martiniv8924]

My Dad was a stoker on a Sentinel in the 30’s as a Teenager for a while, he ran from Birmingham to Holyhead , on one stretch of the A5 from Telford ‘Crackley Bank’ to Weston under lizard he reckons they could hit 60mph , also far faster than most cars of the day ...... 40 odd years later his youngest son slipped streamed coaches on the same stretch on a Honda SS50.... never quite reaching 60 though ! 🤪

[@zulfika_]

i though your dad sent to australia...

[@c.lynnmiller5677]

That’s a nice little BS story you got there.

[@nar2cc]

@@c.lynnmiller5677 Your existence is BS.

[@charlesc.9012]

@@c.lynnmiller5677 That is actually a credible one. If not a real personal experience, lifted from a period memoir. Birmingham was a major economic centre of the Empire, so its roads were much better than Norfolk, for example. Traffic levels were also very low and there were no speed limits in the countryside, so you could go as quickly as you wanted

[@GoonyMclinux]

​@@c.lynnmiller5677 Hard to believe people know other people in real life isn't it?

[@buijs1967]

That 3 axel configuration is very appealing to the eye.

[@lalnablehector1285]

its pretty standard even today, single axle steer with either bogie drive or a single drive and lazy axle

[@szymongorczynski7621]

They also came ina 4 axle version

[@tyrantstomper]

That puddle of tar looks like chocolate syrup with peanut crumbles on it. A forbidden snack indeed.

[@ElementofKindness]

It was even on an ice cream bar!!!

[@thestonedraider8684]

i would not be surprised if it was actualy chocolate and peanuts lol

[@berlin36moto]

Maybe it is?

[@LjCaples]

Ok. Yeah. You're right.

[@heliomateuscardoso1058]

@@berlin36moto oooohhhhhh noooooooooo

[@ruongluesteve]

My family had a business in Somerset cutting and sawing timber for pit props in the 20s and 30s . They had a Sentinel to carry the props to Watchet for shipping over to South Wales. My dad recalled how they were a bit lively on start up if you weren't careful. One day someone started off a bit sharpish and the wagon leapt forward and crushed a brand new motorbike. Luckily nobody was injured. Their business was almost totally steam powered with a Burrell traction engine and a Robey stationary engine. My Grandfather being the youngest son had to be up first to get steam up for the day.

[@alltransman5033]

I remember seeing one of these steam powered lorries as a kid, I would have been about ten, 1957, was fully loaded, cricklewood Broadway, went off down the A5, might have been on its last journey

[@madjidhamdini8114]

i'M from 1977 too "young" but , i'm happy to know and watch thoses oldtimer engines run again !

[@andrewnorris5415]

2:44 "darn it, no drinking for me today" 🤣

[@mr19zee]

😂😂🤣🤣

[@LiftingwithGrandpaCharlie]

On KZbin I'm just a burnt out meathead but I was an electrical engineer once. This was Fascinating to me. I worked at a Steam driven Power Plant way back. They recycled the steam back into water thru basically large radiators. I subscribed.

[@musicauthority7828]

They were basically steam locomotives adapted for the roads. that method of tar and gravel is still used in the US. only it's called chip sealing. I owned a five ton 1964 Ford F 750 truck. that was originally used for chip sealing by a paving company. the truck it was three axel tractor that pulled a trailer. that carried the tar the boiler and a system for laying down the tar. which would be followed by a dump truck that would spread the gavel. it took me forever to get all the tar off that thing. chipping it off and using solvent. but I got most all of it off.

[@johnklar5131]

I had a pickup that leaked about the same amount of water, but I don't think it was supposed to.

