09. PACIFIC TYPE, FOUR-CYLINDER
LOCOMOTIVE, No. 6201, "PRINCESS ELIZABETH," LONDON, MIDLAND &
SCOTTISH RAILWAY.
This
4-6-2 four-cylinder express locomotive, designed by Mr. W. A. Stainer,
was built at Crewe Works in 1933 for the London, Midland &
Scottish Railway, for working the Anglo-Scottish trains of 500 tons
between Euston and Glasgow. It has a tractive power of no less than
40,300 lbs., the boiler having a fire grate area of 45 sq. ft., and a
total heating surface, excluding superheater, of 2,713 sq. ft. The
working pressure of the boiler is 250 lbs. per sq. in. The two inside
cylinders drive the first pair of coupled wheels, while the outside
drive the middle pair. The cylinders are each 16¼in. diameter by 28in.
stroke, and the coupled wheels are 6ft. 6in. diameter. The weight of
the engine loaded is 104½ tons, and of the tender, 54 tons 2 cwts. The
overall length is 74ft. 4½in.
CHAPTER
2
PRESENT-DAY PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES
DURING
the past ten years or so radical changes have been introduced in the
design of the steam locomotive, stimulated, no doubt, by the
competition of electricity and oil engines. The adoption of higher
working pressures seems to have opened up a new era not only in an
increase in the tractive power, but in efficiency also. When George
Stephenson built the Rocket
a
boiler pressure of 50 lbs. per sq. in. was employed, and pressures have
gradually increased until now there are many engines running in this
country working at 250 lbs. per sq. in.
The necessity for
greater locomotive power steadily increased, and engines have grown to
the maximum obtainable on the axle-loading permitted by the strength of
the permanent way and bridges, yet traffic needs more power. In the
latest types superheated steam is now universally used, considerably
increasing the efficiency of the locomotive with economies in the
consumption of fuel. Superheaters, as their name implies, are devices
for adding heat to the steam after it is generated, not only to remove
the moisture which ordinary saturated steam contains but of adding
sufficient heat to prevent condensation taking place in the cylinders,
where a portion of the energy is lost.
When increased train
loads demanded larger boiler capacity for the locomotives and a wider
fire-box, more weight had to be carried and more wheels were necessary,
consequently as the grate could no longer be accommodated between the
drivers a small pair of trailing wheels became indispensable.
This fact formed the basis of the design by H. A. Ivatt, locomotive
engineer of the G.N.R., for the first Atlantic or 4-4-2
type express engine in this country—No.
990 (now No. 3990 of the London & North Eastern Railway). The
main
characteristics are outside cylinders, two pairs of coupled wheels,
with a four-wheeled bogie at the leading end and a pair of trailing
wheels under the fire-box.
These engines were forerunners of the later Atlantics
with larger and wider fire-box boilers with 31 sq. ft. grate area, the
first of which, No. 251, left Doncaster Works in 1902. For over twenty
years they were the standard express engines of the G.N.R., and even
now they are to be seen working some of the fastest trains on the L.
& N.E. system, including the Queen of Scots
Pullman and the Harrogate and West Riding expresses.
Recent
passenger locomotives are for high speed express services, the speeding
up of which reflect their efficiency. We may take, as typical of these
locomotives, the 4-6-0 Royal
Scot, of the L.M. & S.R., 4-6-0 King George V, of
the G.W., 4-6-0 Lord
Nelson, of the Southern, and 4-6-2 Flying Scotsman
of the L. & N.E.R. The first named has three cylinders only,
18in.
in diameter ; the second and third have four cylinders, 16¼ and 16½in.
diameter respectively, two outside and two inside, while the fourth has
three cylinders, 20in. diameter.
These locomotives are fine
specimens of design, and well up to their work with the heaviest
trains. If still more powerful engines are needed, it is due to the
gradients which have to be climbed at some points. The ideal engine is
one that can take trains without help over these grades.
In 1927
the L.M. & S.R. decided to provide a more powerful locomotive
for
dealing with heavy through passenger trains by the West Coast route,
between London and Edinburgh, 400 miles, and Glasgow, 401½ miles, and
also for other main line sections of the system. With this end in view,
a three-cylinder simple-expansion superheated engine of the 4-6-0 type
was designed of sufficient capacity. The inside cylinder drives on the
crank axle of the leading pair of driving wheels and the two outside
cylinders the middle pair. The first of the series—No.
6100—was
named Royal Scot
and this
title has been applied to the whole of the class. There are seventy of
these engines in service; the first fifty were built in 1927 by the
North British Locomotive Co., and numbered 6100 to 6149 inclusive, a
further series of twenty engines, numbered 6150 to 6169, built in the
Company's workshops at Derby followed in 1930. These engines carry a
working pressure of 250 lbs. per sq. in. The three cylinders are each
18in. diameter by 26in. stroke, and the coupled wheels are 6ft. 9in.
diameter. The tractive efffort is 33,150 lbs.
In order to permit
locomotives to haul long distance non-stopping trains, water troughs
are provided at intervals which vary from 25 to 60 miles apart. This
arrangement enables water to be picked up without stopping by water
scoop apparatus fitted on the tender and operated by hand-screw gear.
By this means 1,500 gallons of water can be picked up in 20 seconds.
These troughs have on the average a length of 440 yards, and are
automatically refilled from tanks at the side of the line. This system
of replenishing locomotives with feed-water was devised by the late
John Ramsbottom, of the L. & N.W.R., back in the 'fifties.
The
L.M. & S. main line between Lancaster and Carlisle, rising from
sea-level to 915ft. up, at Shap Summit, is 32 miles and is a severe tax
on locomotive capacity. When the load exceeds thirteen coaches the Royal Scots take an
assistant engine over this gradient, which for four miles is at 1 in 75.
It will be remembered that the engine Royal Scot
was shown at the Century of Progress Exhibition, Chicago, in 1933,
after an exhibition tour of the principal cities of Canada and the
United States. To conform to American requirements, the engine was
fitted with a large electric headlight, as well as a warning bell,
which is still carried on the front end. Some of these engines bear the
names of famous regiments in the British Army, whilst others perpetuate
the names of celebrated engines of the past.
The L.M. &
S.R., in 1933, completed at Crewe Works the first two of a new class of
passenger locomotives of the "Pacific" type—the Princess Royal (No.
6200), and Princess
Elizabeth
(No. 6201), designed by Mr. W. A. Stanier, chief mechanical engineer,
for service on the heaviest expresses between London and Scotland. They
are the most powerful passenger locomotives on the system, and share
with the "King" class of the G.W.R. the distinction of being the most
powerful six-coupled type (on a tractive effort basis) in the country.
Whereas
the maximum load for the "Royal Scot" type, unassisted has been 420
tons, the new engines take trains up to 500 tons without assistance.
The four cylinders are each 16¼in. diameter by 28in. stroke, and the
coupled wheels 6ft. 6in. diameter. The boiler has a firegrate area of
45 sq. ft., and a total heating surface (excluding superheater) of
2,713 sq. ft.; working pressure is 250 lbs. per sq. in. Development of
the high tractive effort of 40,300 lbs. has been made possible by the
employment, in conjunction with the large boiler, of the four-cylinder
simple expansion arrangement, providing good balancing with a load of
22½ tons on each of the driving axles. The tender—carried on three
axles with roller-bearing journals—carries 4,000 gallons of water and 9
tons of coal. Total weight of engine and tender in working order is 158
tons 12 cwts., and the overall length is 74ft. 4¼in. These engines make
the longest regular daily through locomotive journey, from London
(Euston) to Glasgow (Central) and vice versa, 401½ miles each day,
climbing en route Shap and Beattock summits of 915ft. and 1,014ft.
above sea-level, respectively.
The
latest design of
three-cylinder 4-6-0 express engine of the L.M. & S.R. (5 X
class)
has a tapered boiler barrel, with a working pressure of 225 lbs. per
sq. in. The coupled wheels are 6ft. 9in. diameter, and the three
cylinders are 17in. diameter by 26in. stroke, with separate sets of
Walschaert valve gear. The boiler has an outside diameter of 5ft.
increasing to 5ft. 8⅜in., and is 13ft. 10in. in length. The feed water
is supplied through valves provided on top of the boiler. The roomy cab
has the driver's stand on the left-hand side, and is provided with
tip-up seats. The tender carries 3,500 gallons of water and 7 tons of
coal, although some have larger ones carrying 4,000 gallons of water
and 9 tons of coal. Total weight of engine and tender, loaded, is 134
tons 17 cwts.
The first of the G.W. four-cylinder 4-6-0 express engines of the
"Castle" class, the famous No. 4073, Caerphilly Castle,
was built at Swindon in 1923, and shown at the British Empire
Exhibition at Wembley of 1924. It is an enlargement of the earlier
4-6-0 express engines, with cylinders 16in. diameter by 26in. stroke.
It has a tapered boiler 5ft. 9in. diameter at the fire-box end, with a
length of 14ft. 10in. The coupled wheels are 6ft. 8½in. diameter. The
total heating surface is 2,312 sq. ft., and the grate area 30.28 sq.
ft. The working pressure is 225 lbs. per sq. in. The tractive effort is
31,625 lbs.
The "Castle" class proved very efficient, but a
later and heavier design is the much admired "King" type, first built
at Swindon Works in 1927, to the designs of Mr. C. B. Collett, chief
mechanical engineer. The two inside cylinders drive on the inside
cranks of the leading pair of wheels, and the outside pair are placed
farther back and drive on the outside cranks of the second coupled
axle. The four cylinders are each 16¼in. diameter by 28in. stroke; the
driving wheels are 6ft. 6in. diameter, and the tractive effort at 85%
of the boiler pressure is 40,300 lbs. The boiler has a conical barrel
16ft. long and 6ft. maximum diameter; the fire-box is of the Belpaire
type, 11ft. 6in. long outside, with a grate area of 34.3 sq. ft. The
heating surface is 2,514 sq. ft., and steam pressure 250 lbs. per sq.
in. The weight on each pair of coupled wheels is 22½ tons, and the
total weight 89 tons. The tender carries 4,000 gallons of water and 6
tons of coal. Total weight of engine and tender is 135.7 tons.
Designed
to keep time with trains weighing up to 360 tons on the heavy inclines
on the South Devon section of the main line, engines of both the
"Castle" and "King" classes have gained an excellent reputation for
efficiency in haulage, capacity and speed. One of the "Castle"
class—No. 5006, Tregenna
Castle—when
hauling the Cheltenham Flyer covered the 77.3 miles from Swindon to
Paddington in 56¾ minutes; 39 miles of this were run at an average
speed of about 90 m.p.h.
The first of the "King" class—No. 6000, King George V—was
sent to the United States to take part in the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Centenary celebrations, in 1927, and as a memento of the visit
was presented with a large brass bell, similar to those carried on
American locomotives, and this is still on the front buffer beam.
The
well-known "Lord Nelson" class engines of the S.R. will haul trains of
500 tons at an average speed of 55 miles an hour over any section of
the main lines. The four cylinders are all 16½in. diameter by 26in.
stroke, placed in line, the inside pair driving the first coupled axle
and the outside pair the second axle; each is actuated by separate
Walschaert valve gear. A peculiar feature of these engines is that, in
order to avoid a dead centre, the four cranks are set at an angle of
135° to each other. This means that four exhaust beats occur with every
revolution of the wheels. It is usual in four-cylinder engines to
simply duplicate the two-cylinder arrangement by setting all four
cranks at 90° to each other, but this still means only four efforts—or
exhaust beats—for each revolution, as in the two-cylinder type. In the
"Lord Nelson" class the cranks are so spaced that eight efforts, or
exhaust beats, are obtained per revolution, which means more even
turning effort. In other words, double the number—but smaller—efforts
are made during one revolution, and thus the stresses are not only
lower but more equalized, through each turn of the driving wheels, and,
consequently, there is less wear and tear throughout; also there is the
advantage of more even draught upon the fire, and conducive to better
combustion. The coupled wheels are 6ft. 7in. diameter, with a wheelbase
of 17ft., and the tractive effort is 33,510 lbs. The boiler has a
Belpaire fire-box; its total heating surface is 2,365 sq. ft., and the
grate area is 33 sq. ft. The working pressure is 220 lbs. per sq. in.
There
are sixteen of these engines in service between London (Victoria) and
Dover, and on the Bournemouth and Salisbury services from Waterloo.
The
bulk of the express services on the Dover, Bournemouth and Exeter main
lines of the S.R. is worked by the "King Arthur" class of 4-6-0
two-cylinder express locomotives, brought out in 1925. They are named
after the "Knights of the Round Table," and other characters mentioned
in the Arthurian legend.
Until the "Nelson" class was introduced
in 1926 they were the most powerful passenger engines on the Southern.
They have 20½in. by 26in. cylinders, and 200 lbs. per sq. in. boiler
pressure. To conform to the smaller loading gauge of the Eastern
section, modifications have been made in the shape of the driver's cab,
etc.
A number of really powerful locomotives of the 4-4-0 type,
with three cylinders, have been built since 1930 at the Eastleigh Works
of the S.R., for the main line routes to the Kentish coast resorts, as
well as to Portsmouth, where severe gradients and increasing weight of
modern rolling stock require their use. The restricted construction
gauge of the Hastings line necessitate them being as small and compact
as possible. These engines are named after famous public schools, hence
they are known as the "Schools" class.
Although not nearly as
large and heavy as the "Lord Nelson" and "King Arthur" classes, these
engines rank as the most powerful four-coupled type in the country. Due
to load limitations on the axles a round-topped fire-box was adopted
instead of the Belpaire pattern; this, however, permits a better
outlook for the driver. The three cylinders are each 16½in. diameter by
26in. stroke, and the driving wheels 6ft. 7in. diameter, spaced 10ft.
centre to centre. The piston valves are driven by three separate sets
of Walschaert valve gear. At 85% of the boiler pressure of 220 lbs. per
sq. in., the tractive effort is 25,130 lbs. The boiler barrel is 5ft.
5¾in. diameter and 11ft. 9in. long; its heating surface is 1,766 sq.
ft., and grate area 28.3 sq. ft. The superheater surface is 283 sq. ft.
The engine weighs 67.1 tons, of which 42 tons rest on the coupled
wheels. The tender carries 4,000 gallons of water and 5 tons of coal.
Between
1914 and 1922, seven large 4-6-4 type tank locomotives were built by
the L.B. & S.C.R. at Brighton Works. These conformed to the
construction gauge of the L.B. & S.C.R., which is larger than
of
other lines forming part of the S.R., and so confined their use to the
Brighton section. In view of the electrification of the lines from
London to Brighton, and Eastbourne, these engines were no longer
required for the work for which they were designed. They have,
therefore, been converted to 4-6-0 type tender engines at Eastleigh
Works. The first one dealt with is engine No. 2329, which bears the
name Stephenson.
The numbers and names allotted to the other six are: 2327, Trevithick, 2328 Hackworth, 2330 Cudworth, 2331 Beattie, 2332 Stroudley, and 2333
Remembrance.
A new cab with side windows has been fitted and also a shorter chimney,
enabling the engines to be used on almost any of the Southern main
lines. The main particulars are: cylinders, 22in. diameter by 28in.
stroke; coupled wheels, 6ft. 9in. diameter; boiler heating surface,
evaporative 1,816 sq. ft.; superheater, 838 sq. ft. Total 2,199 sq. ft.
Grate area, 26.6 sq. ft. Weight of engine in working order, 73 tons 9
cwts. The bogie tender carries 5,000 gallons of water, with a coal
capacity of 5 tons. Tractive effort is estimated at 25,600 lbs. Working
pressure has been increased to 180 lbs. per sq. in.
The
"Pacific," or 4-6-2 type engines of the L. & N.E.R., introduced
in
1922, work the express trains by the East Coast route to Scotland, and
during the summer cover the 392¾ miles between London and Edinburgh
without stop.
There are now seventy-eight of these engines in
service; all but six bear names after famous race-horses, the majority
of which have won the Derby or St. Leger. The striking features are the
large boiler and fire-box, in particular. The grate is wider than it is
long, with an area of 41¼ sq. ft. Further, the inner fire-box projects
forward into the boiler barrel, thus shortening the length between
tubeplates; the result is a fire-box with a heating surface of 215 sq.
ft. The boiler barrel is 5ft. 9in. diameter outside, at its least, and
6ft. 5in. at its largest diameter. Working pressure is 180 lbs. per sq.
in. The heating surface is 3,455 sq. ft., of which the superheater
contributes 525 sq. ft. Later engines of this type have been built with
boilers carrying 220 lbs. per sq. in. pressure. The engines detailed to
work the non-stop "Flying Scotsman" trains are provided with special
corridor tenders to enable the driver and fireman to be changed en
route. This tender runs on eight wheels, and carries 5,000 gallons of
water and 9 tons of coal. The total weight of engine and tender is 154
tons. These engines have 6ft. 8in. driving wheels, and three cylinders,
20in. diameter by 26in. stroke.
A good method of testing the
power of an engine is to work it on a road for which it had not been
specially built, thus the L. & N.E. and G.W.R., in 1925,
exchanged
locomotives for awhile. The G.W.R. Pendennis
Castle ran the "Flying Scotsman" between King's Cross and
York; and Victor Wild,
of the L. & N.E.R., the "Cornish Riviera" to Plymouth and back.
Both engines proved themselves able to deal efficiently with the
trains, and, although the G.W. engine was lighter and burned less coal,
general results were not decisive.
Mention should be made of a
remarkable test run made on November 30th, 1934, from King's Cross to
Leeds and back, with Pacific engine No. 4472, Flying Scotsman,
with a train of four vehicles, or about 145 tons. It left King's Cross
at 9.8 a.m. and arrived at Leeds (Central) 2 hrs. 32 mins. later, thus
achieving an average speed of 73.4 m.p.h. for the 185¾ miles. On one
stretch of 25 miles an average of 90½ m.p.h. was maintained. The return
journey, with six coaches attached, took 2 hrs. 37 mins., or 5 minutes
longer. Near Little Bytham a speed of 100 m.p.h. was attained. The
gradients run to 1 in 200 between London and Doncaster, and 1 in 100
thence to Leeds.
The L. & N.E.R. beat the world's record for
speed made by a steam train by running from London to Newcastle-on-Tyne
under four hours on March 5th, 1935, the distance being 268 miles. The
train was hauled by Pacific type engine No. 2750, Papyrus,
built in 1929, and comprised a dynamometer car, restaurant car, three
first-class corridor coaches, and brake van—a weight of 213 tons.
The
train left King's Cross at 9.8 a.m. and reached Newcastle at 1.4½ p.m.,
nearly 4 minutes ahead of schedule. As far as Doncaster, timings were
inside schedule, but owing to a derailment of some wagons at Arksey, it
was necessary to slow down and finally stop, because of single line
working ahead. In consequence, the train was a minute behind time
passing York (188 miles) in 2¼ hours, but at Darlington the lost time
had been regained; the average speed for the whole journey was 67½
m.p.h., or 68½ if 4 minutes is allowed for the Doncaster delay. The
highest speed recorded was 88 m.p.h.
At Gateshead sheds Papyrus
was found to be in excellent condition and at 3.47 p.m. the return
journey was begun. As far as Grantham schedule times only were kept, as
a long slack was necessary north of Doncaster, at the scene of the
derailed coal train, but after this driver Sparshatt took the
opportunity of showing what his engine could do. For twelve miles from
Corby and down the long drop from Stoke signal box to Tallington, the
average speed was over 100 m.p.h., whilst just south of Little Bytham
105.5 m.p.h. was registered for 30 seconds, and for 10 seconds it
reached 108 m.p.h.
The whole journey from Newcastle to King's
Cross was completed in 3 hrs. 51 mins. at an average speed of 69.6
miles an hour. The train had thus covered 536.4. miles in 7 hrs. 47½
mins.
The latest design of express engine of the L. & N.E.R. is to
deal with the problem of working single-headed, trains up to 550 tons
over the Edinburgh-Aberdeen section, which abounds in heavy grades and
several speed restrictions, and needs spurts of high-speed to maintain
the running schedules. The 2-8-2 wheel arrangement has been adopted by
Mr. Gresley, so that the wheelbase has not been unduly protracted,
being only 2ft. 2in. in excess of the Pacifics. The apparent
streamlining effect is introduced mainly to raise the exhaust steam and
smoke clear of the driver's cab. The side sheets form a complete
covering, right up to the limits of the construction gauge of the
projections on the boiler barrel, and so prevent smoke eddies forming.
The long-shaped dome is covered, and acts as a steam collector,
communicating with the boiler by a number of slots; it also houses the
regulator. The grate area is 50 sq. ft., and this is the largest yet
provided on a British express locomotive. By using eight-coupled
driving wheels, a total adhesion of 80 tons 12 cwts. is obtained
without unduly loading individual axles. In working order the total
weight of the engine is 110 tons 5 cwts. Three cylinders, 21in. in
diameter and 26in. stroke, drive on to coupled wheels, 6ft. 2in.
diameter. With a boiler working pressure of 220 lbs. per sq. in., the
engine develops a tractive effort of 43,462 lbs.
The first of the class—No. 2001, Cock
o' the North—has cam-operated poppet valves and gear,
while the second, No. 2002, Earl
Marischal, has piston valves and Walschaert motion. The
tender, which accommodates 8 tons of coal and 5,000 gallons of water,
and is carried on eight wheels, weighs in working order 55 tons 6
cwts., so that the total weight of the engine and tender together
amounts to 165 tons 11 cwts.
To deal with the traffic requirements of East Anglia, a special design
of three-cylinder 4-6-0 engine was introduced by Mr. Gresley in 1928.
For its size and weight it is a powerful machine, and well suited for
the heavy gradients met with on the Great Eastern section. By
permission of H.M. the King, the first of the series, No. 2800, is
named Sandringham.
The remainder bear names of country seats, except No. 2845, which is
named the Suffolk
Regiment.
The diameter of 17½in. and the piston stroke of 26in. is common to all
cylinders. The drive is divided, the inside cylinder acting upon the
leading coupled axle, and the external pair upon the middle coupled
wheels. The boiler barrel is in two rings of 5ft. 6in. and 5ft. 4½in.
diameter, with a length of 13ft. 6in. The boiler pressure is 200 lbs.
per sq. in., and the tractive effort is 25,380 lbs.
For lighter main line and cross-country services, particularly in the
north-east of England and Scotland, Mr. Gresley introduced in 1927 a
class of powerful three-cylinder 4-4-0 express locomotives.
Twenty-eight of these symmetrical looking engines were built at
Darlington during 1927-28, and another eight in 1929, and named after
the "Shires." A further series of forty have been named after famous
"Hunts" in the districts served by the L. & N.E.R., whilst two
of the original set have been renamed after "Hunts."
The three-cylinders are in one casting, and are 17in. diameter, with a
stroke of 26in. Piston valves, 8in. diameter, with a maximum travel of
6in., are actuated by Walschaert motion for the outside cylinders, and
by Gresley gear for the inside valve, the levers for driving the latter
being arranged behind the cylinders and operated by the outside motion.
Six of the "Shire" series, and the whole of the "Hunt" class, have
cylinders served by poppet valves. The six "Shire" class engines have
poppet valves operated by Walschaert gear and oscillating cams; the
"Hunt" class have poppet valves operated by rotary cams. They have
coupled wheels, 6ft. 8in. diameter, carry a working pressure of 180
lbs. per sq. in., and have a heating surface of 1669.58 sq. ft., and
grate area of 26 sq. ft.
10. THE "TORBAY LIMITED"
EXPRESS, GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY, PASSING TWYFORD. (Photo: A. P. Reavil.)
At 12 o'clock noon, the down "Torbay Limited," one of the principal
trains of the Great Western Railway, leaves Paddington on its run of
199¾ miles to Torquay, where it is due at 3.35 p.m., maintaining an
average speed of 56.2 miles per hour. It is worked by locomotives of
the "Castle" or "King" class, and frequently comprises fourteen
coaches, weighing well over 500 tons. The running between Paddington
and Exeter, 179¾ miles in 169 minutes, averages 61.6 m.p.h.
There
are very few gradients worth mentioning on the run of the "Torbay
Limited," as from London to Reading it is nearly dead level, and thence
onward there are few trying grades other than the stiff climb from
Taunton up to Whitehall summit, so that this train is much easier to
work than the famous 10.30 "Cornish Riviera Ltd.," which has some
terribly hard climbs beyond Newton Abbot, with the load cut down to
eight coaches, or 300 tons.
11. THE "GOLDEN ARROW, PULLMAN,
LIMITED," SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
(Photo: H. G. Tidey.)
From Victoria Station, London, to Dover Marine Station, the distance is
78 miles, and the time scheduled 93 minutes, does not appear
particularly remarkable, but a congested and exacting road are reasons
why the running is not accelerated. The "Golden Arrow" is the British
portion of the Paris and London service of that name, and, when started
a few years back, was made up of Pullman cars only, but owing to the
falling off in Continental traffic now consists of four or five
Pullmans included in the ordinary 11 o'clock boat train, usually worked
by a "Lord Nelson" or "King Arthur" class engine.
12. "ROYAL SCOT"
TRAIN, LONDON, MIDLAND & SCOTTISH RAILWAY.
(Photo: H. G. Tidey.)
These expresses, which leave London and Scotland simultaneously at 10
a.m. every week-day, are made up of fifteen corridor carriages of the
most modern design, weighing about 417 tons, empty. Of these, nine work
between London and Glasgow (Central), and six to and from Edinburgh
(Princes Street). Running non-stop during the summer season from Euston
to Kingmoor (just north of Carlisle), 300 miles, engines are changed
here, and then a second stop is made at Symington to divide the train.
The 401½ miles between London and Glasgow are covered in 7 hrs. 40
mins., or at the rate of 52.4 miles per hour. In the return direction
the Glasgow and Edinburgh portions are combined at Symington, and the
next stop is at Carlisle (No. 12 signal box). The up train is due at
Euston at 5.40 p.m.
When the train is run in two sections,
the Symington stop is often omitted.
13. THE "FLYING SCOTSMAN,"
LONDON & NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY.
(Photo: H. G. Tidey)
Usually this famous train is made up of nine 60ft. cars, together with
a triplet restaurant car set, representing a load of 550 tons out of
London, when, in the summer, it makes its non-stop run between the
capital cities of England and Scotland, 392¾ miles, both north and
south in 7½ hours; the average speed is 52.4 miles per hour throughout.
Corridor
tenders are provided, so that a relief crew is carried, and a
changeover made half-way. The tender carries 5,000 gallons of water,
and picks up as much again from the six water troughs laid down on the
way. The equipment of the train includes a Louis XVI restaurant car,
electric kitchen, ladies' retiring room, hair-dressing saloon, and
Vita-glass windows.
14. THE "WEST RIDING PULLMAN"
EXPRESS, NEAR POTTERS BAR, LONDON & NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY.
(Photo: E. R. Wethersett.)
Made up of seven or eight Pullman cars, weighing between 300 and 340
tons, the "West Riding Pullman" is made up of two portions—King's Cross
and Halifax (202¾ miles), and King's Cross and Newcastle, via Harrogate
(280¾ miles), dividing at Wakefield. It leaves King's Cross at 4.45
p.m. every week-day and, after making four stops, completes the journey
to Halifax in 4 hrs. 12 mins., and to Newcastle in 5 hrs. 38 mins.
On Sundays its place is taken by the "Harrogate
Sunday
Pullman," non-stop to Leeds, where division takes place so as to serve
Harrogate and Bradford.
These trains are amongst
the fastest on the London & North Eastern Railway system, and
are
usually worked by the very efficient "Atlantic" type engines of the
erstwhile Great Northern Railway.
15. THE "IRISH MAIL" PASSING
CONWAY, LONDON, MIDLAND & SCOTTISH RAILWAY.
Between Euston and Holyhead—263¾ miles—there
are two "Irish Mail" trains each way on week days, for the steamers to
Kingstown, for Dublin. The trains are usually worked by 4-6-0,
three-cylinder engines of the rebuilt "Baby Scot" class, with 6ft. 9in.
drivers, which work at the high pressure of 200 lbs. per sq. inch. The
cylinders are 18in. dia. x 26in. stroke.
