Some Continental and American Mammoths Compared
LOCOMOTIVES - 48
DECAPOD BUILT FOR THE ARGENTINE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY. The line is of 5 feet 6 inches gauge. In working order this locomotive weighs 135 tons complete.
WHILE possibly the railways of these islands may not be able to produce many locomotives of huge dimensions, comp-arable with those found in other countries, yet at the same time British locomotive builders, who supply the railway requirements of the whole world, have constructed machines which have aroused attention from their size and character. Some time ago the pioneer locomotive building organisation of Robert Stephenson and Company, Limited, of Darlington, built a number of big Decapods for the 5 feet 6 inches gauge of the Argentine Great Western Railway.
These engines are of the 2-10-0 type, with a total length, over buffers, engine and tender, of 64 feet 10⅝ inches. The cylinders have a diameter of 19½ inches, with a stroke of 28 inches. The ten coupled wheels are 51 inches, and the front bogie wheels 30 inches in diameter. The fixed wheel base is 19 feet, and the total wheel base 27 feet 2 inches. Being built for a broad gauge system, the maximum width is 10 feet 3 inches, while the extreme height is 14 feet. The heating surface of the copper boiler tube is 2·246 square feet, and of the fire-box 194 square feet, representing a total heating surface of 2,440 square feet, while the grate area is 36 square feet. Steam is used at a pressure of 180 pounds per square inch. The Walschaert valve gear, with balance slide valves, is used.
The total weight of the engine is 79 tons 12 cwt, in running order, of which aggregate 71 tons 6 cwt are available for adhesion, bringing the maximum load upon each of the five driving axles to 14 tons 11 cwts. The tender, carried upon two four-wheeled bogies, having a wheel base of 5 feet, with wheels 38 inches in diameter, has provision for 5,000 gallons of water, and space for 5 tons of coal or 450 cubic feet of wood; and in working order represents a weight of 55 tons 8 cwt. Thus the complete weight of the engine and tender ready for service is 135 tons.
PACIFIC (4-6-2) ENGINE BUILT FOR THE EXPRESS SERVICE OF THE PARIS, LYONS AND MEDITERRANEAN RAILWAY. This locomotive is capable of attaining 74½ miles an hour in service.
The expresses of the Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean system are well known, and in the working of this traffic several varying Pacific (4-6-2) types, both compound and simple, using saturated or superheated steam, are employed. One of the most recent locomotives for this service is the four-cylinder compound superheated machine built by Messrs. Henschel and Sohn, of Cassel, Germany. The crack trains on this line often attain a speed of 74½ miles per hour, and this locomotive was designed to fulfil such requirements.
The high-pressure cylinders have a diameter of 17·3 inches, while that of the low-pressure cylinders is 25·5 inches, the stroke in both cases being 25·5 inches. The two high-pressure cylinders are mounted outside and the two low-pressure inside the frame. All four cylinders are worked by separate distributions, by means of which the admission into the high-pressure cylinders can be increased to 80 per cent., whilst that of the low-pressure cylinders remains constant at 63 per cent.
The driving-wheels have a diameter of 78·3 inches, while the diameter of the leading bogie wheels and of the trailing pair of wheels is 39¼ and 53½ inches respectively. The 143 boiler tubes have an outside diameter of 2·16 inches, while the 28 fire-box tubes are of 5¼ inches diameter. The length of the boiler between the tube plates is 18 feet, while the diameter of the boiler in the centre is 66½ inches. The heating surface of the boiler and fire-box tubes is 2,008·37 square feet, and of the fire-box 166·73 square feet, representing an aggregate heating surface of 2,175·1 square feet. The superheating surface is 694 square feet, and the grate area 45·76 square feet. Steam is used at a pressure of 227½ pounds per square inch.
The over-all length of the frame, including the buffer, is 46 feet, and the total length of the wheel base 36·9 feet. The weight of the engine, empty, is 86·67 tons, the axle loads being distributed as follows: 10·4 tons for each of the two leading bogie axles, 18·07 tons upon each of the driving axles, and 15·46 upon the trailing axle, the total weight for adhesion thus being 54·21 tons. In working order the engine weighs 90·94 tons.
