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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 1109.PDF
FLIGHT, OCTOBER 16, 1931 The Home of "Castrol" A short description of C. C. Wakefield & Co.'s plant at Hayes, Middlesex, from which all the Castrol brands of lubricating oils are supplied to the southern half of England 1 ERO engines have not yet reached the stage when they may, with comparative safety, be treated,or, I ought to say, ill-treated, like the majority of motor-car engines. The subject oflubrication is one, therefore, about which even the most average pilot knows quite a lot. He does not stroll tothe nearest filling station and ask for so many quarts of any old brand, but he specifies the oil he wants, and seesthat he gets it. He knows that the correct functioning of his engine depends on him using its appropriative gradeof lubricating oil—and that its incorrect functioning will sooner or later mean a forced landing ; and even in these" slotted " days one does not deliberately court forced landings. Hence, every pilot's care for his engine. Butso particular are most pilots that they do not just stop at the requisite grade, they demand their own pet brand,and like the soapless baby they are not happy till they get it.The brands of lubricating oil suitable for aircraft engines are many nowadays, but one of the best known,and certainly one that is very much used, is " Castrol." This is made in every conceivable grade to suit allengines, and those most widely used in aircraft engines are Castrol XL, XXL and R. The latter is used in hotengines or for racing, but in most ordinary engines, such as, for example, the " Hermes " and " Gipsy," CastrolXXL is suitable even for this strenuous work. With the idea of seeing how this oil came about, so tospeak, I went to the Crown Wharf, at Hayes. I had no definite ideas on what I expected to see, but of one thingI am certain ; I did not expect these oil works to be other than " oilv," that is, I assumed that I should get Illustrated with "Flight" sketches barrels ; these are caught up by a grab and slung on torunways down which they travel to wherever they are to be stored, or else they are raised up to one of the five floorsof the main storehouse. In either case they are weighed in, and their contents checked up.The top floor of this store is used as a service depart- ment, and here all the cabinets and garage pumps arereturned for repainting when they have become damaged and dirty. All steel drums and wooden barrels used inthe works—they seem to number thousands and thousands— go through many processes before they are refilled. Theyhave to be washed out with hot oil or steam if they are at all dirty, then drained and examined by the aid of anelectric lamp on a long handle, and finally painted outside and have the correct marking put on them. About this time on our round I discovered that theyhave the excellent habit of giving everyone a cup of coffee. It was then 10.30 a.m., and, as I had made avery early start, this coffee was most acceptable. The men get a 10 mm. break while they consume thisbeverage, and the extra work resulting from the renewed vigour is said to be very marked. The next thing I sawwas a series of pits in which oil was bubbling and churn- ing. These were the floor level blending tanks. A systemof piping leads from the main storage tanks to these tanks, and each brew is concocted from various quantities ofdifferent oils pumped from these storage tanks. When a brew requires an oil which is in barrels, the requisitebarrels are rolled on to a gutter opening into the blending in such a manner that they can be drained straight into it.It should be explained that the oil in the storage tanks is not a finished lubricating oil, for this has to be a blendbespattered, and that probably the turn-ups of my trousers different according to the use to which it is to be put. mirfit look like piston skirts below the scraper rings. I Castro! brand lubricating oils are, for example, as tlmight rings need not have worried ! it was more like a beauty parlourthan an oil works, or whatever such a place is called. Why, in one shop I found adelicately scented oil being filled into tins, and the books sent outwith this brand—called " Oilit " —recommended its use for suchwidely varying purposes as oiling the hinges of safes, polishing fur-niture, oiling artificial limbs and making the hair grow !The cleanliness and care taken to ensure that all oil is free fromany kind of impurity almost over- awes one ; it almost seems un-natural. The works at Hayes are com-paratively new, having only been established for some 5 years ; pre-vious to that the whole output of Castrol had come from Liverpool,but the rising use of motors and other engines wanting lubricationcaused Lord Wakefield to estab- lish, this depot at Hayes.It is in an admirable position, being on the Grand JunctionCanal, a main line railway and close to a main road. Transportproblems are thereby reduced to a mi in mum. Tankers of as large asSO :ons displacement can be filled m ;he Thames and then broughtthrough the canal right alongside th( works. This is the way in£""!. h nearly all the oil comes, ion.e of it is in bulk, and is thenPulped into 4,000 gall, storage taius by two pumps, eachll Castro] theirname implies, blends of various mineral oils with pure castor oil. It is this castor oil which has made the name of iilii' mimm in* p aeljyering 200 gall, per min. !w nn» some is delivered in wooden OIL UPON THE WATERS: The bulk oil mostly comes in tankers to theThames where it is transferred to these 60-ton barges and taken down the Grand Junction Canal to Hayes. Its peaceful journey comes to an end by being pumpedat 200 gall. min. to the storage tanks in the building. 1039 C2
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