|
Notable Steam Locomotive
Modernization Projects of the Last 50
Years
|
| Year |
Location |
Locomotive Type |
No. of Loco.s |
Work performed by |
Summary of work |
| 1969 |
Britain |
National Coal Board
Hunslet 0-6-0ST's |
50 ? |
L. D. Porta |
Underfeed stoker,
Gas Producer Combustion System (GPCS),
Lempor exhaust. Some of these locomotives
still active in heritage service.
|
| 1969 |
Argentina |
Belgrano
Railway
4-8-2 No. 1802 |
1 |
L. D. Porta |
Improved water treatment, Lempor exhaust,
and revised valve events |
| 1979 |
South Africa |
Class 19D
4-8-2
No. 2644 |
1 |
David Wardale |
GPCS, double
Lempor exhaust, detail improvements |
1979-
1985 |
Zimbabwe |
NRZ Class 14, Class
15, Class 16, & Class 20
Beyer-Garratts |
~90 |
RESCCO |
Roller bearings
on all axles, increased coal & water
capacity, mechanical lubrication, improved
exhaust on some engines |
| 1981 |
South Africa |
Class 25NC
4-8-4
(changed to Class 26)
No. 3450 |
1 |
David Wardale |
GPCS, double
Lempor exhaust, increased superheat,
improved valves, feedwater heater, detail
improvements. Many of the
modifications fitted by Wardale did not
survive after he left South Africa.
The locomotive was restored for excursion
service in 2018/2019, but is believed to
currently be in storage.
|
| 1982 |
South Africa |
Class 25NC
4-8-4
No.3454 |
1 |
Dr. P. Le Seur |
Double Lempor exhaust - transverse
arrangement
|
| 1983 |
Wales |
Mountaineer
2-6-2T |
1 |
Boughey, Gibbard,
Girdlestone, Walker |
Piston valve cylinders, superheat, etc. |
| 1985? |
Southern Pacific Railway,
United States |
Daylight
4-8-4 No. 4449 |
1 |
|
Improved boiler insulation, firebox
circulator tubes (believed to be transverse
type; see C&NW 1385 near the bottom of
this list for photo).
|
| 1985? |
Wales |
Linda
2-4-0ST+T |
1 |
Phil Girdlestone |
GPCS, Lempor
exhaust, superheater, improved valves |
| 1985 |
Sudan |
Class 310
2-8-2 |
10 |
Hugh Phillips
Eng. Lmtd.
Phil Girdlestone
|
Lempor exhaust,
detail improvements |
| 1986 |
Poland |
Ty 2 2-10-0 |
1 (?) |
INTERLOK |
GPCS, stoker,
improved exhaust. More information on this
project is available at: http://www.interlok.info/Experimentef.htm
(in French & German). |
1986
|
UK
|
Bullied
4-6-2 34092 "City of Wells" |
1
|
unknown
|
Giesl Ejector exhaust |
1986-
1990 |
Snowdon
Mountain
Railway, Wales |
0-4-2RT No. 7 |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Kylpor exhaust, lubrication modifications |
| 1987 |
China |
QJ 2-10-2 |
2 |
David Wardale |
GPCS (one
cyclonic). No. 8001, the locomotive shown in
the linked photograph, was also equipped
with air ducts with automatically controlled
dampers for the secondary air openings.
Shutting these dampers when starting
"re-activated" the fire more quickly,
significantly improving the performance of
the GPCS after standing periods.
|
| 1987 (?) |
China |
QJ 2-10-2
#291 |
1 |
China Rail (?) |
Combustion air
pre-heating system |
| 1990? |
Paraguay |
Ferrocaril
Presidente Carlos Antonio Lopez
4-6-0
No. 286 |
1 |
L. D. Porta |
GPCS (wood
burning), Lempor exhaust, detail
improvements. Porta found conditions in
Paraguay nearly impossible, with very
unskilled shop workers and trainmen and
consequent very poor standards of
maintenance and operation.