[@stephenphillip5656]

The Sentinel was steam's answer to the diesel or petrol truck, by the 1930s making big inroads into the traditional steam traction industry. The Sentinel's design was revolutionary but the steam truck had some *major* disadvantages when compared to the diesel truck: The steam truck was a lot heavier than the equivalent diesel truck which meant that it couldn't carry as much payload before exceeding the gross vehicle weight, it would need a crew of 2, increasing overheads and its range was limited by the water and coal capacity. I accept that a diesel truck also has a finite range before needing refuelling... As a specialist work vehicle, you quite rightly highlight its advantages but as a general carrier, I think it was something of a blind alley. E R Foden's board spent a long time discussing the merits of diesel and steam trucks, ending with a parting of the ways, Foden and ERF companies resulting. Fodens continued to make steam trucks but eventually bowed to the inevitable and followed ERF down the diesel truck manufacturing road. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of steam traction and it's always great to see and hear it in action.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

Not to mention how long it took to get up steam in the morning ! You can’t just turn the key and off you go with a steam wagon !

[@HunterShows]

Seems like they would put more than 30 miles of water capacity. I guess they just weren't going long distances those days.

[@cieludbjrg4706]

And steam is wasteful. It only uses about 7% of the fuel for traction, the rest goes up the chimney. A diesel engine comes closer to ≈30%. Then there's the extra weight of the boiler, and all the extra fuel and all the water you have to take along. But, yes, steam traction is, well, cool! (Or hot...).😄

[@hiyadroogs]

​​@@cieludbjrg4706 Diesel engine thermal efficiency today is 45% in car engines, compared to 35% for the best petrol engines. Two stroke marine diesels can exceed 50% thermal efficiency. More than 3 times the thermal efficiency of the best steam engines.

[@bene5431]

​@@hiyadroogs Today, yes. But back then 30% efficiency was more likely for a diesel

[@simonjames2855]

A Sentinel steam wagon (6 wheeler) has been converted to serve ice cream from in the quarry park in Shrewsbury. Absolutely gorgeous machine and great to see it earning a living all these years later.

[@chanchito4401]

Haha Jim was definitely miles away when the camera panned to him! Must have been the relaxing sound of the steam lorry.

[@alistairwhite2906]

I've had the pleasure of driving a Foden steam lorry. Amazing experience...... So much torque and turns so many heads on the road!

[@Loadrunner620]

This machine is incredible, I would loved to have one today.

[@user-bt2lx4gy7h]

You still could if you really wanted it

[@glennoc8585]

Why?

[@kevinpeters6709]

Imagine one automated and converted for fuel oil as a motor home

[@Wingnut353]

@@kevinpeters6709 External combustion engines have lower operating temperatures than the fire itself so are inherently less efficient than internet combustion engines, typically around 10-20% efficient, average gasoline engines are a bit better than that, and the most advanced diesel engine are at about 55% efficient... electric can be around 90% efficeitn at converting stored electricity to motion but total efficiency depends on the power source, A solar system could be somewhere around 15--20% efficient at converting solar energy to EV motion... in the best case of only loosing a few percent in the inverter and charging. if using Grid power they would be some percent less efficient than the nuclear/coal/natural gas or whatever grid supply is.

[@mayanktripathi8726]

@@Wingnut353 well.. efficiency

[@Oktolibre]

2:44, That cow be like, selfish human being didn't leave a sip for us.

[@artdecotimes2942]

The cow is thinking wow what a large moving shape, now back to my grass.

[@Openbaarmaker]

Wait, wait, wait! The first few seconds I have the strange and eerie feeling I'm watching a Mark Felton Productions video...

[@Pipino_il_Longo]

Me too!

[@il_vendicatore]

the music!

[@Pipino_il_Longo]

@@il_vendicatore Indeed

[@greebo7857]

Music gave it away.

[@b43xoit]

So, what is the music?

[@bernardedwards8461]

Just the job for wartime use when petrol was in short supply and rationed. Fred Dibnah, the famous steeplejack, loved everything steam and would love to have driven one. Maybe he did. The Sentinel must be a valuable collector's item these days.

[@frantiseknovak4484]

Btw: Wondering if steam trains cant be "good" in few years. Same reason. "diesel" is bad, fossil fuel. But steam engine can run on "renewable" wood, straw, everything flamable.

