Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers
Volume 48 (1958)
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Journal No. 261
Upmark, Erik
Development of electric traction in Sweden and its influence on rolling stock.
The Sir Seymour Biscoe Tritton Lecture. 20-43.
Meeting held at Instiution of Mechanical Engineers, London on 26 February
1958 at 17.30: E.S. Cox in Chair.
Electric traction gives high power, low weight per continuous horse-oawer,
still lower weight per maximum horse-power of short duration, great acceleration,
high maximum speed on the level, greatest relative gains in speed in upgrades,
reduced i travel. time, heavier trains, better utilisation af rolling stock,
less staff, greater comfort, no. smoke, less dirt, better heating, better
lighting, better ventilation, better elasticity in operation, more trains,
less need af double track, and higher earning capacity. But electric traction
also. means higher total initial costs, including costs far track, rolling
stack and tele-communications. There will also. be additivnal costs in the
future for changes: "yau will have a yard in the air too." Nor should one
overlook the electric accidents which will take their annual toll amang people
with an insufficient knawledge af the dangers af high tension.
Rise in productivity was especially spectacular during the 1930's when there
was a combined effect af large-scale electrification and certain tariff and
freight reductions made possible thereby. During WW2 Sweden's non-electrified
railways had to. rely again largely on fire-wood and peat and ather bulky,
inefficient and costly fuels. The savings in fuel costs from electric tractian
during the War has been evaluated at about £60 millions, or double the
total cost af railway electrification executed at that time. The Swedish
Railways (and those in Norway) used high volate ac (16,000V maximum) at
162/3 cycles with motor generators to convert to dc. Coupling
rod drive was still being used on some new locomotives.
S.B. Warder (42-3) as Seconder to the Vote of Thanks called
Öfverholm the Churchawrd of Swedish railway electrification.
McClean, H.G. (Paper No. 582)
American experience as a guide to main-line diesel locomotive applications
overseas. 45-92. Disc.: 92-138.
Author was Export Manager of the Electro-Motive Division of General
Motors. The rapid change from steam to diesel-electric haulage on American
railroads: engineering and economics. The paper was presented by A.W. Manser
on behalf of the Author and he introduced the discussion (92-3). This was
followed by Julian S. Tritton (93-4) where he refered back to his own paper
The challenge to steam. He also made specific
reference to engine ratings.
K.J. Cook (Past President: 98-9) in dealing with
the price of fuel the Author referred to coal at £2 per ton and diesel
fuel for the same years at 9.7d./gal. It was of benefit to compare costs
of fuel on the same basis, and 9.7d./gal. worked out at about £1- per
ton (presumably £10+) per ton. That was an interesting figure, giving
a ratio of slightly over 5/1, weight for weight, for the price of oil against
the price of coal, and it was of interest to note that that ratio applied
not only in the USA but in nearly every country in Europe. This probably
had some bearing on the American desire to utilise a lower-grade fuel; and
in fact if it were possible to do so the Americans would, he believed, like
to use coal. In spite of this being the Diesel Age, they had put a great
deal of effort in recent years into developing a coal-fired gas turbine.
That, however, did not detract from the value of the Paper or of the American
development of the diesel-electric locomotive, which had undoubtedly swept
the field.
From the interesting paragraph lettered C on p. 68, it could be deduced that
American practice had gone round in a circle in connection with the formation
of locomotive units. Initially, it was stated, the biggest trains were usually
involved, using four-unit locomotives, but the train size and locomotive
size had tended to become smaller, and three units and two units were being
used. That had given rise to a difficulty. With four units, two A and two
B, the A units had a driving compartment at one end, the other end being
occupied by the heating boiler, while the B units had no driving compartment.