After
mounting the incline from Euston to Camden, the grading of the line all
the way to Holyhead is particularly good and the running easy, so that
in spite of the heavy loads, remarkably good time-keeping is the rule.
En route from Chester, the Conway river and the Menai Straits are
crossed by iron, tubular bridges. The latter, Robert Stephenson's
famous Britannia Bridge, is carried on three towers, the centre one
built on the Britannia rock, and 230ft. in height. The two main spans
are no less than 460ft. long, while the distance above water level is
more than 100ft.
The illustration shows the day "Irish
Mail" passing the picturesque ruins of Conway Castle.
CHAPTER
3
MODERN MIXED TRAFFIC, GOODS AND
TANK ENGINES
TWO
main considerations have governed the locomotive construction policy of
the British railways during recent years; first, reliability, in order
to obtain by more intensive use a greater revenue-earning mileage, and
secondly, the development of a locomotive which can appropriately
handle both passenger and freight trains.
Mixed traffic engines,
as they are termed, are generally of the 2-6-0 type and, although they
rarely have large driving wheels, can travel at fairly high speeds. The
majority have outside cylinders, whilst a number on the L. &
N.E.
and S. Rys. are of the three-cylinder type. Until recently the
standard, L.M. & S. mixed traffic engines, introduced in 1926,
had
the cylinders slightly inclined, which enabled them to be set higher
than the cranks, to clear station platforms, which they slightly
overlap. The later designs, with a higher pressure of 200 lbs. per sq.
in., have horizontal cylinders of smaller bore but providing a similar
tractive effort.
The first 2-6-0 engines of a definite mixed
traffic character appeared on the Great Western in 1910. Coupled wheels
of 5ft. 8in. diameter enable a good speed to be obtained on passenger
services, and sufficient power to be developed to work fairly heavy
goods trains.
Another numerous class of Great Western engine of
the 4-6-0 two-cylinder type with 6ft. wheels, introduced in 1928, has
proved very efficient for hauling excursion trains, as well as fast
freight; these bear names of famous "Halls" on the Great Western line.
They have 18½in. by 30in. outside cylinders, and carry a working
pressure of 225 lbs. per sq. in.; the tractive effort is 27,275 lbs.
The boiler is of the taper pattern, with Belpaire fire-box and
top-feed. Audible signalling apparatus is fitted in the cab for use
with the automatic train stop installation, with which the Great
Western main lines are now equipped. Other particulars are: total
heating surface, 2,104. sq. ft.; grate area, 27.07 sq. ft. The engine
in working order weighs 75 tons, and the tender, when loaded with 3,500
gallons of water and 6 tons of coal, 40 tons.
Mention should
also be made of the "4700" class of Great Western 2-8-0's. These
engines are exceptional, as they are the only ones in this country with
coupled wheels of a diameter of 5ft. 8in.
A numerous and very
efficient class of 2-6-0 mixed traffic engine is adopted by the S.R.
for fast goods trains to and from Southampton and the West of England,
and on the Eastern section also, as well as for excursion traffic when
required; on the heavily-graded lines west of Exeter they are used for
all classes of traffic. These have driving wheels, 5ft. 6in. diameter
and cylinders 19in. by 28in. They carry a working pressure of 200 lbs.
per sq. in.
For heavy goods trains hauled at moderate speeds,
small wheels are better adapted to the class of traffic. By coupling
the wheels with side rods the power exerted by the cylinders is
communicated to all the wheels at once; the larger the number of
coupled wheels the better the adhesion which the engine gets on the
rail. To provide sufficient tractive effort, a boiler that will
generate enough steam must be provided, and, to spread the weight over
a fair length of line, the engine must be sufficiently long.
Until
recent years the standard freight and shunting engine design of the
British railways has been the six-coupled or 0-6-0 type, and as a proof
of their general utility are still being constructed as a general
standard for the L. & N.E. and G.W. Rys. The latest examples on
the
former and used for mineral traffic in the Fife and Edinburgh districts
are of the "J 38" class, which have coupled wheels, 4ft. 8in. diameter,
and cylinders 20in. diameter by 26in. stroke. Another 0-6-0 class, the
"J 39," with larger wheels, 5ft. 2in. diameter have proved most useful
with fast goods or excursion traffic.
The
G.W.R., in 1930, built twenty 0-6-0 engines for light main line traffic
and branch line services. These engines have taper boilers and large
cabs, with side windows and up-to-date equipment, including audible cab
signalling apparatus. They have inside cylinders, 17½in by 24in.;
coupled wheels, 5ft. 2in. diameter, and work at a pressure of 200 lbs.
per sq. in. The tractive effort is 20,155 lbs.
A large number of
0-6-0 superheater goods engines were built from 1911 onwards for the
Midland Railway, and its successors, the L.M. & S.R., to the
designs of Sir Henry Fowler, then chief mechanical engineer. They have
two inside cylinders, 20in. diameter by 26in. stroke, with six-coupled
driving wheels, 5ft. 3in. diameter, on a wheelbase of 16ft. 6in. The
tractive effort at 85% of the boiler pressure is 24,555 lbs. The boiler
has a total heating surface of 1,410 sq. ft., and a grate area of 21.1
sq. ft., the steam pressure being 175 lbs. per sq. in.
The L.M.
& S.R. have thirty-three Beyer-Garratt articulated locomotives
of
the 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 type, for hauling coal trains between Toton, in
Derbyshire, and Brent sidings, near London, a distance of 126 miles on
a schedule of under 8 hours. These are powerful machines, with a light
axle loading, thus obviating strengthening many of the bridges on the
Midland division. Each engine has four cylinders, 18½in. diameter by
26in. stroke, with driving wheels, 5ft. 3in. diameter. The steam
pressure is 190 lbs. per sq. in., and the tractive effort 45,620 lbs.
Each
of the L.M. & S.R. Beyer-Garratts replaces two ordinary
locomotives
while hauling trains of about 1,400 tons weight, or 90 loaded wagons.
On the return journey they take 100 empty wagons (train limited in
length). These engines have an overall length of 87ft. 10½in., and
weigh 145 tons 14 cwts. A curious arrangement of barrel-shaped coal
bunker is provided on these engines. The coal is put into a large
cylinder, which slopes slightly towards the foot- plate. By turning a
handle in the cab the bunker starts to revolve, bringing down the coal
to the front, where the fireman can easily deal with it with his shovel—this
tends to lighten his labour; the turning is effected by a small steam
engine. Being covered in, no coal dust from the bunker is blown into
the cab when the engine is running bunker first.
For ordinary
goods and the mineral traffic from South Wales, "Consolidation," or
2-8-0 type locomotives are preferred by the Great Western, and for the
Derby and Nottingham coal trains to London by the L. & N.E.R.,
whilst the L.M. & S.R. are also using some of this type.
The
Great Western 2-8-0 engines were put into service in 1903, and were the
first of the type in this country. They have 4ft. 7½in. diameter
wheels; outside cylinders, 18½in. by 30in. and taper boilers. They work
at 200 lbs. pressure, and have 2,143 sq. ft. of heating surface. Later
ones have 225 lbs. pressure. The latest L. & N.E.R.
Consolidations
have three high pressure cylinders, all 18½in. by 26in. stroke; 4ft.
8in. diameter coupled wheels; and boilers 5ft. 6in. diameter, and on
the main line are rated to haul 80 wagons of coal (1,300 tons) from
Peterborough to London. The L.M. & S.R. has a large number of
0-8-0
type engines, as also has the L. & N.E.R. The L.M. & S.
engines
have inside cylinders, 19in. by 26in., and coupled wheels, 4ft. 8½in.
diameter. Boiler pressure 200 lbs. per sq. in. Tractive force, 28,250
lbs.
Designed to haul mineral trains of 100 loaded wagons, or
1,600 tons, on the Great Northern main line, two engines of the
"Mikado," or 2-8-2 type, Nos. 2393-4., built at Doncaster in 1925, were
the first of the type in the British Isles. Further, they were each
fitted with an auxiliary "booster" engine, working on the trailing
wheels, to assist the locomotive when starting, or ascending the
heavier gradients. These locomotives have three cylinders, 20in. by
26in. stroke. The coupled wheels are 5ft. 2in. diameter, or 6in. larger
than the 2-8-0 engine of 1921, and a higher speed can be attained. The
"booster" has two cylinders, 10in. diameter with a stroke of
12in., providing an additional tractive effort of 8,500 lbs. and making
the maximum tractive effort of the engine 47,000 lbs. The weight of the
engine and tender just exceeds 151 tons.
In 1919 Sir Henry
Fowler designed for the L.M. & S.R., for assisting trains up
the
Lickey Incline, between Cheltenham and Birmingham, two miles at 1 in
37, a large ten-coupled tender engine, with four cylinders 16¾in.
diameter by 28in. stroke, and 4ft. 7⅛in. wheels. Two piston valves only
are provided, operated by Walschaert valve gear. This engine weights
73¾ tons, and is the only ten-coupled engine in Great Britain.
Previously two 0-6-0 tank engines had to be used together for the
banking of heavy trains, but "No. 2290" does the work alone. The
incline mentioned is the steepest on any main line in the country, and
the engine spends all its working life running up and down this
two-mile stretch. A large electric headlight is used for "spotting" the
train to be banked up when coming on behind, as the engine is not
actually coupled to the train and just slacks off at the summit.
Tank locomotives are often employed on fast passenger as well as goods
trains, even for fairly long distances.
On
the G.W.R. the 2-6-2 arrangement was introduced in 1903. This engine
had 5ft. 8in. wheels, outside cylinders 18in. by 30in., taper boiler,
and tanks holding 1,380 gallons of water. A later series had larger
boilers and 2,000 gallon tanks. More recently they have all been fitted
with superheaters. Many are used for assisting trains through the
Severn tunnel. A later class—"4500"—first built in 1906, have 4ft.
7½in. wheels, outside cylinders 17in. by 24in., and tanks carrying
1,000 gallons of water. A similar, but still lighter, class for certain
small branches have 4ft. 1½in. wheels and 17in. by 24in. cylinders.
For
the L. & N.E.R. fast suburban traffic in the Edinburgh and
Newcastle areas and the services from Glasgow in connection with the
Clyde and Loch Lomond steamers a handsome tank engine of similar type
but with three cylinders was designed by Mr. H. N. Gresley, chief
mechanical engineer, and built at Doncaster in 1930 and later.
The
cylinders are each 16in. diameter by 26in. stroke, driving the second
pair of coupled wheels. Steam distribution is effected by Walschaert
gear to the outside valves and by the Gresley gear, operated by
extensions to the front of the outside valve spindles for the inside
valve. The coupled wheels are 5ft. 8in. diameter. The boiler, with a
working pressure of 180 lbs. per sq. in., is 5ft. diameter and 12ft.
2in. long.
The Great Western put into service in 1910 a 2-8-0
tank engine, known as the "5200" class, for dealing with the coal
traffic in South Wales from the pits to the port of shipment. Owing to
the falling off in the export trade they were not required for this
service, and have been converted at Swindon to the 2-8-2 type, having
larger coal and water capacity to make them suitable for main line
mineral service. They have two cylinders, 19in. diameter by 30in.
stroke; driving wheels, 4ft. 7½in. diameter; boiler pressure 200 lbs.
per sq. in. Tractive effort, 33,170 lbs. Water capacity of tanks, 2,500
gallons. Weight in working order, 92 tons 12 cwts.
An example of
the efforts made to improve the working conditions afforded enginemen
will be appreciated by comparing some of the old engines referred to
earlier in this book and the modern 2-6-4 type tank engines for fast
suburban services of the L.M. & S.R. A closed-in cab, with
let-down
windows, is provided, while the sides of the coal bunker have been
"flared" to give perfect visibility when running bunker first. There is
also a "sunshine roof," or sliding panel, in the roof of the cab, for
extra ventilation in hot weather. This engine has two cylinders, 19in.
diameter by 26in. stroke ; driving wheels, 5ft. 9in. diameter; boiler
pressure, 200 lbs. per sq. in.; tractive effort, 24,600 lbs.
CHAPTER
4
SOME
UNUSUAL TYPES OF STEAM LOCOMOTIVES
CONVENTIONAL
designs of steam locomotives are usually described by a distinctive
name, such as "Mogul," "Consolidation," "Mikado," "Atlantic,"
"Mountain," "Pacific," etc. The distinctive name is generally followed
by figures, which denote the arrangement of the wheels by what is known
as the "Whyte" numerical system of classification. Commencing at the
front, the wheels are divided into three groups: leading bogie, or pony
truck; driving wheels, and trailing truck, or bogie, wheels. Thus the
numerical classification of a "Mogul" locomotive is 2-6-0, indicating a
two-wheeled pony truck, six-coupled driving wheels and no trailing
wheels. A "Mikado" 2-8-2 signifies a two-wheeled bogie truck, eight
driving wheels and a two-wheeled trailing truck, and so on.
There have been many ingenious efforts to depart from traditional
designs in a desire to effectively deal with the conditions.
Gear-driven
locomotives built by the Sentinel Waggon Works for pick-up goods trains
and shunting duties, have unusual features. A vertical boiler carrying
a high working pressure, mostly 275 to 300 lbs. per sq. in., supplies
steam to one or more high-speed steam engines with vertical cylinders
and poppet valves. The engines drive a jack-shaft through gearing, and
from there one pair of wheels is driven by a pair of chains, whilst the
two pairs of wheels are coupled by a pair of chains instead of by side
coupling rods.
A novel development of this principle is embodied
in some gear-driven locomotives for a metre gauge railway in Colombia,
with steep gradients. The main frame carrying the boiler, tanks,
bunker, cab, etc., is mounted on two six-wheeled bogies. Each of the
six axles is separately driven through gearing by a small steam engine
mounted on the bogie. Separate flexible steam pipes with ball joints
connect each engine with a main throttle valve, and allow for movements
of the engine. Each engine is a double-acting compound with cylinders
4¼in. and 7¼in. diameter by 6in. stroke, driving a crank shaft carrying
at its centre a pinion which meshes with a gear wheel on the centre of
the corresponding axle; the ratio is 2.74 : 1.
As steam is
generated in a water tube boiler at the high working pressure of 550
lbs. per sq. in., ingenious arrangements are made to reduce this to 140
lbs. before it is admitted to the low-pressure cylinders when starting
up. Steam is taken to each engine from a main throttle, and to ensure
individual control the poppet valve regulator closes on to a conical
seat and has a piston connection with six ports, each admitting steam
to one engine. The tractive effort is estimated at 17,500 lbs.; as all
axles are driven, a maximum adhesive weight is assured.
Among
notable high-pressure locomotives which have been produced in recent
years, the Delaware & Hudson Railroad had one built in 1924
with a
pressure of 350 lbs. per sq. in. This engine, named Horatio Allen,
is a two-cylinder compound with a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement, the tender
being fitted with a booster. The boiler followed usual practice, but
over it, on each side, two cylindrical drums are fixed. Two shorter
drums form the lower sides of the fire-box, the front wall being formed
by a flat water space with ordinary stays. The upper drums are
connected to this water space, and pass through it. The boiler barrel
is secured to the front wall of the water space; the rear plate of the
water space is cut away for the fire-box tube-plate which is fixed in
it, and the drums are attached to it. The back end of the fire-box is
formed by a similar flat water space into which the rear ends of the
four drums are secured. The top of the fire-box between the upper drums
is formed by water tubes connecting the front and back water spaces,
and each of the sides by two rows of curved water tubes joining the
upper and lower drums. The front ends of the upper drums are
connected to the boiler barrel by headers. With this boiler about
one-third of the evaporative heating surface is in the fire-box,
whereas in ordinary locomotive boilers the fire-box surface is only
about one-tenth of the total.
A similar engine was obtained in 1927 which was called John B. Jervis.
The pressure was raised to 400 lbs. per sq. in., and a greater
superheating surface given. This was followed in 1930 by another 2-8-0
compound fitted with a water-tube boiler of the same general design,
with a pressure of 500 lbs. per sq. in., and this was named James Archibald.
Following
these experimental locomotives, all of which have shown exceptional
thermal efficiency, the Delaware & Hudson Co. showed at the
Chicago
Exhibition of 1934 a 4-8-0 four-cylinder triple expansion locomotive,
No. 1403, L. F. Loree,
which
carries a boiler pressure of 500 lbs. per sq. in. This is the second
application of the triple expansion principle to a steam locomotive,
the first being the somewhat abortive experiments carried out on the L.
& N.W.R. in 1895. This engine of the D. & H.R.R. has
one
high-pressure cylinder, 20in. diameter by 32in. stroke, located under
the driver's side of the cab, one intermediate pressure 27½in. diameter
by 32in. stroke under the fireman's side, and two low pressure 33in. by
32in. in the orthodox position, under the smoke-box. All four cylinders
drive on the second pair of coupled wheels. Steam is distributed by
poppet valves to all cylinders. The boiler has a water tube fire-box
and a fire-tube barrel of relatively small diameter and completely
filled with water. The steam space is in the drums of the fire-box,
which are carried forward beyond the fire-box and connected to the
barrel near the front ends. In starting steam is fed to the
intermediate cylinder receiver direct from the high-pressure steam
chest through a spring loaded feed valve, which closes when a pressure
of 170 lbs. is reached in the receiver.
The coupled wheels are
5ft. 3in. diameter. The tender has one four- and one six-wheeled bogie,
the latter being fitted with an auxiliary booster engine, taking steam
direct from the boiler at 500 lbs. pressure. At starting, in simple
gear, the tractive effort is estimated at 90,000 lbs., and when working
triple expansion 75,000 lbs. When the booster is working at starting,
an additional tractive power of 18,000 lbs. is developed.
In the
experimental four-cylinder compound locomotive No. 10,000 of the L.
& N.E.R., built in 1929, it was decided to use a working
pressure
of 450 lbs. per sq. in., and adopt a Yarrow-Gresley water-tube boiler.
As its name implies, the water-tube boiler consists of a number of
tubes which carry the water, and which are surrounded by the hot gases.
The boiler has one top steam drum, 3ft. in diameter and 28ft. long, the
fire-box being formed of banks of tubes passing downwards to two lower
water drums, 18in. diameter and 11ft. long. The front part is formed of
further tubes passing to two water drums, 19in. diameter by 13ft. 6in.
long, placed at a higher level than the others. A superheater is fitted
in the front end of the main flue.
The high pressure inside
cylinders drive the front coupled axle, and are placed well forward,
while the low-pressure outside pair drive the second axle. At starting,
steam limited to 200 lbs. pressure can be admitted to the low-pressure
cylinders. The tractive effort is estimated at 32,000 lbs.
The
main particulars are: cylinders, two high-pressure, 10in. diameter by
26in. stroke; two low-pressure, 20in. diameter by 26in. stroke; coupled
wheels, 6ft. 8in. diameter; carrying wheels, front and rear, 3ft. 2in.
diameter. Total heating surface, 2,126 sq. ft. As the top of the boiler
is carried to the limit allowed by the loading gauge, no chimney can be
permitted to project above it, and this is concealed except in a front
view, by two metal wings formed by an extension of the smoke-box.
In
1920 an experimental geared steam turbine condensing locomotive built
by the Aktiebolaget Ljungstroms Angturbin, near Stockholm, was tried
out on the Swedish railways. This comprised two vehicles, one of which,
with a two-axle bogie and three carrying axles, takes the boiler, and
the other, with three motor axles and one truck axle, takes the main
driving machinery and condensing plant.
The locomotive boiler has a heating surface of 108 sq. ft. in the
fire-box and 1,130 sq. ft. in the tubes, with a grate area of 28 sq.
ft. and a working pressure of 300 lbs. per sq. in. It is fitted with a
superheater and with a hot air induced draught apparatus, the air
heater for which is located beneath the front end of the boiler. The
driver's cab and the coal bunkers are placed saddlewise across the
boiler. The turbine is rated to develop 1,800 b.h.p. at 9,200
revolutions per minute, corresponding to a train speed of 68.3 miles an
hour, the power transmitted through gearing having a ratio of 22 to 1
to the six-coupled driving wheels by means of connecting rods.
Exhaust steam from the turbine is led to a receiver and thence to the
air-cooled surface condenser, consisting of flattened tubes in series,
the cooling air for which is supplied by fans. The condensate is
returned to the boiler by a boiler-feed pump through a series of
feed-water heaters, which receive the requisite supply of exhaust steam
from the auxiliaries at varying pressures, thus ensuring a high
temperature of feed-water at the boiler. Under actual service
conditions the results appear to have been highly satisfactory and
showed a saving in fuel consumption of 50%.
In spite of its advantages, the complication and cost of the condensing
arrangement prevented a more extended adoption of this form of turbine
locomotive. The Ljungstrom Company therefore designed a non-condensing
locomotive, having a 2,000 h.p. turbine arranged in front of the
smoke-box and connected to the driving wheels by means of side rods
through a gear and jack-shaft arrangement. The engine is of the 2-8-0
type, with coupled wheels 4ft. 5⅛in. diameter, with a four-wheeled
tender, and is in service on the Grangesberg Railway, Sweden. Apart
from the turbine and its accessories, the design of the locomotive is
on similar lines to the orthodox reciprocating type engine. Steam from
the boiler at 185 lbs. pressure passes through a regulator in the dome,
thence through a superheater steam chest and strainer, to the admission
valve bolted to the casing of the turbine. This admission valve is
provided with five nozzles operated from the footplate. The regulator,
therefore, is only used as a main stop valve for the boiler, and is
opened full at the start of the run, and closed at the end. The
tractive force is 47,400 lbs.
16. SWING-BRIDGE OVER
THE GLOUCESTER & BERKELEY CANAL AT SHARPNESS, SEVERN &
WYE JOINT RAILWAY.
(Photo: Topical Agency.)
For the purpose of connecting the Severn & Wye Railway, in the
Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, with the former Midland
Railway at Sharpness, a remarkable bridge was built across the river
Severn, and opened in October, 1879. At the time of building it was,
with the exception of the Tay Bridge, the longest bridge in the
country, there being twenty-two spans. Two spans over the navigable
channel are 327ft. long, and there are also five spans of 171ft.,
fourteen of 124ft., and one of 200ft., the latter being shown in our
illustration. This is a swinging span over the Gloucester &
Berkeley Canal worked by a steam engine, housed on top of the girders.
The total length of the bridge is 1,387 yards, the width of the river
being 1,186 yards. The bridge carries a single line of railway, but the
swinging span has been built to accommodate two tracks, if necessary.
17. WHITEMOOR
MARSHALLING YARD, NEAR MARCH, LONDON & NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY.
(Photo: L.N.E.R.)
About thirty miles north of Cambridge, at Whitemoor, the London
&
North Eastern Railway have provided a concentration yard for dealing
with freight traffic from the coal producing and manufacturing
districts to East Anglia and London. The sidings illustrated deal with
the south-bound traffic. It consists of two main sections; ten
reception roads, into which the trains to be sorted are run on arrival,
and forty classification sidings, into which each train is sorted out,
and these two parts are connected by the "hump."
On
the arrival of a train, the shunter passes down the train, and makes a
list, noting the destination of each wagon, and marking the "cut"
according to the siding in which each wagon is to be dropped; at the
same time, he uncouples the wagons between the various cuts. He
despatches a copy to the control cabin, and a copy is also given to the
foreman at the top of the hump. When all is ready the shunting engine
commences to push the train up over the hump at such a speed that a
train of sixty or seventy wagons, having, say, forty cuts, can be
disposed of in six or seven minutes. The hump is designed to provide
momentum to carry wagons into the sorting sidings. Four hydraulic rail
brakes are provided at the foot of the hump, one on each of the first
four leads after the main points. They slow down the wagons, which are
travelling too fast, and keep a suitable spacing between them.
18. SHIPPING A
"SENTINEL" STEAM LOCOMOTIVE FOR SOUTH AMERICA.
(Photo: Sentinel Waggon Works.)
Of late years the usual practice in delivering locomotives for overseas
railways is to send them in shiploads, fully erected, ready to be put
into service immediately on arrival at destination.
The accompanying illustration shows a six-engined
Sentinel
steam locomotive being loaded for shipment to a metre-gauge railway in
Colombia, South America. It will be noticed this is being lifted by a
derrick on the vessel itself, capable of taking lifts up to 120 tons.
19. STREAM-LINED 4-6-4
TYPE LOCOMOTIVE, NEW YORK CENTRAL LINES, U.S.A.
The first American stream-lined steam locomotive has been named Commodore Vanderbilt,
after the founder of the New York Central Lines, and is of the
Central's famous 4-6-4 Hudson type of passenger locomotives. Both
locomotive and tender have been stream-lined in accordance with the
latest researches in aero-dynamic science. In addition to the wheels of
the tender and engine trucks, the 6ft. 7in. driving wheels are provided
with roller bearings.
20. 240 H.P. COVENTRY RAILCAR ON
THE LONDON, MIDLAND & SCOTTISH RAILWAY.
One of the latest types of pneumatic tyred rail-car has recently been
brought over from France, and tried on the main line of the London,
Midland & Scottish Railway. It is a 56-seater, with a 240 h.p.
petrol engine and mechanical transmission driving on one of the two
eight-wheeled bogies. The wheels are fitted with pneumatic tyres,
having steel flanges, and any loss of pressure in a tyre causes a
hooter to sound in the driving cab. On a test run from Leighton Buzzard
to Euston, 40¼
miles, were covered in 42½
minutes, with a maximum speed
at Watford of 65 miles per hour. The running of the car is particularly
steady and silent.
21. ROYAL TRAIN, SOUTH
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.
When making his recent tour of the Australian Commonwealth, H.R.H. the
Duke of Gloucester travelled over the 5ft. 3in. gauge lines of the
South Australian Railways in a train replete with every possible
convenience. The lounge of the Royal Saloon is equipped with radio,
fans, clock and electric speedometer. It weighs 52 tons, and is
approximately 80ft. long. Adjoining the lounge are three sleeping
compartments, one having a beautifully appointed bathroom. The kitchen
is also nicely fitted up and provided with hot and cold water, a wood
burning stove, and an electric refrigerator of ample capacity. Finally,
the dining-room, which is of plain design, is well finished, and
lighted electrically by fittings flush with the roof of the car.
22. 6-CYLINDER GARRATT
LOCOMOTIVE, No. 2395, LONDON & NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY.
For "banking" heavy mineral trains on the Worsboro' branch, in South
Yorkshire, which has a gradient of 1 in 40 for two miles, the London
& North Eastern Railway use the most powerful locomotive in the
British Isles. This is of the six-cylinder Garratt articulated type,
built in 1925 by Beyer, Peacock & Co., Ltd., of Manchester. The
engine is of the 2-8-0 + 0-8-2 type, each unit being a 2-8-0
three-cylinder engine, with the same cylinders, valve motion, etc., as
those of the London & North Eastern Railway standard mineral
engines.
CHAPTER
5
LOCOMOTIVES FOR MOUNTAINOUS
COUNTRIES
POWERFUL locomotives are necessary in mountainous countries where steep
and long gradients are traversed. Besides special classes of huge tank
and tender engines, most of which have one or more pairs of wheels
without flanges to ease running on sharp curves, in many instances a
flexible or articulated type of locomotive is required to meet the
special conditions of working.
Ordinary adhesion steam engines are employed on the 1 in 25 grade
extending for 74 miles on the Callao-Oroya section of the standard
gauge Central Railway of Peru, on the 1 in 28 narrow gauge Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway, and on a 1 in 12 section of the Leopoldina Railway
of Brazil. There are quite a variety of articulated locomotives for
adhesion working, in which two or more units—each steam driven—are
connected together in such a way that one can take up an angular
position with respect to another section without difficulty when
rounding sharp curves, especially on lines which have heavy traffic
which must be hauled by large, long and powerful engines. In these
circumstances the articulated locomotive alone meets the
case.
