Stephenson’s “long boiler” goods engines for the Eastern
Counties Railway—Gray’s prototype of the “Jenny
Lind”—Hackworth builds twelve of the class for the
Brighton Railway—Stephenson and Howe’s three-cylinder
locomotive not a success—The “Great A,” another Stephenson
absurdity—The competitive trials between broad and
narrow-gauge locomotives—Gooch to the rescue!-The
“Premier,” the first engine constructed at Swindon—The
“Great Western” the forerunner of the standard express
engine of to-day—Trial trip of this “mammoth”—A notable
run of the “Great Western”—The “Great Western” altered
to an eight-wheel engine—Galloway’s incline climbing
locomotive tried on the Great Western—Beyer’s “Atlas” for
the Manchester and Sheffield Railway—The Eastern Union
“Essex” draws 149 loaded goods wagons—Stephenson’s “White
Horse of Kent”—Crampton, as a locomotive designer, the
“Namur” constructed—Gooch’s “Iron Duke” and “Lord of the
Isles” make the broad-gauge still more popular—The “Jenny
Lind,” a “storm-in a tea cup”—Trial of the “Jenny Lind”
and “Jenny Sharp”—Trevithick’s “Cornwall,” a locomotive
monstrosity—Exhibited at the 1851 Exhibition—Rebuilt
in her present form, and still running—McConnell’s
“counterbalancing” experiments—The “most powerful
narrow-gauge engine ever built”—“No. 185” of the Y.N. and
B.R.—The oldest locomotive now running, “Old Coppernob,”
of the Furness Railway—“Lablache,” another locomotive
freak—“Cambrian” locomotives, and the peculiarities of
their construction—The “Albion,” of 1848—Half a century
later, the writer unearths the working drawings of this
engine and her sisters.
During 1845 R. Stephenson and Co. built seven of their “long boiler”
engines, with outside cylinders, for working the goods traffic of the
Eastern Counties Railway. Fig. 35 is an illustration of one of these
ungainly specimens of locomotive construction. The boiler barrel was
no less than 13ft. 6in. in length, all the axles were beneath the
barrel, the leading wheels were 3ft. diameter, and the driving and
trailing (coupled) wheels 5ft. 9½in. diameter. The cylinders were 16in.
diameter, the stroke being 21in. In working order, these locomotives
weighed 23 tons 12 cwt. After looking at the illustration, it is
scarcely necessary to add that these engines were very unsteady when
travelling, the oscillation being excessive.
In the arrangement of inside and outside bearings to the various wheels
of the patent engines, designed by John Gray for the Hull and Selby
Railway (previously described), we make acquaintance with the embryo
design, afterwards perfected, and known the whole world over as the
“Jenny Lind” class.
[Illustration: FIG. 35.—STEPHENSON’S “LONG BOILER” GOODS ENGINE,
EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY]
[Illustration: FIG. 36.—GRAY’S PROTOTYPE OF THE “JENNY LIND,” No. 49,
LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY]
In 1846 Gray had become locomotive superintendent of the Brighton
Railway, and he prepared another design of express engines for
that line, in which the type now known as “Jenny Lind” was further
developed. J. Hackworth and Co. obtained the contract for the supply of
twelve of these locomotives, and in November, 1846, they delivered the
first pair, numbered 53 and 54. Fig. 36 represents No. 49, one of these
engines. The leading and trailing wheels were 3ft. 6in. diameter, the
drivers being 6ft. diameter. Cylinders 15in. by 24in. stroke. Heating
surface: tubes, 700 sq. ft.; fire-box, 79 sq. ft. Inside bearings
were provided to the driving, and outside to the leading and trailing
wheels; the engines were fitted with Gray’s “horse-leg motion,” and
several of the dozen had two square-seated steam domes, one located
on the centre of the boiler barrel, the other over the fire-box. Each
dome was provided with a steam safety valve. The steam pressure was
100lb. per square inch.
