The Ultimate Steam Page

Things Are Heating Up Again on the RFIRT (updated Nov. 2, 2004)

Hot off the Presses- October 27, 2004

News Release from Shaun McMahon- RFIRT.pdf (Adobe PDF document)

The linked PDF News Release above details present plans for the RFIRT and its steam locomotives. Background info follows below.

Photos of Chilean steam locomotive added below November 2, 2004

Shaun McMahon has recently moved from the FCAF to duties on the RFIRT (Rio Turbio railway), home of Porta's fleet of modern 2-10-2's. From the time of Porta's arrival in the late 1950's, these 2-10-2's moved millions of tons of coal from the mines to the port of Rio Gallegos where the coal was loaded onto ships. Porta moved back to Buenos Aires in the 1960's, but maintained close contact with the railway for many years, ensuring that "his" engines were maintained to his specifications. Unfortunately, in later years things were not as well maintained and the performance of the steamers suffered. Eventually, the railway was dieselized in the 1990's, but a significant number of the Sante Fe type engines remained in servicable condition.

Plans are presently underway to establish a steam-powered tourist train on the railway which may eventually run into neighboring Chile. It is hoped that steam traction will also be returned to use on the coal trains. The government of Argentina is presently investing in modernizing the coal mining operations which will no doubt benefit the railway as well. One of the steam locomotives has already been restored to service (no. 116, seen above and below), with plans for additional work on it as well as work on some of the other remaining 2-10-2s, including updating them with the latest Porta modifications. Shaun writes:

"Steam testing of 116 took place on September 29th/30th September. The locomotive was evaluated for its present state of repair and general condition including boiler. A few kilometres were run around the works yard at Rio Turbio. Some mechanical and boiler work needs to be completed before the loco enters traffic on the initial passenger service between Rio Turbio and 28 de Noviembre during December of this year. The next locomotive to enter the shops is scheduled to be 119 which will undergo a general machanical repair and conversion back to GPCS followed by 120 later on in 2005. 120 will be rebuilt and further modified so as to produce the prototype locomotive for the "Advanced Santa Fe" class. The photos show 116 in steam with members of RFIRT staff standing alongside. Then author also took the chance to begin initial thermodynamic testing of the locomotive in unmodified state so as to evaluate conditions in preparation for future re modification to GPCS."

No. 116 During Tests

Crew Standing Next to No. 116

The following photos were added November 2, 2004. Shaun describes them: "I am attaching photos of the Chilean based Avonside built locomotive as mentioned in the text concerning TOR/RFIRT. These were taken when we went to inspect the loco in Puerto Natales back in August of this year prior to carrying out a review, specification and costing of the potential work. The team working on the engine are from Rio Turbio RFIRT locomotive and rolling stock depot. The smokebox photo shows up "the worst cannot exist" front end arrangement (similar to FCAF Camila in pre-modified times) that of course is to be rectified as part of a modification scheme."

Chilean Locomotive Under Inspection by RFIRT Crew

"Worse could not exist" Front End Arrangement

RFIRT Inspection Crew

photos courtesy of Hector Alavarado and Shaun McMahon

FCAF Celebrates 10th Anniversary

This report comes from Shaun McMahon and Martyn Bane (who is visiting Argentina at present):

"On 11th October 2004 FCAF celebrated 10 years of operation. Locomotives No.3 (left) and No.2 (right) can be seen in the works yard at Estacion fin del Mundo. Camila underwent winter maintenance during May/August of this year which included replacing a broken driving axle and connecting rod both of which had failed in traffic during early May 2004. Some improvemets were alos carried out to the Lempor exhaust arrangement and the layout of cab instrumentation. Full gas emision evaluation is to be carried out during the coming high season with respect to both FCAF steamers. No.2 passed through shops immediately after Camila and can be seen in part complete state, having been reduced to essential components. Further mechanical work was carried out to the power units along with a full repaint. A fair amount of outstanding mechanical maintenance has had to left out of the work schedule so as to get the engine back in traffic in time forthe high season which is just about to begin in Ushuaia during the latter end of this month (October 2004). Stage 2 work to No.2 is still scheduled to take place during 2006. "

Awards were presented to current and former FCAF staff and management during the 10th ceremony at Estacion fin del Mundo, these were given for "exceptional contribution to the development of the railway during the first 10 years of its operation and initial construction".