The
"Fairlie" double engine, of which about half a dozen were built for
standard gauge railways in this country, in addition to a few for the
Festiniog Railway (1ft. 11½in.
gauge), provided a type with large
tractive force, capable of passing round sharp curves. The whole of the
weight was available for adhesion. The engine had a double boiler, each
part with an independent fire-box, both boxes being in one casing and
fired from the side. The boilers were carried on two steam bogies by
means of saddles under which the pivots formed part of the bogie
frames. The steam pipes were led into a special fitting forming a
prolongation of the lower part of the smoke-box. Here a swivelling and
sliding joint was provided through which steam passed to the cylinders
by the centres of the bogies where these pipes were articulated. Ball
and socket joints were also provided on the exhaust pipes. Many
"Fairlie" locomotives were supplied to Mexico, Burma, New Zealand,
Chili, Portugal, Russia, etc.
The "Mallet" locomotive, the most
highly-developed articulated locomotive in the world for heavy freight
service, was patented in the early 'eighties by Anatole Mallet, a
famous French engineer. In the "Mallet" engine, which is really a
semi-articulated one, the boiler and cab are fixed rigidly to the rear
motor bogie, the front motor bogie being close coupled to the rear
motor bogie by a vertical hinge pin, the centre of which is fixed at a
point midway between the two sets of wheels, thus assisting the guiding
of the rear bogie into curves. The boiler attached to the rear bogie
protrudes forward over the front engine, the weight being taken by
bearings on the front engine. A spring centring device on the boiler
bearing assists recovery on leaving curves. The cylinders are located
at the front of the motor bogies, the high pressure being fixed to the
rear unit, and thus integral with the boiler and the low-pressure
cylinders at the front of the engine. Large "Mallet" locomotives have
been built by Continental and British builders, but its great
development has been brought about in the United States. Long distances
between important centres and heavy traffics have fostered its adoption
there. Some large size "Mallets" of recent years are fitted with four
high-pressure cylinders.
On the Virginian Railroad are some huge
2-10 + 10-2 "Mallet" engines, built for working coal trains of nearly
5,000 tons on the heavy grades over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since the
electrification of this line these engines act as bankers at the back
of 14,000 ton coal trains, which are headed by one of the most powerful
electric locomotives in the world.
The Erie Railroad have a
Triplex "Mallet"—that is, with three sets of coupled wheels—and on
a
test run it hauled a load of about 15,000 tons, but a banking pilot was
necessary to start the train.
Another articulated type is the
"Kitson-Meyer," the first of which were built in this country in 1894.
This has a single boiler carried by a girder supported by the steam
bogies. There are two sets of coupled wheels below it, each with its
own cylinders arranged at the outer ends of the bogies. In the early
"Meyer" locomotives the cylinders were located at the centre of the
engine. Among recent examples built for the Kalka-Simla Railway (India)
and the Colombian National Railways, the bogies are arranged well
apart, and special provision is made for ensuring maximum flexibility,
not only in the horizontal but in the vertical direction.
As a
special purpose articulated locomotive and a very efficient one,
mention should be made of the "Shay" locomotive, first built in 1880.
It is suitable for severe grades and sharp curves which cannot be
economically worked by the ordinary adhesion type locomotive. Designed
for duty in North American lumber camps it soon passed to other useful
spheres, and has been extensively used for contractors' work and
industrial establishments. In this locomotive the vertical engines are
placed on one side of the centre line for balancing purposes and are
strongly supported on the frame. Three cylinders are generally used, so
as to bring the setting of the cranks to 120 degrees. These drive on a crank shaft, which in
turn is connected with the main longitudinal shaft, which is built in
sections and rendered flexible by universal joints. The shaft drives
pinions which mesh with bevel wheels attached to the outer face of the
running wheels, so that every wheel is a driver. The engines are
situated alongside the boiler, the latter being placed "off centre"
sufficiently to balance the locomotive.
Combined rack and adhesion locomotives with two sets of engines are in
successful service on some lines. One pair of cylinders drives the
smooth wheels, and the second pair the rack mechanism, both sets being
worked simultaneously on rack sections requiring maximum tractive
power. On the Furka-Oberalp Railway (metre gauge), one of the few lines
still worked by steam locomotives in Switzerland, combined rack and
adhesion compound engines of the 2-6-0 type are used. In addition to
the three-coupled axles for work on the adhesion sections of the line,
driven by outside high-pressure cylinders, there are two inside coupled
axles supported by internal longitudinal framing for driving the rack
pinions; these are driven by the low-pressure cylinders placed inside.
The locomotive works as a "simple" engine on the adhesion sections of
the line, and as a compound on the rack sections. To provide sufficient
space for the large low-pressure cylinders the main framing is placed
outside the wheels.
Purely rack locomotives are used where the ruling grade is practically
continuous for the whole length of the railway. On the rack railways of
Switzerland and other mountainous countries the old system introduced
by Blenkinsop as far back as 1812 is revived. The object is the same,
namely, to increase the tractive power with the minimum dead-weight of
the engine. The rack is placed centrally between the ordinary rails,
and in the Abt system two rack bars (and sometimes three) are used, and
the method of laying these, one in advance of the other, differentiates
the position of the teeth, and ensures smooth running.
For the first rack mountain railway—that from Vitznau, on Lake
Lucerne—up the Rigi to Kulm, 5,905ft. above sea-level, a decided
variation from orthodox design was made in the special type of
locomotive, which like the railway itself was an entirely new
departure. It was provided with a vertical boiler set at such an angle
as to reduce, as far as possible, variations in the water level, due to
the difference in gradients. After a few years service, this vertical
boiler was abandoned in favour of the horizontal pattern, but this also
has the appearance of tilting forward, because changes in the water
level have to be allowed for. The grade of the Rigi is 1 in 4 for a
large proportion of the way.
DURING the past few years there has been a general speeding up of the
main line railway services of this country, as well as those of the
more important railways of Western Europe and several Overseas and
Colonial lines, especially those of the United States and Canada. The
narrow gauge systems of South Africa, New Zealand, Java and Japan have
also accelerated their important trains.
It is for advertising purposes that certain expresses running long
distances are given names that appeal to the general public. The oldest
is the Flying Scotsman
of the L. & N.E.R., which commenced running in June, 1862. The
down train has left King's Cross ever since, at 10 o'clock every
week-day morning for Grantham, York, Newcastle, Berwick and Edinburgh;
the up train leaves Waverley Station, Edinburgh, at the same time for
King's Cross, making an additional stop at Darlington. Since 1928,
during the summer months, the train runs non-stop in both
directions—the world's record daily non-stop run of 392¾
miles.
The trains are made up of nine 60ft. cars, and a restaurant car set of
three articulated coaches. The order, beginning from the engine, at
King's Cross, being a third-class brake and a first and third composite
for Perth, a third-class car, third-class restaurant-car, kitchen-car,
first-class restaurant-car with cocktail bar, composite and third-class
car, with hairdressing saloon, for Edinburgh, and composite,
third-class and large brake for Aberdeen. Roughly, when loaded, the
weight is 550 tons behind the engine tender.
Other important Anglo-Scottish expresses of the L. & N.E.R.
include the "Highlandman," 7.25 p.m. ex King's Cross to Inverness and
Fort William; the "Aberdonian," 7.40 p.m., and the "Night Scotsman,"
10.25 p.m. trains to Aberdeen.
The "Scarborough Flier" runs non-stop to York during the summer season.
Leaving King's Cross at 11.10 a.m. it covers the 230 miles to
Scarborough in four hours at 57.5 miles an hour.
By way of Leeds and Harrogate the "Queen of Scots" Pullman express
leaves King's Cross at 11.20 a.m. and reaches Glasgow—453½
miles—in
nine hours, and the "West Riding" Pullman, by the same route, departs
from King's Cross at 4.45 p.m., of which one portion arrives at
Newcastle—280.8 miles—in 5 hrs. 38 mins., and the other at
Halifax—202.8 miles—in 4 hrs. 12 mins.
From Liverpool Street the 10 a.m. "Flushing Continental," 7.42 p.m.,
"Esbjerg Continental," 8.15 p.m., "Hook of Holland Continental," and
8.30 p.m. "Antwerp Continental," all connect with the cross-Channel
boat services, and cover the 69 miles between London and Parkeston
Quay, Harwich, at an average speed of over 50 miles an hour, over a
very heavy road. On Sundays the "Clacton Pullman" from Liverpool
Street, at 9.55 a.m., is a popular fast train to the East Coast resort,
the 70¾
miles being covered in 97 minutes. During the summer this
train forms the "Eastern Belle," which is run on week-days to seaside
resorts on the East Coast.
On May 7th, 1903, the G.W.R. ran a 250 ton train hauled by the 4-4-0
engine, City of Bath,
from Plymouth to Paddington, 246¾
miles in
233½
minutes—i.e. 63.3 m.p.h. Just twelve months later the 4-4-0
locomotive, City of
Truro (now preserved at the York Railway Museum),
brought the American Mail over the same route as far as Bristol, and
made a wonderful run. Exeter was passed dead slow in just under 56
minutes from North Road, Plymouth, a distance of 52 miles three chains
over one of the heaviest roads in the country. Then followed a climb to
Whiteball summit at a speed never below 62 m.p.h. Coming down the
Wellington Bank a maximum speed of 102.3 m.p.h. was attained, the
highest speed ever reached in this country by a steam train until the
L. & N .E.R. made its record run at 108 m.p.h. on March 5th
last, with the "Pacific" type locomotive, Papyrus. From
Bristol to
London the train was hauled by the 4-2-2 engine, Duke of Connaught,
with 7ft. 8in. driving wheels, which maintained an average speed of 78
m.p.h. between Wootton Bassett and Westbourne Park—81¾
miles.
These runs were the prelude to the introduction in March, 1932, of the
famous "Cheltenham Flyer," until lately the fastest steam-worked train
in the world, which with unfailing regularity makes the journey from
Swindon to Paddington, six days out of seven, in 65 minutes, a start to
stop speed of 71.4 m.p.h. Frequently the train reaches Paddington in
front of time. On one of its runs the speed of 87½
miles an hour was
maintained for 70 miles of the journey, 28 of which were covered at a
speed of 92.3 m.p.h.
In three months the "Flyer" only lost 7½
minutes on its schedule
timing. During the first ten months of its running the total time lost
was 634 minutes for 306 journeys, an average of 21/10
minutes per
journey. It was on time 172 trips, and 134 times late owing to heavy
traffic and fog. The load is generally six to eight corridor coaches,
with dining car facilities, making a weight of 190 to 250 tons, and
seating 250 to 364 without the dining car (35
seats).
THE "CORNISH RIVIERA LIMITED," G.W.R.—Until the L. & N.E.R.,
in 1928, started the non-stop run of the "Flying Scotsman," the record
for the longest run without halt was held for nearly a quarter of a
century by the "Cornish Riviera Limited," of the G.W.R., the famous
"10.30 Limited," the distance between Paddington and North Road
Station, Plymouth, being 225¾
miles. Of course there was a break in
the run during the war period.
Since the completion of the Westbury and Frome by-pass lines, during
the summer service, on Mondays to Fridays the train runs non-stop
between London and Truro, 279 miles, and on Saturdays the non-stop run
is extended to St. Erth, a distance of 299 miles. A stop is made at
Exeter during the winter months, when slip portions for Westbury and
Taunton are carried. The timing London to Plymouth (including the stop)
is then only 4 hrs. 4 mins.
During the summer this train is followed from Paddington at 10.35 a.m.
by "The Cornishman," which caters for the intermediate traffic not
served by the "Cornish Riviera Limited."
"ROYAL SCOT" EXPRESS, L.M. & S.R.—For over 70 years an
express
train
for Scotland, now known as the "Royal Scot," has left Euston Station at
10 a.m., the West Coast replica of the East Coast's "Flying Scotsman."
The time taken by both routes is approximately identical. The "Royal
Scot" holds the world's record for the longest non-stop run all the
year round—Carlisle to London—299 miles. The long journey, with its
climb over Shap (915ft.), affords an exacting test of locomotive
performance.
As the L.M. & S. main line does not run both to Glasgow and
Edinburgh, the train is made up of two sections which on the down
journey diverge at Carstairs, although they are actually divided at
Symington, 6¾
miles south of the junction. Engines are changed at
Kingmoor, just over 300 miles from Euston. On April 27th, 1928, when
the traffic was exceptionally heavy, the two sections were run
separately throughout and for the first time the Glasgow portion ran
non-stop Euston to Glasgow, 401½
miles, the longest non-stop run that
has ever been attempted.
From St. Pancras the "Thames & Forth Express" at 9 a.m. via
Nottingham, Leeds and Carlisle and then over the Waverley route via
Galashiels to Edinburgh, covers the 408.8 miles in 8 hrs. 52 mins., and
the "Thames & Clyde Express" from St. Pancras at 10 a.m. via
Leicester, Leeds and Kilmarnock to St. Enoch, Glasgow, makes the 426
miles journey in 8 hrs. 50 mins.
In Scotland the L.M. & S., among other important trains, run
the "Granite City," between Glasgow and Aberdeen, and from Inverness
the "John o' Groats" to Wick, and the "Hebridean" and "Lewisman" to the
Kyle of Lochalsh, in connection with the boats.
THE "IRISH MAIL"—The train which left Euston Station at 8.45 p.m. on
August 1st, 1848, was called the "Irish Mail," and has been so named
ever since. At that date the Britannia Tubular Bridge across the Menai
Straits was not built, so that the mails and passengers had to take the
coach from Bangor to Llanfair, in Anglesey, by way of the Suspension
Bridge, where another train awaited them. When the train arrived at
Holyhead, at 7.5 a.m., the Admiralty took charge of the mails and
delivered them at Kingstown Pier at about 11.30 a.m. By June, 1850, on
completion of the Britannia Bridge, the train was accelerated by one
hour, and the mail reached Kingstown by 10.30 a.m. The apparatus for
picking up and dropping mail bags from a moving train had, by 1854,
reached a state of sufficient dependability to permit of it being
worked at a speed of over 40 miles an hour, thus obviating the
necessity of stopping the mail trains at a large number of relatively
unimportant stations.
There has been a second mail train almost from the beginning of railway
communication. The down train did not leave London in the morning as
now, but at 5 p.m., and the steamer in connection reached Kingstown at
about 6 o'clock in the morning. Later acceleration brought the 8.45
p.m. mail into Dublin in time to catch
the "Irish Mail" trains, and the afternoon mail became the
morning mail of to-day.
By the contract of 1860 between the Post Office, the L. &
N.W.R. and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, the trains had to
cover the 264 miles between London and Holyhead (Admiralty Pier) at an
average speed of 42 miles an hour, and it was to enable the "Irish
Mail" to pick up water without stopping that troughs were laid between
the rails near Aber for the first time in the world, in 1861. Hence, in
1863, the "Irish Mail" was the fastest train out of Euston, and noted
for its remarkable good time keeping. A reduction of about 20 minutes
in the running time took place ten years later, and in 1875 sleeping
cars were introduced.
In 1880 the inner harbour at Holyhead was completed. At this time the
sorting of the mail was largely carried out on the steamer; nowadays
all the sorting is performed on the train.
In 1920 the mail contract passed to the L. & N.W.R., and
thence, in 1923, to the L.M. & S.R.
The steamers on the service, the Cambria,
Hibernia,
and Scotia
twin-screw, with turbine engines, have a tonnage of 3,400 and a speed
of 25 knots. There are only two faster merchant vessels than these.
In 1850 the average time to carry the mails between London and Dublin
was 14½
hours. To-day the Down Day service is 9¼
hours, and the
Down Night, 9 hrs. 50 mins.; the Up Day, 9 hrs. 10 mins., and the Up
Night, 9 hrs. 20 mins. On the summer day schedule, Saturdays only, the
train leaves Holyhead Harbour at 12.27 p.m., and runs non-stop to
Euston, which is reached at 5.30 p.m.—263¾
miles in 303 minutes.
The Postal Trains, or Mails, were the fastest and most important in the
country in years gone by. Passengers were conveyed by them, but often
only first class, or first and second class, and a supplementary charge
made. To-day the postal business has grown so that on the main routes
trains, made up entirely of sorting and storage vans, are run by night,
and every attention is concentrated on the maintenance of absolute
punctuality. The most important of the British postal trains is
undoubtedly the West Coast Postal, which for many years has left Euston
for Scotland by the L.M. & S. route at 8.30 p.m.
The more important London to Manchester and Liverpool expresses are
named. The "Comet" follows the main line to Crewe, where it branches
off to Manchester; the "Merseyside" and "Manxman" both run to Crewe and
Liverpool. The "Mancunian" runs from Euston to Manchester via Crewe,
and returns via Stoke-on-Trent, whereas the "Lancastrian" does the
reverse.
Mention should also be made of the "Sunny South" express from Liverpool
and Manchester to the South Coast resorts, through Addison Road and
Clapham Junction, also the "Pines" express from Liverpool to
Bournemouth via Bath.
Then there is the "Ulster Express" from Euston to Heysham, for the
Belfast boats, and the "Lakes Express" to Windermere. Along the
Holyhead line, besides the two Irish Mails, there is the "Welshman,"
and a number of summer expresses to North Wales.
THE "ATLANTIC COAST Express," SOUTHERN RAILWAY.—One of the finest
trains of this country is the "Atlantic Coast Express," which leaves
Waterloo Station on week-days at 11 o'clock a.m. for North Cornwall and
North Devon. It is made up of the latest type steel-panelled corridor
cars, with numbered seats for reservation purposes, and large
restaurant cars. This train is invariably worked by one of the "Lord
Nelson" or "King Arthur" class locomotives, and in the summer on its
run from London to Exeter makes but one stop—Salisbury—covering the
first stage of 83¾
miles in 90 minutes. The second stage from
Salisbury to Exeter is 88 miles, including the formidable bank of 1 in
80 for 4½
miles, to the Honiton tunnel, which is ¾
of a mile long,
still rising at 1 in 132. The time taken for the 171¾
miles
(including
6 minutes stop at Salisbury) from London to Exeter is 3 hrs. 13 mins.
The "Continental Pullman Boat Express" of the S.R. leaves Victoria at
11 a.m. daily, and reaches the Marine Station at Dover, 77½
miles, in
93 minutes. The corridor coaches used for this service are 64ft. long
over gangways, constructed to work in connection with the Pullman cars,
and are fitted with vestibules and automatic couplers.
The "Brighton Belle," over the electrified line between Victoria and
Brighton, covers the 51 miles in 60 minutes and makes three double
journeys daily, and is one of the most popular all-Pullman services,
catering for first and third class passengers. It is usually made up of
a five-car set, seating 40 first and 152 third class passengers.
The "Bournemouth Belle" Pullman express runs on Sundays only in the
winter, with extra trips at holiday times, and daily in the summer.
Leaving Waterloo at 10.30 a.m., it reaches Bournemouth West, 111½
miles, in 2 hrs. 22 mins.
Other S.R. Pullman trains from Victoria are the "Eastbourne Sunday
Limited," to Lewes and Eastbourne, and "The Thanet Pullman Limited," to
Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.
23. THREE-CYLINDER
4-4-0 "SCHOOLS" CLASS PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE, SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
(Photo: W. J. Reynolds.)
Engine No. 908, Westminster,
is one of a numerous class which the Southern Railway have built at
their Eastleigh Works for use on main lines to the seaside resorts of
Kent, served by the Eastern section, as well as for the Isle of Wight
services to Portsmouth on the Western section. The heavy gradients on
the Hastings line and the increasing weight of modern rolling stock
necessitate providing a really powerful locomotive, which at the same
time must be kept as small and compact as possible to clear the
restricted loading gauges of the tunnels. This problem has been solved
by this locomotive, which weighs, with its tender, 110 tons.
Named
after famous public schools, they are known as the "Schools" class. The
round-top firebox has been adopted due to the limitations of weight,
but it permits a good outlook for the driver. Side windows are provided
for the cab, while the look-out glasses on the driver's side are fitted
with window wipers.
The three cylinders are 16½in.
diameter by 26in.
stroke, and the driving wheels are 6ft. 7in. diameter. The piston
valves are driven by three sets of Walschaert valve gear.
The engine
weighs 67.1 tons in working order, of which 4.2 tons rest on the
coupled wheels. The tender carries 4,000 gallons of water and 5 tons of
coal.
24. SUPER-PACIFIC TYPE
LOCOMOTIVE, No. 2750, "PAPYRUS," LONDON & NORTH EASTERN
RAILWAY. The Locomotive that holds the World's Speed Records.
(Photo: W. J. Reynolds.)
Introduced in 1922, the three-cylinder Pacifics are the standard heavy
express locomotives of the London & North Eastern Railway.
The striking feature of these engines
is the huge boiler, which has a parallel front portion 5ft. 9in.
outside diameter, followed by a tapered portion increasing to 6ft. 5in.
diameter, the length between tube-plates being 19ft. A very wide
firebox is provided, the inner box extending into the barrel of the
boiler.
The weight of the engine in working
order is 92 tons 9 cwts., of which 60 tons rest on the coupled wheels.
It was one of the later super-Pacifics,
No. 2750, Papyrus,
built at Doncaster in 1929, that was selected for the experimental run
on Tuesday, March 5th, 1935, which beat the world's record for speed
made by a steam train, by running from London to Newcastle-on-Tyne
under 4 hours, the distance being 268 miles, with a train weighing 213
tons and seating 204 passengers. Leaving King's Cross at 9.8 a.m.,
Newcastle was reached at 1.4½
p.m., nearly 4 mins. ahead of schedule.
At 3.47 p.m. the return journey was begun, and for over 12 miles, from
Corby down the long drop from Stoke box to Tallington, the average
speed was over 100 m.p.h., while just south of Little Bytham, 105.5
m.p.h. was registered for 30 seconds, and for 10 seconds it reached 108
m.p.h. The whole journey from Newcastle to King's Cross was completed
in 3 hrs. 51 mins., at an average of 69.6 miles per hour. The train
covered 536.4. miles in 7 hrs. 47½
mins.
25. THREE-CYLINDER
4-6-0 EXPRESS PASSENGER ENGINE, No. 5552, "SILVER JUBILEE," LONDON,
MIDLAND & SCOTTISH RAILWAY.
Over one hundred of these new standard 4-6-0 three-cylinder
locomotives, designed by Mr. W. A. Stanier, chief mechanical engineer,
of the L. M. & S. Railway, have been constructed. These
handsome and efficient machines of which the example illustrated, No.
5552, was the first to be built at Crewe Works, have proved highly
successful on the express services of the L. M. & S. Railway.
With the King's permission, this engine
has now been named Silver
Jubilee, and the class to which it belongs is known as the
Jubilee Class. All the bright parts of the engine have been
chromium-plated, and the paintwork is black, giving it a pleasing and
dignified finish. The controls in the spacious and comfortable
driver's
cab are chromium-plated, against a background of white enamel.
26. 4-4-0 THREE-CYLINDER
COMPOUND EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE, No. 87, "KESTREL," GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY
(IRELAND).
Between the cities of Dublin and Belfast the accelerated express
services of the Great Northern Railway are worked by a very efficient
class of three-cylinder compound locomotives, carrying a working
pressure of 250 lbs. per sq. in. The system of compounding is the same
as that so successfully used on the L. M. & S. Railway for
trains up to 300-350 tons behind the tender. The Irish trains are
generally lighter than in Great Britain, and since all coal is
imported, fuel economy is a necessity, and superheating has been
extensively applied by the G.N.R.
The inside high-pressure cylinder is
17¼in.
by 26in.; and the two outside low- pressure 19in. by 26in. The coupled
wheels are 6ft. 7in. diameter. Heating surface is 1,251 sq. ft., and
super-heater surface 276.5 sq. ft. Grate area 25.22 sq. ft. Tractive
effort 23,762 lbs. at 80% boiler pressure in low-pressure cylinders.
Weight: engine, 65 tons; tender, 38½
tons.
27. CONVERTED 2-8-2 TANK
LOCOMOTIVE FOR MINERAL TRAFFIC, No. 7200, GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
Originally these engines were of the 2-8-0 type, and designed primarily
for dealing with the South Wales coal traffic from the pits to the port
of shipment. Owing, however, to the falling off in the export coal
trade, in recent years, they were not required for this service, and
have been converted at Swindon Works to the 2-8-2 type, with larger
coal and water capacity, to make them suitable for longer runs on main
line freight services. The new trailing radial truck has increased side
play to enable sharp curves to be negotiated.
The leading particulars are: Two
cylinders, 19in. diameter by 30in. stroke; coupled wheels, 4ft. 7½in.
diameter; leading truck wheels, 3ft. 2in. diameter; trailing radial
wheels, 3ft. 8in. diameter; working pressure, 200 lbs. per sq. inch.
Total heating surface, 1670.15 sq. ft. Grate area, 20.56 sq. ft.; tank
capacity, 2,500 gallons; coal bunker 6 tons; tractive effort, 33,170
lbs. Weight, in working order, 90 tons 12 cwts.
CHAPTER
7
LONDON, MIDLAND AND SCOTTISH
RAILWAY
WITH a route mileage of 7,790 and a track mileage, including sidings,
of 20,100 and more than 2,500 stations, the L.M. & S. lines
reach to Southend, Lincoln and Goole on the east side of England, to
Bournemouth in the south, Swansea in South Wales, and to Edinburgh,
Aberdeen, Inverness and Wick in Scotland, besides a detached system in
the North of Ireland. It is the largest of the four railway groups, and
comprises the former London & North Western, Midland,
Lancashire & Yorkshire, North Staffordshire, Maryport &
Carlisle, Furness, Caledonian, Glasgow & South Western, and
Highland systems, as well as numerous subsidiary
lines.
It
is the biggest organization in the British Empire, excepting only the
Post Office, for it gives employment to 230,000 people, has a capital
of £425,000,000 and has about £30,000,000 invested in
locomotive plant.
In
1935 the L.M. & S.R. owned nearly 8,000 locomotives, hauling
about
20,000 passenger coaches, and nearly 300,000 freight vehicles. It also
possessed 80 steamships of various kinds.
At the time of its
formation, in 1846, the L. & N.W.R. had a mileage of rather
over
400 miles, and comprised the London & Birmingham, Grand
Junction
and Manchester & Birmingham Railways. The famous Liverpool
&
Manchester and London & Birmingham Railways may, however, be
looked
upon as the forbears of the L. & N.W.R., which, in turn, became
such an important constituent of the L.M. & S.R.
The L.
& M.R. was opened for traffic on September 15th, 1830, the year
after the Rainhill trials, in which Stephenson's Rocket gained the
prize of £500. Although part of the Bolton &
Leigh Railway was
opened on August 1st, 1828, and later became part of the Grand
Junction, there is little doubt that the L. & M. was the real
origin of the L. & N.W.R. The L. & M. was the first
railway to
be opened with the definite intention of using locomotives throughout.
Two days after the opening a service of passenger trains was started,
although a similar service was not provided on the Stockton &
Darlington Railway until 1833, passengers on that line, with the
exception of the opening day, September 27th, 1825, having been
conveyed by horse traction. The construction of the line was a
difficult task, among the undertakings being the crossing of the
treacherous bogs of Chat Moss and Parr Moss, the building of the Sankey
viaduct of nine arches of 50ft. span, the Olive Mount cutting of two
miles length and 80ft. deep, and finally a tunnel under Liverpool to
the station at Crown Street. It was not until some years later that the
extension to Lime Street, Liverpool, was undertaken.
Apart from branches connecting with the L. & M. made by
independent companies and afterwards absorbed by the L. & N.W.,
the next important schemes were the Grand Junction and the London
& Birmingham, both sanctioned in 1833.
The original object of the Grand Junction Railway was to connect
Liverpool, Manchester and Preston with Birmingham, but by joining up
with the L. & B.R., these northern towns were brought within
reach of the Metropolis. By means of the Warrington & Newton
Railway (opened in 1833) the Grand Junction had a main line, from
Warrington to Birmingham (78 miles) and opened July 4th, 1837. In
September of the following year the L. & B. was opened
throughout. Trains from the south were then divided at Warrington, half
going to Liverpool and half to Manchester. Engineering works on the
Grand junction included viaducts over the Mersey at Warrington, and
over the Irwell Canal, and the Dutton and Royal Vale viaducts over the
Weaver. At Birmingham the line was carried on a ten-arched viaduct and
terminated in Curzon Street.