Because of the changes made in the number of units, the American railways
had not been able to dispense with turntables. Frequently when making a
turn-round the driving compartment was at the wrong end, and the locomotive
had had to be turned. That emphasised the value of the design being developed
by British Railways, with a driving cab at each end. It might have its
counterpart in the development of the general purpose locomotive on the American
railways, which presumably could be driven in both directions. It did not
have a cab at each end, but the body was probably narrower, to give a lookout
in both directions; but, with certain developments in view, that was not
so convenient or efficient as a cab at each end.
The cost figures which the Author had produced, and in particular the incidence
of the seven-year cycle, were extremely interesting, but there was one point
on whjch Mr. Cook would venture to take the Author slightly to task. In comparing
the cost of the steam locomotive with the diesel, the Author took 1950 as
a typical year for comparison. When Mr. Cook and others had had the pleasure
of meeting the Author in Chicago in the autumn of that year, they had been
unable to get out of him any costs for a steam locomotive; he had said:
“The cost is the same as the diesel, but if you want one you cannot
have one, and there is no such price.”
Journal No. 262
Loach, J.C. (Paper No. 583)
A new method of assessing the riding of vehicles and some results obtained.
183-208. Disc.: 208-40.
General Meeting of the Institution was held at the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, London, S.W.l, on 23rd January 1958
at 5.30 p.m. Mr. E. S. Cox, M.I.Mech.E., M.1.Loco.E. (President) was in the
Chair.
. The President said that it gave him great pleasure to introduce Mr. J.
C. Loach, M.Sc. (Member), who was a member of the Research Department of
British Railways. For many years it had been Mr. Loach’s job to concern
himself with problems related to the riding of vehicles on the track. He
had been closely associated with developments on the Continent of Europe
in this connection, and particularly with the O.R.E. developments. It was
therefore from a particularly rich background that he had been able to gather
the material for the Paper which he was to present.
For a basic test it is most desirable to record relevant particulars about
the track, whether straight or curved, the amount of superelevation, the
gauge and irregularities of “top” and “line”; all these
can be obtained very conveniently with a track-recording coach. It is also
desirable for the vehicle under test to be the last in the train and the
screw coupling between it and the vehicle in front of it to be loose so that
there is no contact between the buffers while running. In this way the vehicle
under test has the maximum possible freedom of movement, an essential factor
in an investigation of inherent riding qualities. Disturbances arise from:
features of the track,
components of the vehicle.
In a bogie coach electrical accelerometers are normally placed on the floor
of the vehicle, a minimum number being:
two measuring vertical accelerations, one over each bogie centre pin,
two measuring lateral accelerations, also one over each bogie centre pin.
Other places where accelerometers are often useful are:
one measuring vertical accelerations in the middle of the coach, and,
one measuring longitudinal accelerations in the middle of the coach.
Discussion: Manser (210-11) considered:
to be the key issues.
Burrows, M.G. and Wallace, A.L. (Paper No.
584)
Experience with the steel fireboxes of the Southern Region Pacific locomotives.
242-80. Disc. : 281-305. illus., 15 diagrs. Bibliog.
General Meeting of the Institution was held at the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, London, S.W.l, on Wednesday 12th February
1958 at 5.30 p.m. Mr. E. S. Cox, M.I.Mech.E., M.1.I~oco.E. (President) was
in the Chair. The Minutes of the previous meeting, held on 23rd January.
The President said that in their pre-occupation with new forms of motive
power they were apt to forget that there were any steam locomotives, but
there were still quite a number in Great Britain, and would be for some time
to come, to say nothing of those on overseas railways. It was therefore right
and proper that the Institution should include in the present Session a Paper
on steam locomotives, and it had been fortunate enough to obtain a Paper
by Mr. M. G. Burrows, who had been assisted in writing it by Mr. A. L. Wallace.
Mr. Burrows would be well known to many members of the Institution. He had
served on four Regions of British Railways, so that he had spread his net
very wide in obtaining experience. Mr. Wallace had been a technical assistant
in the C.M. and E.E.’s Department of the Southern Region, and had
contributed greatly to the Paper.
