Proceedings Institution of Mechanical Engineers: 1910-1919

Volume 78 (1910)
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Hughes, George
Compounding and superheating in Horwich locomotives. 399-451. Disc.: 452-507 + Plates 30-35..
Presented 17 March 1910, The reasons for the apparent neglect of cempounding in this country were: (1) Great variation in torque, from starting to full speed. (2) Frequent repetition of this variation. (3) Comparatively good results of the simple engine.
Discussion: Aspinall (President) opened and this was followed by Churchward (452-xxx) other conclusion had been arrived at up to this date. The scientific person would say there must be some reason for the difference of opinion which had existed, and which he believed existed at the present time, as to the relative advantages of the two systems of haulage. If he might venture an opinion as to the reason for that difference of opinion, he thought it was mainly due to the fact that up to the present when engineers had made comparisons they had not compared like with like. It would be remembered that when the late Mr. Webb made experiments between the simple and compound engine, he put a pressure of 200 lb. to the square inch in the compound engine and 180 lb. per square inch in the simple engine, with the result that the compound beat the simple. It was far from his desire to charge the author with having gone so far as that, because as a matter of fact he had not; he had made the conditions very much more equal between the two systems than Mr. Webb had done ; but he (Mr. Churchward) thought the author had not given the simple engine, in the trial which had been made, the full advantage which might have been given to it, had it been designed specially for the purpose of the trial. If the author when starting out on the problem had endeavoured to see whether he could design simple engines which would haul the trains in the times specified as economically as the compound engines did, he was not at all sure but he would have succeeded. As an engineer, he did not like to think that two or three investigators experimenting on the same subject would arrive at different conclusions, and he thought it was necessary to search for the reason for it. It appeared to him that a simple engine which had to be worked at from 30 to 40 per cent. cut-off had no chance whatever against a good compound, whether it was hauling goods trains or fast passenger-trains. He thought that fact might account for some of the discordance which might be found between the author’s results and those at which members had separately and individually arrived

Volume 79 (1910)

Paget, Cecil W.
English running-shed practice. 825-53. + Plates 44-6.
[The Discussion ox this Paper was combined with that on the Papers by Whyte, Clark, Forsyth, and Vaughan, and commences on page 904]

Whyte, Frederic M.
Handling locomotives at terminals. 855-72.
[The Discussion ox this Paper was combined with that on the Papers by Paget, Clark, Forsyth, and Vaughan, and commences on page 904]

Clark, F.H.
Engine-house practice, or the handling of locomotives at terminals to secure continuous operation. 873-84.
[The Discussion ox this Paper was combined with that on the Papers by Whyte, Clark, Forsyth, and Vaughan, and commences on page 904]

Forsyth, William
American locomotive terminals. 885-98.
[The Discussion ox this Paper was combined with that on the Papers by Paget, Vaughan, Forsyth, and Whyte, and commences on page 904]. Classification (marshalling) yards of the Pennsylvania Railroad at East Altoona, Pa. Here the traffic from three divisions was concentrated.

Vaughan, H.H.
Handling engines. 899-904. Disc.: 904-28.
Author was Superintendent of Motive Power, Canadian Pacific Railway. The desirability of pooling engines, in place of operating them by regularly assigned crews, depended on whether the engines were engaged in passenger or freight service, and in the latter case, on the conditions which existed. Discussion (904): George Hughes (904-8) noted that LYR practice was for was a straight shed with a dead end,

Carter, F.W.
Electrification of suburban railways. 1073-1101.
In typical suburban service the greater part of the energy-input is used in accelerating the train, and the energy-consumption per ton mile depends principally on the nature of the schedule, this energy-consumption is a good measure of the difficulty of a schedule, but an even better measure is the uniform acceleration that would cause the train to reach the mean running-speed in a distance equal to the average distance between stations. This acceleration is greatest for the Liverpool Overhead Railway's schedule, which explains the high energy-consumption per ton-mile actually found in this service. High initial rates of acceleration involve great mechanical strains on the bogies, and should not be employed unless the difficulty of the schedule renders it necessary. The equipment losses during acceleration are of the same order of magnitude in the continuous-current and the single-phase systems, in spite of the rheostat losses in the former system. The performance of a given electric train under given conditions of suburban service can be very closely predetermined, for the factors liable to uncertainty have but small effect on the result. Schedule calculations, however, are inadequate by themselves to determine thc question of the suitability of an equipment, as the limiting features are usually connected with the heating of the motors, which again depends on the energy-loss in the motors. This loss is much greater in the single-phase system than in the continuous-current system. There appears little prospect of general electrification of the railways of this country, as no advantage is apparent which would in any way justify the expense. It is only in the case of heavy suburban service that there is prospect of commercial advantage accruing from electrification, and whilst there may be other local opportunities for electrical working, there is at present no indication that the steam-locomotive can be superseded with advantage for ordinary main-line work.