The L. & B. was the first trunk line out of London, with a
length of 112½ miles. George Stephenson and his son, Robert, were the
engineers, and it is to their energy and skill that the difficulties in
construction were overcome. Of the eight tunnels which had to be made,
the Kilsby—2,426 yards in length—is reckoned the greatest work on the
line, costing £125 per yard, or more than three times what had been
estimated. Disastrous flooding, due to a strata of greensand which trial
shafts had failed to locate, delayed the boring for eight months,
pending the removal of the water by pumps working at the rate of 2,000
gallons a minute. The determination to build as level a line as
possible involved the excavation of a deep cutting at Tring, 2½ miles
long, and at Roade, 1½ miles long, and erection of viaducts at Watford,
Weedon, Wolverton and Birmingham. Two other tunnels of note were those
at Primrose Hill and at Watford, 1,182 yards, and 1,800 yards
respectively.
It was intended to have the London terminus at Camden, but this was
abandoned in favour of extending it to Euston, involving the steep
inclines of 1 in 70 and 1 in 77 when leaving that station. This portion
was originally worked by rope haulage, the stationary engines for which
were on either side of the line at the top of the bank.
Euston terminus, with its imposing Doric arch, was completed in 1839.
The Birmingham terminus was at Curzon Street, now a goods station, with
the Grand Junction terminus near by. The present New Street Station,
Birmingham, was opened in 1852. The other large partner in the L.
& N.W. fusion was the Manchester & Birmingham Railway,
which connected Manchester with Crewe, and opened on August 10th, 1842.
A fine viaduct of twenty arches carried the line out of Manchester, and
approaching Stockport was another viaduct of 22 arches. The Bollin
viaduct of 11 arches, and Dane of 23 arches deserve mention. A branch
to Macclesfield opened in 1845 included the Prestbury and Macclesfield
tunnels (260 and 342 yards respectively).
After the formation of the L. & N .W.R., the first development
was the opening of the Trent Valley line from Rugby to Stafford, in
1847, now part of the West Coast route to Scotland. This link reduced
the distance between London and the North by avoiding Birmingham, and
its importance may be estimated by the fact that it is now four-tracked
almost throughout. At this date the L. & N.W. ended at Preston,
the trains northwards going by the Lancaster & Preston (opened
1840), the Lancaster & Carlisle (opened 1846), and the
Caledonian. The two first mentioned lines were absorbed by the L.
& N.W. in 1859 and 1879 respectively. Among the engineering
features on the Lancaster and Carlisle section mention should be made
of the cutting at Shap summit—60ft. deep; the Lowther viaduct, near
Penrith, with six arches of 60ft. span; and another viaduct, near the
same place, of five 50ft. arches, over the River Eamont. There are
steep gradients, both in the down and in the up direction, to Shap
summit. Down trains have to face 1½ miles at 1 in 147, followed
directly by 4½ miles at 1 in 75, to the summit. Up trains, soon after
leaving Penrith, have a nine miles climb, mostly at 1 in 125, before
reaching the top.
The
Chester & Holyhead Railway, which Robert Stephenson had
completed
in 1850, was acquired by the L. & N .W.R. in 1858. The Conway
River
and the Menai Straits were crossed in each case by wrought-iron tubular
bridges. The one over the Straits, the celebrated Britannia Bridge, was
the greater work of the two; it is carried on three towers, the centre
one built on the Britannia rock being 230ft. in height. Each of the
side towers was 212ft. high, and the tubes from the abutments to each
of these towers were of 230ft. span, while the four tubes from the
central tower to the side towers on either side had a span of 460ft.
In
1862 the old Cromford and High Peak Railway was leased. It is an
extremely hilly line, and had been opened in 1832. At first it was
worked by horses; and on the inclines—at 1 in 8½—by stationary engines.
Part has now been abandoned, and a small portion forms part of the
Buxton and Ashbourne line, while the rest is used for goods only. It
was amalgamated with the L. & N.W. in 1887.
The
comparatively small but busy line of the North London Railway was
brought under the management of the L. & N.W. in 1908, and
under
the grouping of the railways in 1923 became part of the L.M. &
S.
At
Crewe are located the largest locomotive works in the British Isles.
Here, in addition to overhaul and repair work, one hundred to two
hundred new engines are produced annually in normal times.
The
Midland line ranked second in importance to the North Western in the
L.M. & S. group. From small beginnings it grew to be one of the
main trunk lines out of London. Reaching from St. Pancras, north to
Carlisle, its numerous extensions include a second main route to
Birmingham and Bristol. It served Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Leeds,
Malvern, Burton-on-Trent, Buxton, Barnsley, and Bradford, and by means
of jointly owned lines, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool and Southport.
Its
headquarters were at Derby, and here also were the very extensive
locomotive and carriage works, and still one of the principal depots of
the L.M. & S.R.
Unlike most of the main lines, the Midland
reached the metropolis by coming south. At first, in 1840, it got no
farther than Rugby, from which its traffic was conveyed over the L.
& N.W.R. to Euston. Later, a line was made from Leicester by
way of
Bedford to Hitchin on the Great Northern Railway, and from 1857 the
Midland ran its trains to King's Cross until 1868. In that year its own
main line from Bedford to St. Pancras was completed and opened.
The
lines leaving the main line are important, and several form main routes
in themselves. Such is the section leaving Trent for Derby, through the
Peak district, to Manchester, with a branch at Millers Dale, to Buxton,
and connections over the Cheshire lines at Stockport for Warrington and
Liverpool, and by a loop in Manchester to the Lancashire &
Yorkshire Railway, thus bringing the large Lancashire towns in
connection and providing an alternative route to the north, joining the
Carlisle line at Hellifield.
Another important section is that
in a southerly direction from Derby through Burton-on-Trent,
Birmingham, Worcester, Cheltenham and Gloucester to Bristol, with a
branch at Mangotsfield for Bath, and to the Somerset and Dorset joint
line.
An off-shoot from the Northern main line, near Long
Preston, took the Midland to Morecambe and Heysham, whence steamers run
to Belfast and the Isle of Man. Electric traction was installed on the
line between Lancaster and Morecambe and Heysham in 1908.
In
1912 the Midland Co. purchased the London, Tilbury & Southend
Railway, first opened in 1854. This line extends from Gas Factory
Junction (2¾ miles from Fenchurch Street terminus, into which it has
running powers) to Tilbury, Southend and Shoeburyness.
There is
a ferry service from Tilbury to Gravesend. By the opening of the
Tottenham & Forest Gate Railway, in 1899, the L.T. &
S.R. was
connected with the Midland; and in 1902 the opening of the Whitechapel
& Bow Railway brought it into communication with the District
Railway.
In 1903 the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway was
amalgamated with the Midland; and this section is known as the
"Northern Counties Committee, L.M. & S.R." This line has a
mileage
of 265, and is constructed to the Irish gauge of 5ft. 3in., except some
branches which have a gauge of 3ft. The Midland also became part owners
in 1906 of another Irish line—the Donegal Railway, of 3ft. gauge.
One
of the most complicated systems in Great Britain is that of the former
Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, serving the southern portions
of
Lancashire and Yorkshire, and linking up the East Coast with the West
from Goole to Liverpool. The main route for the fast trains from
Liverpool and Manchester to Bradford and Leeds is the line running via
Wigan, and on through Rochdale, Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge to
Halifax, thence over the Great Northern to Leeds, with a short section
taking off at Low Moor for Bradford.
The oldest portion of the
L. & Y., which itself dates from 1847, is the Manchester
&
Bolton, opened in May, 1838, and the most important, the Manchester
& Leeds, opened throughout in 1841.
At the Horwich
Locomotive Works of the L. & Y., near Bolton, established in
1892,
the principle of standardization has been carried out to a high degree,
and this is still one of the chief establishments of the L.M. &
S.
for the construction and repair of engines. The L. & Y. was
formally amalgamated with the L. & N.W. in 1921.
The Wirral
Railway, a local line in the Birkenhead, New Brighton and West Kirby
district of North Cheshire, was another small line, 14 miles in length,
taken over by the L.M. & S. Also a small independent railway,
11½
miles long, between Garstang and Catterall stations, on the main line,
and Knott End.
A mid-Anglian railway absorbed by the L.M. &
S. was the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland junction. This was formed in
1909 by the fusion of three small lines—the East & West
Junction,
Stratford, Towcester & Midland Junction and Northampton
&
Banbury Junction Railways.
Among the rest of the English
railways incorporated in the L.M. & S. system, mention should
be
made of the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith, in the Lake
District.
It was built jointly by the Stockton & Darlington and L.
&
N.W.R., and opened in 1865.
The Furness Railway, the first
portion of which was opened in 1846, ran from Carnforth to Whitehaven,
and was the only railway with access to the harbour and docks of
Barrow-in-Furness. It was well-known for its connection with the Lakes,
and served the Furness district of Lancashire and west coast of
Cumberland.
The Maryport & Carlisle Railway was a small line in the same
district. Laid out by George Stephenson, it was opened in 1845.
There
is only one more English company of importance in the L.M. & S.
group to mention, namely, the North Staffordshire Railway. It served
the "Potteries" district, and also owned a considerable mileage of
canals. The main sections are from Crewe, through Stoke to Burton and
Derby, and from Colwich to Macclesfield.
The principal steamship
services run by the L.M. & S. are the five routes connecting
Great
Britain and Ireland, between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire (formerly
Kingstown); Holyhead and Dublin (North Wall) and to Greenore for cargo
and livestock only; also between Heysham and Belfast, and between
Stranraer and Larne.
The three Scottish partners in the L.M.S. group were the Caledonian,
Glasgow & South Western and Highland Railways.
The oldest part of the Caledonian system—the Glasgow &
Garnkirk—was a small line, opened in September, 1831, and purchased by
them in 1846.
The Caledonian Railway itself was incorporated in 1845 for
the construction of a line from Carlisle to Edinburgh, and of
another from near Gartsherrie to join the Scottish Central Railway, at
Greenhill, from whence the C.R. reached Perth. Their first passenger
station in Glasgow was at St. Rollox, and in 1849 the extension to the
present station at Buchanan Street was made.
The route northward from Carlisle is almost direct to Carstairs, a
point about midway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, although it involves
the Beattock bank, which comprises two miles of 1 in 88, two of 1 in
80, and six of 1 in 75. The line was opened to Glasgow in February,
1848, together with the line from Carstairs Junction to Edinburgh. In
the same year the Scottish Central line to Perth was opened, and this
became amalgamated with the Caledonian in 1865, by which time the
S.C.R. had absorbed the Dundee, Perth & Aberdeen Junction and
the Dundee and Newtyle Railways. Another railway taken over by the C.R.
in 1866, was the Scottish North Eastern, which was formed by the fusion
of the Aberdeen and Scottish Midland Junction lines. Of the above
mentioned railways the old D. & N. is of special interest.
Opened in 1831, it had three inclined planes which were operated by
stationary winding engines, while the level stretches were worked by
horses. Locomotives were employed on the line from 1833. Various
diversions of the original route have long since eliminated the
inclines.
When the 1923 amalgamation took place, the main line of the Caledonian
extended from Carlisle to Aberdeen via Carstairs, Stirling and Perth.
From this the main routes to Edinburgh and Glasgow take off at
Carstairs and Law Junctions respectively. From Glasgow and Edinburgh,
similar lines join the main route at Glenboig and Larbert. Other
branches are from Lockerbie to Dumfries; Symington to Peebles; Dunblane
to Oban via Callender and Loch Awe; Crieff Junction to Crieff, and
thence to Perth; and Perth to Dundee and Newtyle, Forfar, etc.
Next in importance to the Caledonian was the Glasgow & South
Western Railway, formed in 1850 out of the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock
and Ayr Railway (opened in 1840) and the line from Kilmarnock to
Carlisle via Dumfries. It joined the C.R. at Gretna Junction. The
oldest portion of the G. & S.W. system is what was formerly the
Kilmarnock & Troon Railway, opened for horse traction as early
as 1811, and the first railway in Scotland. The G. & S.W.
worked the Midland trains from Carlisle to Glasgow. The Ayr line was
extended from Girvan to Challoch junction in 1877, where it joined the
Portpatrick Railway, and afforded connection with Stranraer Harbour for
the short sea route to Larne.
On the Dumfries line, near Mauchline, is the famous Ballochmyle
Viaduct. It is 630ft. long, and consists of six approach arches, each
of 50ft. span, and one central arch, the largest stone arch in the
world, having a span of 181ft.; the highest point of this span is
157ft. 4in. above the River Ayr. On the same line is the Templand
viaduct, near Old Cumnock. It has fourteen 50ft. span arches, and five
of 30ft.; it is 145ft. 9in. from river to rail level.
The Highland Railway, although not quite so important as the other
Scottish partners in the L.M. & S. group, is nevertheless a
line of considerable interest. The line across the Grampians reaches at
the Pass of Drumuachdar, an altitude of 1,484.ft. above sea-level, the
highest point of any main line in Great Britain. The Highland is
noteworthy for the reason it goes farther north than any other railway
in this country, viz. to Thurso, 722 miles from London.
The H.R. was formed in 1865, when the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction
and Inverness and Perth Junction Railways were amalgamated; the
extremities of these were Inverness, Keith and Perth. The oldest part
was the piece between Inverness and Nairn, opened in 1855. The line
beyond Inverness was made by the Ross-shire Railway to Bonar Bridge in
1864, and the Sutherland Railway, thence to Golspie in 1868. The line
across Scotland from Dingwall to Strome Ferry, to afford communication
with Skye and the Hebrides, was opened in 1870, and extended to Kyle of
Lochalsh in 1897, from which there is a service of steamers to
Stornoway. The Duke of Sutherland built the line northwards from
Golspie to Helmsdale in 1871, and the extreme north was reached by the
Sutherland & Caithness Railway to Wick and Thurso. A further
development was the building of a direct line from Aviemore to
Inverness in 1898.
Among developments of recent years on the L.M. & S. system are
the electrification of the suburban lines from Euston and Broad Street,
London, out to Watford, and the branches to Kew Bridge, Richmond and
Earl's Court, together with a section of the Southend line from Barking
to Upminster. Another suburban electrified line is in the Manchester
area, where the Manchester, South Junction & Altrincham
Railway, which is jointly owned by the L.M. & S. and L.
& N.E.R., and operated by the L.M. & S., was changed
over to electric working in May, 1931. The L. & Y. adopted
electrical working on the section between Liverpool and Southport in
1904, and also converted the line from Manchester to Bury a few years
later.
CHAPTER
8
LONDON AND NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY
OF the four British railway systems, the London & North Eastern
takes second place, with a total route mileage of 6,721, or reduced to
single track, 17,413 miles. It embraces the following seven railways:
North Eastern, Great Northern, Great Central, Great Eastern, North
British, Great North of Scotland, Hull & Barnsley, as well as
many small ones. It serves a territory 600 miles long from the Thames
to the Moray firth, in addition to extensive areas in the centre and
west, both of England and Scotland. It has 6,860 locomotives, 21,000
passenger train vehicles, and 275,000 freight wagons, and owns about
2,500 stations and goods depots. It has 16,000 road vehicles. The fleet
of steamers numbers 40.
Some idea of the resources of the L. & N .E.R. may be gathered
from the fact that it possesses 3,800 acres of water area, and 210 coal
shipping berths. At Alloa, Bo'ness, Burntisland, Charlestown, Connah's
Quay, Grimsby, Harwich, Hull, the Hartlepools, Immingham, London,
Lowestoft, Mallaig, Methil, Middlesbrough, Silloth, Newcastle (Tyne
Dock), Sunderland and Tayport, the Company owns docks and harbours of
varying importance and directly serves many other well-known ports,
including London, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. The L. &
N.E.R. operates Continental steamship services to and from Harwich and
Grimsby, and owns a fleet of steamers serving the Firth of Clyde
watering places.
The railways forming the L. & N.E.R. group can claim several
innovations in railway travel. The first restaurant car ran on the
G.N.R. in 1879, while the same company was also responsible for the
introduction of articulated carriage stock, when, in 1913, they mounted
two cars on three bogies.
As is well known, on September 27th, 1825, the S. & D.R.—26¾
miles long—was opened amid great
rejoicings. This, the first public railway in the world, operated by
steam locomotives, is now part of the L. & N.E.R. George
Stephenson, after a first survey for it, conducted a second in 1821. In
the following year he was appointed engineer, and in that year the
first rails were laid at Stockton by Mr. Thomas Meynell, the Chairman,
4ft. 8in. apart (subsequently widened to 4ft. 8½in. to allow for easier
railway running).
Encouraged by the success of the S. & D. other railways were
made in the North of England to take part in improving the means of
transport. Most of the projects were from the coalfields to the sea,
and it was some time before the main route north and south was
completed. The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway—63 miles in length, and
completed in 1839—was the first line connecting
the east coast with the west coast.
The present main line northwards from York was built, in 1840,
by the Great North of England Railway, and as far as Darlington is
remarkable for its straightness and easy gradients, and well adapted
for high speeds. The Newcastle to Berwick line, opened in 1847, had
some heavy engineering works. The High Level Bridge, near the Tyne, at
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1,337ft. in length, and the Border Bridge, with its
28 stone arches, over the Tweed, at Berwick, 2,160ft., are both
memorials of the genius of Robert Stephenson. On the Church Fenton and
Harrogate branch, opened 1848, is the viaduct of 31 arches, each 50ft.
in span across the Crimple valley.
The
N.E.R. was formed by the fusion, in 1854, of the York, Newcastle
&
Berwick, York & North Midland and Leeds Northern Railways, with
headquarters at York.
The main line was straightened and
shortened in 1868, by the making of the Team Valley line between
Newcastle and Durham, and in 1871 by the direct Selby line, between
Doncaster and York. This completed the main line, as we know it to-day,
except that until 1877 trains ran into and reversed at the old
terminus, at York. The King Edward bridge and loop at Newcastle opened
in 1906 shortened the through route by half a mile. The Blyth &
Tyne Railway, a Northumberland mineral line, dating to 1840, was
absorbed in 1874.
A large part of the Newcastle suburban service was electrified in 1903.
Just
before the grouping of the railways, the N.E.R. acquired the Hull
&
Barnsley line with a mileage of 66 and an extensive dock area at Hull.
Its main line extended from Hull to Cudworth, where it joined the
Midland, in the neighbourhood of Barnsley, and was opened in 1885. This
company worked the new South Yorkshire Railway, opened in September,
1894, and it also had a branch line to Wath, opened in 1902.
North
Road Works and Faverdale, Darlington, were the principal rolling stock
shops of the N.E.R. and are still responsible for the making of many of
the locomotives of the L. & N .E.R.
The G.N.R. formed the
southern section in the east coast route to Scotland. The result of two
rival schemes—the London and York and the Direct Northern, the Great
Northern started with the opening of a local line from Grimsby to
Louth, in 1848. In August, 1850, it reached Peterborough, and two years
later the main line was opened from a temporary station at Maiden Lane
(some distance north of the present King's Cross Station), through
Grantham to Doncaster.
The opening of King's Cross Station, in
October, 1852, completed the main Line almost as it is to-day. York was
then reached by running over the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
from Askern to Knottingley, and thence over the York & North
Midland line, from Burton Salmon. When built, King's Cross Station
attracted a lot of attention, although it had then only an arrival and
a departure platform. To-day it has 13 platforms, and, approximately,
500 trains use it every week-day. The engineering works for the first
25 miles out of London are particularly heavy; there are nine tunnels
(four having three parallel bores) on the main line, and one
(Ponsbourne) on the loop line through Hertford, which, with its length
of 2,686 yards, is the longest on the system. There is also the large
Digswell viaduct at Welwyn, of 40 brick arches, each of 30ft. span.
There are four large viaducts on the loop line—that at Hertford of 20
arches, and an intermediate steel girder span of 87½ft. being the most
important. Further north, on the main line at Peterborough, Newark and
Doncaster there are fine examples of bridge work. At Peterboro' is a
long viaduct which carries the line over the Oundle road, the old Great
Eastern line and the River Nene; the largest of these has a span of
220ft. The Newark Dyke Bridge, carrying the line over the Trent
Navigation, has a single span of no less than 262½ft. The Don Bridge at
Doncaster has a span of 185ft.
For the first 100 miles out of
London—that is, to the south end of Stoke tunnel—there is a four-track
road practically all the way, with breaks at a few places.
Unfortunately, some of these breaks occur near London; the
existence of five long tunnels, and the Welwyn viaduct, all fairly
close together, made the work of widening too costly. For this reason,
the loop line through Hertford to Stevenage was built to relieve the
main line.
Apart from the main line of the East Coast route, the
Great Northern had many feeder lines. Two local systems absorbed in
1865 were the West Yorkshire and the Leeds, Bradford & Halifax
Railways, which enabled Leeds to be reached by running over other
railways until the Doncaster & Wakefield Joint Line was
completed
in 1866. In the same year the Great Northern obtained access to
Cambridge by joining up with the then Eastern Counties Railway at
Shepreth. Other extensions stretched to Dewsbury and Keighley, and to
Grimsby through Boston and Lincoln. Nottingham was reached over the
Ambergate Railway from Grantham in 1852, and extended up the Erewash
Valley as far as Pinxton in 1875. Another branch of this section from
Kimberley to Egginton, in 1878, took the Great Northern through
Ilkeston and Derby to Burton; and, by the purchase of the small
Stafford & Uttoxeter Railway, entered Stafford, the most
westerly
point reached by the Great Northern. A line to Leicester was opened in
1883, and at the same period several lines in Lincolnshire and
Yorkshire. The Luton and St. Albans branches from Hatfield were opened
in 1860 and 1865 respectively.
In the West Riding division are
some very heavy constructional works. On the Halifax to Keighley line,
there are Strine's cutting, 1,033 yards long, Queensbury tunnel, 2,501
yards long, followed by Thornton viaduct, formed of twenty 50ft. arches
on an "S" curve; and then Lees Moor tunnel, 1,533 yards long. The most
notable Great Northern viaduct in Derbyshire is that across the Erewash
Valley and the Midland Railway, near Ilkeston. There are sixteen 77ft.
spans and three small ones, the total length being 1,449ft. and 63ft.
above the ground. At Radcliffe, on the line to Nottingham, is a long
viaduct over the Trent and the adjoining meadows. The eastern approach
of 960ft. consists of 28 arches, whilst over the river itself are two
brick arches and a single girder span. The Digby viaduct on the Pinxton
branch is 1,718ft. long, and comprises 45 arches.
The locomotive
works were originally at Boston, but they were moved to Doncaster soon
after Mr. Patrick Stirling became locomotive superintendent in 1866.
Doncaster is now the principal locomotive carriage and wagon building
establishment of the L. & N.E.R.
The third large railway to
form part of the L. & N.E.R. system was the Great Eastern. The
section of 10½ miles from a temporary station at Devonshire Street to
Romford marked the opening in 1839 of the Eastern Counties Railway. On
July 1st a terminus at Bishopsgate was opened, and on the same date the
line was extended to Brentwood. It was built on the 5ft. gauge, but
converted a few years later to the 4ft. 8½in.
The line was taken
as far as Colchester by the E.C.R. in 1843, while connection was made
to Ipswich by the Eastern Union Railway. Another old portion of the
G.E.R. was the London and Blackwall Ry., opened in 1840, and originally
worked by rope-haulage. Its terminus was Fenchurch Street, which, since
1858, has also been the terminus of the London, Tilbury &
Southend
trains, and used for a time for the same purpose by the North London
Railway.
The Cambridge line of the Great Eastern was built from
Stratford to Newport by the Northern & Eastern, and opened as
far
as Bishop's Stortford in May, 1842. On January 1st, 1844, the Eastern
Counties took over this line, and by combination with the Norfolk
Railway, which owned the Norwich & Brandon and Norwich
&
Yarmouth Railways and by the completion of the line beyond Newport
through Cambridge and Ely to Brandon, railway communication was
completed between London and Norwich in July, 1845.
The
completion of the Ipswich route to Norwich was carried out by the
E.U.R., and opened to Norwich (Victoria) in November, 1849. Lowestoft
was reached from Norwich in 1847.
A veritable network of small lines in East Anglia were formed into the
combination known as the "Great Eastern Railway" when that title was
adopted in 1862. The Great Eastern was actually an amalgamation of the
Eastern Union, Eastern Counties, East Anglian, East Suffolk, and the
Norfolk Railways. During the next 30 years many small additions were
made to the system, and the "Essex Lines" were opened from Shenfield to
Southminster and Southend in 1888-89.
The Great Eastern established steamer services from Harwich to the
Continent, to Rotterdam (later to the Hook of Holland), and to Antwerp
in 1876; and in 1883 these were transferred to Parkeston Quay. Just
prior to the 1922 grouping, arrangements were made for the useful cross
channel train-ferry service from Harwich to Zeebrugge.
The remaining railway to form the junior partner in the L. &
N.E.R. was the Great Central. This originated in a cross-country line
from Manchester to Sheffield, although it developed into one of the
main routes between London, Sheffield and Manchester. The Great
Central, as such, did not exist before August, 1897.
The nucleus of the system was the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and
Manchester Railway, the first section to be used for passenger traffic
from Manchester to Godley being opened in 1841. It was completed as far
as the Woodhead tunnel, which is three miles long, early in 1845, and
opened throughout six months later. On amalgamating with the lines
connecting Sheffield with Grimsby and Lincoln, in 1847, the title was
changed to the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway. By
leasing the old South Yorkshire Ry. in 1864, it obtained access to the
colliery district around Barnsley. In partnership with the Great
Northern and Midland Railways in the joint "Cheshire Lines" system, it
obtained entry to Liverpool, and thus obtained a through route from the
Mersey to the Humber, as well as access to Chester. Later—1905—it
absorbed the Wrexham, Mold & Connah's Quay Railway, which gave
it access to Wrexham and an interest in the North Wales coalfield. Two
years later it acquired the Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast
Railway, which connected Chesterfield and the Derbyshire coalfields
with Lincoln. Another line in the Nottingham colliery area forming part
of this system was the Mansfield Railway, opened in 1916.
The M.S. & L.R. was the first railway to own docks, and the
large fishing port of Grimsby owes its prosperity to its enterprise. It
purchased an existing small dock about 1849. Subsequently, very large
extensions were made, and a service of steamers to Hamburg, Rotterdam
and Antwerp started.
A service of express trains between Manchester (London Road) and King's
Cross was inaugurated in 1857, the M.S. & L.R. share of the
work ending at Retford. On cutting the time to 4½ hours, in 1883, the
Retford stop was eliminated for the two best trains, and the M.S.
& L. then worked the trains as far as Grantham. The following
year another 15 minutes was cut off the running time.
In 1893 powers were obtained by the M.S. & L. for a new main
line, 92 miles in length, from Annesley, passing through Nottingham,
Leicester, Rugby and Aylesbury, to a junction with the Metropolitan
Railway at Quainton Road. Arrangements were made to use the latter
company's line to Harrow, whence additional tracks were laid to
Finchley Road, and a new railway made to the Marylebone Terminus,
London. The new route was opened for passenger traffic on March 15th,
1899. On this "London Extension," the principal works are the Bulwell
viaduct of 26 arches; three tunnels, a viaduct of 60 arches, a bridge
over the Midland Station, and over the Trent at Nottingham; the long
viaduct through Leicester; the bridge, 600ft. long, at Rugby, over the
L.M. & S.; Catesby tunnel, 1 mile 1,237 yards in length, and
the Brackley viaduct.
Two years before the opening of the London Extension, the M.S.
& L.R. had adopted the title of the Great Central.
The large docks at Immingham, on the south bank of the Humber, were
opened in 1912. The extensive marshalling yard, at Wath, was built in
1907, to deal with 7,000 wagons a day.