These engines were found to be good at hauling heavy loads (as computed
50 years ago) at speeds up to and slightly exceeding 40 miles an hour.
In 1846 Stephenson and Howe obtained a patent for a three-cylindered
engine. Z. Colburn, in his “Locomotive Engineering,” exposes the
fallacy of the idea that the action of the steam admitted alternately
to cylinders whose centres are far apart, sets up a dangerous sinuous
motion. The object of Stephenson and Howe’s three-cylinder engine was
to overcome this winding motion. Colburn states that a “few pounds
of counterweight would have served a better purpose than the extra
cylinder and working parts.” Two engines appear to have been built on
this plan before the true cause of the rocking motion and the real way
of overcoming it, were fully grasped by the patentees. The outside
cylinders were only 10½in. diameter and 22in. stroke; whilst the centre
or inside cylinder was 16⅜in. diameter, but the stroke in this case was
restricted to 18in. It is needless to add that these three-cylinder
locomotives were not successful.
Passing reference must be made to the celebrated gauge experiments
which took place during the last days of December, 1845, and resulted
so greatly in favour of the broad-gauge, despite the fact that the
Great Western Railway had no new engines prepared for the competition,
but used those regularly in work on the broad-gauge railways.
The narrow-gauge experiments were made on the Great North of England
Railway, a special engine being built for the purpose by R. Stephenson
and Co., and called “A.” The “A” was a six-wheel long boiler engine,
with outside cylinders and 6ft. 6in. driving wheels. Hot water for
supplying the boiler was used on the narrow-gauge in place of cold
on the broad-gauge. The latter started from a state of rest, but the
narrow-gauge approached the starting-point at as great a velocity
as possible; yet, notwithstanding these sharp practices of the
narrow-gauge officials, they were completely beaten in the experiments.
The Swindon Works commenced to build locomotives early in 1846; and,
as its name implies, the “Premier” was the first engine constructed at
these now world-famous locomotive shops.
She was a six-coupled goods engine, with wheels 5ft. diameter.
Numerous engines of this type, with slight modifications, were built at
Swindon; “Hero” (Fig. 37) is a good example of the G.W. standard goods
engine at the time.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.—“HERO,” A GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY SIX-COUPLED
BROAD-GAUGE GOODS ENGINE]
The narrow-gauge engineers having made frantic efforts to produce
locomotives as powerful as those in use on the Great Western Railway,
the directors of the latter company decided to have a larger and more
powerful engine constructed, and Mr. Gooch received orders to construct
a colossal locomotive, and to have it in work before the commencement
of the Parliamentary Session of 1846. From the time the decision was
arrived at, until the “Great Western” was at work, only 13 weeks
elapsed, during which short period the design of the engine had to be
decided upon, the drawings made, the patterns prepared, and the whole
of the complex machinery made and put together; yet those three months
were sufficient to produce this most famous locomotive.
As originally constructed, the “Great Western” (Fig. 38) was a
six-wheel engine, the dimensions being:—Cylinders, 18in. diameter and
24in. stroke; driving wheels, 8ft. diameter; leading and trailing
wheels, 4ft. 6in. diameter; 278 tubes, 9ft. long, 2in. diameter;
fire-box (outside), 5ft. 6in. by 6ft., inside 4ft. 1Oin. by 5ft. 4in.,
with partition through the centre; heating surface, tubes 1,591 sq.
ft.; fire-box, 160 sq. ft.; grate area, 20ft.; height, from level of
rail to top of boiler, 9ft. 6in.; the chimney was 5ft. 2in. high;
length of engine, 24ft.; weight (empty), 36 tons. In this engine
Gooch retained the Gothic fire-box, as supplied to the engines he
had previously designed. By the way, a picture, purporting to be an
illustration of this engine, was given in a book on locomotive history,
with the flush top fire-box and four leading wheels! The “Great
Western” continued to work trains on the Great Western Railway until
the end of 1870, having run a total distance of 370,687 miles during
the 23¾ years she was in work.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.—THE “GREAT WESTERN” BROAD-GAUGE ENGINE AS
ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED]
On Saturday, June 13th, 1846, the “mammoth” locomotive (as the “Great
Western” was usually called) made a sensational trip from London to
Bristol and back, and, but for the failure of one of the six-feed
pumps, necessitating slower running, even better results would have
been attained. But, despite the accident, the result of the trip came
like a “bolt from the blue” upon the narrow-gauge engineers.
