Tulyar

Something of an exaggeration!

 

As far as I can remember they did get up to 20 speed gears, certainly 14. They revved up to 20k and had a power band of 500rpm. I'm talking about the Suzuki bikes btw...

 

50 cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing - Wikipedia

 

I was an enthusiastic motorcycle fan in the 1960s and still so today. The Suzuki RK67 had the most gears, 14. I was at the 1967 Diamond TT and saw it racing. Only sophisticated works racers had over 10 gears, none had 20 gears.

 

A long way from the AP50 my peers used to ride in our youth...

 

My memory has gone... apologies should have looked it up. I was there too. One occasion I was up at Windy Corner and a 50cc came round and the wind caught it and it ended up in the ditch, they also had rim brakes IIRC...

 

Suzuki 50cc GP bikes were 14 speed. IIRC had a gear selector on both left and right sides of the gear box.
Bridgestone 50cc GP bikes were 10 speed. Revved to 18,000RPM
Honda 50cc GP bikes were 9 speed. Amazingly had rim acting caliper brakes on front wheel.

I’m not aware of a 20 speed box that saw competitive use but I’m open to correction. I heard a recording of one of the Suzuki racers going down through the gears. An amazing sound.

 

I too remember them going down through the gears..it was like "ping, ping, ping"

 

Back to Deltics, 55015 and January 2nd Anniversary, this popped into my youtube profile - apologies to those who have seen before.

 

From 5384 cu in to 50cc…

 

The best offering of the 3 at the time, FSIE, SS50, now worth a small fortune...

 

Great innit.

 

Deltics. Somewhere out there there is a CD disc of Deltic sounds. I heard it long ago but I don't have any details. One of the sounds is the very last regular Deltic hauled service into KX where the loco. is reversing away from the buffer stops, the driver knew the significance of the occasion and really did give the Napiers (both of em), the beans, full length of the platform. "what speed limit" Nearly took the roof off KX.. If anybody knows of the CD disc............I'd like to buy a copy

 

Could it be this one @Victor ?
https://delticsounds.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=215

 

Yes, many thanks for that. That's a pressie to me for my upcoming birthday.

 

A Racehorse Returns.
15/2/25.
Following the announcement yesterday that all three of the DPS Deltics are going to be attending the Greatest Gathering at Derby in August, what could we possibly do at the depot today that would come anywhere near generating the reaction that news has received?
Only one thing could come close, and we think we achieved it.
After the highs of last year with Tulyar being started for the first time since 13th April 1997 when it was switched off at Midland Railway Centre for a projected two year overhaul, it may have seemed to the casual observer that not much has been happening.
However since then, the work has mainly been electrical in preparation for getting to the stage that D9015 was ready to move under its own power, and there’s only so many times you can publish a photo of a black wire.
Today was the long awaited day!
After final checks by the “Delectricians” #1 engine on Tulyar was started, and after warming up in the miserable damp February conditions the power handle was tentatively pulled back by Mike Hallam-Rudd and Tulyar turned its wheels under its own power for the first time in almost 28 years.
For the rotation tests the traction motors were initially checked in pairs, before all six were connected up.
After a couple of tests to ensure the loco runs backwards and forwards from both cabs, D9015 was driven back inside the depot ( I think the horn handle may have got stuck) and shut down.
While this is by no means the end of the restoration it’s a massive step forward and the volunteers all went home extremely happy.
This is a good point to pause and thank everyone involved in the locomotives overhaul over the years and while it would be wrong to thank any individual special mention must be made to the fantastic team of “Delectricians” who’s work in sorting through the mass of black wires, largely unlabelled, has been outstanding, and without them we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Welcome back Tulyar!

 

For those with FB :-

(5) Video | Facebook

 

That's got to be Victor's playpen....

 

Some things about Deltics that you may not be aware of, from experience at 34G in the mid 1960s.

For light engine running it was best to have only one engine running as with both working, open up controller a bit and the amps would shoot up to give a comparable performance to a jet fighter aircraft take-off with the afterburner switched on.

From London to Edinburgh (or vice versa) a Deltic would use about 600 gallons of fuel = 2/3 of a mile per gallon.

It was quite common after that 400 mile distance had been covered for each engine to need 5 gallons of lube oil (sometimes more).

When it came to an injector change as part of a service the 36 injectors from both engines would be removed in an 8 hour shift. You need a 2 foot long 3/8" drive socket extension to do this. The best bit (?!), the loco has just come back from Edinburgh and the engine room is blazing hot......... Another 8 hour shift to install the replacement serviced injectors.

BR management received complaints from passengers on the over-night sleeping car trains of Deltic 'pong' entering these coaches. They couldn't kill it with additives, but they did manage to find one that made it smell nicer. This was added to the fuel via a pump-container just like the 1d (one old pence) a shot upper cylinder lubricant per fuel gallon device that garages used to have.

 

Having driven one, they're pretty nifty off the blocks even on one engine!!