North of the Border the main constituent of the L. & N.E.R. was
the North British Railway, the largest railway in Scotland. The oldest
part, the Monkland & Kirkintilloch Railway, was opened in 1826,
and the first locomotives built in Scotland were two built for this
line by Murdoch and Aitken, to the designs of J. Dodds, in 1832. They
were of the Stephenson "Killingworth" type. Two other small lines which
became part of the North British after 1840 were the Ballochney
Railway, closely associated with the Monkland line, and the Edinburgh
and Dalkeith.
The North British itself was begun in the line between Edinburgh and
Berwick, opened in 1846, making a link in the chain of the East Coast
route from London to Aberdeen. In 1862 it was amalgamated with the
Edinburgh, Perth & Dundee Railway, the Edinburgh, Leith
& Granton Railway, and the Forth Ferry; and in 1865 with the
Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway. The latter had been opened in
1842, and was the means of bringing North British influence into the
West of Scotland. To the south of Edinburgh, an extension towards
Carlisle was opened as far as Hawick in 1849. This line, known as the
"Waverley route," was taken through Carlisle, and terminated at
Silloth, on the Solway firth; it was opened in 1862. A feeder from
Riccarton Junction went to join the N.E.R. at Morpeth and Hexham. By
amalgamation, and opening new lines, the North British obtained a
monopoly of railway transport in the coalfields of the county of Fife.
In its final form, when it became part of the L. & N.E.R., the
North British was composed of more than fifty different companies added
to the original one.
In the early days communication from Edinburgh to the north was by
train to Granton, thence by steam ferry to Burntisland, where the Fife
trains were joined. Merchandise traffic was transported in goods
steamers provided with rails on to which the wagons were run direct, a
communicating cradle being lowered on to the deck and pier to allow of
this being done. The wagons were hauled on and off by rope. The ferry
is still in use, and serves as a short cut across the Forth for
motorists.
The Forth Bridge, which made rapid transport possible, was not opened
until 1890. This masterpiece of bridge building occupied seven years in
construction, and cost 2½ millions.
Passengers and goods for Dundee and beyond were conveyed by steamer
across the Firth of Tay from Tayport to Broughty Ferry. The ill-fated
Tay Bridge, designed to improve this passage, was opened in June, 1878,
and wrecked in the storm of December 29th, 1879, when a train fell into
the Tay, with great loss of life. The present Tay Bridge was opened for
traffic in 1887.
The West Highland Railway—140 miles long—was the most recent extension
of importance to the N.B.R. It was opened to Fort William in 1894. It
leaves the line which serves the north bank of the Clyde, at
Craigendoran, and by a single track with heavy grades skirts Loch
Lomond, crosses Rannoch Moor, where it reaches a height of 1,350ft.,
and then descends to sea-level at Fort William. Thence it is continued
to Mallaig, opened in 1901. On it some of the finest scenery in the
British Isles can be seen.
Mention must be made of the fine Edinburgh (Waverley) Station, the
biggest in Scotland. Built for through running, with terminal bays for
suburban traffic, it has nine platforms, and covers 18 acres. At Queen
Street Station, Glasgow, trains were assisted by a steel rope up the
gradient of 1 in 45 to Cowlairs. The rope haulage was discarded in
1912, and all trains beyond one engine's power are now assisted by a
pusher, which, on expresses, is slipped.
The only other railway to form part of the L. & N.E.R. to be
mentioned was the Great North of Scotland. This connected Aberdeen with
Elgin, with branches to Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Macduff, Banff, and
Boat of Garten, while a southern branch traversed the valley of the Dee
from Aberdeen to Ballater. It is nearly all single track. Apart from
its heavy tourist traffic, in the summer, the fish and livestock
traffic accounted for the bulk of its revenue. The first portion of the
G.N.S.R. was from Kittybrewster, on the northern outskirts of Aberdeen,
to Huntly, and opened in September, 1854. There are few extensive
engineering works on this line, the largest being the Fochabers
viaduct, over the River Spey, near its mouth. This consists of seven
spans, with a total length of 950ft., the principal span having a
length of 350ft.
28. 4-6-0 TYPE EXPRESS
PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE, "CASTLE" CLASS, GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.
Four cylinders, 16in. diameter by 26in. stroke; driving wheels, 6ft.
8½in. diameter; boiler pressure, 225 lbs. per sq. in.; tractive effort,
31,625 lbs. These are the main particulars of the very successful class
of standard express engines of the Great Western Railway, introduced in
1923, and built at Swindon Works. They are named after famous castles
adjacent to that line. Length over buffers, 65ft. 2in. Water capacity
of tender, 4,000 gallons. Weight, in working order, engine and tender,
119 tons 17 cwts. One of these engines usually hauls the Cheltenham Flyer,
Swindon to Paddington, 77¼ miles, in 65 minutes, the fastest booked
train in the country. No. 4073, Caerphilly
Castle, was shown at the Wembley Exhibition of 1925. It
was No. 5006, Tregenna
Castle, that ran 39 miles at an average speed of 90 miles
an hour, with the Cheltenham
Flyer on June 26th, 1932.
29. HIGH-PRESSURE
COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE, No. 10,000, LONDON & NORTH EASTERN
RAILWAY.
The special feature of this 4-6-4 high-pressure, four-cylinder,
compound locomotive is the water tube boiler, which carries a
working-pressure of 450 lbs. per sq. inch. This was jointly patented by
Mr. H. N. Gresley, of the L. & N.E. Railway, and Mr. H. E.
Yarrow.
The boiler was built at the Works of Messrs. Yarrow & Co.,
Ltd.,
and the mechanical part of the locomotive at Darlington Works.
The two high-pressure inside cylinders, 10in. by 26in. drive the front
coupled axle, and the two low-pressure outside 20in. by 26in. drive the
second axle. At starting, steam limited to 200 lbs. pressure can be
admitted to the low-pressure pair of cylinders. The coupled wheels are
6ft. 8in. diameter, and the carrying wheels, front and rear, 3ft. 2in.
diameter.
The boiler has one top steam
drum, 3ft. diameter and 28ft. long, the firebox being formed of banks
of tubes passing downwards to two lower water drums, 18in. diameter and
11ft. long. The front part is formed of further tubes passing to two
water drums, 19in. diameter by 13ft. 6in. long, placed at a higher
level than the others. A superheater is fitted in the front end of the
main flue. As the top of the boiler is carried up to the limit allowed
by the construction gauge, no chimney can be allowed to project above
it, and this detail is concealed, except in a front view.
30. CONVERTED 4-6-0 EXPRESS
LOCOMOTIVE, No. 2329, "STEPHENSON," SOUTHERN RAILWAY.
Seven express tank locomotives of the 4-6-4 type were built between
1914 and 1922 at the Brighton Works of the former London, Brighton
& South Coast Railway, and used on the fast trains between
London
and Brighton and Eastbourne.
Consequent upon the electrification of these sections of the Southern
Railway, and no suitable work remaining for them owing to their limited
coal and water capacity, they are being converted into 4-6-0 type
tender engines at Eastleigh Works. The first to be completed is No.
2329, Stephenson.
The rebuilding of the
engines, raising of the boiler pressure to 180 lbs. per sq. in., and
provision of a standard 5,000 gallons bogie tender makes them of
general utility. Opportunity is being made to name these engines after
locomotive engineers of the past, except one, Remembrance,
No. 2333, chosen as the War Memorial locomotive of the L.B. &
S.C.
Railway, and also the last locomotive built at Brighton Works for that
line.
31. REPLICA OF THE "ROCKET"
LOCOMOTIVE OF 1829.
(Photo: Robt. Stephenson
& Co., Ltd.)
As nearly as possible, an exact replica, in all details, of the Rocket,
which took part in the Rainhill trials in October, 1829, has been
constructed by Robert Stephenson & Co., Ltd., for the Science
Museum, South Kensington. It is a reproduction of the original, both in
design and materials, as nearly as possible as it was on the opening
day of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway trials. Some of the
details have been settled from contemporary sketches made by John
Rastrick, which he used at the trials, particularly in regard to the
firebox. The boiler is of iron plates, ½in. thick, riveted together by
hand with wrought-iron rivets. The driving wheels are built up of wood
spokes with cast-iron centres; the tyres are of wrought-iron. The other
wheels are of cast-iron.
It will be remembered that at
the Rainhill trials, the Rocket
was the only engine which not only complied with the conditions, but
also performed the duties imposed without material failure of any kind,
a feat which is still regarded as a remarkable performance, and so won
the £500 prize, and became the prototype for the engines subsequently
ordered by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.
Beside the chimney will be noticed the mercury pressure-gauge,
indicating the pressure from 45 to 50 lbs. per sq. in., although
arrangements had been made for mounting a dial gauge as well.
Considerable doubt exists as
to the design of the original firebox of the Rocket,
but Rastrick's sketches show a box formed of two copper plates, pinched
together all round and dished to form a 3in. water space between them
at the top and sides, and riveted and tied at the bottom by four stays
on which the firebars rest. The iron front and back plates have no
water space. The engine was fired by coke. The firebox water space was
connected with the boiler barrel by pipes at the top and bottom. The
working steam pressure was 50 lbs. per sq. in.
Two safety-valves were provided, one loaded by a weighted lever and the
other by springs. The exhaust steam passed into the chimney, which was
15ft. high, by two pipes fitted with nozzles.
Its two cylinders, fastened to plates on the boiler, and inclined
downward at an angle of 35°, drive crank pins on the front wheels. The
cylinders are 8in. diameter by 17in. stroke, and the driving wheels
4.ft. 8½in. diameter. The trailing wheels are 30in. diameter, and the
wheelbase 7ft. 2in. Total heating surface 134 sq. ft. Grate area, 6 sq.
ft. Weight of engine, in working order, about 4¼ tons. Tractive force
of engine, 960 lbs.
CHAPTER
9
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY
AMID the general changing under the grouping of the railways in 1923,
the Great Western was the only one to proudly maintain its original
title and identity. The principal lines taken over to form the Great
Western system of to-day were the Cambrian Railways, the Taff Vale,
Barry, Rhymney and Brecon & Merthyr Railways, Alexandra
(Newport & South Wales) Docks and Railway, Cardiff, Rhondda and
Swansea Bay, Port Talbot, Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley, and
the Midland & South Western Junction Railways, as well as a
number of small companies.
The system now comprises 9,075 miles of single track and a route
mileage of 3,795, with about 1,500 stations and halts, while it owns
3,608 steam locomotives, 17 rail motors, 20 electric and 4 Diesel
vehicles, 6,142 carriages and 80,350 merchandise and mineral wagons,
also 14 steamers.
As mentioned in Chapter 1, the original main line of the G.W.R. was
constructed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, on the 7ft. gauge, and
connected London with Bristol, via Bath, a distance of 118¼ miles. It
was completed in 1841.
When
Brunel laid out the line to Bristol for high speed, the difficulties of
construction were aggravated by the lack of experience on the part of
his assistants. On the first section out of London, the chief
engineering undertakings were the viaduct crossing the Brent Valley,
the Maidenhead bridge over the Thames, and the cutting through the high
ground between Twyford and Sonning.
The line as far as Taplow
was opened on June 4th, 1838, to Reading, March 31st, 1840, Steventon
on June 1st, Farringdon Road (now named Challow) on July 20th, and Hay
Lane, near Wootton Bassett, on December 16th of the same year.
At
the Bristol end, the section as far as Bath, which included several
tunnels, was opened on June 20th, 1840, so that only about 24 miles
remained unfinished. This length, however, included the Box tunnel, 1
mile 7 furlongs in length.
By May 31st, 1841, trains were running from London to Chippenham, and
on June 30th to Bristol.
The
original G.W.R. ended at Bristol, but by associating itself with the
Bristol & Exeter Railway, the South Devon Railway from Exeter
to
Plymouth, the Cornwall Railway, connecting Plymouth with Truro and
Falmouth, and the West Cornwall Railway from Truro to Penzance, the
main line extended as far westward as a railway could be carried—326½
miles from Paddington.
The first half of the B. & E.R. to
Taunton was opened on June 14th, 1841, so that, on completion of the
Great Western, passengers were able to travel considerably further west
than Bristol. Beyond Taunton, high ground has to be crossed, and there
is a steady rise for 12 miles, finishing in a grade of 1 in 85 to the
Whiteball tunnel, five furlongs long. The line then descends, with
lengths of up grade here and there, to Exeter. The 75 miles from
Bristol to Exeter were opened throughout in 1844.
Brunel also
acted as engineer for the S.D.R. route from Exeter to Plymouth—a very
difficult railway to construct throughout. Leaving Exeter, the right
bank of the Exe is followed to Starcross, and then the seashore, past
Dawlish to Teignmouth. Beyond this point the left bank of the Teign is
taken, until it is crossed just before reaching Newton Abbot. So far
the line is practically level, but beyond it crosses difficult country.
Between Newton Abbot and Totnes, Dainton tunnel summit has to be
passed, and this involves gradients of 1 in 57 and 1 in 36. West of
Totnes, there is the stiff Rattery Bank, the steepest part of which is
1 in 46, while the up east-bound trains have to climb the two miles
Hemerdon Bank, near Plympton, on a gradient of 1 in 43.
It is
interesting to note that the Exeter-Newton Abbot section was worked on
the atmospheric system from November, 1847, to 1849.
In 1848 the line was opened to Plymouth, and the same year saw the
completion of the Torquay branch.
The
extension westwards, Plymouth to Truro, was the broad-gauge Cornwall
Railway through very heavy country, and a notable feature is the number
of viaducts on this section. There are 34 of these, and, when first
constructed, timber was largely employed.
The last stretch of
the western main line was the West Cornwall Railway, from Truro to
Penzance, through Redruth. This had been built to the standard gauge as
the successor of a mineral railway between Redruth and Hayle, opened in
1841, which included two rope-worked inclines. This line was extended
westwards to Penzance in 1851, and to Truro in the following year. On
the completion of the Cornwall Railway, in 1859, a third rail was laid
down to enable the broad-gauge rolling stock to run through to
Penzance. South Devon Railway engines began working into Penzance in
1860.
The Great Western also owns many branch lines in Cornwall,
several having been built by small local companies. The Liskeard
&
Looe, and the Cornwall Minerals, between Fowey and Newquay, are typical
of these. Other branches are to Falmouth, Launceston, Bodmin, Helston
and St. Ives. When completed, and until May, 1892, the whole of the
main line was laid to a gauge of 7ft., although an extra rail for
narrow gauge traffic was in use as far as Exeter, and, as above
mentioned, on the extreme westerly portion.
The inconvenience
and expense of working the railway with two gauges made it imperative
to abolish the broad-gauge track. Various sections were dealt with from
time to time, and the final conversion to standard gauge took place in
1892. The feat of converting 177 miles, comprising branches in Devon
and Cornwall and the main line from Exeter to Truro, was accomplished
in two days. The last broad-gauge passenger train to leave Paddington
was the 5 p.m. to Plymouth, on Friday, May 20th. The very last
broad-gauge train to run was the up "Cornishman," which left Penzance
at 9 p.m. on that day. The whole of the conversion occupied only 30
hours, and on Monday, May 23rd, the usual service of trains was in
operation on the standard gauge rails.
The second main route is
that diverging at Swindon via Gloucester, and thence south-west and
west to Cardiff and South Wales. The line from Gloucester to New Milford—opened
throughout in 1856—was built by the South Wales Railway, and taken over
by the G.W.R. in 1863, although it had always been worked by them. It
was constructed on the broad gauge by Brunel, and the chief engineering
works were the bridges over the Severn, at Gloucester, over the Wye at
Chepstow, and over the Usk, near Newport, the Landore viaduct,
one-third of a mile long, and the Cockett tunnel, near Swansea, of
about the same length. Of these the Chepstow tubular bridge was the
most difficult work. This has three spans of 100ft. each, and one of
290ft., making the total length, with the piers, of 610ft.
The
third main line of the Great Western leaves the original Bristol route
at Didcot and runs north through Oxford, Leamington and
Warwick to
Birmingham (Snow Hill). It then continues north-ward through the Black
Country, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, and traverses the famous Vale of
Llangollen to Chester, finally reaching Birkenhead over the Joint
London, Midland & Scottish and Great Western line.
Until
the middle 'fifties the G.W.R. was essentially a broad-gauge line,
extending as far north as Wolverhampton, through Oxford and Birmingham.
North of this point the Shrewsbury & Birmingham and Shrewsbury
& Chester Railways were of standard gauge, and early in the
'fifties a fight for their possession ensued between the G.W. and L.
& N.W.R. This ended in a victory for the former as regards
ownership, but conditional on their remaining of standard gauge.
Until
1886, when the Severn Tunnel was opened, all G.W.R. traffic between
South Wales and London and Bristol had to be worked via Gloucester and
Swindon. There certainly was a steamer ferry introduced in 1863 between
New Passage, on the Gloucestershire shore, and Portskewett. The Severn
& Wye Railway bridge, opened in 1879, between Sharpness and
Lydney,
was the only way of crossing the Severn below Gloucester, except by the
local ferries. But this bridge was of little use for through traffic,
as it had no connection with the Swindon-Gloucester line of the G.W.R.,
and the junction with the M.R. at Berkeley Road went towards
Gloucester. Moreover, it had only a single track. Work was commenced on
the Severn tunnel in 1873. Water broke into the workings in 1879,
causing considerable delay in completion. The first train to pass
through on January 9th, 1886, was a coal train from Aberdare to
Southampton, and on December 1st of the same year the passenger service
was started. The length of the tunnel is four miles, 624 yards, of
which 2¾ miles is below the river bed. The tunnel is kept dry by
Cornish beam engines, with 70in. cylinders, and pumping 75 million
gallons of water per week.
Of late years the Great Western has
carried out a number of extensive schemes for reducing the main line
journeys, by new lines forming short cuts across angles. The first of
these was the South Wales & Bristol Direct Railway, via
Badminton,
33 miles in length, in 1903, and its extension to Avonmouth in 1910.
This line leaves the main line at Wootton Bassett and joins the old
South Wales line to Cardiff at Severn Tunnel Junction, while the
Bristol connection was made at Filton. By this route the distance
between London and Bristol was reduced to 117 miles 55 chains.
By
re-alignment and doubling the Berks and Hants line, and a new short
line from Patney and Chirton to the old route, via Chippenham, at
Westbury, the Weymouth service was diverted via Newbury, and the
distance to the port shortened by 14 miles. The new route was opened in
1901. By the completion of the Castle Cary to Langport line, opened
July 1st, 1906, the distance between London and Taunton and places west
of the latter was shortened by nearly 19 miles, and the West of England
expresses were diverted to this route.
The Acton and Northolt
line, opened 1903, the Northolt to Ashendon line in 1905-06, Joint
Great Western and Great Central, and the Ashendon-Aynho in 1910 gave
the Great Western the shortest route between London and Birmingham,
reducing the distance by the old route via Oxford from 129 miles to 110
miles 47 chains, with a corresponding reduction to places north of
Banbury.
The Cheltenham & Honeybourne line opened in
1904-06, and the Birmingham & North Warwickshire line,
completed in
1907, enabled a new cross country service from Birmingham to Bristol,
via Stratford-on-Avon, to be inaugurated.
Another great
enterprise of the G.W.R. was the construction of Fishguard Harbour, on
the north coast of Pembrokeshire, together with the railway connection
thereto. This was a revival of a scheme dating back to 1845, when
Brunel recognized Fishguard as the most suitable point for the
South of Ireland and Transatlantic traffic. This new route to the south
of Ireland, via Fishguard and Rosslare, was inaugurated on August 30th,
1906. The distance from London to the Welsh port is 262 miles.
Among
the constituents of the G.W.R. group were the erstwhile Cambrian
Railways and the Taff Vale Railway. The former served mid-Wales, with a
main line from Whitchurch on the L.M.S.R. through Oswestry, Welshpool,
Montgomery, Machynlleth and Barmouth, to Pwllheli, with branches taking
off at Moat Lane Junction to Brecon, and from Dovey Junction to
Aberystwyth. It had but a single track for all except 27 of its 242
miles. The largest engineering feature is the Barmouth viaduct, 800
yards long, in 113 spans, crossing the estuary of the River Mawddach.
For most of its length this viaduct is constructed of wood, but there
is a steel swing bridge at its northern end. There is also a very deep
cutting at Talerddig, on the main line between Moat Lane and
Machynlleth. The main asset of the Cambrian was the tourist traffic,
its territory being a favourite holiday ground for pleasure seekers.
Connection with the G.W.R. is made at Oswestry and at Welshpool.
The
Taff Vale Railway traversed a densely populated country, and carried an
enormous mineral traffic. There are two to six tracks on much of the
main route between Merthyr and Cardiff, and four tracks as far as
Porth, on the Rhondda Valley line. It was opened between Cardiff and
Merthyr before the G.W.R. was completed to Bristol.
The Barry
Railway dated from 1884, built docks for the shipment of coal at Barry
Island, and also constructed railways to the Rhondda Valley, and
through the Vale of Glamorgan to Bridgend. The Rhymney Railway had a
main line through the colliery district from Cardiff northwards to
Nantybwch, where it joined the L. & N.W.R. section of the L.M.
& S.R. One of its branches also served the Aberdare Valley.
Another
South Wales line was the Brecon & Merthyr. Originally a line
connecting the towns of Brecon and Merthyr, on which occurs the famous
Tal y Bont incline, some 7 miles in length, mostly at 1 in 37 and 38,
it was extended to form a connection with the G.W.R. at Bassaleg, near
Newport.
Other South Wales mineral lines taken over were the
Cardiff Railway, Rhondda & Swansea Bay, Neath & Brecon,
Port
Talbot Railway & Docks and Burry Port & Gwendraeth
Valley
Railways. Another small railway taken over was the Cleobury Mortimer
& Ditton Priors Light Railway.
The Midland & South
Western Junction Railway provided a direct route from Cheltenham and
the Midlands via Andover to Southampton.
It is the claim of the
G.W.R. to have carried members of the reigning house more frequently
than any other British railway. The first journey made by His Majesty
King George V was nearly 70 years ago when, but a few months old, he
was taken from Paddington to Windsor. Since then his journeys have
taken him to many parts of the system. Among these was his visit to
Bristol in 1902 to cut the first sod of the Royal Edward Dock. On May
25th, 1903, as Prince of Wales and President of the Royal Agricultural
Society, he travelled by the first train carrying passengers over the
newly constructed line between Old Oak Common and Park Royal, where a
new station had been built specially for the Royal Show. A brass plate
commemorating this event was fixed on either side of the station
premises which "His Royal Highness was pleased to name 'Park Royal.'"
In
July, 1903, Their Majesties, then Prince and Princess of Wales, paid a
visit to Cornwall. A special train was put on for their non-stop
journey to Plymouth via Bristol, a distance of 245¾ miles in four
hours, and as a result of the success of this run, the famous "Cornish
Riviera Express" came into being.
On the occasion of Their Majesties' wedding two
passenger locomotives were named after them, No. 1128, Duke of York, and
No. 1129, Princess May,
and after the Coronation, the first four-cylinder express passenger
engine, built at Swindon in 1910, was named Queen Mary. This
locomotive is still in service.
In 1927, when the Company introduced the "King" class locomotives, the
first was named King
George V.
It was this engine which was sent to America in the same year and
exhibited at the Fair of the Iron Horse, organized by the Baltimore
& Ohio Railroad.
CHAPTER
10
SOUTHERN RAILWAY
THE
three railways which formed the Southern Railway group were the London
& South Western, London, Brighton & South Coast, and
South
Eastern & Chatham Railways. They are all mainly passenger
lines,
and have a very large short distance traffic. The whole of the district
south-east, south and south-west of the Metropolis is thickly populated
by people who have to travel to and from town, and the suburban traffic
dealt with morning and evening is far and away the most concentrated
and difficult to work in the British Isles. On the South Eastern
section there are four London termini, just north of the Thames: Cannon
Street, Holborn Viaduct, Charing Cross and Victoria. The Brighton
section has Victoria and London Bridge, while the South Western has
Waterloo.
Possessing the shortest sea routes, the S.R. occupies
the leading position as carriers between England and the Continent. In
addition to the sailings from Dover and Folkestone to Ostend, Calais
and Boulogne, services are also maintained between Newhaven and Dieppe,
and from Southampton to Havre, St. Malo, Caen and Cherbourg, as well as
to the Channel Islands. To operate these services it has a fleet of
about 40 steamships.
Electric traction, first brought into use
on the South Western section in the London area in 1915, has now been
adopted on all the London suburban lines, as far as Sevenoaks, Dorking,
Guildford and Windsor, as well as the main lines to Brighton, Worthing,
Eastbourne and Hastings. The route mileage of electrical working of the
S.R. is 447, and the track mileage, 1,160. The total route mileage is
now 2,170, and it owns 2,044 steam locomotives, 8,032 coaching
vehicles, 34,458 wagons, and 1,629 vehicles for electric working.
Although
the Western section of the S.R. reaches as far west as Padstow, on the
Cornish coast—259¾ miles from Waterloo—the main line proper of the
former L. & S.W.R. runs in an entirely different direction, and
for
79 miles only, Southampton being the objective. In fact, the system was
originally known as the London & Southampton Railway, and, with
the
exception of the London & Birmingham Railway, was the oldest of
the
main trunk lines out of the Metropolis, the opening from the Nine Elms
passenger terminus as far as Woking occurring in May, 1838. Through
rail communication was effected between London and Southampton in May,
1840. A year previously, a change of title to that of the L. &
S.W.R. indicated a determination to extend the system further afield.
How the L. & S.W. extended the narrow gauge into the west of
England is an interesting story, but too lengthy to be related here.
It
was soon realized that Nine Elms was inconvenient as the London
terminus, and a three miles extension to Waterloo was opened in 1848,
and Nine Elms became the London goods depot. In 1854 the railway was
extended from Basingstoke to Andover, and in May, 1857, to Salisbury.
In the same year Weymouth was reached by running over the G.W.R. from
Dorchester, and in January, 1859, Portsmouth was brought into touch
with Waterloo by the opening of the "Direct" line from Guildford,
through Haslemere and Havant. The line to Reading had been opened in
1856. Exeter was reached in 1860 by an extension west of Salisbury,
through Sherborne and Yeovil; the distance from Waterloo being 171¾
miles, or 22 miles shorter than the G.W.R. route, though the opening of
the shorter route by that company in 1906 reduced the advantage by the
S.R. to one of two miles only.
Not for long was Exeter the Western terminus, for in 1862 a lease was
taken of the broad gauge lines to Crediton and Barnstaple from a
junction with the Bristol & Exeter Railway at Cowley Bridge. An
extension was made from Exeter (Central) to the G.W.R. St. David's
Station, and the gauge "mixed" thence to Bideford. Yeoford Junction, on
this North Devon line, was the starting point of a new line, opened as
far as Okehampton in 1867, which eventually reached both Plymouth and
Padstow.
Bournemouth was linked up with Waterloo in 1870 via Ringwood and
Christchurch. The Bideford line was extended to Torrington in 1872, and
two years later branches were opened from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe, and
to Sidmouth. By the acquisition jointly with the Midland Railway of the
Somerset & Dorset Railway, in 1875, the L. & S.W.R.
obtained a connection with the Midland, at Bath. As successors of the
Somerset Central and Dorset Central Railways, the Somerset &
Dorset line extended from Wimborne, on the L. & S.W.R. to
Burnham-on-Sea. There was a branch from Glastonbury to Wells, and an
extension from Evercreech to Bath. Connection of the S. & D.R.
with the S.R. main line is effected at Templecombe. There is
considerable traffic over the S. & D. line between Bournemouth
and the Midlands and North, especially during the summer months.
The L. & S.W.R. originally reached Plymouth over the G.W.R.
from Lydford by a mixed gauge line through Tavistock and Yelverton, but
in 1890 an alternative route extending from Lydford through Devonport
to Plymouth was opened. Two years later their Friary terminus on the
east side of Plymouth was opened, 230½ miles from Waterloo.
In March, 1888, the distance from Waterloo to Bournemouth was reduced
from 116 to 108 miles, by the direct line through the New Forest from
Brockenhurst to Christchurch.