FCAF 10th Anniversary photos courtesy of Martyn Bane

Nigel Day Returns to Mt. Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire (update November 2, 2004)

As a result of his successful installation of a Lempor exhaust system on Mt. Washington locomotive No.9 Waumbek, Nigel Day is returning this month (September 2004) to do additional work on Mt. Washington's locomotives, chiefly to improve combustion conditions. Preliminary reports on No. 9 indicate impressive fuel savings compared to the unmodified locomotives. (Sept. 16) Martyn Bane has just updated his pages with further info on Nigel's work at Mt. Washington. Further modifications were carried out on No. 9 earlier this year, prior to Nigel's arrival. Nigel left the UK for New Hampshire on September 13 and expects to spend several years at Mt. Washington improving their fleet of steam locomotives.

For photos and more details of the Lempor installation on No. 9, see Martyn Bane's website at:

http://www.martynbane.co.uk/modernsteam/nday/mw/ndaymwhome.htm

More information on the Mt. Washington Cog Railway and its locomotives is available at:

http://www.cog-railway.com

November 2, 2004- A very nice article on Nigel at Mt. Washington by Dave Lathrop was posted to the Railway Preservation News website November 1, 2004. Read it at:

http://www.rypn.org/briefs/november2004/041101.htm

Partial Lempor Exhaust Installed on Steamer at Greenfield Village

This story comes from Jason Sobczynski. A steam locomotive at Greenfield Village, a part of the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, was recently outifitted with a partial Lempor exhaust system. The locomotive fitted with the Lempor style funnel is the "Edison" . This locomotive was built at Ford Motor Company's "Fordson" locomotive shop (located within the Rouge complex) using parts (cylinders, wheel centers, bearing boxes, domes and bell, and not much else) and tender from an 0-4-0 constructed in the 1860's. She is for all intents and purposes a Ford Motor Company 4-4-0. The loco received a new funnel fit inside of a new stock-appearing stack. The funnel was built to the proportions obtained from L. D. Porta's "Lempor Theory" on the Ultimate Steam Page. The funnel consists of a straight lower "mixing chamber" section and a tapered upper "diffuser" section. The locomotive is reported to steam remarkably better than prior to the modification. The funnel was designed by the assistant railroad manager and fabricated by an outside fabrication shop. Jacob installed the funnel as well as fabricate and fit some related parts. As to the success of the installation, here's how Jason puts it: "While I had not fired the Edison prior to the installation of this funnel I can attest to the steaming capabilities of the loco now...and I am told by others that the difference is like night and day. "

Interestingly, this exhaust is very similar to what is now installed on the modern SLM rack steam locomotives operating in Austria and Switzerland, which were built in the 1990's. Initially fitted with full Lempor systems, the 4-nozzle exhaust stand was replaced with a single exhaust nozzle when the locomotives were found to have "excess" steaming capacity. (The single nozzle was used to save cost; an altered 4-nozzle system would provide even better performance.)

It's great to hear of a second successful Lempor exhaust installation in the U.S. For more on Greenfield Village, see:

http://www.hfmgv.org/village/railroadjunction.asp

Thanks to Jason Sobczynski for the information and photograph.