The train weighed 100 tons, and consisted of ten first-class carriages,
seven of which were ballasted with iron, the other three being occupied
by the directors and those interested in the experiment. The train
started from Paddington at 11 hours 47 minutes 52 seconds; at Didcot
a stop of 5¼ minutes was made; Swindon was reached in 78 minutes.
After staying there 4 minutes 27 seconds, the journey was continued
to Bristol, the whole distance of 118½ miles being covered in 2 hours
12 minutes, or at the rate of 54 miles an hour, or, excluding the 9¾
minutes spent in the two stoppages, at about 59 miles an hour for the
complete journey, including the slowing down and getting up speed again
on three occasions. The maximum speed was obtained between the 82nd
and 92nd mile-posts (from the 80th to the 85th mile there is a falling
gradient of 8ft. per mile, and from the 85½th to about the 86½th mile
there is a falling gradient of about 1 in 100, and a fall of 8ft. per
mile then reaches to about the 90½th mile-post; a rising gradient of
8ft. per mile then succeeds and extends beyond the 92nd mile-post),
performing the ten miles in 9 minutes and 8 seconds, or at an average
speed of nearly 66 miles an hour. The 87th and 88th miles, on a falling
gradient of 8ft. per mile, were run over at a rate of 69 miles per hour.
One Monday early in June, 1846, the “Great Western” was attached to
the 9.45 a.m. express Paddington to Exeter, the crack train of that
time, which, indeed, continued to be the fastest ordinary passenger
train until the establishment of the “Flying Dutchman” many years
later. When it was advertised that this train would perform the journey
between London and Exeter in 4½ hours, people said it was impossible;
what, then, must have been thought of the run performed by the “Great
Western” and chronicled below? The 193¾ miles from Paddington to Exeter
were covered in 214 minutes (3 hours 34 minutes) running time, being
an average rate of 55¼ miles per hour. The actual running time on the
journey was as follows:—
From Paddington to Didcot 53 miles 55 minutes
” Didcot to Swindon 24 ” 30 ”
” Swindon to Bath 29¾ ” 33 ”
” Bath to Bristol 11½ ” 14 ”
” Bristol to Taunton 44¾ ” 45 ”
” Taunton to Exeter 30¾ ” 37 ”
------ -----
193¾ 214
The return journey was performed in less time, and could have been
accomplished with ease at a rate exceeding 60 miles an hour The actual
running time, exclusive of stoppages, was as follows:—
From Exeter to Taunton 30¾ miles 34 minutes
” Taunton to Bristol 44¾ ” 43 ”
” Bristol to Bath 11½ ” 14 ”
” Bath to Swindon 29¾ ” 34 ”
” Swindon to Didcot 24 ” 26 ”
” Didcot to Paddington 53 ” 56 ”
------ -----
Miles, 193¾ Minutes, 208
After the engine had been running a short time, Gooch found the weight
on the leading axle too much to be safely carried by one axle, and he
fitted another pair of leading wheels to the “Great Western” (Fig.