Happily, this locomotive appears to be
currently stored in operable condition in
Paraguay (2019). https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=12881
|
| 1991 |
South Africa |
NGG16
2-6-2+2-6-2 |
2 |
Phil Girdlestone |
GPCS, Lempor
exhaust, improved valves, mechanical
lubricators |
| 1991 |
Vale of Rheidol Railway, Wales |
2-6-2T No. 8 |
1 |
Shaun McMahon, Nigel Day |
Kylchap mixing cowl added to existing
exhaust |
| 1991 |
Brazil |
Teresa Christina
Railway 2-8-2's, 2-10-2's |
3 ? |
L. D. Porta, Phil
Girdlestone |
GPCS, Lempor
exhaust |
| 1991 |
Snowdon
Mountain
Railway, Wales |
0-4-2RT No. 4 |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Kylpor exhaust (photo shows locomotive in
current condition with Lempor exhaust) |
| 1992 |
Snowdon
Mountain
Railway, Wales |
0-4-2RT No.'s 2, 5, & 6 |
3 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhausts |
1992,
1996 |
Switzerland,
Austria |
0-4-2RT |
8 |
SLM |
(New
construction) Lempor exhaust, improved
valves, improved insulation, all sealed
roller bearings, light-oil firing, single
man operation
|
1993-
1995 |
Britain
Welshpool
& Llanfair
Light Railway |
"The Countess" (No. 2),
"Sir Drefaldwyn", (No. 14) |
3 |
Day & McMahon
Steam Technical Services |
Lempor exhaust |
| 1995 |
Britain
Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway
|
0-4-0ST
Peckett "Annie" |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust, brick arch. Note-
this locomotive is no longer listed on
Embsay & Bolton Abbey's website, and may
be located elsewhere.
|
1995
|
Keighley & Worth Valley
Railway, UK
|
BR
Class 2 2-6-0 No. 78022
|
1
|
unknown
|
Temporarily fitted with a
Giesl Ejector for 12 months. Performance
improvement on the 5-mile line was found to
be minimal and many objected to the
appearance, so it was returned to stock
condition. Video of the locomotive with the
Giesl fitted can be seen here: https://youtu.be/pl0FXSadYOw
|
| 1997 |
Grand
Canyon Railway,
Arizona, USA |
2-8-2
No. 4960 |
1 |
Robert Franzen |
Welded staybolts, improved exhaust,
firebox circulators, oil firing, enlarged
tender, improved lubrication, remote bearing
monitors. Additional improvements fitted in
2005 under Nigel Day. |
| 1997 |
Cuba |
Ferrocarriles
de
Cuba
2-8-0
No. 1816* |
1 |
L. D. Porta |
Lempor exhaust,
increased boiler pressure, increased
superheat, supplementary air compressors,
detail improvements.
Sadly, this locomotive was taken out of
service by 2012 and is now on display at the
train station in Havana, minus the main
rods, eccentrics and eccentric rods and with
a gaudy paint job. Glad it was at least
preserved. https://www.steamlocomotive.info/valbum.cfm?display=19065
|
| 1997 |
Isle of Man, Dubbs |
0-6-0 "Caladonia" |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust |
| 1998 |
DLM,
Switzerland |
Kriegslokomotiv NG 52
2-10-0 #8055 |
1 |
SLM |
Originally
modified for the Eisenbahnfreunde
Zollernbahn in Switzerland, now owned by
DLM. Lempor exhaust, lightweight
motion work, improved valves, improved
insulation, sealed roller bearings,
increased superheat. Still regularly
operated by DLM.
|
| 1998 |
Great Smokey
Mountains Railway, Dillsboro, NC, USA |
U.S. Army S-160
2-8-0
#1702 |
1 |
Great Smokey
Mountains Railway |
Roller bearings
on all axles. Read here for more info.
http://www.azom.com/news.asp?newsID=346
Update Feb. 9, 2004- Unfortunately, the
bearings on the driving axles failed after
a relatively short time and were replaced
with conventional bearings in 2003.
The roller bearing installation did not
follow typical 1940's American steam
practice, but used off-the-shelf
permanently lubricated Timken AP bearings,
typically used on freight cars. While this
avoided extensive modifications and
fabrication requirements that would have
been necessary for a typical steam
locomotive driving axle roller bearing
retrofit, it was not successful.
|
| 1998 |
West Coast
Railway, Australia |
R711 4-6-4 |
1 |
Phil Girdlestone/
WCR |
Dual Lempor
exhaust, "swirl" oil burners, improved
valves, detail improvements. Lempor
exhaust has since been removed and the
original "waffle iron" single exhaust
restored. |
| 1999? |
Blonay-Chamby
Museum
Railway, Switzerland |
0-4-4-0 Mallet tank engine
No. 105* |
1 |
? |
Kylchap exhaust, flexible accordian-type
S.S. steam lines to front cylinders |
| 1999 |
Snowdon
Mountain
Railway, Wales |
0-4-0RT No. 4 |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust, efficient light oil burner
system |
| 1999 |
Ferrocarril
Austral Fueguino,
Ushuaia, Argentina |
2-6-2T
Camila |
1 |
Shaun McMahon |
Lempor exhaust, enlarged steam passages,
improved oil burner |
| 1999 |
Welshpool
and Llanfair Railway, Wales |
"The Earl" |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust |
| 1999 |
The Netherlands |
RTM56 |
1 |
Dr. Jos Koopmans |
Mutiple-nozzle exhaust system |
| 2000 |
Britain |
"Duke of Gloucester"
4-6-2 |
1 |
71000
Trust |
Double Kylchap
exhaust, improved exhaust cams, altered
firebox arch, altered ashpan dampers, and
numerous small improvements |
| 2000 |
New Zealand |
former SAR Class 24
2-8-4 |
1 |
Mainline
Steam
Trust |
Modifications to cab and tender to suit
Queensland loading gauge, conversion to
heavy oil firing, addition of air brakes,
sanders, and drain cocks. Installation of
train control system and radio.