Further extensions to North Cornwall were made from Okehampton, first
to Holsworthy (1879), to Launceston and to Camelford (1893), then to
Bude from Holsworthy (1898), and to Padstow from Wadebridge (in 1899).
More recently a line across country between Torrington and Halwill has
been completed by the S.R.
The growth of trade at Southampton since the Company took over the
Docks in 1892 has been enormous.
Among improvements of recent years, the rebuilding and re-modelling of
Waterloo Station should be mentioned, also the opening of a large
freight marshalling yard at Feltham. The rebuilding of Waterloo
occupied many years, and was finally completed in 1922. With its 21
platforms, the station now ranks as the largest and finest in the
country. The marshalling yard at Feltham, opened in 1921, is operated
on the "hump" principle, and it incorporates all the best features of a
modern shunting yard of this type.
Among the several small railways of the Southern group, the three
systems of the Isle of Wight are of interest. The Isle of Wight
Railway, running from St. John's Road, Ryde, was opened to Ventnor in
1866; on this line is a tunnel at Ventnor, 1,276 yards long. The
earliest line on the island, however, was the Newport & Cowes,
opened in 1862, while thirteen years later the Ryde & Newport
and a line to Sandown were opened. These three lines amalgamated to
form the Isle of Wight Central Railway, which also took over the
working of the Freshwater, Yarmouth & Newport Railway from its
opening, in 1889 until 1913, when the latter commenced to provide its
own rolling stock. The I. of W.C. also worked a branch to Ventnor in
1900, in competition with the I. of W.R. The I. of W.R. had
a branch from Brading to Bembridge. The extension from St.
John's Road, Ryde, to the Pier Head, at Ryde, was made jointly by the
South Western and Brighton Railways in 1880.
What is now the Central section of the S.R. was the London, Brighton
& South Coast Railway, its various lines occupying the
territory between London, Hastings and Portsmouth. Its direct route
between London and Brighton had a branch from Keymer Junction serving
Lewes, Eastbourne, Hastings, and its Continental port of Newhaven.
There is the line to Portsmouth via Epsom, Horsham, Ford Junction and
Chichester, and other routes are to Tonbridge via Oxted, and to East
Grinstead; also there is the coast line from Hastings via Brighton and
Worthing to Portsmouth.
When Parliament, in 1839, sanctioned the making of the London &
Brighton and South Eastern Railways, it was on the understanding that
they should form a continuation of the London & Croydon
Railway, southwards, and between Norwood and Redhill should use the
line jointly. At Norwood the Brighton line commenced and ran due south
to the coast; it was opened throughout, from London Bridge to Brighton,
on September 21st, 1841. Meanwhile, the Brighton and Shoreham section
had been in use since May, 1840; it was extended to Worthing, and
thence to Chichester and Portsmouth in 1847. Eastwards the line reached
St. Leonards in 1846. The L. & B. and L. & C.R.
amalgamated in 1846, and adopted the title "London, Brighton &
South Coast Railway." In succeeding years the system was extended by
various cross-country connecting lines, and by many developments in the
London suburban area. Entrance to the West End of London was obtained
through Clapham and Battersea, the terminus at Victoria being opened in
October, 1860.
The section avoiding Redhill Station, opened in 1900, extends for six
miles from Stoats Nest to Earlswood. There are four long tunnels on the
main line, viz. Merstham Old and New (the latter on the avoiding line);
Balcombe and Clayton, measuring 1,832, 2,113, 1,113 and 2,266 yards
respectively. North of Oxted, on the line from Croydon, is another
tunnel of 2,266 yards. There are also deep cuttings at Merstham, and
approaching Brighton. Another large work is the viaduct across the Ouse
valley, between Balcombe and Haywards Heath. With a length of 1,475ft.
and a maximum height of 90ft., the viaduct is formed of 37 arches, each
with a span of 30ft. In Brighton there are two other viaducts, that
over the London Road, on the Lewes line, and the Lewes Road viaduct on
the Kemp Town branch. Modern developments include the rebuilding of
Victoria Station in 1908. Electric traction on the overhead system was
inaugurated on the South London line in 1909, between Victoria and
London Bridge, but this has since been converted to the third rail
system.
The title "South Eastern & Chatham Railways' Managing
Committee" was adopted by the amalgamated South Eastern and London,
Chatham & Dover Railways in 1899, but this was a fusion of
traffic arrangements and rolling stock only; the two companies retained
their separate identity until the end of 1922. It is now termed the
Eastern section of the S.R. system. Although the Canterbury and
Whitstable line had been opened since 1830, and the Greenwich Railway,
as far as Deptford, from 1836, the first to be opened in the
metropolis, the London & Dover line of the South Eastern
Railway was not completed from Redhill to Dover Town until February,
1844. The Bricklayers' Arms branch, with a passenger station adjacent
to the Old Kent Road, opened in 1844, was intended to afford relief to
London Bridge, but not attracting the traffic anticipated, the station
was closed for passengers in January, 1852, and thereafter used as the
London goods depot. The South Eastern opened to Charing Cross in 1864,
and to Cannon Street in 1866.
From the first it was apparent that the original main line, running
south to Redhill before turning east, provided a very circuitous
route to Dover and other places, and to furnish a more direct
line, the Tonbridge line through Sevenoaks was opened in May, 1868.
This reduced the distance to places east of Tonbridge by 12½ miles, and
brought Dover to within 76½ miles of Charing Cross. The Sevenoaks
tunnel, of 3,451 yards, is on this line.
Between Folkestone and Dover, the engineering work is of considerable
magnitude. Across the town of Folkestone the line is carried by the
Foord viaduct of 19 arches, over 100ft. high, and next by means of
cuttings through the Warren. Then follow three tunnels: the Martello,
Abbot's Cliff and Shakespear, the latter consisting of two parallel
bores—one for each line. A serious landslide occurred in the Warren
during the War, and resulted in the line between Folkestone and Dover
being closed for a long period.
The North Kent line through Woolwich and Dartford to Gravesend, where
it joined the Rochester & Gravesend Railway, was opened in
1849, and extended from Strood to Maidstone in 1856, where it connected
with the branch from Paddock Wood, on the main line.
The lines from Canterbury and on to Ramsgate and Margate were completed
in 1846. Westwards the extension from Redhill through Guildford to
Reading was finished in August, 1849.
Exceptional engineering works are encountered on the North Kent line,
including, besides many cuttings, tunnels at Blackheath, Higham and
Strood, the two latter being adjacent and having a combined length of
3,753 yards. Heavy gradients are also found on both the Tonbridge
direct line and the Hastings branch.
The London, Chatham & Dover Railway started its career as the
East Kent Railway. This small line opened from Strood to Faversham,
gradually extended along the North Kent Coast, through Canterbury to
Dover, which was reached in 1861. From 1859 the East Kent became known
as the L.C. & D.R. and, by extending its system to London,
provided a second and shorter route to Dover than its rival, the S.E.R.
Passing through St. Mary Cray, Bromley and Penge, its first
London terminus was Victoria, opened in 1863, and by a line from Herne
Hill reached Ludgate Hill in 1864, and Holborn Viaduct in 1874, while
the St. Paul's terminus dates from 1886. A junction was effected with
the Metropolitan Railway at Farringdon Street in 1866.
As the L.C. & D.R. had to be built as cheaply as possible it
is, in the matter of gradients, the heaviest road of any railway out of
London. It is a succession of switchbacks varying from 1 in 100 to 1 in
132. There are two tunnels of considerable length—Shepherdswell, 2,376
yards, and Sydenham Hill, 2,200 yards. To reach the City stations there
are parallel bridges across the Thames, 933ft. long at Blackfriars, and
the approach to Victoria by the Battersea bridge, which measures 740ft.
Among the branches made by the L.C. & D.R., were the Sevenoaks
from Swanley 1862, to Maidstone, 1874, and to Ashford, 1884. Several
lines on the London district were made in the 'sixties, a branch to
Gravesend in 1886, and the Catford loop line, opened in 1892.
32. 4-8-2 FOUR-CYLINDER COMPOUND
EXPRESS LOCOM0TIVE, No. 41,001, EASTERN RAILWAY OF FRANCE.
During the past ten years, great improvements have been made in
locomotive design on the French Railways. The heaviest trains between
Paris and Nancy and Strasbourg are hauled by these "Mountain" type
locomotive, the loads ranging up to 510 tons on a far from easy road.
The coupled wheels have a diameter of 6ft. 5in. The high-pressure
cylinders, which are outside the frames, have a diameter 17¾in. and a
stroke of 28¼in. The inside low pressure cylinders have the same piston
stroke, but a diameter of 26in. They are worked by separate sets of
Walschaert valve gear. The boiler pressure is 250 lbs. per sq. inch.
The weight of engine and tender in running trim is a little over 185
tons.
33. HIGH-PRESSURE "PACIFIC" OR
4-6-2 TYPE COMPOUND EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE, SERIES 04, GERMAN STATE
RAILWAYS.
The latest development in locomotive practice on the German Railways
has been in the use of higher steam pressures and temperatures. The
four-cylinder compound classified as Series 04 has a pressure of 355
lbs. per sq. in. and a superheat temperature of 420° C. The
high-pressure cylinders are 13¾in. diameter, and the low-pressure
20½in., with a common stroke of 26in. The coupled wheels are 6ft. 6¾in.
diameter. In working order the engine alone weighs 104 tons. The
tractive effort is approximately 20,000 lbs.
34. TWO-CYLINDER 2-8-2, OR
"MIKADO," TYPE LOCOMOTIVE, No. 5501, BELGIAN NATIONAL RAILWAYS.
For passenger service on the Luxemburg line. The section between
Brussels and Arlon—121 miles in length—has many heavy gradients, with
lengths of 7½ and 9⅓ miles as steep as 1 in 66 to 1 in 62. The two
cylinders have a diameter of 28⅜in., with a piston stroke also of
28⅜in., with Walschaert valve gear. The diameter of the coupled wheels
is 5ft. 7in. The total weight is 131 tons in working order.
35. 2-10-4 BOOSTER-FITTED
LOCOMOTIVE, No. 10,000 FOR THE RUSSIAN SOVIET RAILWAYS.
Built in the United States, several of these large and powerful
locomotives have been put into service on hauling coal trains from the
Donetz district to Moscow, and are to suit the Russian 5ft. gauge
track. The ten-coupled wheels are 5ft. in diameter. The cylinders are
27½in. diameter by 30in. stroke. The boiler, which carries a working
pressure of 241 lbs. per sq. inch, is 6ft. 8in. diameter. Tractive
effort is 61,610 lbs., while the booster on the tender gives an
additional 13,224 lbs.
36. 4-8-4 FOUR-CYLINDER EXPRESS
GOODS TANK LOCOMOTIVE, No. 6303, NETHERLANDS RAILWAYS.
For dealing with the coal traffic from the mines in South Limburg, a
powerful type of goods engine has been introduced for fairly high
speed. The driving wheels are 5ft. 1in. diameter, and four cylinders
are used; these are 16½in. diameter by 26in. stroke. The working
pressure is 199 lbs. per sq. in., and the tractive effort is estimated
at 32,340 lbs. Total weight in running order, 126¼ tons.
37. 4-8-2, OR "MOUNTAIN" TYPE
LOCOMOTIVE, N0. 1773, MADRID, ZARAGOZA AND ALICANTE RAILWAY, SPAIN.
There are now seventy-five of these engines working practically all
express trains leaving and arriving at Madrid. These engines have two
cylinders, 24½in. diameter by 28in. stroke, with poppet valves and
coupled wheels, 5ft. 8⅞in. diameter. The working pressure is 200 lbs.
per sq. in., and the tractive effort 32,000 lbs. These engines were
built by the large and important Maquinista Terrestre y Maritima Works,
at St. Audries, a suburb of Barcelona. The total weight of the engine
alone is 104 tons in service.
38. "MIKADO" TYPE LOCOMOTIVE,
PEIPING LIAO-NING RAILWAY, CHINA.
Modern Chinese steam locomotives have a distinctive style, but many
characteristics have been taken from British and American practice. It
is now standard practice to fit the locomotives throughout China with
the air brake and central automatic couplers. The "Mikado" type engine
shown was built by the North British Locomotive Co., of Glasgow, to
suit the standard 4ft. 8½in. gauge. It has cylinders 21in. diameter by
28in. stroke, with coupled wheels 4ft. 6in. diameter. A mechanical
stoker, with a stoker engine, forms part of the equipment, with a
rocking grate. Other refinements include a tube cleaner, electric
lighting equipment, pneumatic sanding gear, speed recorder, pyrometer,
etc. The engine weighs 84¼ tons when ready for the road, while the
bogie tender, full, weighs just under 60 tons.
39. 4-8-2 THREE-CYLINDER
PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVE, CZECHO-SLOVAKIAN STATE RAILWAYS.
The heavy grades of the main routes of the railways of Czecho-Slovakia
call for a locomotive with high tractive effort and rapid acceleration
rather than speed capacity, and the example illustrated has been built
by the Skoda Company for express passenger service and fast goods.
Although four axles are coupled, the rigid
wheelbase is
only 19ft. The coupled wheels are 6ft. in diameter, and the leading
bogie wheels, 2ft. 10¾in. diameter, while the trailing wheels are 4ft.
3⅝in. diameter. The two outside cylinders are horizontal, whilst the
inside one is inclined 1 in 10; all are 21⅝in. diameter by 26¾in.
stroke. The boiler, 6ft. in external diameter, carries a working
pressure of 227 lbs. A superheater affords 968.7 sq. ft. of heating
surface, and this, with 2,529.6 sq. ft. evaporative surface and 213.5
sq. ft. of the firebox and arch tubes, gives a combined total of 3711.6
sq. ft. The grate area is 52 sq. ft. The engine weighs 102 tons, in
working order.
CHAPTER
11
THE LONDON TRANSPORT BOARD
RAILWAYS
AS
from Saturday, July 1st, 1933, passengers on the Underground railways,
trains, trolley-buses, as well as motor-buses, were notified that all
these undertakings had been vested in the London Passenger Transport
Board. This change in the ownership, administration and working of the
transport system of London puts under one control the greatest urban
transport system in the world, combining undertakings previously being
under both company and municipal ownership. Ninety-two concerns were
taken over, comprising 5 railway, 17 tramway, 62 omnibus, 4 coach, and
4 subsidiary undertakings, the last including the Lot's Road
Power
House, at Chelsea. The five railways were the Metropolitan, District,
City & South London, Central London, and London Electric
(Bakerloo,
Piccadilly and Hampstead Tubes).
It
was in January, 1863, the initial section of the Metropolitan from
Paddington to Farringdon Street, the first underground railway in the
world, was opened to traffic; and at the end of 1890 the inauguration
of the City & South London gave London both its first electric
railway and its first Tube.
The first portion of the
Metropolitan Railway was laid with mixed gauge track, and worked by the
Great Western Railway with broad-gauge stock. This arrangement,
however, soon terminated, and after working the line for a time with
stock borrowed from the Great Northern Railway, the Metropolitan
provided their own standard gauge engines and carriages. To mitigate
the smoke nuisance in the tunnels, in 1861 some experiments were made
with a fireless engine, but ordinary steam locomotives were employed
until electric traction was adopted in 1905.
Near the heart of
the City, Farringdon Street was chosen as the terminus on the vacant
site of the City Cattle Market, which had just been removed to
Islington. Extensions eastward were to Moorgate in 1865, and westward,
in 1868, to Gloucester Road, whilst the District Railway, which was at
the commencement worked by the Metropolitan, was opened to Westminster
Bridge at the end of 1868, and to Blackfriars in 1870.
The
junction with the Great Northern line at King's Cross was completed in
October, 1863, and in 1864 the Hammersmith line was opened with
broad-gauge trains running to the City. A junction with the Midland
Railway at King's Cross was effected in 1868, and the way for extension
to the country was initiated by the opening of the St. John's Wood
Railway in 1868 from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage. Until 1883 this
branch was single track with a passing place at St. John's Wood. The
main line was extended through the City to the Great Eastern Railway
terminus at Liverpool Street in 1875, and from Bishopsgate to Aldgate
in 1876. Bishopsgate Station has been renamed Liverpool Street. The
completion of the last link of the Inner Circle Railway was not
completed—Mansion
House to Aldgate—until 1884, although the short piece from Aldgate to
the Tower was opened in 1882. The temporary station at the Tower was
closed on completion of the Circle. Before this the St. John's Wood
line had reached Harrow, in 1880, Pinner, in 1885, and Rickmansworth in
1887. The Aylesbury extension was opened to Chesham in 1889, and to
Aylesbury in 1892, after taking over the Aylesbury & Buckingham
Railway (Aylesbury to Verney junction) the previous year. The Harrow
& Uxbridge line was opened in 1904. This line was one of the
first
sections to have an electric service, which was inaugurated on January
1st, 1905. Later developments were the taking over of the Great
Northern & City line from Finsbury Park to Moorgate, and the
inauguration of an electric service over the East London Railway
through the Thames Tunnel, completed by Brunel in 1843, when it was
used as a public highway. Recent extensions are short lines from Sandy
Lodge to Watford, and Wembley Park to Stanmore.
The Metropolitan Railway's generating station was at Neasden, where the
repair and car sheds were also situated.
The
history of the lines formerly known as the "Underground" as distinct
from the Metropolitan may be said to start with the opening of the D.R.
from South Kensington to Westminster in 1868. Extensions eastward to
Blackfriars and westward to West Brompton soon followed and, as already
stated, the trains for the first few years were worked by the
Metropolitan. On the opening of the Mansion House extension in 1871,
the District started operating its own trains. By 1884 they were
running to Putney Bridge, Richmond, Ealing and Hounslow. Connections
with the West London line, near Addison Road, enabled trains
to be
worked from the Mansion House to Broad Street via Willesden and
Hampstead, and to Moorgate via Westbourne Park. A junction was also
made with the G.W.R. at Ealing, and from 1883 to 1885 a through
District service was operated between Mansion House and Windsor, not
stopping between Ealing and Slough.
On
the opening of the Whitechapel & Bow Railway, in 1902, through
running to Barking was started, and in 1932 the electric service was
extended over the L.M.S. to Upminster.
The electrification of
the District line was taken in hand soon after some comparative tests
had been made in 1900, between Kensington High Street and Earl's Court.
A temporary power station was built and the line electrified between
the two stations. Trials between a standard steam engine versus
electric motor coach were carried out, and the latter won. The line
from Ealing to South Harrow, completed in 1901, was never operated as a
steam line, and was opened for traffic as the first section of the
electrified D.R. in June, 1903. The Hounslow and South Acton service
was the next to be converted to electric working, and thereafter the
change-over was much more rapid. The last D.R. steam trains were
withdrawn on November 5th, 1905. Combined with the installation of
electro-pneumatic signalling by electric working, the services have
been speeded up throughout. The journey time from Ealing to the Mansion
House in steam days was 48 minutes, whereas to-day a "non-stop" does it
in 30.
The City & South London Railway has the distinction
of being not only the pioneer "tube" railway, but also of being the
first electric railway in Great Britain, barring the small Volk line on
the beach at Brighton. From the opening on December 18th, 1890, until
its total reconstruction which began in 1922, the line was operated by
electric locomotives. The original three miles from King William Street
to Stockwell was soon extended both north and south. The first
extension was from the Borough to Moorgate, opened in February, 1900,
and the original tubes under the Thames, which had no station at London
Bridge, were abandoned, as was also the old terminus at King William
Street. The Stockwell-Clapham Common line was opened three months
later. By the end of 1901 the line had reached the Angel Station,
Islington, and Euston in 1907.
In 1913 the C. & S.L.R. was
amalgamated with the Underground railways, and arrangements made for a
connection with the Hampstead line at Euston, and for the tunnels to be
enlarged from 10ft. 6in. diameter to 11ft. 8¼in., to take standard tube
rolling stock. From August, 1922, the line from Euston to Moorgate was
closed, and the rest of the line in November, 1923, for the
reconstruction. This was completed and practically a new line opened on
December 1st, 1924, and since known as the City Railway. By means of
the Camden Town—Euston loops, trains had been running from Edgware and
Highgate to Moorgate from April of that year. The line from Clapham
Common was extended to Morden in 1925.
The Central London
Railway was opened on June 27th, 1900, by King Edward VII (then Prince
of Wales), and had a length of 5¾ miles. For three years heavy electric
locomotives were used to haul the trains, but they caused too much
vibration, and motor coaches were substituted.
In July, 1907,
the uniform twopenny fare, which was responsible for the popular name
"Tuppeny Tube," gave way to graduated fares. To serve the
Franco-British Exhibition of 1908 the Central London line was extended
to Wood Lane, and four years later the important section from the Bank
to Liverpool Street was brought into use.
In 1911 sanction was
obtained for a connecting line at Wood Lane to link up with the
proposed Ealing & Shepherds Bush line of the G.W.R. Work on
this
was delayed during the war and it was not until August, 1920, that
trains operated between Liverpool Street and Ealing. Many of the
stations have been remodelled in recent years, and escalators installed.
The
London Electric Railway was an amalgamation carried out in 1910 of
three lines—the Baker Street & Waterloo, the Charing Cross,
Euston
& Hampstead, and the Great Northern, Piccadilly &
Brompton,
known popularly as the Bakerloo, Hampstead and Piccadilly Tubes.
Work
on the original section of the first of these was commenced in 1898,
and good progress made for about three years, when financial
difficulties prevented continuance. Authority was obtained for
extensions to Paddington and the Elephant, and the line as between
Baker Street and Lambeth North was opened on March 10th, 1906; four
months later it was extended to the Elephant. Baker Street did not long
remain the terminus, and the Paddington extension was completed and
opened for traffic in sections: to Marylebone in March, 1907; Edgware
Road, June, 1907; and Paddington, December 1st, 1913.
To link up
with the then L. & N .W.R. the line was extended to Kilburn
Park
and Queen's Park in 1915, and since 1917 through trains have operated
between Elephant & Castle and Watford Junction.
The Great
Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway was hailed at its
opening
as London's longest tube railway. It was opened from Finsbury Park to
Hammersmith and between Holborn and Aldwych in 1906.
Further
developments were the opening of the extension from Finsbury Park to
Arnos Grove, in 1932, to Enfield West, and to Cockfosters in 1933.
The
Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway was commenced in
1903,
and opened between Charing Cross and Golders Green and Highgate, with a
junction at Camden Town, in 1907. Hampstead has the distinction of
being London's deepest tube station, being 200ft. below the surface. An
extension of this line northwards to Edgware was completed as far as
Hendon (Central) in November, 1923, and to Edgware in August, 1924.
The
Camden Town junctions between the City & South London and the
Highgate and Edgware branches of the Hampstead line having been opened
in April, 1924, the two railways have since been operated as virtually
one system. To link up the southern end of the Hampstead line with the
C. & S.L. an extension was made from Charing Cross to
Kennington,
in September, 1926, and at the same time, through-running over the C.
& S.L. extension to Morden was brought into operation.
The
District and its allied lines take current from the Lots Road Power
House, Chelsea. This has forty boilers and ten turbo-generators, with a
total output capacity of 150,000 kilowatts.
CHAPTER
12
SMALLER
BRITISH RAILWAYS
THERE
are still a few independent, small lines, some of standard gauge and
some of narrow gauge, on most of which steam locomotives work the
traffic. The Easingwold Railway—2½ miles in length—leaves the London
& North Eastern Railway main line at Alne, a few miles north of
York, and, as its name implies, runs to the small market town of
Easingwold. It possesses one locomotive and one passenger carriage, and
can therefore claim to be our smallest standard gauge passenger line.
Another small offshoot of the L. & N .E.R. is the North
Sunderland
Railway, from Chathill to Seahouses, on the Northumberland coast. This
is four miles long, and is now worked by a Diesel locomotive.
Other
independent lines are the 24-miles long Kent and East Sussex, from
Headcorn, on the Dover main line of the Southern Railway, through
Tenterden, to Robertsbridge, on the Tonbridge and Hastings
line;
also the 19 miles East Kent Railway from Shepherdswell, near Dover, to
the new Kentish colliery district.
There is one railway in this
country, with a regular passenger service, where a ticket cannot be
purchased, because they are issued free of charge; moreover, it is a
State Railway, and of standard gauge. This is the Woolmer Instructional
Military Railway, and is operated by the Royal Engineers as part of
their railway training. It runs from Bordon, where connection is made
with the Bentley and Bordon line of the S.R., through some of the
prettiest forest scenery in Hampshire to Longmoor Camp, a distance of
about five miles. From Longmoor it has been lately extended further
south for another 3½ miles to Liss, on the Guildford and Portsmouth
section of the S.R. With the exception of about a mile in the vicinity
of Longmoor, which has been doubled, for the training of the Royal
Engineers in double-line operation, the line is single throughout. The
depot at Longmoor is extensive, with a number of sidings and
well-equipped workshops. Here also are situated the administrative
offices of the railway, signalling school, and the barracks of the R.E.
railway companies.
The regular service of trains between Bordon
and Longmoor consists of six trains daily in each direction, but these
are little patronised by the general public. Goods trains are also run
for the carriage of coal, forage, ballast, timber, etc.
The
peace establishment at Longmoor comprises 22 officers and 385 other
ranks. In the summer, officers and men of the supplementary reserve
recruited from the four main railways undergo a fortnight's training
here; this reserve is made up of 54 officers and nearly 3,000 other
ranks. The rolling stock consists of six locomotives and over 100
carriages and wagons, all kept in spick and span condition.
Most
of the narrow gauge railways in this country are to be found in the
mountainous districts of North Wales, where they are used for bringing
slate from the quarries, but some of which are used considerably as
holiday attractions. The Festiniog Railway, the gauge of which is 1ft.
11½in., and its associated Welsh Highland Railway—31½
miles in all—is probably the most interesting, with all its carriages
painted different colours. It connects the quarries of Blaenau
Festiniog with the sea at Portmadoc, and then takes a northerly route
through the famous Pass of Aberglaslyn and Beddgelert, along the foot
of Snowdon to Dinas Junction, a few miles south of Caernarvon. The Vale
of Rheidol line, of the Great Western, from Aberystwyth to the Devil's
Bridge, is of the same gauge, and also the Lynton & Barnstaple
line, of the Southern. The 15in. gauge Eskdale Railway, from
Ravenglass, on the Cumberland coast, to the village of Boot, on the
slopes of Scafell, has several locomotives, which are miniature
replicas of standard main line engines, to work its trains.
The
Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch 15in. gauge line runs from the
western
end of Hythe town, passes through the seaside village of Dymchurch to
New Romney, with an extension to the lighthouse at Dungeness. The
locomotive stock of this interesting little railway comprises five
Pacific type engines, in general outline similar to the standard
express locomotives of the L. & N.E.R., and two Mountain, or
4-8-2
type, for the heavy excursion trains, as well as two 4-6-2 engines
which are miniature replicas of Canadian Pacific Railway engines. Most
of the carriages are of the semi-open type, seating two passengers
aside, but there are also some covered carriages for the winter
traffic. The line has a double track, and on the straight stretches a
speed of 25 miles an hour is attained.
The Snowdon Mountain
Railway, the only rack-rail line in the kingdom, is quite a curiosity.
Rising by gradients as steep in places as 1 in 5, the train climbs the
mountain at the rate of five miles an hour. The Swiss-built engine,
with its mechanism for working in the rack-rail, and its boiler set at
an angle to the frames, has an exceedingly curious appearance. The
ingenious arrangements by which perfect safety is assured include an
air-compressing appliance for retarding the train when
descending, and automatic governors which apply the brakes and shut off
steam when the speed exceeds five miles per hour, and an apparatus
which effectually prevents either locomotives or carriages from jumping
the rail. The carriages have open sides, and are not coupled to each
other, nor to the engine, which is always below them. Double fastenings
are fitted to the doors, as in places the railway runs on the edge of a
precipice, having a sheer drop of hundreds of feet. The views as the
motmtain is ascended are truly fine, provided the weather is clear. The
summit level is 3,140ft. up.
