Daniel Adamson News 2012

Most recent news appears first.

2012 OPEN DAY, EVENING SOIREE & AGM

We had our annual Open Day on Saturday, 8th September. Earlier in the year United Utilities informed the Society that we might not be able to have our Open Day as they were concerned giving members of the public access to Wellington Dock when a large scale building project was taking place
on the site.

A couple of months later UU had a bit of a re-think and we offered a compromise by suggesting that we would have just have "members only" Open Day to keep the numbers down and bus them from Wellington Dock car park around to Sandon Dock
via Canada Dock gate.

So this year was an Open Day for members only with no dock trips, no marching band and no fish & chip van.

The buses to transport our visitors were supplied by our friends at Merseyside Transport Trust, for more information please visit their website www.mttrust.co.uk

On the day I was disappointed in the number members who attended, I think we counted no more that 50 for the day and at times there were more volunteers than  visitors, but those who did turn up were treated to a nice sunny day and the opportunity to have a look round the Danny at their leisure

The lack of visitors on the Open Day was offset by the numbers that attended the Saturday night bash at Widnes Cricket Club, it was almost a sell out.
The evening went well and was enjoyed by everybody, the room was pleasant, the the buffet was excellent and music supplied by the the 60's tribute band "Searchin" got a lot a people onto the dance floor to demonstrate their jiving skills and on a personal note, the Cricket Club serve a very nice pint of mild.

The AGM was held on Sunday morning again at the cricket club.

- John Hake

HERITAGE LOTTERY SUPPORT FOR MARITIME ICON

THE Daniel Adamson Preservation Society (DAPS), which is restoring the historic Mersey tug tender SS Daniel Adamson, is jubilant having received initial support for a £3m Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) bid, including development funding of £37,300.

HLF has approved a first-round pass* application to assist the Society work towards a second-round application next year.  The Society resubmitted a fresh application to HLF following last year’s unsuccessful bid.

SS Daniel Adamson is the UK’s last steam tug tender, built at Tranmere in 1903 for an Ellesmere Port - Liverpool passenger ferry and barge towing service. Later sold to the Manchester Ship Canal in 1921, as a tug and, with a new art deco double decker saloon, acted as the directors’ inspection vessel.

The coal-fired ship will be restored to public service, sailing from Liverpool Cruise Terminal or the city centre Canning Dock all over the Mersey, Weaver and Ship Canal.

Sara Hilton, Head of HLF North West, said: “We’re delighted to be giving our support to the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society for their vision to restore this very special historic vessel.  We believe their latest plans have great potential and we’d like to commend everyone involved for their tenacity and passion in developing them. We’ll be working closely with the Society in the coming months as they progress the project further.”

Paul Atterbury, DAPS president and Antiques Roadshow expert said: “I am so pleased to hear that the HLF Round One application has now been approved. This is a major step and the door is now open to the road that, hopefully, will lead to the fulfilment of all our hopes. It brings the dream of seeing ‘the Danny’ back in service a big step nearer to reality. It is also a vindication of all those hours, weeks and years of dedication and hard work by the volunteer team, without which this simply could never have happened. We all know it can be done. Now the nation is starting to believe us.”

Louise Ellman, Liverpool Riverside MP and Chair of the Transport Select Committee, said: “It is wonderful news to hear the Daniel Adamson’s Heritage Lottery Fund bid has been revitalised. Not only will the ship be a piece of living, breathing Merseyside maritime history, but she will become an asset to be used by the whole community.”

ENDS. 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2012

PRESSURE POINT
 

Refitting the pistons, the last big job of the engine rebuild has been completed.

Our two engines are classified as "compound engines" meaning that they have only two cylinders, one high pressure and the other low pressure.

The high-pressure cylinder uses steam directly from the boiler at 120 psi to force the piston up and down, the exhaust steam from this cylinder is then fed to the low pressure cylinder to force its piston up and down. The exhaust steam from the low-pressure cylinder is fed to the condenser where it is converted back into water and pumped back into the boiler to be reused.