POWERFUL ARTICULATED (2-6-6-2) MALLET DOUBLE COMPOUND BUILT FOR THE METRE GAUGE BRAZIL RAILWAY. The engine weighs 87½ tons and can draw a train of 1,500 tons at a speed of 20 miles per hour round curves of 315 feet radius.
This same firm of German locomotive builders also has built lately an interesting double compound articulated Mallet for the Brazil Railway Company. This South American line is of the metre (3·28 feet) gauge, and notwithstanding the narrow gauge this engine is extremely powerful. Its object is not high speed, but rather the hauling of very heavy loads over a tortuous track abounding in stiff banks and very sharp curves.
The locomotive is of the 2-6-6-2 type with driving wheels 44·8 inches in diameter. The high-pressure cylinders, mounted on the rear frame, have a diameter of 16·9 inches, while the low-pressure cylinders carried upon the forward frame have a diameter of 25·9 inches, the stroke being 22 inches. The front is connected to the rear frame by means of articulated joint bolts. The distributions for all four cylinders are interlocked and regulated by a steam reversing gear on the Raggonnet system.
There are 194 boiler tubes of 2¼ inches external diameter. The boiler has a length of 21 feet between tube plates and a diameter, in centre, of 4 feet 11¾ inches. The boiler tubes have a heating surface of 2,371·3 square feet, while that of the firebox is 154 square feet, the total heating surface thus being 2,525·3 square feet. The grate area is of 42 square feet. The working pressure of the steam is 200 pounds per square inch. The length of the engine frame, including cow-catcher, is 51·18 feet, while the total wheel base is 42·65 feet. The weight of the engine in running order is 873, tons, the load distributed upon the driving axles being 12·27 tons, giving an aggregate of 73½ tons for adhesion.
THE MASSIVE BALDWIN (2-10-2) GOODS ENGINE BUILT FOR THE CHICAGO, BURLINGTON, AND QUINCY RAILROAD. This locomotive complete for the road weighs 281 American tons.
Increasing heavy traffic compelled the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad to seek for more powerful locomotive effort to handle its heavy goods traffic, and, without embracing the Mallet system, this end has been fulfilled by the Baldwin Locomotive Company of Philadelphia. This firm supplied a 2-10-2 simple machine with cylinders of 30 inches diameter by 32 inches stroke. The boiler, of the straight type, is 88½ inches in diameter, and works at a pressure of 175 pounds per square inch. There are 30 6-inch and 285 2¼-inch tubes, 22 feet 7½ inches in length, having a heating surface of 4,841 square feet; while the fire-box, with 255 square feet, and the combustion chamber of 65 square feet, bring the aggregate heating surface to 5,161 square feet. The grate area is 88 square feet, and the Emerson superheater, with which the engine is equipped, has a superheating surface of 970 square feet (steam side). The outside driving wheels are 60 inches and the centre driving wheels 52 inches in diameter, the leading bogie wheels being 33 inches and the trailing wheels 42½ inches in diameter respectively.
The total weight imposed upon the driving wheels is 150·9 tons, the complete weight of the engine being 189·35 tons. The tender, of the two 4-wheel bogie type, has a tank capacity of 10,000 gallons, and 15 tons of coal, and in running order weighs 91·65 tons. Thus the complete engine, ready for the road, turns the scale at 281 tons (American).
While the Pennsylvania Railroad Company has overhauled its system completely, eliminating all severe curvature and heavy banks, yet its freight traffic taxes the resources of the operating department to a supreme degree. The fact that the system penetrates the heart of the Pennsylvania coal territory and serves the steel country affords some idea of the volume of the freight business which has to be handled. For the heaviest traffic of this character the railway has introduced some mammoth Mallet locomotives which, complete in running order, weigh no less than 334·45 tons.
THE MAMMOTH MALLET ARTICULATED SIMPLE (2-8-8-2) LOCOMOTIVE USED IN THE HEAVY FREIGHT SERVICE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. This engine has 56-inch drivers; a total heating surface of 8,524·8 square feet, and, ready for the road, weighs complete 334·45 (American) tons.