Another Proposed Steam Locomotive Website

Russell Brown has recently posted a new website with his proposal for an alternative steam locomotive design based on the Garratt concept, called the Paragon Steam Locomotive. The proposed design would use a combination of a piston engine with compound expansion of the steam through a turbine powering a generator, driving some of the locomotive's wheels via electric motors. The site contains detailed information on various aspects of the design, including a diagram of the locomotive arrangement. Read more at:

http://www.alternativesteam.com/index.html

Recent Stories

A1 Trust Announces Boiler Supplier Chosen

The A1 Trust group that is constructing a new, full-size 4-6-2 steam locomotive in England, recently announced that Dampflokwerk Meiningen has been chosen to supply the boiler for the locomotive. This is the last major outstanding component required to complete the locomotive. An intense search had been underway for several years to find a suitable supplier for the boiler, and it was hoped that it could be built in the UK. The Trust finally determined that Dampflokwerk Meiningen of Germany was the best choice for the project. The new boiler will differ from the original A1 boilers in being of all-welded construction and having a steel rather than copper firebox. Read more at the A1 Trust's website at:

http://www.a1steam.com/

Read more about Dampflokwerk Meiningen at their website at:

http://www.dampflokwerk.de/english/index.htm

New Webpage on Proposed Steamers

Clive Collins wrote me a few months back about his webpage on a proposal for a new mainline steamer for the UK. His design would be based on a previous UK 4-6-2 design with significant improvements. His design is at least in part a response to the 5AT Project including features which he believes would be better-suited to modern-day steam. Read more at his page at:

http://www.freewebs.com/thefutureofsteam/

Webpage on Steam "Alternative History"

As a reader of science fiction, one of my favorite categories is so-called "alternative histories"- stories which explore answers to "what if?" questions ("What if the South had won the Civil War?", "What if President Kennedy hadn't been assasinated?", etc.). Norman Clubb of Germany has an interesting webpage which presents answers to the question "What if steam motive power had survived in Germany to the present?" His page covers the mythical Ruhnian State Railways (RSR) and their cooperating rival, the Kroplihne Railway (RK) and includes numerous well-done graphics on an array of steam locomotives which would have been developed in the 1950's through the present. Check out his very interesting webpage at:

http://www.kropplenburg.de/rsr/pages/rsrhome.html

George W. Carpenter Receives Engineer-Historian Award

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) awarded George Carpenter it's 2003 Engineer-Historian award in London last summer for his contributions to the historiography of the steam locomotive engineering. Carpenter has written over 40 papers and other publications, and translated Andre Chapelon's massive work La Locomotive a Vapeur into English. Read more at ASME's website at:

http://www.asme.org/history/newslett.html#16

Exhaust Improvements on the Talyllyn Railway

Jos Koopmans of the Netherlands forwarded this report from Wales regarding the application of his work on steam locomotive multiple-jet exhaust systems to locomotive No. 6 on the Talyllyn Railway (website http://www.talyllyn.co.uk ). The modifications were carried out by John Scott, Julian Stow and Peter Mintoft. Interestingly, the nozzle configuration used consisted of 3 exhaust nozzles, chosen for ease of fabrication. Read about it below (Adobe PDF format).

Notes on Modifications to Draughting on No 6

2004 Outlook

2003 seemed to be a pretty dismal year for new steam developments, the worst news being the death of Ing. L. D. Porta. However, some good things have happened and 2004 promises to be a better year for steam development. Nigel Day has recently introduced the Lempor exhaust system to the United States, David Wardale seems to be making good progress on the 5AT project in the UK, Phil Girdlestone has some interesting projects in the works, and Shaun McMahon continues to fine-tune operations at the FCAF. Hopefully I'll have much to report in 2004.

Update on Overhaul Progress on the Duke of Gloucester

The official site for the British steam locomotive "Duke of Gloucester" has recently been updated with information on the progress on the comprehensive overhaul the engine has been undergoing for several years. The Duke is a 3-cylinder 4-6-2 with Caprotti rotary cam poppet valves which was saved from certain destruction by an enthusiasts group in the UK. The present overhaul includes several significant improvements. Read more at:

Duke of Gloucester

Report on Roller Bearing Conversion Failure on GSMR No. 1702

The Great Smoky Mountains Railway, a tourist line in North Carolina operates former U.S. Army Transportation Corps 2-8-0 No. 1702. In 1997/1998, the railway's mechanical department took the progressive step of converting all the axles on the engine to roller bearings.