The high-pressure pistons are 14" in diameter and have 3 rings to seal the gap between the piston and cylinder wall. The rings are split which allows then to be carefully pulled apart and fitted over the piston and into their respective grooves, there they are held in place but have enough spring tension to make contact with the side wall of the cylinder which stops the steam leaking past the piston.These rings are made of fine grain cast iron are machined to fit the piston grooves and to be the right size for the cylinder bore.

Because these rings are similar to ones used on present day applications they are readily available and we have had 10 new ones made which gives us two new sets with 4 spares.

The 30" diameter low-pressure pistons have a completely different design of rings, they are, to give them their full title "Lockwood & Carlisle's Improved Patent Double Action Piston Packing Rings and Springs". These rings consist of two split rings that sit around the piston on a lip, in between the piston and the rings is a large circular horizontal spring which has a number of vertical springs fitted around it. This whole assembly is secured to the piston by a retaining ring bolted to the top of the piston and the name given to this is the "junk ring". The horizontal spring forces the two split rings apart so they are tight against the junk ring and the lip on the piston, while the vertical springs force the two split rings outwards against the cylinder wall.

Having done some measurements on the low-pressure piston rings it was decided that they could be refitted with no adjustment required.

During this exercise of refitting the pistons, the cylinders were also checked for wear and any signs were carefully removed with emery cloth.

The pistons have a taper fit on to the piston rods and are held down with a 4" nut, we have yet to fully tighten up these nuts because we need to source a 4" flogging spanner

Our attentions will now turn to finding, making and fitting all the ancillary parts that were fitted to the engines.

- John Hake

The two high pressure (HP) pistons showing the ring grooves. The centre bosses are not shown in this photo. 

Nearest the camera is an HP piston, in the centre is the piston boss, this bolts to the piston and slides over the piston rod taper, it is upside down in this photo. Farthest away are the three rings. 

Colin and Joe make sure the gaps in the three rings are staggered around the starboard HP piston. 

The piston being carefully lowered into the port cylinder at the same time the rings are teased into the bore.

Another view of the LP piston, the lower split ring is on the piston lip, the springs are in place behind it, the top split ring needs to be placed over the springs then the junk rink fitted to hold everything in place.

A close up of the horizontal spring 

The LP piston fully home on the piston rod taper with its retaining nut fitted.
 

DANNY REAL ALE LAUNCH

It’s with great pleasure I am now finally, able to announce the launch of our eagerly anticipated DAPS / Frodsham Brewery Real-Ale.

“Danny” has now been brewed in two batches, the first batch going to produce around 1,000 bottles of Bottle Conditioned, un-pasteurised / filtered Ale which is being released from the fermentation room today and have labels applied by the weekend.

The second batch has now been brewed and will be ready for delivery to pubs (eighteen kegs I believe) for W/C 27^th August. Thousands of the attached leaflet (printed double sided) are also ready for onward distribution with the beer. Pump Clips are also ready.

Ultimately although a fun element of the project, it’s primary aim is to raise awareness of the project via exposure to the public, via Media Releases we will put out in regional and national press but also to raise some modest funds along the way.

Please remember, thanks to the generosity of the brewery, a donation will be made for every Pint and bottle sold.

For DAPS members, we will have bottles available to buy at our open day on Sat 8^th September but the beer will also be available as a bottled product via two retailers. These are:

·     Barley & Hops in Macclesfield (On Line retailers only) www.barleyhops.co.uk or Tel: 01625 440700

·    Ship in a Bottle (Same people behind Ship & Mitre). http://www.theshipinabottle.co.uk/ They do on line sales, tele sales or simply call in to one of their amazing bottled beer shops in Whitechapel, Liverpool or Grange Road, West Kirkby.

Please be aware that the bottles will only be going out next week but if you want to beat the rush, please contact either retailer and let them know you want some “Danny” and they will ensure they order enough!

Anyway, a great beer like any great ship deserves a great launch so we have organised one, well actually three!

As part of our quest to create as much interest as possible, three “regional” launches have been set up. This was not easy as brew times, schedules and of course our impending open day and working parties had to be worked around. The three venues, as set out below have been selected to give DAPS some good exposure in the Merseyside/ Wirral area, Halton/ Warrington area and the Greater Manchester area.