A general description was followed by the development of welding techniques
and assembly methods; a consideration of stays including defects, and
radiographic examination to detect them, thermic syphons, tube beadings,
foundation rings on the West Country class. Washing out. Training of welders.
Water treatment was vital. On the early boilers fitted to the Merchant Navy
class corrosion was experienced prior to the introduction of TIA water treatment.
Discussion: Stanier (281-2) noted the poor
performance of the steel fireboxes fitted to the ROD locomotives as experienced
on the GWR and wondered whether wide fireboxes were better suited to being
constructed from steel. He also commented on the need for thermic syphons
(the authors in response stated that there was little difference in performance
between fireboxes so fitted and those without), and the composition of stays.
R.C. Bond (282-3) noted the importance of water
quality and treatment. The 25 WD 2-10-0s in Scotland had arch tubes and had
given very satisfactory service, but the Class 5 4-6-0s fitted with steel
fireboxes had not been entirely satisafctory. T. Henry
Turner (283-6) noted that Scottish waters could be corrosive, that
Hargreaves (the metallurgist at Eastleigh was a first rate man and comments
on early corrosion. Control of water treatment is essential. J.E. Roberts
(286-7). B.R. Byrne (287-90) discussed the training of welders and the
development of techniques. E.S. Cox (290) showed the conservatism of his
approach: there was very lttle to choose between copper and steel fireboxes.
P.C. Dewhurst (290-1) written communication. Meeting in Glasgow on 19 February
1958: W. Thomson (297-8) recorded that the steel
fireboxes fitted to the WD 2-10-0s were remarkably free from trouble and
that the firebox stays lasted for fifteen years.The class 5s fitted with
steel fireboxes experienced more problems and stay life was only nine years.
Meeting in Darlington 17 March 1958 pp. 301-5.. ..
Journal No. 263
Gill, H.A. and Smith, J.M. (Paper No. 585)
Fuels and injection equipment for traction diesel engines. 312-55.
Eighth Ordinary General Meeting of the 1957-58 Session was held at
the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, on Wednesday 19 March 1958, immediately
following the Annual General Meeting. R. Arbuthnott, (Vice-President) was
in the chair. Speakers were on the Technical Staff of English Electric
Company,.
Dearden, J. and Roberts, J.E. (Paper No. 586)
Steel for railway purposes. 357-419. Bibliog.
General Meeting of the Institution was held at the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, London S.W.l, on Wednesday 16th April
1958 at 5.30 p.m. Mr. E. S. Cox, M.I.Mech.E., M.1.Loco.E. (Pw.s,idenL) was
in the Chair.
The President then introduced the Authors of the Paper, who, he said, were
well known to members of the Institution. Mr. J. Dearden was Assistant
Superintendent, Metallurgy Division, British Railways Research Department,
Derby, and Mr. J. E. Roberts was a member of the Research Department of Messrs.
Colvilles
Dearden was Superintendent of Metallurgy Dept., British Railways; Roberts
orked for Colville's of Motherwell. Railways as steel makers: notably Crewe,
and Horwich and Swindon. T. Henry Turner
(389-92). Page 419: in response to question from Burley the 2% steel
boiler plates used on the Southern Region Merchant Navy class boilers caused
considerable trouble in welding with cracking in the heat affected zones.
The use of this steel had been largely discontinued.
Journal No. 264
Excursions and notices of works visited [Institution of Locomotive Engineers'
summer meeting in Ireland]. 424-36 .
There was a visit to inspect the turf burning locomotive
(428-33) when E.S. Cox and Robert Arbuthnott met Bulleid, and there was
a visit to the Guiness Brewery where the narrow gauge locomotives were inspected
(433-6)
Arbuthnott, Robert
The Presidential address. 441-74.