39), making her an eight-wheeled engine, having a group of four wheels
in front of the driving wheels. It must be remembered that these four
wheels were not affixed to a bogie frame. So well satisfied were the
directors of the Great Western Railway with the “Great Western” that
29 more engines of almost similar design (except the domed fire-box)
were constructed during the next eight years, and these engines, with
a few of the same design, built at a more recent period, worked the
famous broad-gauge expresses between London and Newton Abbot until the
abolition of the broad-gauge in May, 1892.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.—THE ORIGINAL “GREAT WESTERN” AS REBUILT WITH
TWO PAIRS OF LEADING WHEELS]
In March, 1847, the Great Western Railway laid down a length of line
at Maidenhead for the purpose of testing Elijah Galloway’s system of
locomotive propulsion with horizontal driving wheels. The horizontal
wheels gripped a centre rail, and the engine not being dependent upon
the weight placed upon the driving wheels for adhesion, was enabled to
ascend inclines that were impossible for ordinary locomotives; whilst
the fact that the two horizontal driving wheels were pressing one
on either side of the centre rail enabled the engine to safely pass
round curves of extremely short radii, such as would be impossible
with ordinary locomotives. The line put down at Maidenhead was on an
incline of 1 in 19, but a model engine and train successfully ascended
an incline of 1 in 6. Mr. D. Gooch gave the following account of the
experiments:—
“Engineer’s Office, Paddington,
“March 25th, 1847.
“The following is the result of the experiment I made with
Mr. Galloway’s locomotive engine, in which the driving wheels are
placed horizontally, and act against the sides of a centre rail:—
Weight of engine 20 tons.
Weight of load 13½ ”
----
33½ tons.
“This weight was taken at a slow speed up an incline of 1 in 19,
with a pressure on the boiler of 60lb. on the inch, and calculating
the power of the engine and actual duty performed, we have as
follows: —With steam at 60lb. in the boiler, the average effective
pressure on the pistons, after deducting back pressure, will be
about 50lb. on the inch, then the area of the two cylinders
308 × 50 = 15,400lb.,
and double stroke of piston equals 32in., and circumference of
driving wheel 116in.
“Therefore, as 116in. : 15,400 :: 32 : 4,248 tractive power on the
rim of the wheel,
And gravity per ton, 1 in 19 = 118 lb.
Friction ditto 7 lb.
----------
125 × 33·5 tons = 4,187·5 lb.
resistance overcome.
therefore, 4,248 - 4,187 = 61lb., the total loss from the friction of
the working parts of the engine, which I think, is as small a loss as
can be hoped for in any class of engines, and from the facility of
applying screws to increase the weight on the driving wheels to any
required amount, there is no difficulty from slipping.
“(Signed) DANIEL GOOCH.”
The “Atlas,” constructed for the Manchester and Sheffield Railway,
deserves notice. She was built by Sharp Bros. and Co., from the designs
of Mr. Beyer, their then chief engineer, but afterwards head of the
well-known firm of locomotive builders, Beyer, Peacock and Co., of
Manchester.
The “Atlas” commenced work in May, 1846, and during the succeeding 17
months she travelled 40,222 miles, with a coke consumption of 36.53lb.
per mile, although engaged in hauling heavy goods trains. The engine
had inside cylinders, 18in. diameter, 24in. stroke; the whole of the
framing and bearings were inside the wheels; the boiler was 13ft. 6in.
long and 3ft. 6in. diameter, and contained 175 brass tubes of 1⅝ in.
external diameter; the wheels were cast-iron, 4ft. 6in. diameter; a
copper fire-box was provided, its inside measurements being 3ft. 8in.
long, 3ft. 3½in. wide, and 3ft. 4½in. from the fire-bars to the top.
The water space around the fire-box was 3in., and a mid-feather, 4in.
wide, divided the fire-box.
The cylinders were secured to each other by internal flanges, which
formed the bottom of the smoke-box, and also the chief cross-stay
between the frames. The valves were in one chest, located below the
cylinders, and inclined towards each other. The weight of the valves
was carried by spindles working through stuffing-boxes. The regulator
was provided with two perforated discs, so that the steam was admitted
very gradually, the volume increasing as the two sets of perforations
came opposite each other.
The weight of the “Atlas” was 24 tons, and five other engines of
exactly similar designs were supplied to the Manchester and Sheffield
Railway.