[@begudmaximan953]

My grandad used to drive em back in the 1930s in South Wales, and had some good stories to tell of the sentinel trucks, and how well they used to run.

[@vazk-thret]

ages have past, since these machines had been coveted, no longer seen as the wonderous piece of human ingenuity that they are. stained and replaced, rusted and worn, these machines wither in silence and suffering. yet even in the cold, uncaring world, unable to see the perfection in even the oldest of machines. there are the faithful, those that know the centuries of curiosity, and hard work, in each of these relics. these faithful few that rip away the cruel chains of rust, and remind these hardworking machines. that no matter how old they are, they will always be the glorious creations of mankind, deserving of respect and admiration. praise the wheel, praise progress

[@evelynkinson5524]

Sentinel, the pride and joy of Shrewsbury

[@Its_Me_Romano]

The fact that it looks pretty modern for its age

[@galinneall]

The Sentinel was successful not only in Britain. Between 1925 and 1935, Škoda Plzeň licence-built 163 Škoda Sentinels in different versions, including a bus. The Old Machines Museum (Muzeum starých strojů) in Žamberk (Czechia) has one, and a couple times a year, they bring out all their steam toys, including the Sentinel, and fire them up. It's really amazing to see (and hear!) this beauty running around.

[@ianmangham4570]

Great being in the cab in winter

[@comicmania2008]

Fantastic, a 50mph truck in the 1930s, they should have kept developing these!

[@Gizmoand23]

Not really.. the coal fired trucks are extremely inefficient and polluting

[@comicmania2008]

@@Gizmoand23 Did you read ALL of my comment? "They should have kept 'DEVELOPING' it"! Have you ever driven behind a council diesel bus?

[@Gizmoand23]

@@comicmania2008 developing it wouldn't have changed much.

[@Dan23_7]

They had to stop production because there was a drought

[@glennoc8585]

@@comicmania2008 they're gone now though aren't they

[@MerlinOpeth]

I've never seen this program, I like it , its well done and the fact that it's not trying to be a top Gear is refreshing.

[@personwhotalkstomuch4898]

It’s actually from a programme that was on the Discovery Channel a few years ago when they used to show proper docs. Chris Barrie used to chart the history of vehicles such as lorries from the earliest ones to todays modern hi tech vehicles.

[@MerlinOpeth]

@@personwhotalkstomuch4898 oh thanks man.

[@pjo2386]

@@personwhotalkstomuch4898 he is also funny in a bbc 90's comedy

[@shawnchong]

Fantastic video! Not only did we get to know the steam wagon, but we also got to know how roads in 1930s England were made!

[@johnpotter8039]

I had the privilege of riding in a Sentinal "Waggon" at meet sponsored by The Steam Automobile Club of America back in the 1970s. We got to crawl around it as well.It felt really powerful on the road. We were the Young Turks of the SACA, designing vehicles on dune buggy chassis with discarded outboard motor engines modified for steam operation. We didn't change the world, but sure came to understand what 'live steam" means.

[@georgeblack589]

Are you still active in the SACA?

[@--Valek--]

Looks badass.

[@peterides9568]

I need a steam powered stationwagon. That would be a fun school run.

[@stevedickson5853]

Imagine doing the school run on the steam truck 😂

[@macjim]

When I was last in Whitby, there's was a steam-powered bus doing tourist trips.

[@alistairshaw3206]

Unfortunately, Elizabeth the steam bus is no longer in Whitby. The council wanted to charge for the parking and were generally completely unsupportive of the great tourist attraction that was Elizabeth the steam bus. I travelled on her a few times and got to know Vernon, the owner and driver. When he told me he was giving up, he was breaking his heart. Thanks Whitby Council!

[@macjim]

@@alistairshaw3206 where did they go to?

[@alistairshaw3206]

@@macjim The last I heard was Elizabeth was in Weston Super Mare. That was a few years ago. I used to be in Whitby regularly as I am a coach tour driver. That's how I got to know Vernon, he also had a vintage charabanc.

