The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 2 (May 1, 1936)
Our London Letter — The Modern Steam Locomotive
Our London Letter
The Modern Steam Locomotive.
New steam locomotives of various interesting types continue to be built by the Home railways for their fast passenger services. For many years, it would seem, we shall have steam engines hauling our crack expresses, electrification being such a costly business, and the cost of the average steam locomotive being only approximately one-third of that of the newer Diesel engines, about which so much has been writ-ten.
One of the outstanding British locomotive types is the “Royal Scot” class of the London, Midland and Scottish system. Engines of this type are now being fitted with a taper boiler. They have three cylinders, 18 inches by 26 inches; wheel diameter of 6 ft. 9 in.;working pressure 250 lbs. per square inch; grate area 31.25 square feet; and tractive effort, 33,150 lbs. In all, there are 71 locomotives of this design in traffic, and recently many of these engines have been given distinctive names associated with the British Army. The latest locomotive—No. 6170 —has been christened “British Le-gion,” in honour of the ex-servicemen's organisation.
In its latest passenger locomotives, the L. M. and S. Railway has not gone in for streamlining. This is rather curious, for on the London and North Eastern, and Great Western lines, streamlining is being extensively introduced in new locomotive design. The Doncaster authorities, in particular, have found streamlining of the greatest utility, and during the present year seventeen new streamlined “Pacifics” of the “Silver Link” type are to be constructed in the L. and N. E. shops at that point.
The “Silver Link” locomotive, it will be recalled, was introduced last year to haul the new “Silver Jubilee” express between London (King's Cross) and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Stream-lining has been found to save a great deal of power. In the case of the “Silver Link,” it takes the form of giving the engine a sort of prow in front, built like a wedge, but placed horizontally. In addition to effecting power savings, streamlining has solved the problem of lifting smoke and steam so that it does not obstruct the driver's view. For high-speed running at rates in excess of 60 m. p. h., it has also been found that the reduction of wind resistance effected by streamlining has had beneficial effects upon coal consumption. Apart from the new “Silver Link” engines, the L. and N. E. authorities are also to build this year four new locomotives of the “Cock o’ the North” type, for service on the difficult road between Edinburgh and Aberdeen. These engines will be partially streamlined, and will form a noteworthy addition to the Home railway locomotive stocks.
Maintaining the Permanent-Way.
Every year the Home railways spend something like £17,500,000 on maintaining and renewing their permanentway, signals, buildings, etc. More than 1,000 miles of track are laid or renewed annually, for which 183,000 tons of steel rails, more than 3,800,000 sleepers, and nearly 1,800,000 cubic yards of ballast are required. Increasing passenger train speeds have made great demands on the permanent-way in recent times. As yet, however, this high-speed running has not affected the design of the Home railway track to any appreciable degree.
Standard track on the four Home groups takes the form of 95 lb. British standard bullhead rails in 60 ft. lengths, carried in cast-iron chairs weighing 46 lbs. each, on 24 sleepers per rail length. On the L. M. and S., L. and N. E. and Southern lines, the chairs are secured to the sleepers by three screws. On the Great Western system, a through-bolt is employed. The two larger groups—the L. M. and S. and L. and N. E.—have laid a limited mileage of 100 lb. rails. Actually, however, these rails are of 95 lb. section, with 5lb. additional per yard on top of the head, the idea being to extend rail life where heavy wear is experienced.
A new idea which is gaining favour in some continental countries and in the United States, but which is viewed with a certain amount of doubt by Home permanent-way engineers, takes the form of welding rails into long lengths. Germany has done a good deal in this direction, and in that country, too, the recent introduction of specially fast passenger trains has called for very extensive track alterations and adjustments on the mainlines such as Berlin-Cologne, Berlin-Hamburg, and Berlin-Frankfort.
The Pullman Train.
The latest all-Pullman express to be placed at public disposal is the “Bournemouth Belle” daily train of the Southern Railway, operating between Waterloo Station, London, and the south-coast holiday and residential centre of Bournemouth. This train also serves Southampton in its daily flight to and from London. The train is composed of first and third-class Pullman cars, and already it has become most popular with the travelling public.
The Railcar in Freight Service.
French passenger and freight services are being considerably improved by the introduction of new Diesel railcar services in and around the principal centres of population. On the French State and the Eastern Railway, new Diesel railcars seating 60 passengers are being employed. These are 72 ½ ft. long, have an overall width of 9 ½ ft., and weigh when empty 27 tons. Aluminium alloys are largely employed for the bodywork. The cars are carried on two four-wheeled bogies, and at either end is a six-cylinder, 130 b. h. p. oil engine. Speeds of up to 80 m. p. h. are practicable, and rapid acceleration is a feature.
On the Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean system, Diesel-electric railcars have been introduced experimentally for the conveyance of goods traffic. These haul loads of up to 60 tons. The power equipment consists of a pair of six-cylinder Diesel engines and generators, and the maximum speed of the cars is approximately 55 m. p. h. Smalls traffic is carried in the car itself, while, when required, the car can haul from one to five ordinary goods wagons, and so form a sort of light freight train. At the outset, the cars are being employed experimentally in the Lyons area.
The New Berlin Underground.
Largest Dock-Owners in the World.
The Home railways are known to be largely interested in docks and steamships, but it may come as a surprise to learn that the four group lines are actually the largest dock-owners in the world, and their extensive equipment includes the world's largest drydock—that of the Southern Railway at Southampton. The railways own docks on all coasts, and the latest mechanical appliances have been installed, so that vessels may be loaded or unloaded and their cargoes transferred to rail or warehoused, with the minimum of delay. In South Wales, on the northeast coast, and in Scotland, a feature of the dock equipment is the installation of coal-shipping appliances capable of dealing with 20-ton wagons. 7,000 ft. of new quay has been brought into use at Southampton, and an extension, 1,120 ft. in length, of Parkeston Quay, Harwich, has also been completed.