We have invited a few guests, friends and supporters of DAPS but most importantly, we want our members and volunteers to come along, enjoy a pint of Danny and celebrate this all together. We would naturally be delighted if you could attend. Please, consider each venue and we would love to see you at any (or all if you have the stomach for it!)

The events are:

• Wed 5th Sept at the “Ship & Mitre” in Liverpool 12:00-14:00 (Art-Deco upstairs lounge) and real ale mecca with around 30 beers on draft at any time. Deputy Mayor Gary Millar and several council members including Judith Feather and business leaders including Gary Hodgson plus some colleagues from Peel Ports, Ian Higby, MD of ACL Container Line & also Chair of Mersey Maritime etc. will be attending. Also representatives from National Museum’s Liverpool hope to attend along with some other guests.

• Thursday 6th September  at “The Ferry Boat” (JD Wetherspoons) in Runcorn12:00-14:30 including a “meet the brewer” session with Frodsham Brewery. Rob Polhill Leader of Halton Council, Eddie Jones (deputy leader) and various others will attend. We would especially like to see some ex Danny crew there that day so please spread the word.

• Friday 7th September at “The Trackside” (again a well known Real-Ale pub) At the East Lancs Railway, Bury.12:00-14:00 Good opportunity to show overlap between our “Railway Steamship” and the Railways. This one will also give us a greater presence in the Manchester/ Lancashire area. We hope to also invite some people from surrounding councils and Peel Media, Salford and Imperial War Museum. Again if you are able to attend this one, we need some good support in the Gtr Manchester area.

Finally, we are hoping to run competitions (subject to final confirmation) with some great prizes in the Liverpool Echo & Widnes/ Runcorn Weekly News so look out for that shortly!

Hope to see you all there. Cheers!

Regards,

Dan Cross, Chairman

Daniel Adamson Preservation Society

Danny Real Ale - Coming Soon

For all you lovers of Steam and Real-Ale, we have teamed up with the small, craft brewery in Frodsham and produced something rather special.

“Danny” as it will be known is a unique Real-Ale using an ancient recipe, popular many years ago.

Frodsham Brewery will also be making a donation to DAPS for every pint and bottle they sell. The beer will be available on draught and as a bottle conditioned, un-filtered beer.

A series of public launches in Liverpool, Runcorn, and Bury are planned for early September and we will post more information here when the final details are confirmed such as pubs where it will be available and where you will be able to buy it bottled.

If you have a local that you think may be interested in taking the beer, please print out the poster and speak to your friendly Landlord. Lots of pubs in the North-West already take beers from the excellent Frodsham Brewery.

Keep checking back for updates.

[Click on Poster to enlarge]

JULY 02, 2012

Member Events 2012

Annual Open Day

Saturday 8 September 2012

The ‘Danny’ will be open to DAPS members on Saturday 8 September 2012 between 10:30 and 15:00.  However, because of the extensive construction work being carried out by United Utilities in and around Wellington Dock, this year’s Open Day has had to be restricted to DAPS members, their family and guests.  All guests must be accompanied by a DAPS member and no members of the general public will be admitted.  

No pre-booking is required but members will be required to present their DAPS membership card at the main entrance to Sandon Dock in order to gain admittance to the event.  The entrance to be used this year will be the main United Utilities gate, one gate north of the gate used in the past couple of years.  Signage will be placed on Regent Road (the Dock Road) outside the entrance gate to be used.

Light refreshments – tea, coffee, biscuits, cakes – will be available but no other catering facilities are able to be provided this year.  Similarly, it will not be possible to have either the Adamson Band in attendance or to provide bus dock tours.

******************************

Social Evening  

Saturday 8 September

This year’s event will take place at Widnes Cricket Club, Beaconsfield Road, Widnes WA8 9LA on Saturday 8 September 2012, between 7:30 pm and 11:30 pm and will be rather different to past events.

There will be a top class hot and cold buffet provided, with vegetarian options, rather than a sit-down meal.  Musical entertainment will be provided by The Searchies (note the spelling!!) who are a Liverpool based ‘60s tribute band.  We are sure that our members will enjoy their music which will no doubt remind them of a time when they were perhaps just a little younger! 