Instrumentation has been fitted to allow
evaluation of multiple-jet exhaust nozzle. |
| 2000 |
Britain |
Large Pecket 0-4-4ST |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust |
| 2000 |
Welshpool
and Llanfair Railway, Wales |
Tubize 2-6-2 |
1 |
Day & McMahon Technical Services |
Lempor exhaust |
| 2000 |
Yorkshire Britain |
0-6-0 Hudswell Clark Tank |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust |
| 2001 |
West Coast
Railway, Australia |
R766 4-6-4 |
1 |
Phil Girdlestone/
WCR |
Dual Lempor
exhaust, oil burner, detail improvements
(see R711 listing above for photo of nearly
identical R711). Lempor exhausts
evidently have since been removed.
Engine under overhaul and being converted
from broad to standard gauge in 2014;
current status unknown.
|
| 2001 |
Bodmin, Cornwall, UK |
0-6-0T Austerity
"Swiftshaw" |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Modified Kylpor exhaust |
| 2001 |
Ferrocarril
Austral Fueguino,
Ushuaia, Argentina |
0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt No. 2 "L. D. Porta" |
1 |
Shaun McMahon |
Lempor Exhaust, enlarged steam passages,
improved insulation, improved valves,
numerous mechanical and thermodynamic detail
improvements |
January
2002 |
Puffing Billy Railway, Australia |
2-6-2T NA 6A |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Originally fitted with modified Lempor
exhaust. This exhaust system was moved to NA
14A in 2018 as part of a conversion to oil
firing by DLM. Original exhaust system was
reinstalled on 6A at this time.
|
October 2003, Nov. 2004
|
The Mount Washington Cog
Railway, New Hampshire, USA |
0-2-2-0 (rack)
No.9 Waumbek |
1 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhaust. Very notable for being the
first Lempor installation in the USA.
Feedwater heater, steam circuit
improvements, and other modifications also
installed. Oil firing successfully
trialed. However, it was later
removed. Mount Washington subsequently built
new diesel locomotives and uses steam on a
limited basis. Read more here: http://www.martynbane.co.uk/modernsteam/nday/mw/ndaymwhome.htm
|
| November 2003 |
The Talyllyn
Railway, Wales |
0-4-0T
No. 6 |
1 |
John Scott,
Julian Stow
and
Peter Mintoft |
3 nozzle exhaust stand designed according
to Dr.
Jos Koopmans' exhaust research. |
| ~2003? |
Bure
Valley Railway |
No. 10 2-6-4T
"Mark Timothy" |
1 |
Alan
Keef Ltd |
Winson-built "ZB" (similar to Camila on
the FCAF) heavily rebuilt by Alan Keef;
Lempor exhaust installed |
| Winter 2003/2004 |
Cleethorpes
Coast Light Railway |
Sandy River No. 24
2-6-2 |
1 |
|
15" gauge 2-6-2; Lempor exhaust installed |
2004
|
Greenfield
Village
Dearborn, Michigan, USA
|
4-4-0
No. 1 "Edison"
|
1
|
Jason Sobczynski
|
Originally an 0-4-0; rebuilt
by Henry Ford to 4-4-0 in 1932. Lempor
exhaust stack liner installed in 2004 to
improve steaming.
|
| May 2004 |
Golden
Eagle Luxury Express
(originally Trans-Siberian Express)
|
4-8-4 P36.0032 |
1 |
Phil Girdlestone |
Russian P36 4-8-4. Fitted with dual Lempor
exhaust. |
| July 2005, November 2005 |
Grand
Canyon Railway,
Arizona, USA |
2-8-2 No.