The job required some innovative engineering to make work, as the small pedestal openings in the engine's frames were not designed to accomodate roller bearings. This was dealt with by using relatively small outside diameter roller bearing assemblies. To provide sufficient diametrical clearance for the bearings, the diameter of the driving axles had to be reduced. This was done by pressing off the drivers and turning the end portion of each axle down. The roller bearing assembly, mounted in a suitably modified driving box, was then pressed on, a bushing was pressed on to restore the original axle diameter at the end, and the driver was pressed back on. The roller bearings were expected to last for 15 years. Unfortunately, the roller bearings failed after only five of seasons of operation and a decision was made to restore the engine's original friction bearings (at least on the driving axles).

Many people were interested in the reasons for the failure but little information has been published. Last week, Ryan Scott, Operations Manager at the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, posted this information to the Railway Preservation News Interchange Board (http://www.rypn.org/index.html) in response to an inquiry by me. Mr. Scott notes that the following is his opinion and not necessarily the offical opinion of the GSMR:

There were a few "flaws in the slaw", so to say, that led to earlier-than-expected replacement of the roller bearings.

1. The rollers were Timken "AP" bearings. In other words, they were sealed for life with grease. They could not be "flushed" periodically like any other true steam locomotive roller bearing. The ability to change the oil periodically may have helped. Also, the use of oil instead of grease will let some of the loose metal particles collect at the bottom of the bearing box, instead of continuing to grind the remaining bearing just like grinding compound.

2. The rollers were not housed in a common box, as in standard locomotive roller bearing boxes. In roller bearing locos, such as the NKP 765, the left and right boxes on a particular axle were actually all one box. There are two halves to the box, and upper and a lower. Thus, as the box encountered the frame during lateral movement, both bearings were loaded exactly the same, because they were located in a precise machined "common" box. Also, with the common box, the spring rigging cannot induce moments on the bearing in the same axis as the rail. Also, the bearing designs themselves differ from the standard loco bearing to the AP bearings.

3. The AP bearings were designed to be used in two to three axle trucks that had a much smaller wheelbase than a steam locomotive. In this case a 2-8-0 with 57 inch drivers. Also, they were meant for smaller wheels and higher speeds, say 36 inch wheels and 45-60mph. At the higher speeds the AP bearings would heat up enough to evaporate whatever water might pass the seals in weather changes, and in the case of a steam loco, steam cleanings. The AP bearings just couldn't handle the lateral load that a 2-8-0 on a curvy RR will create.

The conversion to Roller bearings on this loco was an experiment. Unfortunately, as with any experiment, we are sometimes disappointed with the data that we are presented with after starting the experiment. Couple that with the fact that AP bearings are meant to last for "life", with "life" being measured in the length of time it takes to wear out the wheel on the same axle. On a steam loco, it is MUCH more involved to remove a roller bearing than on a freight car axle. One must dismount/mount the wheels which over time will "wear" the interference fit between the axle and wheel, and also requarter the crankpins after each of these "lifetime" replacements. Thus, axles and crankpins last much longer with true RR roller bearings or friction bearings.

The #1702 has been converted back to friction bearings on all drive axles for many of the reasons above. For all of those contemplating a roller bearing conversion think long and hard about the costs versus benefits both short and long term.

Ryan Scott

Because the stock axles and axle boxes were extensively modified to accept the roller bearing assemblies, new friction bearing axle boxes had to be cast and machined to return the engine to its original condition. The conversion back to friction bearings was completed as a cooperative project between GSMR, Steam Operations Corporation, and TVRM.

Thanks to Ryan Scott for allowing me to re-publish his post here.