[@macjim]

@@alistairshaw3206 thank you for that info. Yes, I saw it once in Whitby at the harbour between runs. I was just off the heritage train and didn't have time to take a journey, thinking I'll do it another time... That's life. At least I have a photograph of it simmering away, awaiting its next trip.

[@zman3886]

I sometimes wonder if steam might still be used if it was improved and researched upon as much as gas and diesel engiens

[@malootua2739]

It's quite a modern looking machine

[@alcopower5710]

Totally agree

[@darkwood777]

Maybe when compared to trucks of the teens, but not when compared to the diesel trucks on the road in the 30s.

[@jmagowan12]

Rimmer: "Marvelous machine, marvelous".

[@DavidFerriday]

Bet that's fun in the summer.

[@por15canada48]

Beautiful piece of machinery.

[@realbartsimpson]

At least trucking wasn't as lonely back in the day.

[@davidmizak4642]

Thanks for sharing such wonderful content with your audience. It is very interesting stuff. I appreciate all the work put into it. Sincere thanks!

[@RJSRdg]

That lorry (and a similar 4 wheeler) visited the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway in 2019. I think we are looking at having them visit again. On a sadder but unrelated note, the grand white building by the Thames seen in two of the shots was gutted by fire a couple of months back :-(

[@seansamurai1981]

Had the pleasure of working on a Sentinal at HMS Sultan

[@julmdamaslefttoe3559]

mark felton running in to see this.

[@markshrimpton3138]

If you would like to see a working Sentinel Steam Wagon, and perhaps ride on it, the Grampian Transport Museum, in Alford, Aberdeenshire possesses Scotland’s only working example.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Stick it on a barge and give it a ride on the Falkirk wheel.

[@baroquenspirit5395]

"Time to deploy my water borrowing device." 😆

[@soldiersvejk2053]

A complimentary water stop every 30 miles seems like a good anti-fatigue safety feature.

[@pietpietersen6070]

What a Beautifull machine. I love IT.

[@nogiedeville1623]

Wow, I had no idea. Thank you for posting this!

[@FjordTrotter]

3000 ft-lbs of torque. More than twice that of the most powerful modern diesel heavy trucks on the road. You could haul a cathedral behind it

[@andrasbalatoni6818]

O sh!t, I come again!

[@ashleyblack1587]

Dunno about your country. But the most powerful truck on Australian roads (talking horsepower. But I assume it has the most torque too) is the Scania 770. It has 2730ft-lbs. So not near twice as much. But still more and that’s crazy impressive

[@angelgjr1999]

Steam engine cars were not fast, but boy did they have torque. I heard you could pretty much launch it on top gear. Jay Leno showed this.

[@angelgjr1999]

@@ashleyblack1587 He means pickup trucks. Like an F150. Most of those have like 400 ft lbs of torque.

[@josephujiadughele6035]

But, speed

[@josephujiadughele6035]

Great vehicle. We want modernised ones with high speed using gear ratio

[@Heartborne7thSeeker]

These programs with Chris Barrie was so good and I wish programs like this could come back.

[@shuklavinays]

Learned about this in our schools syllabus back in early 2000s. Since then I’ve been looking for it over the internet.

[@freddieparrydrums]

Can I just say how underrated this channel is?

[@largemarge1603]

@Fredd, This's an underrated comment. And you are pretty underrated, too!

[@richardprice7528]

It'll do this all day!

[@earlystrings1]

That voice ... my god, Rimmer, it’s you, mate!

[@Eray2007]

beautiful piece of history

[@enriquelichtenstein6675]

masterful sound effects

[@peacefulscrimp5183]

That was a great video 👍

[@veraciouspatriot4297]

Great video!

[@LjCaples]

This feels like an episode of Top Gear.

[@scenicdriveways6708]

Interesting video, thanks for sharing.

[@DanuraJay]

0:17 who hears Mark Felton's theme?

[@glyph241]

I’m Subscribing... This Was Amazing 😳

[@JonesNate]

I'd love to see Clarkson, May, and Hammond do a show on these.