4960
2-8-0
No. 29
|
2 |
Nigel Day |
Lempor exhausts, improved oil burners, and
feedwater heaters fitted.
|
| January 2006 |
Strasburg
Railroad, Strasburg, Pennsylvania, USA |
2-10-0 No. 90 |
1 |
|
All-welded 304 stainless steel tender
tank. |
| May 2006 |
Ferrocarril
Austral Fueguino,
Ushuaia, Argentina |
0-4-0+0-4-0
No. 5
'Ing H. R. Zubieta' |
1 |
Phil Girdlestone |
New Garratt for FCAF. Combination of
Argentinan-fabricated parts intended for a
duplicate of No. 2 and new parts fabricated
by Girdlestone & Associates in South
Africa. Features all the improvements
previously fitted to No. 2, "L. D. Porta",
plus superheating and others. |
2008
|
Welshpool
& Lllanfair Light Railway, Powys,
Wales
|
0-6-2 Joan
|
1
|
Nigel Day
|
Lempor
Exhaust.
|
2008
|
Welshpool
& Lllanfair Light Railway, Powys,
Wales |
0-8-0 Resita
|
1
|
Nigel Day
|
Lempor
Exhaust.
|
| 2008 |
Monticello
Railway Museum
Monticello, IL, USA
|
2-8-0 No. 401 |
1 |
Dr. Jos Koopmans
(design of exhaust system)
|
Sweney/Armstrong Exhaust Nozzle with
modern tapered stack liner and mixing
chamber, all-welded boiler, welded tender,
oil firing. |
| November 2008 |
Perrygrove
Railway,
Coleford, Gloucestershire, UK |
2-6-2T Lydia |
1 |
Steam Loco Design |
New 15" gauge 2-6-2T for tourist
railway. Designed by Steam Loco Design
and fabricated by Alan Keef. Features
Lempor exhaust and roller bearings.
|
2009
|
Welsh Highland
Railway, Wales
|
2-6-2+2-6-2
No. 87
|
1
|
Phil
Girdlestone, Steve McCallum, and Shaun
McMahon
|
Lempor
Exhaust (installation is not mentioned on
the WHR's webpages, but photo here
shows the Lempor). Thanks to
Shaun McMahon for information on this
installation.
|
2011
|
West Coast
Wilderness Railway, Australia
|
0-4-2RT* No.s
3 and 5
*(Abt rack and conventional adhesion drive
on locomotives; 2 sets of cylinders)
|
2
|
Nigel Day
|
Lempor
exhaust. No. 3 was later fitted with a
larger chimney and larger, more streamlined
exhaust pipes for further increases in
performance.
Details of intial installations available on
Martyn Bane's page at: http://www.martynbane.co.uk/modernsteam/nday/wcwr/wcwr-home.html
|
2011
|
Scottish
Railway Preservation Society Steam Group
|
J94
"Austerity" 0-6-0T
No. 7
|
1
|
unknown
|
Lempor
exhaust- curiously, a photograph showed this
appears to be sort of a cross between a
Kylpor and a Lempor featuring a Lempor
4-nozzle arrangement, but with a separate,
very tall intermediate petticoat pipe. This
photo
shows the intermediate petticoat.
|
2011
|
Rent-A-Lok
|
2-10-0 44 225
|
1
|
Dampflokwerk
Meiningen
|
Former
Deutsche Reichsbahn Class 44 2-10-0.
Improvements were to include bio-fuel
firing, sealed roller bearings and a Lempor
exhaust. Work was to be done by
Meiningen in Germany. Intent was to
rebuild the locomotive and offer it for
rental, primarily to the Danish
market. The group had a webpage but it
is now inactive.
|
2012
|
West Coast
Wilderness Railway, Australia |
0-4-2RT*
No. 1
*(Abt rack and conventional adhesion drive
on locomotives; 2 sets of cylinders) |
1
|
Nigel Day
|
Lempor
exhaust.
|
2012
|
Embsay & Bolton Abbey
Steam Railway
|
0-6-0T
Beatrice
|
1
|
Unknown
|
Rocking grate, hopper ashpan,
Lempor exhaust. This locomotive
previously worked for the National Coal
Board and was one of those modified with
GPCS, under-fire stoker, and Kylpor exhaust
in 1964 by L. D. Porta.
|
| 2013 |
Keighley
& Worth Valley Railway |
2-8-0
No. 5820 "Big Jim" |
1 |
5AT Group /
Advanced
Steam Traction Trust
|
USATC S160
WWII design locomotive. Lempor exhaust
added.
|
2014
|
Rhaetian
Railway
|
G
3/4 No. 11 2-6-0T "Heidi"
|
1
|
DLM
|
1902 SLM steam locomotive
modernized by DLM, included new boiler with
superheater, Lempor exhaust, new pistons and
piston rods, new valves and valve rods,
modern light oil firing system, and electric
preheating system.
|
2015
|
Harz Narrow Gauge Railways
(Hazer Schmalspurbahnen, GmbH)
|
0-4-4-0T
Mallet 99-5906
|
1
|
Coalition for
Sustainable Rail
|
Lempor exhaust and Master
Mechanics front end (for spark arresting)
designed for locomotive following extensive
data collection. Modifications on hold
pending availability of funds.
|
2016
|
Great Western Society
|
King Edward II 4-6-0 No. 6023
|
1
|
Dr. Jos Koopmans
|
Locomotive was modified for
main line running in the UK which required a
new, shorter stack had to be fabricated and
installed which adversely affected the
drafting. A new 4-nozzle exhaust and
extended stand was fitted, designed by Dr.