Spoke partly about the essential nature of training, but mainly a
highly important historical paper in which the work of
Nasmyth was discussed and illustrated
(Figure 12 gives an excellent view of the steam carriage which ran on Edinburgh
streets in 1827. Nasmyth was typical of the many "born" engineers of that
time — or were they actually very few but very prominent in a world
only just ripe for industrial development? Be that as it may, his colourful
life as recorded by Smiles and others reads almost like a fairy-tale, although
his prize was not a fairy princess, but rather ‘I fortune which enabled
him through his own inventive genius and practical engineering ability, to
retire at the age of 48 after little more than 20 years of business life
to pursue his hobbies in “active leisure.” The favourite of these
was perhaps astronomy, but it is typical of the man that anyway in the early
days he used to cast and polish his own specula to his own perfected
method.
He was not only a great inventor, an artist and a man of wide vision, but
also a great industrialist, and, like many of his contemporaries, embodied
very many of the qualities which are now so greatly in demand amongst engineers
everywhere. He was an early advocate of flow production and of quantity
production of items for stock. He advised on the layout and equipping of
works, arsenals and dockyards in many countries.
His “ Scheme Book ”* in which he used to record first thoughts
on some of the many mechanical contrivances which he devised and incidentally
in which he frequently “ doodled ” (though in a purposeful way)
is in itself an interesting study. In it are recorded, amongst many other
things, his early sketches of the steam hammer and it was from a copy of
these very sketches that the first steam hammer was built, incidentally without
Nasmyth’s knowledge, by Messrs. Schneider of Creusot, whose manager,
M. Bourdon, was shown them during a short visit to the Bridgewater foundry
in J.N.’s absence.
Nasmyth and his hammer is not the subject of this address, but I feel that
I must make note of a very early reference to the latter. This was in a letter
dated 27th November, 1839, written by him to Mr. W. Morgan of Acramans Morgan
& Company of Bristol, which firm was concerned in the construction of
the Great Western Railway.He writes , . . “ I have been cogitating much
upon the subject of great hammers and I have in course of consideration ‘
hit ’ upon an idea which appears to me to be somewhat original and I
think the very thing wanted ” . . . “ there have been patents taken
out for worse things than this. What say you?” The letter goes on to
describe the working of his proposed hammer and includes a freehand sketch.
You will note that the period from this early sketch to the delivery of the
last hammer was just 100 years! His company and its successors built nearly
1,400 steam hammers, the first, of 30 cwt. capacity, built in 1842 or 1843
for the Bridgewater foundry (it was at work in February, 1843), finishing
its life breaking stone at a bleach works at Newton-le-Willows, the last
hammer incidentally a pneumatic one-going to one of H.M. dockyards in 1939.
The last steam hammer, one of 5 cwt. capacity, was delivered to Messrs. Fraser
& Chalmers in the same year. Some extracts from an almost complete list
which I compiled before the War, of hammers ordered between 1843 and 1938
may be of general interest :-
And now, but by no means least, I must mention Nasmyth’s locomotives.
In 1827, at the age of 19, he designed and constructed a successful steam
passenger carriage to carry 10 prsons, which ran successfully on the roads
in Edinburgh, and although his mind was frequently occupied with thoughts
of steam locomotives it was not until 1838 that he actually ordered the material
for his first locomotive, Bridgewater. This had 12½ in. by 16
in. cylinders and a 2-2-2 wheel arrangement, with one pair of 5 ft. 6 in.
and two pairs of 3 ft. 6 in. dia. wheels.
FIG. 12 A number of lists of Nasmyth locomotives have been published in the
past, but there have been many inaccuracies in these and extracts from one
which I compiled before the war from the actual books of the Company may
therefore be of interest to some members. The list is too long to include
and I only show a few of the earliest ones.
No. 1 locomotive Bridgewater was built for stock. It was tried on
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, when it frequently hauled goods trains
of upwards of 100 tons at an average speed of more than 20 miles per hour
with the greatest ease. The first official order as recorded in No. 1 Order
Book (makers’ numbers 2, 3 and 4) was as follows:-
11 Aug. 1838
London & Southampton Raalway Co.
per Thos. Cooke Esq., George Street, Manchester. 3 Locomotive Engines as
per Tender, Letter Book p. 392, viz. of 4-wheeled construction as per drawings
and specification to be furnished by E. Bury including tender, £1,380.