New Steam for DHR (updated 9/9/04)

UK publication Steam Railway magazine (no. 291) includes an update on three new locos being built for the Darjeeling Himalaya Railway at the Golden Rock works in India. Indian Railways published tenders for these engines several years ago and then re-issued the tenders about a year later. SLM worked hard to interest IR in new modern locomotives incorporating the improvements successfully used on SLM's new steam rack engines built for Switzerland and Austria. SLM successor DLM also lobbied hard for new locomotives but IR was not willing to make the large investment required. Several other groups also expressed an interest in providing new-design locomotives. After all this time, it appears IR opted to have copies of the original ~1895 design Class B steam locomotives produced locally. While the construction of any new steam locomotives in 2003 is good news, it is a disappointment that evidently no modern features have been included in these engines.

The first locomotive is reported as being nearly complete and it is hoped it will be on the DHR in January 2004. This locomotive has been given the name Snow Chariot. Work on the second and third locos has not yet started. Snow chariot's boiler is one of 5 ordered in 1998, evidently as replacements for the existing Class B locomotives. The other boilers are reported as being on number 794 at Matheran, on 787 for oil burning trials, one for number 791 which is stripped for overhaul at Tindharia and one as yet unallocated.

Later reports say the first "new" steamer suffered immense steaming problems, likely due to its highly unorthodox oil-firing arrangement which used a diesel generator to supply power to run electrically driven fuel pumps, combustion air blowers, air compressors, and a myriad of lights in the cab. The engine was reportedly sent back to Golden Rock for modifications. Recently, it was reported that the second new locomotive was completed and that both engines would be delivered to the DHR in the near future. It will be interesting to see if the complex locally developed oil firing system can be made sufficiently reliable for daily service.

Modernized Steam Locomotive NG52 8055 Purchased by DLM

Swiss Steam locomotive manufacturer DLM recently announced that they have purchased the modernized steam locomotive class NG (for "next generation") 52 number 8055 from Eisenbahnfreunde Zollernbahn (EFZ). 8055 was modernized by DLM predecessor SLM under the direction of Roger Waller with assistance from L. D. Porta. The locomotive required an extensive rebuild, in addition to the many modifications made to improve performance, efficiency, and reliability. These modifications included increased superheat, a streamlined steam circuit, Lempor exhaust, light oil firing, the application of sealed roller bearings to all axles, rods, and valve gear components, centralized lubrication, and more. The locomotive was successfully tested in Switzerland, and once some teething problems were worked out, it was transferred to Germany where it was intended to be used to pull the world-famous Orient Express passenger train. Unfortunately, German authorities refused to allow the engine to operate because some features which had been allowed in Switzerland were not recognized in Germany. Now that the engine is back in the hands of the men who designed and built it, it is planned to use the engine as a test bed for additional steam locomotive improvements. It is also expected that the locomotive will reguarly operate on passenger excursion trains in Switzerland.

Update December 3, 2003
The 52 8055 has been on display today together with the Orient Express in Zürich Hauptbahnhof. Test runs have been successful and the locomotive pulled the train on mainlines at 80 km/h between express trains and fast electric commuter trains. The photos below were supplied by Andreas Schwander.

Update December 19, 2003
Additional photos can be seen at:

http://www.bahnonline.ch/phpkit/include.php?path=content/news.php&contentid=2635&PHPKITSID=9e0192f6c343b50141522d

DLM Modernized Steam Locomotive "NG" 52 8055 on display in Zürich Hauptbahnhof

Detail of Right-hand Cylinder Showing Heavy Insulation and
DLM-predecessor SLM Builder's Plate

52 8055 Cab Showing New DLM Plate

Inside the Cab of 52 8055

A Youngster Getting a View Inside a Very Hot Firebox

Front View of 52 8055

For more information, see the press release (PDF format) at: DLM Press Release on 8055

and DLM's webpage at http://www.dlm-ag.ch.

"The Red Devil" Reprint Published

The third printing of David Wardale's excellent book "The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam" has just been released. This is by far the most detailed, in-depth, technical analysis of steam locomotive performance written since the 1940's. The book is based on Wardale's experiences at the South African Railways, on the U.S. American Coal Enterprises "new steam" project, and finally in China. The following information comes from Rob Dickinson:

(book no longer available, June 5, 2005)