Hobart, H.M.
The cost of electrically-propelled suburban trains. 1103-1135

Westinghouse, George
The electrification of railways: an imperative need for the selection of a system for universal use. 1137-76 .

Potter, William Bancroft
Economics of railway electrification. 1177-93 + Plates 82-6.
In the USA direct current systems were in the ascendent, especially for interurban electric railways which had to be compatible with urban street tramway systems.

Pomeroy, L.B.
The electrification of trunk lines. 1195-214. Disc.: 1215-97.
Economics of main line electrification in the USA. Discussion of this Paper was combined with that of the Papers Carter, Hobart, Westinghouse, and Potter.

Hitchcock, Cyril
The standardization of locomotives in India, 1910. 1409-522.

Legros, L.A.
The development of road locomotion in recent years. 1535-92.

Volume 83 (1912)

Livesey, E.M.
Rolling-stock on the principal Irish narrow-gauge railways. 599-652.

Dalby, W.E.
Characteristic dynamical diagrams for the motion of a train during the accelerating and retarding periods. 877-945.
Bernard M. Jenkin in discussion introduced Figure 9 which showed performance of Holden/Russell Decapod .Quoted from Captain Douglas Galton's Paper on the Effect of railway brakes

Volume 84 (1913)

Henderson, James B.
Theory and experiment in the flow of steam through nozzles. 253-322.
In response to a circular issued by the council, asking for suggestions as to subjects for research, a large number were received, and the subject of “the action of steam passing through nozzles and steam-turbines” was selected amongst others for possible future research. Professor James B. Henderson was invited to write a preliminary paper upon the work hitherto done in this subject, and the present paper is offered for discussion before the details for carrying out the proposed research are settled.

Trevithick, F.H. and P.J. Cowan  
Some effects of superheating and feed-water heating on locomotive working. 345-482.
Relationship of smoke-box temperature and draught to rate of firing; values from Goss's Locomotive Performance

Volume 87 (1914)

Sauvage, Edouard
Recent development of express locomotives in France. 383-415. Disc.: 415-28.
Contributors to the discussion included H. Fowler (416-17), Ahrons (425-6) on Serve tubes, Poultnery (426-7) who commented on the Claughton type, citing The Engineer (6 February 1914); W.M. Urie (427-8) on superheating on the Caledonian Railway;

Mallet, Anatole
Compound articulated locomotives. 429-62.
Contributors to the discussion included Edgar Worthington (456-8) who made observations on Fairlie locomotives and on Webb compounds..

Sartiaux, A.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. Northern Railway. 463-8.

Lancrenon, F.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. Eastern Railway. 469-78.

Herdner, A.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. Southern Railway. 478-83.

Marechal, L.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Railway. 488-90.

Solacroup, E.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. Orleans Railway. 491-505.

Acfield, W.C., Lewis, Leon P., Raven, Vincent L., Stanier, W.A. and Willox, W.
Audible and other cab signals on British Railways. 843-926.

Acfield, W.C.
Audible signalling on railway trains in motion. 843-6.
Author was Signal Superintendent, Midland Railway Derby.

Lewis, Leon P.
Automatic signalling on trains. 846-54.
Caledonian Railway

Raven, Vincent L.
Electrical system of cab-signalling. 855-68. + Plate 25

Stanier, W.A.
Combined automatic train control and audible signal system in use on the Great Western Railway of England. 869-79. + Plate 24

Willox, W.
Signalling on railway trains in motion. 879-83. Disc.: 883-926.
Discussion: A.T. Blackhall (Signal Engineer, GWR, 884-5)  A.F. Bound (GCR, 907-11) Some of the obstacles to be overcome in designing such an apparatus were :- (1) Its adaptation to the locomotive of any railway to meet the case of engines of one company working over the rails of another, and the case of joint undertakings. (2) The finding of a position for a standardized track apparatus, due to the varying load and structure gauges on different lines, now further complicated by the adoption of various types of electric traction and also of water troughs. (3) It must be reasonable in cost, both for installation and subsequent maintenance. (4) It must be simple and reliable as regards engine and track apparatus; H.W. Moore (L&YR, 911-13); Joseph C. Sykes (913-16); Isaac Smith (916-17);

Volume 90 (1916)

Fowler, Henry
Chisels. 141-5. Disc.: 145-82.
Sir Robert Hadfield (145-9) opened the discussion; Daniel Adamson (149)

Volume 94 (1918)

Monkhouse, O.E.
The employment of women in munition factories.  213-21. Disc.: 221-38.
At the beginning of WW1 it was exceptional for women to be employed as general machinists and fitters in engineering shops, but the demand for a greattly increased supply of labour of all kinds for munitions production, and at the same time the need to conserve man-power to the fullest extent, made it necessary for the Government to turn to the largest source of supply of unskilled labour, namely, women. The successful employment of women in engineering works depended not only on unskilled women, but in an almost equal degree on skilled men, and the employers. The author was a woman..