£4,140.
Delivered at Patricroft.
Payment 1/3 when called for
1/3 on delivery
1/3 in 3 months after.
They were delivered in July/August 1839 but without tenders, which were svpplied
by Bury.
Trade seems to have been brisk as three days later there is recorded an order
for three locomotives for the Manchester and Leeds Railway (makers’
numbers 5, 6 and 7).
| Date of Order | No. | Rly. Name or No | Railway | type | cyls | Remarks |
| 25 May 1838 | 1 | (Bridgewater) | Stock, sold later to (Mr. J. Waring Railway Contractor to M & B Rly |
2-2-2 | 12½ x 16 | Tried on M & L Rly |
| 11 Aug. 1838 | 2 3 4 |
Hawk 28 Falcon 29 Raven 30 |
London & Southampton Rly | 2-2-0 | 12 x 18 . | E. Bury’s design |
| 14 Aug | 5 6 7 |
Rochdale (7) Bradford (8) Hull (9) |
Manchester & Leeds Rly | 0-4-2 | 14 x 18 | Stephenson’s design |
| 4 Aug. 1840 | 8 | Wolf | Midland Counties Rly | 2-2-2 | 14 x 18 | Stephenson’s design with Nasmyth’s Improvements |
| Nov. 1841 | 9-10 | – |
Stock, sold later to H. & E. Hilton | 2-2-2 | 14 x 18 | Stephenson’s design with Nasmyth’s Improvements |
| 19 Feb. 1839 | 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
Lightning (20) Lucifer (21) Hurricane (22) Firebrand (23) Rainbow (24) Sirocco (25) |
Midland Counties Rly | 2-2-0 | 12 x 18 | E. Bury’s design |
| 25 May 1840 | Defford 19 . | Birmingham & Gloucester Rly | 4-2-0 | l8 x 20 | Norris design | |
| 20 21 |
Derby (22) Sheffield (23) |
Manchester & Leeds Rly | 2-2-2 | 14 x 18 | ||
| 19 Aug. 1840 | 22 23 24 |
Pershore 28 Upton 29 Lifford 30 |
Birmingham & Gloucester Rly | 4-2-0 | l1 x 20 | Norris design |
| l Sept 1840 | 25 | Achilles 65 | Great Western Rly | 2-2-2 | 15 x 18 | Cyls 16 x 20 later |
“ Achilles ” was the first of twenty 2-2-2 ty-pe locomotives with 15 in. by 18 in. cylinders ordered by the GWR and for which a testimonial and cash bonus was received. The design was modified in certain respects as the order proceeded-not an unknown happening even today!-and the last four became Goods engines of the 0-6-0 type, with 16 in. by 22 in. cylinders and 5 ft. 0 in. dia. wheels. Quite a modification!
Swarup, K. (Paper No. 587)
The design and manufacture of light-weight coaches. 477-505. Disc.: 505-9.
Annual General Meeting of the Indian Centre held in Bombay on 27 March
1958:. E.W. Isaacs in the Chair.
The oustanding features of the Perambur bogie were:
(1) Total weight of bogie reduced by 26.5% against the I.R.S. bogies.
(2) The unsprung weight has been reduced by 18.5% as compared to the conventional
I.R.S. bogies, resulting in much lesser wear and tear of the track and coaching
stock.
(3) The wear and tear of the axle box guides has been completely
eliminated.
(4) The movements of the axle box helical springs are controlled by built-in
shock absorbers.
(5) The centre pivot is completely released of any additional reaction stresses
from the brake gear.
(6) The conventional rubbing blocks for the bogie bolsters have been replaced
by the anchor link arrangements which eliminates the jerky movements of the
bolster.
Ell, S.O. (Paper No. 588).