Tickets are priced at £17.50 each and are available from: Kevin Price, 21 Lawson Close, Woolston, Warrington WA1 4EG.

Please make cheques payable to ‘DAPS’ and also enclose a stamped addressed envelope for return of your tickets.

Please join us to have an enjoyable night out which also raise funds for our ‘Full Steam Ahead Campaign’.

For those wishing to stay overnight, there are several reasonably priced hotels in close proximity to Widnes Cricket Club, including a Premier Inn and a Travelodge. 

Annual General Meeting

Sunday 9 September 2012

This year’s Annual General Meeting will also be held at  Widnes Cricket Club, Beaconsfield Road, Widnes WA8 9LA starting at 11:00 am prompt.  Agenda papers will be despatched to all members during August.

This will be your opportunity to question members of the DAPS Council, hear reports from the principal officers and, just maybe, offer yourself for election to our Council.

Please note that there will not be any event following the AGM.

WEB SITE CHANGES

Your web master has received notification of changes to be made by our web hosting company 1 & 1 Internet to be implemented between April 23 and 27.

Between those dates the web site may be off line for a period whilst the hosting company upgrades its severs from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008.

As part of this migration the hosting company will cease to support Microsoft Front Page Extensions (FPE), this is due to the fact that Microsoft ceased supporting FPE during 2006 when Expressions Web became the standard Microsoft web editing software.

The ending of support for FPE has necessitated some changes to the DAPS web site. To pre-empt the changes FPE was switched off on April 10, this was to enable your web master to identify the elements of the site which had to be changed to ensure the site continues to work after April 27.

As it stands the following features have been removed:

• - navigation link bars which appeared in the margins - please use the menu at the top of the page.
• - page counters have been removed from each page. A new external counter and Cluster Map feature have been added to the home page.
• - the site search function has been removed and replaced by a Google search engine customised for the web site.
• - the original guest book no longer functions and has been removed for now - but it may be possible to use an external one.

Hopefully everything has been done which needs to be done at this end to facilitate a smooth change over. It is just a case of waiting to see what happens once the hosting company has completed the changes at the end of the month.

- John H. Luxton

PERFECT TIMING

The eccentrics have now been refitted to both engines.

Each cylinder has a set connected to the ends of the crankshaft and as the crankshaft rotates they move the valves allowing steam to enter the cylinders at the right time depending on the position of the pistons.

Eccentrics come in three parts, the pulley, the strap and the rod. The pulley is bolted and keyed to the crankshaft and the strap fits round the pulley and is free to rotate. The bottom of the rod is bolted to the strap and the top fits onto the valve quadrant.

The pulley is offset on the crankshaft so as it rotates inside the strap, it causes the strap to oscillate up and down, this motion is transferred to the rod which in turn operates the valve allowing steam to enter either the top of the cylinder to push the piston down or the bottom of the cylinder to push the piston up.

Just to complicate matters there are two eccentrics to each cylinder, one for ahead, the other for astern, so in total we have eight. Both eccentrics are identical but their pulleys are bolted onto the crankshafts in different positions so the timing of the valve  movement is changed.

The ahead/astern eccentrics are selected by moving the valve quadrant this causes the valves to change the flow of steam from the top of the cylinder to the bottom or vice versa.

The Hunslet Steam Co. refurbished the pulleys and straps for us and we renewed all the bearings that connect the rods to the quadrants.
 

- John Hake

DAPS FEATURES ON BBC WEBWISE FILM

BBC Learning has created a series of films looking at the lives of people who live or work along the banks of The Manchester Ship Canal.

Each of the films examines how they use computer-based technology to help improve their lives.  From the father and daughter karting team and ethnic restaurants to fishermen and maths tutors, the series follows the canal from the docks of Liverpool to the heart of Salford and meet some people with fascinating stories to tell.

The series proves that everyone can make use of modern technology to make the most of their talents and interests; whether it’s through a mobile phone, online blog, website or a community magazine.

BBC WebWise is an online resource for anyone who wants to learn more about computers, the internet and mobile technology. It guides beginners step-by-step through modern technology, from learning the basics to creating a blog or website.