CHAPTER
13
IRISH RAILWAYS
CONSIDERING its small population, the lack of industries, and
practically no mineral wealth, the railways of Ireland have developed
to a larger extent than seemed probable at one time, although at a
slower rate than here. Opened in 1834, the earliest railway of
importance was the Dublin & Kingstown. Later the section
between Kingstown and Dalkey, opened in 1844, was worked for some time
on the atmospheric system. Irish like, the gauge had to be different,
and 5ft. 3in. was fixed as the standard for main lines, but there are
now numerous small lines, some of considerable length, with the rails
only 3ft. apart.
The Ulster Railway followed the Dublin & Kingstown, being
brought into use from Belfast to Lisburn in August, 1839, and completed
to Armagh in March, 1848. It now forms part of the Great Northern
Railway, which owns the main line between Dublin and Belfast.
The locomotives of the Irish railways are smaller than those of this
country, in spite of the liberal construction gauge, and the trains
generally are not so fast. Yet the best trains show some exceptionally
good running, and compare favourably with many in Great Britain.
The mileage of the broad-gauge track is under 3,500 miles, and of the
narrow-gauge about 250 miles.
The largest system, the Great Southern Railways, has been formed by the
amalgamation, in 1924, of 13 railways, the three largest of which were
the former Great Southern & Western, Midland Great Western, and
Dublin & South Eastern Companies. Four other small broad-gauge
systems and six narrow-gauge were included in the group. Although
certain economies in working have been effected, improvements have been
made in the train services since the fusion, and the rolling stock has
been brought up-to-date by the provision of new locomotives, bogie
carriages and dining-cars; and the permanent way has been strengthened
on the main routes.
The Great Southern ranges over the whole of the former kingdoms of
Munster, Leinster and Connaught; from Dublin it serves the commercial
centres of Waterford, Cork and Limerick, and goes to Galway and Sligo.
The far western section, from Farranfore to Valentia, where the
Atlantic cables start, is one of the most picturesque in the world. At
a height of over 100ft. above the sea, the railway clings to the side
of the mountain with cuttings or embankments, and crosses mountain
gorges, on its way to Valentia, the most westerly station in the
British Isles.
The fastest services on the main line are the Dublin—Cork mail trains,
and the Cork and Rosslare boat trains. The 4-6-0 engines used were
built with four cylinders, but lately these have been replaced by two
large ones, to reduce the number of moving parts. The works at
Inchicore, Dublin, is the largest locomotive establishment in Ireland.
One of the latest developments in railway work on the Great Southern is
the Drumm battery train, which runs between Dublin and Bray.
The train is driven by electric motors, the current being furnished
from a storage battery, which is claimed to last six times as long as
the ordinary type, and is not so heavy.
Kingsbridge Station is the main Great Southern terminus in Dublin, but
other termini are Harcourt Street and Broadstone.
The Great Northern system extends from Dublin, in the south, to Belfast
and Londonderry, in the north. It reaches Warrenpoint and Newcastle in
an easterly direction, and Bundoran, on the shores of the Atlantic, on
the west, with a mileage of 562. It also owns jointly with the L.M.
& S.R. the County Donegal Railway, a narrow (3ft.) gauge line
of 110 miles. The most important engineering work on the main line is
the viaduct over the River Boyne, at Drogheda. It is 90ft. above the
water, and has a centre span of 265ft. and two of 140ft. each. The
Great Northern provides an excellent express service between Dublin and
Belfast, and the fastest running times in Ireland are in force on this
section. The best train between Dublin and Belfast covers the distance
of 112 miles in 2 hrs. 20 mins., including stops at the principal
stations; the run between Dublin and Dundalk, 54½ miles, occupies only
54 minutes.
The rolling stock of this system is well up to modern standards, about
60% of the locomotives being fitted with superheaters. Although most of
the locomotives are of moderate size, the latest three-cylinder
compound express engines are powerful machines, with a high-working
pressure, and have given every satisfaction on the accelerated main
line services, to counterbalance the stop made for Customs examination
at the Free State frontier.
In the north the Northern Counties Committee of the L.M. & S.R.
serves Belfast, Larne, Portrush, Coleraine and Londonderry. Until
recently the N.C.C. trains from Belfast to the Londonderry line had to
reverse at Greenisland, a very inconvenient arrangement, as it meant a
change of engines. A loop line has now been constructed, three miles in
length, avoiding Greenisland and providing a clear run. On this loop is
the largest reinforced concrete railway viaduct in the British Isles.
It is 630ft. long, and consists of three large arches of 89ft. span,
with a number of approach arches on either side of 35ft. span.
Following the completion of this fine piece of work, a very smart and
well-equipped buffet car train was started to provide a fast service
for Portrush residents whose business interests are in Belfast. Known
as the "North Atlantic Express," it leaves Portrush at 8.10 a.m., and
arrives at Belfast at 9.30 a.m. The evening return train leaves Belfast
at 5.15 p.m. and arrives at Portrush at 6.35 p.m. The distance is 65¾
miles. The carriages on this train are fitted up on similar lines to
those of the "Royal Scot" train of the L.M. & S.
Passengers for Ireland from England and Scotland on landing from the
Stranraer boat at Larne Harbour are run by non-stop express trains of
the N.C.C. to Belfast, via Carrickfergus.
The north-east corner of Ireland is served by the small Belfast
& County Down Railway, 68 miles in length. Bounded on the north
by Belfast Lough, on the south by the Mourne Mountains, and on the east
by Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea, it is a busy line and has a
large seaside traffic, besides serving a good residential district on
the Bangor line, and was very prosperous until quite recently.
40. 2-10-4 OIL-BURNING FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE, No. 5905, CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.
Built at the Montreal Locomotive Works for working heavy freight and
passenger trains over the Rocky Mountains, these powerful machines are
fired by oil. They are fitted with a booster auxiliary engine applied
to the second pair of wheels on the four-wheeled trailing bogie for use
when starting and on the heavy grades. It has two cylinders, 25½in.
bore by 32in. stroke; coupled wheels, 5ft. 3in. diameter. The working
pressure is 275 lbs. per sq. in. In working order the engine weighs 202
English tons. The tractive effort is 77,200 lbs., to which the booster,
when in operation, adds another 12,000 lbs.
41. 2-8-4 BOOSTER-FITTED LOCOMOTIVE, No. 720, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS.
Built at the Government Railways shops at Islington to suit the 5ft.
3in. gauge, the powerful locomotives of the "720" class have two
cylinders, 22in. diameter by 28in. stroke. The coupled wheels are 4ft.
9in. diameter. The boiler, which carries a working pressure of 215 lbs.
per sq. in., has the large heating surface of 2,975 sq. ft. and a grate
area of 59.5 sq. ft. The tractive force with the booster working is
52,000 lbs. The total weight in working order of engine and tender is
233 tons 8 cwts.
42. 2-8-2 FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE, WITH MECHANICAL STOKER, H.E.H. THE NIZAM'S STATE RAILWAYS.
This is one of an order for freight locomotives built in Glasgow for
India, and although the mechanical stoker is in common use in the
United States, this is the first installation of British manufacture.
As to the reasons for incorporating this device the work of firing a
powerful modern locomotive is exceedingly hard, a consideration of
importance in firing in a tropical climate. The leading dimensions are:
cylinders, 22½in. diameter by 28in. stroke; coupled wheels, 5ft. 1½in.
diameter; boiler pressure, 180 lbs. per sq. in. Tractive effort, 35,264
lbs., and an additional 7,923 lbs, when the booster is working. Weight
of engine and tender, 176.7 tons.
43. 4-8-2 LOCOMOTIVE, SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAYS.
These South African engines are exceedingly powerful for the 3ft. 6in.
gauge. and compare very favourably with those of many broad gauge
systems of other countries.
The powerful and efficient example shown was built by the
North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow. Engines of this type are
used to work coal trains of 700 to 800 tons on the outward journey from
Germiston over the Germiston-Witbank section in the Transvaal—a length
of 80 miles.
They have two cylinders, 24in.
diameter, with a stroke of 26in., and the valve gear is of the
Walschaert type. The boiler pressure is 185 lbs. per sq. in.; heating
surface, 2,510 sq. ft.; superheater area, 466 sq. ft. Grate area, 40.5
sq. ft. Driving wheels, 4ft. 3in. diameter. Total weight of engine and
tender in working order, 148 tons. Tractive force, 40,744 lbs.
44. TWELVE-COUPLED LOCOMOTIVE, No. 9016, UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD.
Huge as the machine illustrated is, it calls for less manual effort
from its crew than one of our largest British locomotives, possessing,
perhaps, half its hauling powers. It was specially designed for the
Union Pacific Railroad by the American Locomotive Co. for a service of
fast freight trains to take the place of large "Mallet" type
locomotives of maximum haulage power but lower rates of speed.
The total length of engine and tender over couplers is
102ft. 6in.; the extreme height is 16ft. 1½in. over the dome, and the
greatest width, 11ft. 2in.—dimensions which are far and away beyond
anything permissible on British railways, quite apart from the weight
of 26½ tons on each of the coupled axles.
The tractive power of this enormous engine is 96,650 lbs.
45. 2-8-8-2 SINGLE-EXPANSION ARTICULATED LOCOMOTIVE, No. 252, WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD.
Among the largest and most powerful locomotives in the world, the
2-8-8-2 articulated engines built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for
the Western Pacific Railroad are used for hauling fruit trains of 3,500
tons between Oroville and Portola, California, through the Feather
River Canyon. With a steam pressure of 235 lbs. per sq. in., the
tractive effort is 137,000 lbs.
There
are four cylinders, each 26in. diameter by 32in. stroke; the driving
wheels are 5ft. 3in. diameter. The weight of the engine in running
order is 297 tons, and the total weight of engine and tender is 480.6
tons. Oil is used as fuel.
46. 2-10-4 FREIGHT LOCOMOTIVE, No. 854, CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN RAILROAD.
This locomotive has five pairs of coupled driving wheels, with a very
large boiler and grate area, and is used for heavy freight service. The
rear truck is fitted with an auxiliary booster engine and a mechanical
stoker. By the adoption of new metals it has been possible to lighten
the reciprocating and revolving parts, eliminating unnecessary weight
in the running gear and utilizing it for greater boiler capacity.
The
"Corn Belt Route" is the trade mark of the Chicago Great Western, as it
serves the food-producing states of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska,
Illinois and Minnesota.
47. 2-8-8-0 SIMPLE "MALLET" LOCOMOTIVE, No. 3700, PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD.
Although this locomotive follows the Mallet principle of articulation,
it is peculiar in that simple expansion is used for all four cylinders
instead of the usual two-stage expansion, with the low-pressure
cylinders located on the rear mobile group. This non-compound
arrangement simplifies the design by keeping identical the four
cylinders, pistons, etc.
The cylinders are each 30½in. diameter, with a 32in.
stroke. The driving wheels are 5ft. 2in. diameter. The tractive effort
is 135,000 lbs. Weight of engine and tender in working order 354½ tons
(British).
CHAPTER 14
CONTINENTAL RAILWAYS
WHEREAS the railways of this country have been built by private
enterprise, most of those of the Continent have been constructed, or
subsidised, by the State, and have been laid out either to facilitate
trade intercourse or as military lines for defence purposes.
Fortunately, the latter requirement does not exist in the British
Isles—thanks to the sea being our frontier. In France, Spain and
Portugal the main lines are not actually owned by the State, and there
are important lines owned by companies in Holland, Sweden, Luxembourg
and Switzerland, but they are, to a certain extent, subject to State
control.
In
France the Northern, Eastern, Paris—Orleans (with the Midi), and Paris,
Lyons and Mediterranean systems are operated under a system of
concessions, but there are two State-owned railways, the French State
Railways and the Alsace-Lorraine Railways. The two principal Spanish
Railways—the Madrid, Zaragoza & Alicante, and the Northern—are also
worked by Companies under concessions. In Germany, Holland and Belgium
the railway systems have been formed into managing companies in which
the State interests are vested.
Many of the Continental railways
have been laid out as main trade routes, to develop the resources of
the countries; consequently, there are practically no competitive
routes, with the result that train services are fewer and slower as
compared with this country. There are, however, some notable
exceptions, and due to the competition of road motors, there has been
during the past fifteen to twenty years a big effort to improve train
services, not only in frequency but in speed and comfort. The finest
development is found in France and Germany. Italy is making marked
progress in railway communication, and, owing to its lack of coal and
the presence of an abundant source of supply of energy from water
power, has encouraged the development of electrification. Spain and
Portugal, as well as Russia, have cut themselves off from the systems
of other countries by adopting gauges of 5ft. 6in. and 5ft.
respectively, for their railways, and no trains can run through.
The
first striking difference between a British railway station and a
Continental one is the very low platforms, and this has the effect of
making the locomotives and trains look much larger when seen from the
lower level. At many stations, too, it is customary for a train
arriving to discharge its passengers before the entraining passengers
are allowed on the platform. Therefore, the booking-hall, waiting-rooms
and refreshment buffets, etc., are arranged to communicate with a
single entrance to the platform.
There are some very fine
stations in the Continental cities. The magnificent central terminal at
Milan is a wonderful specimen of architectural display. The total cost,
including the locomotive and goods depots, is estimated at £11,000,000.
It was opened by the King of Italy in 1931. The station has been
constructed on the two level principle; the lower "storey" is devoted
to the handling of goods and mail. Traversers and hoists to the upper
level facilitate disposal of the wagons, although two of the twenty
roads have direct communication with the station yard. The high level
passenger station has twenty-two roads, and each road has two
platforms, one for passengers and the other for luggage and all
operations connected with the working of trains. The large roof spans
are of similar type to those at Paddington; the span of the largest is
235ft.
Amongst the biggest terminals are the new station of the
Eastern Railway, and the St. Lazare station of the State lines in
Paris. The Eastern terminus has thirty platform-roads, converging into
nine running roads. There are ten main line departure lines, twelve
middle roads for suburban trains, and eight main line arrival roads.
The handsome facade of the main building is 600ft. long.
An
outstanding feature of railway services on the Continent is that they
are generally the same on Sundays as on week-days, and all timetables
are arranged on the 24-hour system.
The heavy Paris suburban
traffic on the State Railways is dealt with by trains of nine
double-decked all-steel bogie cars worked on the "pull-and-push"
principle, by engines of the 2-8-2 type. The locomotive pulls the train
into Paris, and pushes them out, the driver taking his place in a
special control compartment at the head of the train. This method of
operation is also used on the Nord and P.L.M. services.
The
great Central Station at Leipzig, in Germany, into which run all the
railways serving the town, is another very large and fine station.
Germany
claims to have the fastest train in the world. This is the "Flying
Hamburger," which is really two Diesel-electric cars coupled together,
with a bogie between, streamlined, to reduce the resistance of the air.
It carries 102 passengers, and has a buffet. It covers the 178 miles
between Berlin and Hamburg at an average speed from start to stop of
77.4 m.p.h. On the same line the fastest steam train in Europe now runs
at an average speed of 69.4 m.p.h.
On the State Railways of
France the daily railcar service from July to September, between Paris
and Trouville—Deauville, non-stop in both directions, in 2 hours for
the 136.2 miles, represents an average speed of 68.1 m.p.h., start to
stop.
Germany has the biggest railway mileage in Europe, with
about 38,750 miles of track, followed by France with 33,000 miles, and
Russia, with nearly the same mileage. Belgium, with about 5,000 miles
of track, claims to have a greater mileage of railways per head of the
population than any other country.
A glance at the map of Europe
will show that Switzerland, with its great Alpine barriers, lies across
several of the most important Trans-European railway communications.
The direct routes from London and Paris to the Balkans, to the near
East and Italy, cross the country, and the problem of getting the
railways through the mountains by practicable gradients has involved
remarkable engineering work, and the piercing of the Alps by the great
tunnels of the Simplon and St. Gothard, to enable the direct routes to
be followed. From France there are two main routes, one from Paris and
Dijon to the Simplon, via Lausanne or Berne, the other up the Rhine
from Paris or Brussels to Mulhausen, and through the St. Gothard, via
Lucerne, or alternatively to the Simplon by way of Berne and the nine
miles Loetschberg tunnel. The other main route of importance is via the
Arlberg tunnel from France and Belgium, through Basle and Zurich, for
Innsbruck, Vienna, Budapest and Roumania.
Although at the moment
Great Britain holds the record for average high steam railway speeds,
France is hardly behind us in the number of trains timed at high speed.
The Northern Railway is the fastest line in the world for the number,
as no less than sixty-six of its daily trains run from start to stop at
55 m.p.h. or over, thirteen of them exceeding the mile-a-minute rate on
the Paris—Belgium road. The longest non-stop runs on the Nord are to
the Belgian cities of Liege and Brussels. The 229.9 miles from Paris to
Liege are run by the 10.10 a.m. "Nord Express" from Paris in 3 hrs. 50
mins., an average of 59.4, m.p.h., and the 193.2 miles to Brussels,
Midi, 3 hrs. 15 mins. by the 11.25 a.m. "Etoile du Nord." The "Golden
Arrow" non-stop Pullman train takes 3 hrs. 10 mins. to cover the 184.1
miles to Calais Maritime, but the "Rapide" which stops at Etaples is
timed at 3 hrs. 5 mins. only—63.4 m.p.h.
The fastest train on
the Nord is the 1.36 p.m. out of Paris, which is timed at 65.2 m.p.h.
for the 95.7 miles to St. Quentin on the Brussels road.
The main
line of the Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean Railway for the 196 miles
between Paris and Dijon, which carries all the fast trains to
Vintimiglia, Belfort, Vallorbe, Geneva and Modane, is one of the most
heavily loaded sections in the world, since between 6.30 and 11 p.m.
every night eighteen express trains leave the Gare du Lyon for Dijon
and beyond. They are normally run at ten-minute intervals, but when the
traflic is heavy, before holidays, etc., as many as thirty expresses
leave Paris at five- to six-minute intervals.
The famous "Cote
d'Azur Rapide" has been speeded to cut three-quarters of an hour on its
former schedule from Paris to Marseilles. It now starts at 8.15 a.m.
from the Gare du Lyon and takes 9 hrs. 33 mins. to cover the 536.3 miles—56.4 m.p.h.
Most
of the famous express trains of the various European
railway systems are maintained by the International Sleeping Car
Co. It inaugurated the "Orient Express" as a through train of sleeping
and restaurant cars between Paris and Constantinople. In June, 1883, it
ran for the first time between Paris (Est) and Vienna, and was made up
of bogie sleeping cars, a six-wheeled restaurant car, and vans, all
belonging to the International Company. By the linking up of the
Serbian and Roumanian railways a through rail route was established to
Varna, thence by boat to Constantinople; Constanza was substituted
eventually for Varna. An all-rail journey was later made via Belgrade,
the train running through to Constantinople three times per week, as
well as twice via Constanza. In 1901 a connection with through cars was
made with Berlin, via Wels, in Austria. It was this train which gained
notoriety during the war, as it was run by the German, Austrian and
Bulgarian railways as the "Balkan-zug," and was looked upon as the
forerunner of the German idea of a Berlin-Bagdad express. This was not
to be, although since the war the International Co. has extended its
services across the Bosphorus to Angora and Asia Minor, with motor
coach connections to Bagdad.
At present there are three through
express trains making the trans-European run to the Near East, i.e. the
original Orient express, now Paris-Vienna, 860 miles in 20.10 hours;
speed, 43 m.p.h.; the Arlberg-Orient Express, Paris-Vienna, via Basle
and the Arlberg tunnel, 926 miles in 22.45 hours, speed 40 m.p.h.; and
the Simplon-Orient Express, which runs from the Gare du Lyon, Paris,
via Lausanne and the Simplon tunnel to Milan, thence via Venice,
Trieste, Zagrib, Vinkovei, Belgrade, Sofia, etc., to Constantinople. At
Vinkovei the cars for Bucharest are detached, and at Nisch the train is
divided into a portion for Athens and a part for Constantinople (now
Istanbul). From Paris (P.L.M.) to Athens totals 2,173 miles, and
occupies 62.15 hours, the speed approximating 35 m.p.h. By the other
portion of the same train the journey of 1,899 miles, Paris to
Istanbul, is covered in 58.18 hours, the speed averaging about 32 m.p.h.
Other
important trains of the International Co. include the "P. & O."
Express, which runs once a week between Calais and Marseilles, 732
miles in 18.40 hours, or a speed of 39 m.p.h., but before the war the
time occupied was only 16.35 hours. Further East the "Taurus Express,"
which is an extension of the Simplon-Orient, makes direct connection
with Syria and Iraq via Aleppo—a point 881 miles from Haidar-Pasha on
the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. From Aleppo this train continues to
the port of Tripoli, whence it is only a two hours motor run to Beyrout
and a six hours journey to Haifa. Here train is again taken to Cairo—a
distance of 3,847 miles from London, covered in 6 days, 1 hr. 20 mins.
The
"Trans-Siberian" train-de-luxe between Moscow and Irkutsk, and
eventually extended to Vladivostock, was started by the International
Co. in 1898. After the Russian Revolution of 1918 the rolling stock was
confiscated by the new rulers of the country. This train is now
operated by the Russian Soviet Railways Administration.
CHAPTER 15COLONIAL AND INDIAN RAILWAYS
AS
early as 1837 the colonists of British Guiana proposed to build a
railway from Georgetown to the Mahaica River, but it was not until 1848
that the first length of six miles was opened. This was not only our
earliest Colonial line but also the first railway on the South American
continent. This small line has since been extended, and is now owned
and operated by the Colonial Government. The next colony to build
railways was Ceylon, which were established seventy years ago. The
first section from Colombo towards Kandy was opened in 1865, and
completed in 1867. After a gradual rise the railway climbs into the
mountains, reaching an altitude of 6,226ft., the ruling grade of this
section being 1 in 44, with five chain curves. The adoption of the 5ft.
6in. gauge was presumably copied from the Indian standard, but for the
feeder lines in the mountainous districts the 2ft. 6in. gauge was found
more suitable. Of these feeder lines, the most interesting is that from
Nanu Oya Junction to Regalla, passing Nawara Eliya, the health resort
of the island. An elevation of 6,315ft. above sea-level is reached,
with gradients of 1 in 23 and curves of 70ft. radius. Combined with a
rainfall in the mountains averaging 200in. per annum, the operation of
the railways is somewhat difficult.
In
Malaya the first line was built by the Government of the State of
Perak, and was opened in 1885. Since then there has been a steady
growth in the mileage of the Federated Malay State Railways, of metre
gauge, and they now connect with the Siamese Railways, with through
dining and sleeping car trains for the 1,000 mile journey from
Singapore to Bangkok. It is of interest to note that these
international trains on the Siamese section are invariably hauled by
powerful 4-8-4 Diesel locomotives. These are changed at the Siamese
frontier, and the run thence to Singapore is behind a three-cylinder
4-6-2 steam locomotive of the F.M.S.R.
In British West Africa
the Sierra Leone Railway opened in 1898 is of 2ft. 6in. gauge, as
opposed to the usual African 3ft. 6in. It has a main line from
Freetown, the capital, extending over 200 miles, nearly to the frontier
of Liberia, and several branches.
For the Gold Coast Colony the
3ft. 6in. was chosen for its system of about 500 miles. The principal
lines are from the harbour at Takoradi, on the Gulf of Guinea, to
Kumasi, the capital of Ashanti, mostly through dense tropical forest
with trees 60ft. to 100ft. high, and from Accra, the capital of the
colony, on the coast, to join the other line at Kumasi.
Passing
on to Nigeria, the railway system formerly comprised two disconnected
systems based on Lagos and Port Harcourt. An extension of the Eastern
line made connection with the main line from Lagos to Kano, at Kaduma
Junction. There is no rail to the town of Lagos itself, the terminus of
the Western line of the railway being on Iddo Island, where there are
wharves for smaller ocean craft and barges; the deep-water wharves for
the mail boats are at Lagos itself. New wharves have recently been made
at Apapa, on Iddo Island, on the opposite shore of the lagoon to Lagos,
and a branch railway has been extended over a stone causeway from the
mainland at Ebute Metta. The Nigerian system now comprises some 1,700
miles of 3ft. 6in. railway, with its headquarters at Ebute Metta, where
fine new workshops have been constructed.
The South African
Railways, which serve an area five or six times the size of Great
Britain, form one of the largest State owned systems in the world. The
lines are laid on a standard gauge of 3ft. 6in., which carries some of
the heaviest locomotives and rolling stock. Many of the locomotives, in
running trim, weigh as much as 170 tons, while the main line coaches
are equal to British types in proportion. The "Union Express"—one of
the South African trains-de-luxe—does
the journey of 900 miles between Cape Town and Johannesburg in 28
hours. The merits of the performance can be appreciated when it is
recalled that the route rises from sea-level at Cape Town to an
altitude of close upon 6,000ft. at Johannesburg, and that the mountain
sections traversed contain many formidable gradients and curves. All
the main lines leading from the ports of Cape Town, Mossel Bay, Port
Elizabeth, East London and Durban have very steep grades, and curves as
sharp as 300ft. radius are frequent. There are about 12,000 miles of
3ft. 6in. gauge, and 700 miles of 2ft. gauge track.
In East
Africa the metre gauge has been adopted for the Kenya and Uganda
Railways. Powerful "Mikado" type engines work the mail and heavy goods
trains from the Port of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, 330
miles, but the gradients are so heavy that the time allowed is 17
hours, and the same engine goes through, although the drivers and
firemen change over half-way. Beyond Nairobi the line extends to the
Nile, near Lake Victoria, Nyanza, and is worked by eight-coupled
Garratt locomotives.
On the Tanganyika Railway wood fuel is used
by the engines, which are usually of the 4-8-0 type, and of metre
gauge. The Rhodesian Railways have a very large coal traffic from the
Wankie mines, near the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi, the trains being
largely worked by Garratt, or 4-8-0 type engines. Built to the 3ft.
6in. gauge, the Rhodesian lines connect with the South African system
from Vryburg to Buluwayo, and run from the latter city to the Rhodesian
frontier, where connection is made with the Portuguese line to the port
of Beira. Another section goes north to the Congo Free State.
The
railways of Nyasaland had one peculiarity in their construction. Other
African railways extended inwards from the sea; the first Nyasaland
railway was built inland, and later extended outwards to meet the sea.
The original line stretched from Blantyre to Chiromo, on the Shire
River, a tributary of the Zambesi. Communication was maintained by
steamers with Chinde, at the mouth of the Zambesi. But the Shire
started to get shallow, so the railway had to be pushed further down
the river to Port Herald. It got shallower still, and so a further
length was made, this time to the Zambesi itself, at Chiromo. Then,
after the war, it was decided to complete the railway to the sea, and
the Trans-Zambesia Railway was built, connecting Murraca, on the
opposite bank of the Zambesi, to Chindio, and thence to Dondo, on the
Beira Railway, 17 miles from the port of Beira itself. The final links
in this chain have now been forged by the completion of the Lower
Zambesi Bridge, 2½ miles in length, which connects the Central Africa
and Trans-Zambesia Railways, and by the extension inland of the
Nyasaland Railway from Blantyre itself to Lake Nyasa.
Australia
and New Zealand have a variety of gauges for the railways, each colony
adhering to its original gauge. Both the South Australian and Victorian
lines are to the 5ft. 3in. gauge, so that trains can run through from
Adelaide to Melbourne, but between the other states the breaks of gauge
at the frontiers waste time and money, as all goods and passengers have
to be transferred. The gauges of the different systems are: New South
Wales, 4ft. 8½in.; Victoria, 5ft. 3in. and 2ft.; South Australia, 5ft.
3in. and 3ft. 6in.; Queensland, 3ft. 6in. and 4ft. 8½in.; Western
Australia, 3ft. 6in.; Trans-Australian Railway, 4.ft. 8½in. Qpeensland
has laid down a 4ft. 8½in. gauge track from the New South Wales
frontier to Brisbane, so that the Sydney express can now run right
through.