Another engine of the same description was supplied to the Manchester
and Birmingham Railway, and on October 3rd, 1836, “No. 30” hauled a
train of 101 wagons, weighing 597 tons, from Longsight to Crewe, a
distance of 29 miles, at the average speed of 13.7 miles an hour.
The mention of a powerful engine and a record train on one railway
naturally suggests a better one on another line, so we have the “Essex”
going “one better” than “No. 30.”
This time we have a load of 149 loaded wagons (probably equal to 890
tons), and forming a train nearly half a mile long. The “Essex” is
also stated to have hauled a train of 192 empty trucks. The engine
in question was built for the Eastern Union Railway by Stothart,
Slaughter, and Co., Bristol, in 1847, and had wheels 4ft. 9in.
diameter, cylinders 15in. by 24in. stroke, weight 22 tons.
In 1846, Stephenson and Co. supplied the South Eastern Railway with
an engine called the “White Horse of Kent” (the “White Elephant of
Newcastle” would have been a far more descriptive name). This engine
probably exhibited the “long boiler” folly in a more marked manner
than any other engine of that notorious class. She was 21ft. 10in.
long, with a wheel base of only 10ft. 3¼in.! She had cylinders 15in.
by 22in. stroke, 5ft. 6in. driving wheels, and weighed 18¾ tons. Gooch
says this engine was so unsteady that it was necessary to be tied on to
make experiments on the smoke-box temperature, and that the tubes were
so long that one end of the engine was actually condensing the steam
generated at the other end!
At this time Mr. T. R. Crampton turned his attention to locomotive
construction, and patented a design of locomotive. He claimed for his
design the following advantages—viz., a reduction of the rocking and
vibrating motion, obtained by lowering the centre of gravity, and by
locating the greater portion of the weight between the supports; an
increased heating surface; and a superiority of arrangement of the
working parts, the whole of which were placed immediately under the eye
of the driver.
The first engine constructed on this principle was the “Namur” (Fig.
40), built under Crampton’s patent by Tulk and Ley, of the Lowcra
Works, Whitehaven, for the Namur and Liège Railway.
The illustration shows that the chief peculiarity of the “Namur” was
the position of the driving wheels, the axle of which was behind the
fire-box, so that the axle extended across the foot-plate. One spring,
formed of plates, also extended across the back of the fire-box,
parallel with and above the driving axle, and acting upon it at the
bearings.
The chimney was 6ft. 6in. high; the smoke-box was very narrow, being
no wider than the diameter of the chimney; all the wheels had inside
bearings; the cylinders were outside, and horizontal; the valve chests
were on the outer side of the cylinders, so that the eccentrics were at
the extreme ends of the axles, beyond the wheels, and quite exposed.
[Illustration: FIG. 40.—THE “NAMUR,” THE FIRST ENGINE BUILT ON
CRAMPTON’S PRINCIPLE]
The boiler barrel was surmounted by an immense fluted dome, which was
fitted with two lever safety valves, whilst a third one, of the spring
pattern, was provided on the fire-box casing.
The following are the principal dimensions of the “Namur”:—
Diameter of driving wheels, 7ft.; diameter of leading and middle
wheels, 3ft. 9in.; total wheel base, 13ft.; cylinders, 16in. diameter,
20in. stroke; number of tubes, 182—length 11ft., external diameter
2in.; fire-box, 4ft. 3in. long, 3ft. 5in. wide; area of fire-tube,
14ft. 6in.; heating surface: fire-box 62ft., tubes 927ft., total 989ft.
The engine was completed early in February, 1847, and previous to its
exportation, it was tried for several weeks on the London and North
Western Railway, running over 2,300 miles. All classes of traffic were
hauled by the engine, and she gave general satisfaction. A speed of 75
miles an hour was attained between Willesden and Harrow, when running
“light.” On another occasion, 50 miles an hour was attained on a trip
from Camden Town to Wolverton with a coke train, weighing 50 tons,
between Tring and Wolverton.
