William C Daldy.

[Priscilla II 410]

[Psyche 728]

It's been years since we saw it going, probably not the best look to be burning coal in the interest of nostalgia. 

[waikiore 445]

They used to make good money hosting parties and events around summer, perhaps the steam qualified guys have all got too old.

[Leftred 45]

I'm pretty left leaning in general (sorry) but the idea that the tiny pin prick of emissions from heritage machinery should change their operation because of climate change considerations seems ridiculous to me. Although I've shovelled many tons of coal into 100+ year-old boilers over the years so I'm biased.

Making any heritage steam operation work financially is very very difficult. Most volunteer rail operations are struggling to keep their steam locomotives running, except for a handful of very well run ones like Steam Incorporated out of Wellington. Add the complexity of hull maintenance, survey requirements, compliance costs etc, it must be very very difficult to keep a steam vessel operating, Earnslaw being the only successful one I can think of.

[harrytom 679]

Maybe stop poking funds in the SS Toroa at Lincoln Rd and get the willie c back to operation.Went pass the toroa today trying to be polite here but shes stuffed. Should of kept the Makora but she is under the motorway extension at St marys bay.

Could convert her oil burning but why would you,the amount of emmisions verses the smoke etc from volcanoes/rotorua/wairaki is minimal. 

[K4309 353]

 

Steam engines and the like are fascinating engineering marvels and were fundamental to our progress as a society. I love seeing them at places like Motat. But it is beyound me how to save this boat. As we all know the cost of maintenance of any boat is increasing alarmingly. Keeping a very old steel boat up to scratch would be a phenomenal job, let alone trying to run it on coal. 

Are you even allowed to purchase coal in NZ anymore? And if you are, where can you get it from? I assume it's not held in stock at Farmlands, Z energy or Meridian Energy?

[waikiore 445]

Well K4309 we are importing over 500T of coal each week to charge the Teslas so yes it is available , (from my POA contacts) just not so much high quality Westport coal as the old days.

[CarpeDiem 510]

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/solid-energy-25kg-coal_p0518426

[K4309 353]

19 minutes ago, waikiore said:

Well K4309 we are importing over 500T of coal each week to charge the Teslas so yes it is available , (from my POA contacts) just not so much high quality Westport coal as the old days.

Well there you go. I'm sure a bit for an old steam boat wont make a jot of difference to the next flood / cyclone / atmospheric river / polar jet stream or what ever normal weather even the mainstream media try to scare us with.

[Bad Kitty 285]

3 hours ago, Leftred said:

I'm pretty left leaning in general (sorry) but the idea that the tiny pin prick of emissions from heritage machinery should change their operation because of climate change considerations seems ridiculous to me. Although I've shovelled many tons of coal into 100+ year-old boilers over the years so I'm biased.

Making any heritage steam operation work financially is very very difficult. Most volunteer rail operations are struggling to keep their steam locomotives running, except for a handful of very well run ones like Steam Incorporated out of Wellington. Add the complexity of hull maintenance, survey requirements, compliance costs etc, it must be very very difficult to keep a steam vessel operating, Earnslaw being the only successful one I can think of.

And Real Journeys are looking at changing from coal to green energy power for Earnslaw.

[darkside 64]

7 hours ago, waikiore said:

Well K4309 we are importing over 500T of coal each week to charge the Teslas so yes it is available , (from my POA contacts) just not so much high quality Westport coal as the old days.

Well actually no.

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/coal-use-plummets-to-32-year-low

It's a shame there really is no logical "outing" trip for the Daldy like Walter Peak down south for the Earnslaw. Too slow for even Waiheke. 

[waikiore 445]

Well actually yes -those are quarterly figures and million tonnes 

[Psyche 728]

Getting back to the Daldy, I agree a bit of coal is not going to make a difference to climate, these old girls do have a use by date where the costs just get to much though: It needs drydocking bi-annually at a cost of 200-250k, it uses about a ton of coal an hour to run (350 a ton?) If they can get the support why not keep her going? Steam gives a lot of pleasure to people, Glenbrook is very popular

 

[K4309 353]

6 hours ago, Psyche said:

Getting back to the Daldy, I agree a bit of coal is not going to make a difference to climate, these old girls do have a use by date where the costs just get to much though: It needs drydocking bi-annually at a cost of 200-250k, it uses about a ton of coal an hour to run (350 a ton?) If they can get the support why not keep her going? Steam gives a lot of pleasure to people, Glenbrook is very popular

 

I'd be interested to go and have a look at the engine room just as a static display. That isn't possible at the moment is it?

[Leftred 45]

My family own a traction engine, and just running that isn't cheap. I don't know the exact numbers but a day's hard running on the road only burns a couple hundred kilos of coal. I hate to think of the cost of running a fairly large steel steam ship. At least with a rail locomotive you can park it for a few years and it doesn't really deteriorate.

I have always wanted to spend some time on a shovel in the engine room of a steam ship though... 

[waikiore 445]

At all the recent car events I visited in the UK there were traction engines (big and small) operating and steam powered trucks , steam powered circus equipment etc. They were all pulling a crowd.

[darkside 64]

The coal use reduction is real but..... it's because it rained a lot, which is good for hydro

With the coming El Nino it will go back up for sure. 

[LBD 169]

2 hours ago, Leftred said:

My family own a traction engine, and just running that isn't cheap. I don't know the exact numbers but a day's hard running on the road only burns a couple hundred kilos of coal. I hate to think of the cost of running a fairly large steel steam ship. At least with a rail locomotive you can park it for a few years and it doesn't really deteriorate.

I have always wanted to spend some time on a shovel in the engine room of a steam ship though... 

That is certainly a problem with the WC Daldy... constant exposure to the corrosive marine environment. The Earnslaw has the benefit of living in freshwater with minimal corrosion. That said, the Earnslaw was suffering from corrosion from the inside out, in the area of the boilers where the sulfur from the coal formed acids. There was also a lot of corrosion from the stock carrying days when the bilges were contaminated with stock urine. Back around 2003, we replaced a good measure of the hull plating, welding in new sections. Interesting that the original steel for plating and rivets was the same vintage as the Titanic but was made in Australia. When I some etched and analysed it we found the Australian product was good and ductile, and not suffering from the same brittleness as the steel used for the Titanic. 

Another interesting trivia from those days...  removed plating had clear un-corroded numbers written on them. These were identifying plate numbers from the yard in Dunedin where see was built (Disassembled and reassembled in Kingston)... the numbers had been painted on using white lead paint.

Shoveling coal?... the Earnslaw is one ton per hour if you are up to it... good exercise. There was talk back then of changing away from coal however there were concerns around the effect that a higher temp lean burning fuel would have on the old riveted locomotive  boilers. I know the old paddle steamer on Lake Geneva has converted away from coal, but I do not know if the original boilers were replaced.

 

 

[harrytom 679]

One would think with the historical value of the Daldy. The poal would supply some funding and be part of the on the water exhibits at the maritime museum.

[Psyche 728]

Park it  on  the waterfront next to the Barfoots state house,  cut a doorway in the hull and charge an entry fee to see the engine running (stand clear of the props!)