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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 9 (January 1, 1934)

Some Famous British Locomotives

Some Famous British Locomotives.

In recent years many noteworthy contributions to steam locomotive progress have been made by the four group railways of Britain. To name a few of the outstanding constructions, we have machines like the “King George V.” engines of the Great Western; the London, Midland and Scottish Company's “Royal Scot” locomotives; the “Lord Nelson” and “King Arthur” types of the Southern line; the Pacific type of the London and North Eastern; and high-pressure “hush-hush” locomotive No. 10,000 of the “Baltic” type.

What is claimed to be an even more powerful express passenger locomotive than any of these famous engines has just been put into traffic on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. This is the first of a new series of superheated 4-6-2 four-cylinder “Pacific” type designed by Mr. W. A. Stanier, the Company's Chief Mechanical Engineer, and built in the Crewe works. Designed to haul 500-ton expresses between Euston Station, London, and Glasgow—a route including the stiff climbs at Shap and Beattock, which normally require a couple of engines in their negotiation—these locomotives have an especially large boiler to carry them through the long and arduous Anglo-Scottish run. They also have tenders of unusually large capacity, some 4,000 gallons of water, and nine tons of coal being accommodated.

The new L.M. and S. “Pacifics” develop, at 85 per cent. boiler pressure, a tractive effort of 40,300lb. The firegrate area is 45 sq. ft., and the total heating surface, excluding superheater, is 2,713 sq. ft. The boiler pressure is 250lb. per sq. in., and the four simple cylinders are of 16¼in. diameter by 28in. stroke. The tender is carried on three roller-bearing axles, and the total weight of the engine and tender in working order is 158 tons 12 cwt., the overall length being 74ft. 4¼in.

Modern Locomotive Efficiency.

Locomotive efficiency may be measured in many ways. A pretty good index is afforded by the mileage accomplished between successive heavy repairs and in this respect marked improvements have been recorded in Britain during the past few years. The mileage between heavy repairs varies in England from 30,000 to 90,000 for the different railway groups and different classes of locomotives. Most heavy repairs are found to be occasioned by boiler defects, and work in making these good often occupies a great deal of valuable time. Expedition of this class of job is now secured by keeping in stock a number of repaired boilers of standard type from which replacements can promptly be met.

Great care is now taken to secure suitable supplies of water for locomotive boilers, while the setting-up of water-softening plants has also tended to secure greater mileage between repairs. Mechanical lubrication and superheating are other helpful factors. Especially useful page 18 is the “caboose” system, under which several crews operate one locomotive on a through run. This cuts out the frequent cooling-down and heating-up to which many locomotive boilers were subjected, and thereby adds enormously to boiler life. On one American line—the Baltimore and Ohio—a record of 200,000 miles between heavy repairs has been established. This remarkable figure will probably never be achieved in Britain, where conditions are so different, but in the years that lie ahead it is certain the 100,000 mile mark between heavy repairs will become an accomplished fact.

New Express “Pacific” Locomotive, L.M. and S. Railway.

New Express “Pacific” Locomotive, L.M. and S. Railway.

Electric Locomotive Development.

European progress in the electric locomotive field is just as striking as in the case of the steam engine. In Germany, especially rapid progress is being made in electric locomotive development, and the latest types of electric locomotive put into service represent the very last word in power and efficiency.

For express passenger train haulage, Germany employs on her electrified lines enormous electric locomotives weighing 110 tons, and capable of attaining speeds up to 70 miles per hour. Freight locomotives, hauling 2,400 ton trains, weigh as much as 138 tons, and attain speeds with full load up to 40 miles per hour. In general, Germany employs the alternating current system of electrification, 15,000 volts, 16 2–3 cycle.

Equally efficient are the motor cars employed in connection with the electrified suburban tracks in regions like Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart. These cars seat 75 passengers, and weigh, when empty, about 61 tons. Two motor cars and two trailer cars normally form a train. In the case of the Berlin electrification, the system adopted is third rail, 800 volts D.C. About 165 route miles of track are operated electrically in this area.

Mitropa's “Rolling Hotels.”

Five times round the earth at the equator—or approximately 125,000 miles—is the average daily mileage covered by the dining and sleeping cars of the “Mitropa” Company, of Berlin, the efficient undertaking responsible for train catering on the German railways. In the west, the “Mitropa” cars run as far as Amsterdam, Flushing and Hook of Holland. In the south, they operate to Zurich, Interlaken, Lucerne and Lugano. “Mitropa” cars likewise go to Vienna and to the spa centres of Czecho-Slovakia, page 19 while the Company also operates the sleepers and diners on the Scandinavian lines. More than 650 cars are actually owned by the undertaking, and it has its own car-building and repair establishments.

“Mitropa” is the biggest hotel and restaurant enterprise in middle Europe, serving more than 40,000 travellers in its dining-cars every day. More than 3,000 beds are made up every night for the guests of “Mitropa's” rolling hotels. Good catering is an immense aid in the securing of railway passenger business, and the German railways are indeed fortunate to have placed their catering interests in the hands of so efficient an organisation.

Modern Signalling in Britain.

Resignalling schemes, undertaken in many British passenger termini in recent times, have added vastly to efficiency while making for more economical operation. One of the most interesting re-signalling jobs just completed is the installation of power signalling on a big scale at St. Enoch Station, Glasgow, L.M. and S. Railway. At this terminal there are handled all the “Midland” Anglo-Scottish trains to and from St. Pancras Station, London, as well as a heavy coastal and suburban business. Opened to traffic in 1901, St. Enoch Station has twelve platforms, totalling in length 9,500ft. About 350 trains pass in and out daily, and the station handles more than 6,000,000 passengers annually.

Electric passenger locomotive, German State Railways.

Electric passenger locomotive, German State Railways.

Until recently signalling of the Sykes' electro-mechanical type was employed at this important Scottish terminal. Now, with a view to securing increased efficiency and economy, this arrangement has been replaced by a modern power installation with electrically - operated points and colour light signals, and throughout track-circuiting of running lines. A single cabin has replaced the five cabins formerly necessary for signaling supervision, this cabin having 203 levers electrically interlocked, as compared with the 660 levers and slides in the five signal boxes which have been replaced. Among the many useful features of the new installation may be noted the fitting of ground locks to the point machines, an additional precaution to the usual track locking of point levers; and the furnishing of all main-line signal levers with approach locking.

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