Volume 17 (1927)

Main file

Journal No. 78

Gass, E.M. (Paper No. 208)
The application of the compound principle to locomotives. 5-18. Disc.: 19-29.
Based mainly on experience gained on LYR: remarkably for the date an advocate of two-cylinder compounds.

Beaumont, J.W. (Paper No. 209)
The working of light traffic on railways and the "Sentinel" engine. 30-53. Disc.: 53-9; 273-80 + folding plate. 2 illus., 3 diagrs.
A description of the Sentinel locomotives and railcars, plus experience gained from service on the L.N.E.R.

Stamp, N.H. (Paper 210)
Locomotive Wheel Balancing. 60-71. Disc.: 71-7.

Geer, H.E. (Paper 211)
Modern locomotive superheating. Part 2. 79-100. Disc. 100-32.
Covers tangential steam driers

Journal No. 79

Brunler, O.
The internal combustion boiler and its application to the locomotive. 143-70.

Poultney, E.C. (Paper No. 213)
Locomotive performance and its influence upon modern practice. 172-272.

Journal No. 80

Mass production as applied to the repairing of locomotives. Discussion meeting: 286-300.

Sanders, T.H. (Paper No. 214)
Railvay Springs. 301-35. Disc.: 439-51

Metcalfe, J.C. (Paper No. 215)
The exhaust steam injector. 355-90. Disc.: 453-65.
H.B. Oatley, a Vice-President of the Superheater Company in the USA, noted how the exhaust steam injector was being taken up in the USA.

Bell, A.M. (Paper No. 216)
Tare and load compared in modern locomotives and rolling stock. 398-422. Disc.: 422-38. 13 illus., 2 diagrs., 2 tables.

Journal 81

Falcolner, P.L.
The cylinder performance of cross-compound locomotives. 496-536.

Smeddle, R.A.
Some notes on locomotive fittings. 537-52

Gresley, H.N. Presidential Address
The present position of the locomotive building industry. 558-68.
Included an appeal for a locomotive testing station

Journal No. 82

Sedgfield, P. (Paper 219)
Some notes on unexplained? derailments. 578-602. Disc.: 602-21.
In Argentina: criticism of the diamond frame bogie for freight vehicles. Considerable amount of information on centres of gravity of various vehicles and their contents: sheep, cattle, wool, etc.

Shove, N.A. (Paper No. 220)
Grease lubrication, and notes on the working of locomotives in Canada and the United States. 625-43. Disc.: 643-59.
Shove had visited the two major Candian railroads and examined the two major railroads (New York Central and Pennsylvania) which entered New York to study locomotive pooling which at that time was being considered for railways in India.. As well as describing grease lubrication, Shove discussed the pooling of locomotives, the design of running sheds, turntables (three-point type), lighting, welding, machine tools, spray cleaning, ash handling and coaling. Power operated fire doors as supplied by the Franklin Co., rocking grates, ashpans, "King" metallic packing and Duplex automatic stokers. Boiler feed pumps were favoured over injectors. Roller bearings were fitted to express engines. Only one booster equipped locomotive was encountered. J.D. Rogers (643-4) contributed his own experience with grease lubrication. A.C. Carr (644-5) contrasted his experience in India and queried how white metal was not used in American bearings; the lack of coal measurements for individual locomotives was also of interest. C.N. Goodall (645-6), as a locomotive manufacturer was particularly interested in automtic stokers and boosters. W.A. Lelean (646-8) considered that grease lubrication aided pooling, by relieving the driver from the responsibility for oiling. He noted that the new standard Indian locomotives used labyrinth packing. He referred to the Great Western method of exhausting ashes from the smokebox instead of dropping them into a pit. But he considered that the automatic stoking equipment was far too heavy. W. Cyril Williams (648-9) noted that in South Africa a grease-lubricated engine had run the 616 miles between Johannesberg and Beaufort West three times without attention. J. Clayton (649-51) considered that the adoption of grease lubrication led to increased wear of the bearing surfaces. He was also critical of American locomotive design philosophy considering it to be based on a collection of parts bought from propietary firms. W.J. Tomes (651-2) accepted the concept of grease lubrication, and was also eager to adopt spray cleaning. E.C. Poultney (652-3) noted the very high cylinder horsepower developed on American locomotives and cited Metcalfe's "very good" paper on exhaust steam injectors. H. Holcroft (653-4) was antagonistic towards grease lubrication because of the difficulty in starting at low temperatures; the high running temperatures accepted in bearings. He was also against mechanical stokers (British coal was of high quality) and roundhouses for the space demanded for them. Gresley chaired the meeting and concluded the discussion (655-6): he had made experiments with grease lubrication but had not been impressed, but the locomotives had run hot and coal consumption had increased. He had found German manufactured cast iron packing to be excellent on superheated locomotives. He considered that only locomotives burning in excess of 5,000 lbs per hour require mechanical stokers.

Visit to Airdale Foundry, Leeds, November 4th, 1927. 660-1+ folding diagram.
Kitson-Still locomotive

Musgrave, G.A.
Address by the Chairman of the North Eastern Centre: Institution's welfare and progress. 664-86.
Relatively little of the Address was given over to an examination of the Instiution per se: most covered issuse which the speaker considered to be pertinent at the time. Firstly there was an examination of the increasing weight of locomotives on the LNER shown by a diagram which extended from Locomotion No. 1 at 11 tons via a Jenny Lind-type 2-2-2 at 33 tons; a Stirling 4-2-2 single  (72 tons); an Ivatt large Atlantic (112 tons); a Gresley Pacific (1149 tons) and P1 2-8-2 (151 tons) to the Beyer Garratt at 178 tons.

Topics covered included superheating (accessibility and reliability), cylinder lubrication (hydrostatic versus mechanical lubricators), the need for footplate crews to ensure that steam was admitted to the steam chest whilst coasting to ensure that grit did not enre the cylinders.

Gresley (682-5) responded at length and this is reproduced in full on the Gresley page as it says much about Gresley's design philosophy towards internal combustion locomotives, his response to the Schmidt high pressure boiler (to be exploted by Fowler in Fury), and to his coolness towards electric traction.