[@alfredoyaka5109]

The steam coming from the exhaust valve could be diverted condensed and reused in that case they wouldn't have to stop at a pond

[@StopRazvod]

Amazing machine! In USSR tryed to do something like this. Called НАМИ-012

[@stevedickson5853]

There's a 1 43 scale model of that truck

[@mikeadler2755]

This Texan loves and wants three of these bad boys

[@michigandon]

This Michigander wants one, too! Could you imagine pulling into The Southeast Old Threshers Reunion behind the wheel of one of these bad boys? You would be THE talk of the town!

[@davidjones6076]

Beautiful!

[@beyondmaintenance]

Thanks Rimmer ✌🏽😎

[@YenZenBamboo]

G’day, there was a steam driven truck in Tasmania when I was there. The engineer looking after it said that it would wheel stand under power. It was retired in a display.

[@harrisonthompsonabdullah4877]

Tributes to Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen & James Watt.. The steam engine inventors and engineers ..

[@jorgerostagnol3602]

Excellent.!! Desde Colonia Uruguay.

[@chrislaws4785]

DUDE, just the simple fact that its RIMMER hosting this just made it about 10,000 times more AWESOME.....LMAO. It also helps that Jim there sounds just like Michael Caine (Batman's Butler)

[@TheArnienator]

0:52 when the audio comment introduces Jim, he is like "what, who said that?!" :D

[@therocinante3443]

Man this thing is cool!

[@user-wi8rs6sx9p]

Great clip

[@rattyratstuff7125]

So back in the late 1920s a farmer from the UK moved to my area of California. He bought a massive plot of land that nowadays makes up the majority of auburn CA. He brought over a ton of his equipment from the u.k. including an old steam engine he used to haul the product into town. His great great great grandson still has the steam engine sitting in his front yard rotting away.

[@rattyratstuff7125]

It's essentially a land mark for when you're pulling into town to let ppl know to slow down. On the other side of town where the property ended, there's a 75 k20 letting you know which exit has the best pies

[@oliverallen5324]

I love everything about it.

[@moisesdaibelapereira7557]

Really great, fun for new generations

[@christianvalenzuela225]

What beautiful machine!❤ A dream!

[@DontKeeptheFaith]

What a marvelous thing.

[@TandemAdventurers]

Love this!

[@stephensmith799]

There were still a few heading through Hampshire towards Southampton Docks in the 1960s… about two or three percent of all the lorries…. And cruising around 45-50 mph before the motorway.

[@PDXDrumr]

Oh yes, chipseal, still in use today. Nice.

[@yukineswan]

very cool and very epic

[@timcolledge3732]

Very great indeed!! 😊

[@favoritos2420]

I really Love It

[@38911bytefree]

Nice machine !!!!

[@TrophyNZ1]

How did this turn up on my Feed in 2023?, i don't know but im glad it did, what amazing vehicles

[@GodOnMySide]

wow piece of history

[@willdavis3332]

Excellent! 👍 Not many people know that Chris is a real petrol head.

[@wantahertzdonut]

A steam truck is the most British machine ever

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

No, the most British machine ever is a landrover converted to steam, it's on KZbin somewhere.

[@ChefKevinRiese]

Way too cool!!

[@dennislane100]

Far cry from blasting around the galaxy aboard “Red Dwarf”🤣.

[@JTV84]

not really. it looks like starbug on wheels.

[@andrewnorris5415]

On the contrary dear fellow, very Flash Gordon.

[@clive280178]

Probably want to look into how rockets operate mate, steam power pal, not that space rockets go anywhere near outer space

[@andreas1963ap]

Absolutely Beautiful 🥰

[@u.s.militia7682]

I bet Jay Leno would like to own that.

[@mikaelabowen5781]

Surely an S6?? These Sentinels were fabulous - some of the last steam lorries (the Foden O Type, in particular) were really fast - at a time when commercials were limited to 20 mph in the UK.