In New South Wales the main lines have many difficult
grades. At about 20 to 70 miles from the sea are various ranges of
mountains which have to be climbed by the trains out of Sydney to reach
the inland tableland. In the vicinity of Sydney a big scheme of
electrification has been carried out.
Queensland is a sheep-raising country, with sugar and fruit plantations, and has a long mileage of 3ft. 6in. gauge track.
Between
Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia, and Port Augusta, in South Australia,
runs the Trans-Australian Railway, 1,050 miles in length. Over the
Nullabor Plain, 385 miles of its track are dead straight and level, the
longest stretch without a curve in the world.
The railways of
New Zealand are worked very much in accordance with British practice,
but heavy gradients make the lines difficult to operate. The gauge is
only 3ft. 6in. and the construction gauge somewhat restricted, yet the
latest Pacific and Mountain type locomotives handle trains of
observation saloons and dining-cars over banks as steep as 1 in 40, and
sharp curves at fairly high speeds. On the North Island some
six-cylinder Garratts run the mail trains at 50 m.p.h. on the level. On
this section is the Makatote viaduct, the highest bridge in New
Zealand, 320ft. high and 800ft. across; and also the Raurimu
spiral, where the line makes four complete turns in four miles at a
grade of 1 in 50. On another line, from Wellington to Napier, the
Rimutaka incline called for a grade of 1 in 15, one of the steepest
ascents in the world to be worked by ordinary adhesion. It is operated
on the Fell system, the locomotives having an extra pair of horizontal
wheels gripping a central third rail.
India, with an area more
than twenty times that of Great Britain, and a population of some 320
millions, is served by a railway system of 41,700 miles, of which about
one-half is on the 5ft. 6in. gauge, approximately 17,200 miles on the
metre gauge, and the balance of 10% of narrower gauges. It is a land of
contrasts, with immense plains, some fertile, and others deserts, being
made fertile by irrigation works. These plains stretch from the
seaboard to the Himalayas.
The broad-gauge metals of the North
Western Railway stretch from the Khyber Pass, beyond Peshawar and to
Quetta, through the Bolan Pass, and connect the Imperial capital of
India, Delhi, with the port of Karachi. It has also a number of narrow
gauge feeder lines of 2ft. 6in. gauge—notably the Kalka-Simla line,
which serves the summer capital of the Government, 7,000ft. above
sea-level.
The great centres of India are widely separated.
Bombay, the nearest port to England, where most of the best trains
start or finish, is 794 miles to Madras, 839 to Cawnpore, 885 to
Lucknow, 865 to Delhi, and 1,400 miles to Calcutta.
From Calcutta to Tuticorin, in the south, is 1,700 miles. From the latter place to Peshawar will take best part of a week.
The
mail trains are particularly heavy, as there are separate provision for
Europeans and natives, and females have separate accommodation. There
are also pilgrim specials to the various famous religious resorts, at
certain periods of the year.
Both of the main lines of the Great
Indian Peninsula Railway (the one to Jubbulpore, and the other to
Nagpur) are handicapped by the long Ghat inclines of 1 in 37, to
surmount the mountains running parallel to the West Coast, but all
traffic to and from Bombay over these gradients is now worked by
electric traction. The goods trains of the G.I.P. run up to 1,000 tons
behind the tender, and are usually worked by powerful 2-8-0 or 2-8-2
engines.
The Bengal-Nagpur Railway mail trains are worked by
four-cylinder compound Pacific type locomotives. For their heavy coal
trains of 2,300 tons, they have the most powerful engines in India—Beyer-Garratts,
with two eight-coupled units, and weighing 234 tons apiece. They handle
these trains over a hilly section of 260 miles.
The fastest
train on the G.I.P. is known as the "Deccan Queen," now worked by
electric locomotives for the whole of its journey. The "Imperial Indian
Mail" goes across country to Calcutta via Jubbulpore in 42 hours,
starting immediately after the arrival of the P. & O. steamer at
Bombay. It is sometimes known as the "Blue Train of India."
The
"Frontier Mail" to Peshawar covers the run as far as Delhi at an
average of 38 m.p.h. by the Bombay-Baroda & Central India Railway
route.
The East Indian Railway with headquarters at Howrah,
Calcutta, passes through the richest and most populous parts of India,
the main line traversing the Ganges Valley.
A most interesting
line is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, of 2ft. gauge. Darjeeling is
the summer station for Europeans living in Calcutta. This tiny railway
rises to a height of over 7,000ft. above sea-level, with very heavy
gradients and remarkable curves. Particularly interesting are the
spirals along the spurs of the hills. In one place two complete turns
are made in a small area, accomplishing a rise of 140ft. by so doing.
At another place is a zigzag, the train entering a dead end and then
reversing up another gradient to another dead end, whence it goes
forward on its journey.
CHAPTER 16AMERICAN RAILWAYS
IN
the same year that the Stockton & Darlington Railway began Working,
in 1825, the first steam locomotive ran in America. Built by Colonel
John Stevens, the projector of the Pennsylvania Railroad, it operated
on a circular track on his estate at Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1835 there
were 1,098 miles of railway in the United States, and by 1860 this had
increased to 30,635 miles. Following the Civil War there was a period
of rapid railway construction, and the opening of the twentieth century
found nearly 200,000 miles of railway line. The present mileage is
about 240,000 or, roughly, one-third of the world’s total. Over 2,000
miles of the railways are electrified. There are about 65,000
locomotives, 53,000 passenger cars, and 2,350,000 freight cars in the
United States.
A railway joining the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
was discussed long before it was practicable to deal with such a
tremendous project. The first line across the States from the Missouri
to the Pacific was proposed in 1861 by a few merchants of Sacramento,
California. Their project was to build a line to the eastern boundary
of California, to be known as the Central Pacific Railroad, and there
to meet a line extending westward from the Missouri, later known as the
Union Pacific Railroad. The western section presented formidable
difficulties, as it involved crossing the Sierras of Nevada at an
elevation of 7,000ft., and traversing a desert for nearly 700 miles.
In
1862, Government support was assured and a start made at Omaha, on the
left bank of the Missouri. Work was slow, as no railway had reached
Omaha, and all material had to come up from St. Louis by water. By the
end of 1867 the track was laid over 500 miles west of the Missouri, and
the Central Pacific had left the Sierras behind and were crossing the
desert of Utah. The final joining up of the metals took place near
Ogden in April, 1869, and the inauguration took place on May 10th, when
two silver spikes and two of gold were driven home, to complete a task
that opened a new era in the history of the United States.
The
Pennsylvania Railroad is the largest system in the United States,
measured by the freight and passengers carried. Its charter dates from
1846, and the main line from Philadelphia over the Allegheny Mountains
to Pittsburg was opened in 1852. It became apparent that the best
country to the west could only be opened up by railways, and the
Pennsylvania acquired interest in lines extending from Pittsburg to
Chicago, St. Louis, and other growing cities. Additional lines were
built laterally into the Southern States, and northward to the Canadian
border. Prior to 1871 the eastern terminus of the Pennsylvania Railroad
was still the City of Philadelphia. In that year it extended its
services to New York, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. In
1903 it began the work of tunnelling the Hudson River, and in 1910
opened the Pennsylvania Station, in the middle of New York, with
tunnels extending eastward across the city, and underneath the East
River, to connect with the Long Island lines. In 1917 it opened the
Hell Gate Bridge route, by which New England is afforded a direct rail
route to the Middle States, West and South. At present the Pennsylvania
is engaged on the electrification of the line from New York to
Washington, a distance of 227 miles. It is proud of being the pioneer
in introducing the first de-luxe all-Pullman train in America—"The
Pennsylvania, Limited." This train has operated daily between New York
and Chicago since 1881, and was the forerunner of the "Broadway,
Limited," and other famous trains of to-day. For over thirty years the
whole of the passenger cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad have been
built of steel throughout, and are absolutely unburnable.
Probably
the other most important railway in the United States is the New York
Central. As in the case of the Pennsylvania, this system comprises
a number of different lines, which have been amalgamated to form a
grouped railway controlling about 12,000 miles of line.
To
compete with the rival Pennsylvania for the traffic between New York
and Chicago, the famous "Twentieth Century Limited," of the New York
Central Lines covers the 960 miles at an average speed of 56.5 m.p.h.,
and is often run in three sections daily, each of twelve Pullmans. The
Pennsylvania "Broadway, Limited," with a shorter but heavier road, of
908 miles, takes under 17 hours.
Another enormous railway system
is the Southern Pacific, covering nearly the whole of the Western
States from Canada to Mexico, and comprising about 16,500 miles of
line. It is an amalgamation of the Union Pacific, Central Pacific and
other lines, as well as the trans-continental line of the Southern
Pacific, which had been opened in 1882. The Northern Pacific
trans-continental line was completed the following year, and since then
various other ways of crossing the continent have been made.
There
are some very fine stations in America, and it is common practice to
make one large station serve a number of lines. For size and
architectural effect, the enormous New York termini of the New York
Central and Pennsylvania systems in New York are probably without a
rival—with, perhaps, the exception of the new Milan terminus of the
Italian Railways. The magnificent New York Central, Grand Central, is
the largest station in the world; it is approached by tunnels, and
built on two levels, 20ft. and 44ft. below street level. The upper one
deals with long-distance trains on 42 tracks, whilst the lower has 25
tracks, for short-distance traffic; in addition there are 62 other
tracks on the two levels, for storing of rolling stock, etc. All the
trains are worked electrically, the change to steam operation taking
place at Harmon, 32 miles out.
The really fast long distance train in America originated in New York—the "Empire State"—for
it was on October 26th, 1891, a new train known as the "Empire State
Express" left New York City for the 437½ miles run along the Hudson
River to Buffalo, in 8 hrs. 40 mins., averaging over 50 miles an hour,
and reaching a speed of 70 m.p.h. on part of the journey.
Since
May 29th, 1935, the world's record for the fastest start to stop run
made by a steam-worked train has been held by the streamlined
"Hiawatha" Express of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific
Railroad for the 43.1 miles from New Lisbon to Portage, at an average
speed of 73.9 m.p.h., compared with the 71.4 m.p.h. of our G.W.R.
"Cheltenham Flyer" from Swindon to Paddington.
The train leaves
Chicago at 1 p.m. and covers the 410 miles to St. Paul in 390 minutes
(6½ hours), including five stops. The southbound train is also due out
of St. Paul at 1 p.m. and it is on this run that the 73.9 m.p.h.
average, mentioned above, is attained.
In size and power the
average American locomotive far exceeds anything we have in this
country, due largely to the liberal dimensions of their loading gauge.
Here the maximum available height is 13ft. 6in., but the Americans have
16ft., and sometimes 16ft. 6in., in which to build their rolling stock,
and ample width, although their gauge is the same as ours. Roughly, the
largest American engines are more than twice the size, weight and
tractive effort of the biggest working in Great Britain.
Modern
all-steel passenger cars in America run to 75 or 80 tons in weight, or
twice that of the average British coach, therefore a 12-car train will
amount to 1,000 tons, as against the 500 to 600 tons of the heaviest
expresses here.
The centre corridor type of open carriage is
almost universal in America, and as so many journeys are made by night,
most of the long-distance trains are provided with sleeping
accommodation. At night the seats are pulled out to form lower berths,
and sections of the underside of the car roof are lowered to make the
upper bunks on either side of the centre gangway. On certain trains,
however, the English type of compartment sleeping cars are coming into
use.
In handling freight traffic, the methods of the American
railways are far ahead of our country. The average wagon in use is
mounted on bogies, and vehicles intended for carrying minerals often
have a capacity for a load of well over 85 British tons, which, by
comparison, makes the 20-tonner here a mere toy. In fact, on the
Virginian Railway, taking coal from the mines to the seaboard,
12-wheeled bogie wagons carry no less than 107 tons of coal each, and
on arrival at Sewell's Point, where the coal is shipped, these enormous
vehicles are lifted bodily and the contents discharged into the
vessel's holds. Then, the whole of the rolling stock is equipped with
automatic centre couplers, and their use is universal on freight stock.
The dangerous work of coupling by hand when shunting is entirely
eliminated by their adoption, and, further, the general use of
continuous power brakes enables the heavy tonnage to be operated with
safety.
The Canadian Pacific is the older of the two large
railways of Canada. The Government granted its Charter in 1881 for a
railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Work commenced on it
simultaneously at Ottawa, at Winnipeg, and on the Pacific coast, and on
November 7th, 1885, at Craigellachie, the rails from the east and west
were joined up. Leaving Montreal, passing round the northern shore of
Lake Superior, and across the prairie to Winnipeg and Calgary, the line
crosses the Rocky Mountains by heavy grades, the summit being reached
at an altitude of 5,329ft. It descends by the Kicking Horse Pass to the
Columbia River Valley, and then climbs again to cross the Selkirk
range, through the Connaught Tunnel, 3,800ft. up, after which the line
drops to Revelstoke, 2,519ft. The crossing of the Gold Range by the
Eagle Pass is followed by the down grade to Vancouver, 2,898 miles from
Montreal. During recent years some of the heavier sections of the
original line in the Kicking Horse Pass, and over the Selkirks, have
been re-aligned and gradients reduced, necessitating the construction
of two corkscrew tunnels, as well as the five mile bore of the
Connaught Tunnel.
The other Canadian line is the Canadian
National, with 22,675 miles of railway, the largest railway in the
world, although it has only 1,200 miles of double road. It is an
amalgamation of the Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern systems. From
Halifax, Nova Scotia, the main line to Quebec crosses the river St.
Lawrence by one of the biggest bridges in the world, with a span of
1,800ft. From Quebec it passes on to Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg,
where it takes a more northerly course than the Canadian Pacific,
crossing the Rocky Mountains by the Yellowhead Pass, the only summit,
3,712ft. above sea-level. The line then descends by the North Thompson
River and Fraser River valleys to Vancouver, 3,775 miles from Halifax,
the longest railway in the world with the exception of the
Trans-Siberian Railway. Originally the Western Terminus was at Prince
Rupert, 550 miles north of Vancouver. The Canadian National Railway
operates a daily service between Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver by the
"Continental, Limited" train.
CHAPTER 17PASSENGER AND GOODS ROLLING STOCK, BREAKDOWN TRAINS AND SNOW PLOUGHS
CARRIAGE
STOCK.—Both for day and night travel our railways provide rolling stock
which in point of comfort reaches a standard unsurpassed anywhere.
Efficiently sprung carriages, comfortable and tasteful upholstery, and
heating, lighting and ventilation are carefully studied.
Air-conditioned carriages on day and night expresses are being
introduced. Hairdressing saloons, as well as radio facilities are to be
found on some expresses, whilst on certain of the London—Leeds trains
of the L. & N.E.R. a cinematograph van, fully equipped for
exhibiting sound films, is provided as a regular feature.
Early
railway passenger carriages were four-wheelers. In 1838 when
accommodation was introduced for third-class passengers, the vehicles
were simply open trucks, without seats. Although coverings were soon
afterwards provided, open third-class carriages were running until well
on in the 'fifties. It was in 1838 that the London & Birmingham
Railway put into service the first coach fitted with a mail pick-up
device; this was a net somewhat similar to that still used on Post
Office vans.
Six-wheeled coaches were experimented with by the
G.W.R. in the later 'fifties, although an eight-wheeled saloon was
built for Queen Victoria in 1848. Nowadays carriages are mounted on two
four-wheeled bogies, though sometimes six-wheeled bogies are used.
Oil
lamps were used in the early days, not to give light for reading, but
to enable passengers to see sufficiently well for entering and leaving;
for reading, the passenger provided a candle. By 1863 coal gas was used
for lighting on the North London and Metropolitan Railways. It was
stored in collapsible bags, or bellows, which were carried in the
guard's van, or on the roofs of the carriages. Compressed oil gas
became widely adopted as a satisfactory illuminant in the 'nineties,
although the London & North Western began to use electric train
lighting in 1887. Electricity is now the standard, on account of less
risk of fire in accidents.
The introduction of restaurant and
sleeping cars and Pullmans represent the most striking developments of
late years. Most of these are of the open type, and this type of
vehicle is also used on the London Underground Railways, and on some of
the electric trains of the L.M. & S. and L. & N.E.R., but not
on the Southern Railway suburban electric trains.
In 1928 the
Great Western and L.N.E. and L.M. & S. Companies introduced
sleeping accommodation for third-class passengers on their
long-distance night expresses by the provision of compartment coaches,
having let-down berths above the ordinary seats to give lying-down
facilities for four passengers per compartment. Many of the recent
coaches are non-convertible to day use, thus allowing refinements in
design to be effected. First-class sleeping cars have been run on the
night expresses for many years. They were introduced on the N.E.R. in
1873, and on the Midland in the following year.
Warming
apparatus was non-existent when railway travel started, but
footwarmers, filled with hot water, were vessels in use in the
'fifties, and, later, these vessels contained salt, and were heated in
boiling water vats prior to use. Steam warming by low-pressure steam
from the engine was introduced in 1884. The "atmospheric" system, which
is now in extensive use, is an improvement of recent date.
The first hot and cold shower bath to be installed on a train in this country was fitted to a first-class sleeping car in 1930.
The
Pullman car provides the maximum comfort and luxury at a small extra
charge on the fare. Whilst ordinary carriages are built with the latest
conveniences and comfortable seating, etc., the space per passenger is
necessarily somewhat limited; the Pullman car gives one a greater sense
of freedom and luxurious travel. Most of these cars have names; some
are of classical origin, etc.
Quite a number of the restaurant
kitchen cars of the L. & N.E.R. have been equipped for all-electric
cooking, to ensure an efficient method of preparing food on the trains.
Express
freight trains run nightly and daily between main centres. Consignments
conveyed by these trains are delivered the morning following despatch.
Special
vehicles for the conveyance of fish, milk, coal, plate-glass, long
girders, animals, scenery, motor cars, etc., are provided.
The largest railway wagon in the British Isles is of the
well-type, and built for carrying concentrated loads, such as
electrical stators, ingots, etc., up to 150 tons in weight. It is
constructed on the cantilever principle, so that the weight is
distributed over the entire length of 232ft., and it has 56 wheels.
A
large stock of vans is maintained especially for the transport of
bananas, which arrive principally at Avonmouth and Garston Docks, as
well as London, Hull and Southampton. These vans are insulated in
summer and steam-heated for winter use, and equipped with the vacuum
brake for fast running.
Up-to-date equipment is provided for the
transport of foodstuffs. Hygienic 2,000 to 3,000 gallons glass-lined
tanks carry milk in bulk, as well as special ventilated milk vans.
Large quantities of meat are carried by the railways in insulated vans,
from Scotland, and from ports to the consuming centres. Express trains
of refrigerator vans are run at frequent intervals, and ventilated and
insulated containers are also used for the conveyance of perishable
commodities.
Normally about 200,000,000 tons of coal are carried
annually by the British railways. Development in wagon design has been
to increase the carrying capacity both in volume and weight, as
compared with the weight of the wagon itself when empty. Twenty-ton
wagons are now largely used for coal traffic, and many of these are of
the bottom-discharge type. Bogie wagons of 40 tons capacity are used
for shipment of coal in Northumberland, and of 50 tons load for the
brick traffic from the Peterborough district, with a tare weight of
under 17 tons. The number which can be loaded in one of these wagons is
from 17,500 to 20,000, according to the size of the bricks. The whole
sides are made to drop, to facilitate loading. Trains of 80 coal
wagons, with a gross weight of over 1,500 tons, are worked from
Peterborough to London—about 76 miles—by heavy 2-8-0 engines, and these
are among the longest and heaviest operated in this country.
BREAKDOWN
TRAINS.—For dealing with the derailment of vehicles, erecting bridges,
loading and unloading consignments of heavy goods, etc., the railways
provide a number of steam breakdown cranes at principal centres. A
typical example is that stationed at Stratford, on the L. & N.E.R.
The crane will lift 35 tons to a height of 28ft., and the job can be
completely rotated under load. In running order it consists of three
units—the
crane unit, and two guard trucks. It will travel from one place to
another under its own steam while at work, if necessary, and is fitted
with an electro-turbo generator and complete electric lighting
equipment. The crane weighs 80 tons, and the complete equipment is
93ft. long.
RAILWAY SNOW PLOUGHS.—In countries where snowstorms
are of rare occurrence, and where the average snowfall is of but
moderate depth, the wedge-shaped plough, propelled by two or more
locomotives, usually suffices to clear the track. But if deep drifts
form, they have to be charged repeatedly, and it sometimes happens that
plough and locomotives get stuck and must be dug out. On the Highland
section of the L.M. & S.R. many of these ploughs are kept at the
principal centres; there are several at Inverness and Perth, and at
Blair Athol, where the climb over the Grampians starts. Rotary snow
ploughs, driven by steam from a locomotive boiler, are a regular part
of the equipment of the North American Railways, and there are quite a
number on the Continent of Europe, particularly Norway, Sweden and
Switzerland, but there is seldom a downfall of snow here sufficiently
heavy to call for these machines.
CHAPTER 18TRAIN-FERRIES, BRIDGES, TUNNELS, SIGNALS AND PERMANENT WAY
DURING
the Great War train-ferries proved their value in transporting stores
and rolling stock from Richborough to Dunkerque and Calais, and from
Southampton to Dieppe, direct to the Western front. In 1923 a company
was organised to take over the Government train-ferry steamers for
operating a permanent service between Harwich and Zeebrugge, as well as
Calais, enabling railway wagons loaded at any point in Great Britain to
be run direct to Continental destinations, with corresponding
arrangements in ports. A service is given every night in each
direction. This has now been taken over by the L. & N.E.R.
The
Southern Railway has provided a vessel specially built for the carriage
of motor cars between Dover and Calais, and have three train-ferry
vessels ready, which are to be placed in service between Dover and
Dunkerque very soon now.
BRIDGES.—Bridges and viaducts were
built of brick or stone in the early days of railways, but nowadays the
steel bridge is the usual form for railway requirements.
The
famous bridge across the Firth of Forth is 1½ miles long from end to
end, and is the largest structure of its kind in this country. It is
built on the cantilever principle, three enormous cantilever towers
stretch out their arms to each other, connected by two large girder
bridges. Each tower stands on a massive masonry pier, providing a base
broad enough to counteract any tendency to overturn as a train runs on
to the end of one of the arms. Each of the two main spans measures
1,710ft., and from the underside of the main spans in the centre to
water level is 157ft., to allow the largest vessels to pass underneath.
Just under seven years were occupied in constructing the bridge, and it
needed 51,000 tons of steel and nearly 8,000,000 rivets to build it.
The Tay Bridge, although it is two miles in length, is a much easier
engineering problem. It consists of 85 steel spans, the longest of
which are 245ft. across, at a height of 77ft. above water level.
Another monumental bridge recently completed is that across the harbour
at Sydney, New South Wales. It carries four lines of rail and a roadway
having a total width of 150ft., and a clear span of 1,650ft. across the
harbour, the floor being 170ft. above the water.
Bridges with a
number of spans are usually termed viaducts. The Royal Border Bridge of
the L. & N.E.R. which spans the valley of the Tweed, at Berwick, is
708ft. long and 91ft. above the water level, while near London the
Welwyn viaduct of 40 arches is 1,560ft. long, with a maximum height of
100ft.
TUNNELS.—Most of the long British tunnels are met with on
the lines crossing East and West through the Pennines, but the longest
in this country—apart from the London "Tubes" tunnels—is that which
runs under the River Severn, between Bristol and Newport, on the G.W.R.
The river itself is 2¾ miles wide, but so that the approach gradients
should not exceed 1 in 100, it was necessary to construct a tunnel 4
miles 624 yards in length. Owing to serious floodings of the workings,
it took 13 years to complete the tunnel. One of the earliest British
tunnels—at Kilsby, on the L.M. & S. main line—was also flooded out
when the workings broke into an underground quicksand, and pumping
machinery had to be put down before the work could proceed.
The
tunnels through the Pennines on the L.M. & S.R. are the Totley,
Cowburn and Disley respectively 3¾, 2 and 2½ miles long, on the
Sheffield and Manchester line, and on the L. & N.E.R. line between
the same cities the two single line tunnels at Woodhead are 3 miles in
length. The L.M. & S. line from Huddersfield to Manchester passes
through Standedge Tunnel, 3 miles, with three parallel bores—one double
line and two single.
SIGNALS.—Safety in railway travel in Great
Britain is largely due to the efficiency of the signalling
arrangements. When trains were few and far between, they were worked on
a system of "time intervals." A train was allowed to proceed with
caution a few minutes after the preceding train had passed a signal,
and at full speed after a longer period had elapsed. Semaphore signals
were used with the "arm" capable of being placed in three positions;
horizontal meant a dead stop, slanting allowed the train to proceed
with caution, and in the dropped position, in line with the post, it
was a "clear" road, and full speed ahead allowed.
When the
electric telegraph came into use, and with it the "block" system, the
two-position signal arm was adopted. The line is divided into what are
called "block" sections, each controlled by a signal box. The rule is
that two trains shall not be allowed on the same line of rails within
the same block at one time. Movements of the train are controlled by
the signals worked from each box, and communication from box to box is
made by a code of bell-signals or by instruments giving a visible
indication.
The semaphore signals used here always point to the
left of the post, facing the driver on the engine footplate, and that
side of the arm is painted red or yellow with a white or black stripe
at the outer end; the back of the arm is white with a black stripe.
There
are two main kinds of signals, first those with square ends to their
arms which indicate that a driver must stop if at danger; and secondly,
those which have arms cut into the shape of a fish-tail, which are
"distant" signals at which a stop is not imperative. At night,
stop-signals are indicated by a "spectacle," with red and green glass
moving in front of a fixed white lamp, showing a red light when at
danger, and a green one when pulled off. Distant signals now show a
yellow light in the "on" position.
The colour light signal is
slowly ousting the semaphore signal from our railways. The chief
advantage is that by reason of the powerfiil electric lights employed,
a clearer indication in bright sunlight and in times of fog can be
given than with the semaphore signal. Further, it allows for a number
of diflerent aspects to be exhibited beyond the "stop" and "proceed"
indications given by the semaphore signal. These aspects are provided
by using three different colours, viz.: red, yellow and green, and by
combinations of these colours, as required.
PERMANENT WAY.—Great
care is devoted to the laying of the permanent way of the British
railways, the smoothest riding in the world. By far the most important
item is the rail itself. These are rolled from steel ingots in rolling
mills, and the type almost exclusively used here is known as the
"bull-head" section, weighing for main line work 95 lbs. to 100 lbs. to
the yard. For branches and subsidiary services, 85 lbs. per yard is
sufficient. As to length, 45ft. is the usual, although the L.M. &
S.R. have laid stretches of track with 60ft. rails to reduce the number
of rail joints, but they are awkward to handle. The principal requisite
of the steel rail is resistance to wear, which means a very hard
material without brittleness. At places where the traffic is heavy, as
on electric railways, manganese steel or nickel-chrome steel is often
used, but these alloy steels are very expensive.
Upon the
sleepers are bolted the cast iron "chairs," required for supporting the
bull-head rail. Into these the rails fit rather loosely, until they are
packed tightly in position by the wooden wedge or "key," which is
driven at the side of the rail. The rail-ends are held together on
either side by a couple of tightly-fitting "fish-plates," secured to
each other through the rails by four "fish-bolts." The ends of the
rails are not allowed to meet, as a small space must be left for
expansion in the heat of summer.
The latest practice is to use a
shorter fish-plate with two bolts only, enabling the supporting
sleepers, nearest the joints, to be brought closer together.
The
flat-bottomed rail is standard for America, and, in fact, almost
everywhere except in Great Britain. It is cheaper to lay, but the
bull-head rail and chaired track has greater solidity, and needs less
attention when it is laid.
The sleepers, which serve the dual
purpose of holding the rails true to gauge, and of distributing the
load over a wide area of ballast, are usually of hard wood, which often
undergo a preserving process of treatment with creosote oil, which is a
solution of coal tar which has been forced into the timber under
high-pressure, rendering it resistant to weather. In some parts of the
world, metal sleepers are used to defeat the ravages of white ants, or
resist the effects of damp.
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