The “Namur” weighed 22 tons, of which 7½ tons were on the leading
wheels, 4 tons on the centre wheels, and 10½ tons on the driving wheels.
The L. and N.W.R. were so satisfied with the “Namur” that Tulk and Ley
were instructed to build a Crampton engine for that railway; and the
“London” (Fig. 41) was produced in 1848 in response to this order. She
was the first engine on the southern division of the L. and N.W.R. to
have a name. The driving wheels were 8ft. diameter, the cylinders 18in.
diameter and 20in. stroke. The boiler was oval in shape, its vertical
diameter being 4ft. 8in., and its horizontal diameter 3ft. 10in. The
heating surface was 1,350 sq. ft. The fire-box extended below the
driving axle.
[Illustration: FIG. 41.—CRAMPTON’S “LONDON,” THE FIRST ENGINE WITH A
NAME ON THE SOUTHERN DIVISION OF THE L. & N.W.R.]
[Illustration: FIG. 42.—“GREAT BRITAIN,” ONE OF GOOCH’S FAMOUS 8FT.
“SINGLE” BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES FOR THE G.W.R.]
In April, 1847, Mr. D. Gooch’s famous broad-gauge express engine,
“Iron Duke,” commenced to run. Fig. 42 represents an engine of this
class. She was the first of a set of twenty-nine locomotives of almost
similar construction, designed to work the Great Western express
trains. The “Iron Duke” was an improvement on the celebrated “Great
Western,” previously described; the most noticeable difference was the
absence of the domed fire-box in the “Iron Duke.” The total mileage of
this engine, up to October, 1871, when it was withdrawn from service,
amounted to 607,412 miles. The best-known engine of the class is
“Lord of the Isles,” built at Swindon in 1850, and exhibited at the
International Exhibition, London, 1851; she commenced to run July,
1852, and continued in active service on the Great Western Railway for
29 years, during which time 789,300 miles were covered by the “Lord of
the Isles.” This famous broad-gauge locomotive is still preserved by
the Great Western Railway.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—“No. 61,” LONDON AND BRIGHTON RAILWAY]
The next point in the evolution of the locomotive that deserves
attention is the famous class of engines known as the “Jenny Lind”
design.
Much has been written concerning these engines during recent years,
and many uncorroborated and absurd statements have been made; but it
was most clearly demonstrated that to Mr. David Joy was due the chief
honour of designing the successful class of locomotive known far and
near as “Jenny Linds.” Such a design was elaborated from the adoption
of the best features of the several descriptions of locomotives then in
use.
The first of the type of engine afterwards known as the “Jenny Lind”
class was constructed for the London and Brighton Railway by E. B.
Wilson and Co., Railway Foundry, Leeds, and was commenced building in
November, 1846, and completed in May, 1847. The principal features of
the engines may be summarised as follows:—Steam pressure 120lb. per
square inch, inside bearings to driving and outside bearings to the
leading and trailing wheels, outside frames, outside pumps located
between the driving and trailing wheels, and worked by cranks fixed on
the outside of the driving axles. The engine had a raised fire-box; the
dome was fluted and had a square seating; the safety valve was enclosed
within a fluted column, and fixed on the fire-box.
Polished mahogany lagging was used for both the boiler and fire-box,
the same being secured by bright brass hoops. The tops of the safety
valves and dome were bright copper. The first trip of the “Jenny Lind”
was from Leeds to Wakefield and back. Ten engines of this class were
supplied to the London and Brighton Railway, and were numbered 61 (Fig.
43) to 70. The principal dimensions were:—Driving wheels 6ft. diameter;
leading and trailing wheels, 4ft. diameter; cylinders (inside), 15in.
diameter, 20in. stroke; boiler, 11ft. long, 3ft. 8in. diameter; 124
tubes, 2in. diameter. A water space of 3in. was left between the inner
and outer shells of the fire-box. Heating surface, tubes 700 sq. ft.,
fire-box 80 sq. ft.