These engines are of the 2-8-8-2 class with 56-inch drivers. The cylinders are 27 inches in diameter by 28 inches stroke. The round-top boiler has a minimum internal diameter of 86 inches, and has 282 tubes of 2¼, 45 of 5½, and 180 of 1 7/16 inches external diameter respectively, by 23 feet 10⅞ inches long between tube plates. The external heating surface of the tubes is 8,120·8 square feet, and of the fire-box 404 square feet, giving a total heating surface of 8,524·8 square feet. The grate area is 96·5 square feet. Steam is used at a pressure of 160 pounds per square inch. In running order the engine weighs 241·35 (American) tons, the weights being distributed as follows: Truck, 11·25 tons; first pair of drivers, 26·75 tons; second pair of drivers, 27·5 tons; third pair of drivers, 28 tons; fourth pair of drivers, 26 tons; fifth pair of drivers, 26 tons; sixth pair of drivers, 26·5 tons; seventh pair of drivers, 31·75 tons; eighth pair of drivers, 26·75 tons; and trailing truck, 11·25 tons.
The length of the driving-wheel base is 15 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 10 inches by 15 feet 6 inches. The wheel base of the engine is 57 feet 5 inches, and the total wheel base of engine and tender 88 feet 2 inches. The tractive effort, with four-fifths of boiler pressure, is 93,312 pounds.
The Italian State Railways embrace some very heavy stretches of track, with severe gradients, particularly among the Apennines and the Alps. The goods traffic over these lines is somewhat heavy, and in order to cope with this movement the Societa Anomina Officine Meccaniche of Milan have built a powerful type of compound goods locomotive, the distinctive feature of which is the detachable tender. The first engine of this character was introduced upon the Italian State system about 1907 for working the passenger trains over the stiff Apennines section of the Rome-Florence-Milan line between Pistoja and Poretta. On this division the grade on the south side varies from 1 in 38·4 to 1 in 40 for a continuous 16 miles, and the task of operating the single track is aggravated by the curves, which range about 990 feet radius, and numerous tunnels.
A NOVEL TYPE OF TEN-COUPLED BALANCED COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVE USED ON THE ITALIAN STATE RAILWAYS. This engine was designed expressly for mountain service among the Alps and Apennines, where continuous grades of 1 in 38·4 and 1 in 40 are encountered. The tender, carrying water only, and a brake compartment, can be attached either to the front or rear of the engine as desired. The coal bunker of 4 tons capacity is mounted on top of the boiler forward of the cab.
The detachable tender was adopted because of the economies it offered in working. When running forwards the tender is in the conventional position, but instead of turning the engine round preparatory to the return trip, the tender is shunted and coupled to the chimney-end of the engine, thereby giving the driver a clear view of the track from his cab. Another novel feature of this type of locomotive is the incorporation of a guard’s compartment with the tender, so that it is not necessary to have a brake van next to the engine when operating goods trains.
The engine is a four-cylinder compound with ten coupled wheels (0-10-0 type) with drive on the third axle. The cylinders are so disposed that the two high-pressure cylinders are upon the right hand and the two low-pressure cylinders upon the left-hand side. In order to facilitate the rounding of sharp curves the first and fifth axles have a lateral play of about 1 inch, while the wheels of the main driving axle are flangeless. The low-pressure cylinders are 24 inches and the high-pressure cylinders 14¾ inches in diameter, with a common stroke of 25½ inches. The boiler barrel is 22 feet 11 inches in length. There are 265 boiler tubes, giving a total heating surface of 2,416½ square feet, while the heating surface of the fire-box is 123¾ square feet. Forward of the cab, and on top of the boiler, is the bunker for fuel, of 4 tons capacity. The total weight of the engine, ready for the road, is 75 tons, the whole of which is available for adhesion.
The four-wheeled tender, carrying water only, has sufficient space for 2,860 gallons. The total weight of the tender in running order is 26 tons, bringing the aggregate weight of the locomotive to 101 tons. The length of the tender is 26 feet 7 inches, which, added to that of the locomotive, 40 feet 11 inches, gives a complete over-all length of 67½ feet.
The engines of this unusual type are restricted to the trying mountain division, and are among the most powerful in service upon the Italian State Railways. They have given complete satisfaction, not only on account of their hauling capacity but from their economical operation as well. They are able to haul a load of 270 tons, exclusive of the locomotive, up the 16 miles of the maximum grades at 20 miles an hour.
[From Part 15 of Railway Wonders of the World by Frederick A. Talbot]
You can read more on “Articulated Locomotives”, “Continental Locomotives” and “Giant American Locomotives” on this website.