[CLICK HERE TO VIEW]

FEBRUARY 24, 2012

NEW FACES TO HELP BRING TOP TUG-TENDER BACK TO LIFE

 The ambitious plan to restore Britain’s last steam – powered tug tender, Daniel Adamson, to working order has taken an important step forward with two key appointments. These consultants will focus on the Daniel Adamson Preservation Society’s broader social impact to help it gain the crucial Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)  Round 1 approval.

The project’s future development task plan and volunteering plan guidance will be drafted by Cara MacMahon, a cultural consultant and trustee of Brunel’s SS Great Britain.

The society’s activity/outreach plan will be scrutinised by Kate Rodenhurst, former head of community partnerships at National Museums Liverpool.

If the HLF Round 1 application is successful (plus a request for development funding), further consultant’s will be hired to help take the project through to a new HLF Round 2 application. The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society (DAPS) made these appointments after its earlier HLF application for £2.8m was turned down last September. It is now working very hard to submit a fresh application for Round 1. This will be a major milestone in returning this unique 1903 Birkenhead-built coal-fired ship to public service on the Rivers Mersey and Weaver and The Manchester Ship Canal.    

The revised application will include a clearer outline of the project and how it will apply for further development funding. The DAPS management team met HLF officers in November 2011, to address any shortcomings in the previous application.  DAPS also consulted other bodies for advice, such as National Historic Ships UK and local authority external funding officers.  

The society considered it essential to use some of its limited financial resources to engage professional assistance from independent consultants. This has been supplemented with the award of a £1000 grant from National Historic Ships.  A keen advocate of returning Daniel Adamson to public service, National Historic Ships lists the steam ship on its Core Collection register of the country’s most important vessels. 

Dan Cross, DAPS chairman, said: “The appointment of Cara and Kate, as professional advisors, will ensure we can strengthen and build on our previous application. We are so lucky that our regular team of dedicated volunteers have carried on regardless of the delay, and our membership continues to grow.” 

“If the Round 1 application is successful this year, we hope to submit a new Round 2 application by the middle of next year, to coincide with the Daniel Adamson’s 110th anniversary.”

This month is the eighth anniversary of DAPS, formed in February 21, 2004 when the Daniel Adamson was bought from Manchester Ship Canal Company for £1, thereby saving the ship from the scrapyard.

For Media Relations enquiries please contact Peter Elson on -07717 733 257 Or e-mail him at : media@danieladamson.co.uk

For other enquiries please contact the Chairman, Dan Cross on 07979 865 391 or e-mail him at: chairman@danieladamson.co.uk

For Membership enquiries please contact John Broomby, Membership Secretary on: 0161-969-2903 or e-mail membership@danieladamson.co.uk Membership enquiries can also be sent to him at: 28 Brookfield Drive, Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire WA15 6QR

- Dan Cross, Chairman

Daniel Adamson Preservation Society

FEBRUARY 04, 2012

LINK TO THE FUTURE

The next part of the rebuild was to assemble and fit the four reversing quadrants and the eight drag links.

The quadrants fit into a slide block on the end of the valve stems and are operated by the drag links.  

The drag links connect the wyper arm to the quadrant, so when the reversing engine is operated, the wyper arm rotates which will move both the high pressure and low pressure cylinder quadrants so the correct eccentrics are used to operate the valves.

Each bearing on the end of the drag link has been replaced with newly cast ones made out of Gun Metal, there are eight drag links with a bearing on each end, so that makes 16 bearings in total.

The bearings come in two halves, a plain one and the other with an integral oil box. Each bearing was machined to a common size that was slightly undersized and we then created matching pairs by measuring each pin  diameter and boring out the bearing to fit.

- John Hake
 

DANIEL ADAMSON LOTTERY SYNDICATE

A National Lottery Syndicate has been established to win funds for the restoration of the Daniel Adamson. The syndicate will split all wins 50-50 between the DAPS Restoration funds and the individual syndicate members.

Three and four number wins will be retained in the syndicate member accounts.

Five, 5 plus and 6 number jackpot wins will be distributed between DAPS and syndicate members.

All entries will be lucky dips.

Tickets will be bought for the Saturday draw only and will equal the number of paid up syndicate members. The minimum payment is £5 per syndicate member.