Jos Koopmans. The locomotive underwent
trials on the Severn Valley Railway which
were very successful. However, it was later
found that certain components of the
locomotive were too wide for mainline
running. Since mainline running would not be
permitted, the locomotive apparently was
converted back to its original configuration
in 2019 and is now on display as the boiler
certificate has since expired.
|
2017
|
Lynton & Barnstaple
Railway
|
2-6-2T No. 762 "Lyn"
|
1
|
762
Club
|
New narrow gauge (2 foot)
steam locomotive based on a 1898 Baldwin
design. Completely designed using
computer aided design (CAD), incorporates
the following modern features: superheater,
piston valves (cylinders disguised to look
like the slide valve cylinders of the
original), GPCS firebox, Lempor exhaust,
roller bearings on all axles, welded boiler,
Porta wheel profile.
|
2018
|
Waterloo
Central Railway
|
Essex Terminal
0-6-0 No. 9
|
1
|
Dr. Jos Koopmans, Michael Guy
|
New 4-nozzle exhaust and
extended stand fitted below existing
stack. Design by Dr. Jos Koopmans and
fabrication by Michael Guy. (Photos
courtesy of Michael Guy.)
|
2018
|
Puffing
Billy Railway, Australia
|
2-6-2NA
14A
|
1
|
DLM
|
Conversion to oil
firing. New 5 burner system fitted
(one pilot burner and 4 main burners),
similar to the new construction 0-4-2RT rack
locomotives built by DLM predecessor SLM in
the 1990's. Lempor exhaust previously
designed and fitted to 6A by Nigel Day was
transferred to this locomotive at the same
time.
|
2018
|
Puffing
Billy Railway, Australia |
NGG16
Garratt
|
1
|
Puffing Billy Railway Shops
|
Lempor Exhaust
|
2018 (?)
|
Scottish
Railway Preservation Society Steam Group |
J94 "Austerity" 0-6-0T
No. 19
|
1
|
unknown
|
Lempor exhaust
|
2018
|
Ravenglass
and Eskdale Steam Railway
|
River Esk
2-8-2
(photo by Nigel Day)
|
1
|
Nigel Day
|
New main steam pipe, exhaust
system, Kordina and Lempor. New valves,
piston rings and cylinder liners done to
Porta type standard with modifications by
Nigel. Full air brakes, two whistles and a
full set of new boiler fittings. Steam
sanders and improved lubrication.
|
2018
|
Doe
River Gorge
|
Crown 4-4-0 (3 foot gauge)
No. 3
|
1
|
unknown
|
New inner exhaust chimney and
Lempor exhaust nozzles were planned for this
locomotive during its recent rebuild, but
had to be omitted due to time/funding. They
may be installed in the future.
|
2019
|
Puffing
Billy Railway, Australia |
2-4-2T
No. 861
|
1
|
Puffing Billy Railway Shops
|
New enlarged, internally
streamlined exhaust stand and
multiple-nozzle exhaust. Their site
specifically says this is not a Lempor, but
it closely resembles one. It appears no
changes were made to the exhaust stack
(chimney) so perhaps this is the reason for
the distinction.
|
2019 (?)
|
Canterbury
Steam Preservation Society,
New Zealand
|
A&G
Price two truck geared drive, very similar
to US Heisler locomotive
|
1
|
Sam Mackwell
|
Heisler-style geared drive
locomotive with V-type engine mounted below
the boiler driving both trucks via shafts
and gears. Locomotive was fitted with a
Lempor exhaust by Sam Mackwell. Date
unknown.
|
2020
|
Mid-Continent
Railway Museum
|
C&NW 4-6-0 No.
1385
|
1
|
Continental Boiler Works
|
New all-welded boiler
fabricated. Upgraded from original design
with transverse arch tubes of the type
developed by the Norfolk and Western Railway
and fitted to their modern steam
locomotives. This photo
shows the new arch tube arrangement. This
arrangement works similar to the better
known Security Circulators (inverted T
arrangement), which were a proprietary
design.
|