The mechanics of the train in the service of railway operation. 528-61. Disc.:
561-90 + 5 plates. 25 diagrs., 6 tables.
General Meeting held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on
Wednesday 15 October 1958, at 5.30 p.m.: R. Arbuthnott (President) in the
Chair.
Relatively little attention is given to steam. In the discussion
Stanier (562) observed that he had ridden in the Gooch
dynamometer car. It had eventually been fitted by G.H. Pearson with a spring
with separate leaves and rollers between, and that spring, Sir William believed,
was in the dynamometer car used on the Western Region today. Another interesting
thing which Mr. Pearson had done had been to produce what was called a “
dead man,” a box full of oil with a ball in it supported on weak springs,
and a mechanism which recorded the movement fore and aft, crossways and up
and down, of the riding of the vehicle. The Author had carried that work
very much further by what he had done on the dynamometer car and by the various
testing appliances which he had used.
Rich, F. (Paper No. 589).
Some details of steam-locomotive design affecting the footplate man. 590-613.
Disc.: 613-22. 17 illus., diagrs.
General Meeting of the Midlands Centre was held at the Midland Hotel,
Derby, on 9th December, 1958, at 7.0 p.m., the Chair being taken by Mr. J.
W. Caldwell, A.M.I.C.E., M.1.Loco.E.
The work which led to this paper is described in
Steam Wld, 2005, (218) 36-43:
this includes the assistance he received from Carling. Topics covered
include ashpans; atomizer control; cylinder cock control; cab conditions;
damper controls; drop grates; firehole deflector plates; firedoors (Southern
Region and GNR considered superior; the Bulleid Ajax type had shortcomings).
As R.H.N. Hardy has often indicated the standard LMS injector was an obsolete
design, and vastly inferior to the excellent Swindon and Davis & Metcalfe
Monitor designs. The best injector controls were those applied to the BR
standard class 4 2-6-4Ts. Rich also considered cab lighting; the position
of the manifold and associated valves; obstructions to looking out; reversers;
cut-off indicators; sanding gear; fire iron stowage; coal trimming on tenders
and in bunkers and window wipers. One of the very few papers on the ergonomic
aspects of steam locomotive design.
Two other requirements of a cab, not always fulfilled, are that it should
be draught-free and weather proof. In this respect an unforeseen shortcoming
of serious proportions arises in the case of BR Standard Class 4, 2-6-4T
when running bunker-first. In this direction of running, the driver is protected
by the glazed screen behind his seat, but the fireman is completely exposed
to the elements (Fig. 2); and in a downpour of rain or sleet, especially
if a cross-wind is blowing, matters can become so intolerable as to compel
the fireman to leave his position and seek shelter in the centre of the cab.
On the somewhat similar ex-LMS 4P, 2-6-4T, these effects are largely mitigated
by the presence of an angle plate behind the fireman’s seat (Fig. 3).
Discussion A.H. Edleston (613-14);
Anwell, B.W. (Paper No. 590)
Developments in the detail design of diesel locomotives . 658-80. Disc.:
681-722.
General Meeting of the Institution was held at the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers on Wednesday, 12 November, 1958, at 5.30 p.m. . R. Arbuthnott
(Pvesident) was in the Chair.
The President, in introducing the Author of the Paper, said that the
speaker was very well known to many of those present, particularly those
connected with the locomotive building industry, although perhaps not quite
so well known, anyway, in recent times, to British Transport Commission members.
In his capacity as Engineer to the Crown Agents he had very considerable
experience in his subject, as many of the diesel locomotive designs submitted
to the Crown Agents had come under his personal scrutiny and therefore he
could watch, and at least to some extent control, the design details.
Cock, C.M. (Paper No. 591)
The Deltic locomotive. 723-47. Disc.: 747-57.
Joint Meeting of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers was held at the Institution of Electrical
Engineers, Savoy Place, London, W.C.2, on 11 December 1958. Mr. R. C. Bond
(Past-President) was in the Chair.