It is significant to note that in the original description of the
“Jenny Lind,” published in 1848, we are informed that “in establishing
this class of engine Messrs. Wilson have studied less the introduction
of dangerous novelties than the judicious combination of isolated
examples of well-tried conveniences.” This statement exactly agrees
with those recently made by Mr. Joy.
The great success of the “Jenny Lind” type caused Sharp Bros. and Co.
to introduce a rival class of engines nicknamed “Jenny Sharps.”
The engines were provided with a mid-feather in the fire-box for the
purpose of augmenting the heating surface. The principal dimensions of
the “Jenny Sharps” were as follow:—Steam pressure, 80lb.; cylinders,
16in. diameter, 20in. stroke; driving wheels, 5ft. 6in. diameter;
heating surface, tubes (of which there were 161, each 10ft. long and
2in. diameter) 847 sq. ft., fire-box, 72 sq. ft.; total, 919 sq. ft.
Mr. Kirtley, the locomotive superintendent of the Midland Railway,
arranged a trial between the rival “Jennies,” and the event came off on
May 4th, 5th, and 6th, 1848.
Sharp’s engines were Nos. 60 and 61, and Wilson’s Nos. 26 and 27. The
first trip was with a load of 64 tons, made up of nine carriages and
two brake-vans, weighted with iron chairs to 64 tons.
Sharp’s No. 60 took the first train, the weight being, engine 21 tons
9 cwt., tender 12 tons 11 cwt., load 64 tons; total, 98 tons, or,
including officials, etc., about 100 tons.
The journey was from Derby to Masborough, 40¼ miles, the line rising
for the first 20 miles at about 1 in 330, and falling for the remainder
of the distance at about the same rate. The weather was fine, the
metals dry, and there was no wind.
William Huskinson drove the train, which left Darby at 3h. 39min. 5½
sec. p.m., and arrived at Masborough at 4.28 p.m. Among the passengers
were Messrs. Kirtley, locomotive superintendent; Marlow, assistant
locomotive superintendent; Harland, carriage superintendent; E. B.
Wilson and Fenton, of the firm of E. B. Wilson and Co.; and T. R.
Crampton.
The first 18 miles up the bank of 1 in 330 were covered in 25 minutes
12½ seconds, being at an average speed of nearly 43 miles an hour.
Before starting, the water in the tender had been heated to nearly
boiling point; 16 cwt. of coke were consumed, or 44.8lb. per mile;
10,290lb. of water were evaporated, equal to 5.7lb. of water to 1lb. of
coke.
Wilson’s engine, No. 27, was next tried. She weighed 24 tons 1 cwt.,
and her tender, loaded, 15 tons 13 cwt., the total load with train
thus being 103 tons 14 cwt. William Carter drove the train, which left
Derby at 7h. 10min. 20sec., and arrived at Masborough at 7h. 56min.
42sec., the speed averaging 52 miles an hour. The first 18 miles were
negotiated in 22 minutes. 44¾ seconds, or at nearly 47 miles an hour.
Only 13 cwt. of coke was used, equalling 36.4lb. per mile.
The following table shows the working of the two engines up the bank to
the seventeenth mile-post:—
“Jenny “Jenny
Sharp.” Lind.”
Mile Miles per Miles per
Post. hour. hour.
1 21.6 21.9
2 39.6 44.5
3 42.0 51.0
4 42.5 51.4
5 45.4 51.4
6 46.8 51.2
7 44.5 48.9
8 46.2 50.0
9 47.0 52.5
10 46.8 52.0
11 45.9 51.4
12 45.9 53.3
13 45.6 52.7
14 46.6 51.8
15 — 51.8
16 48.0 51.4
17 47.0 51.8
Trials were then made with trains of 17 coaches, weighted to 99 tons
16 cwt. Twenty passengers were carried, including Captain Symmons, the
Government Inspector. The gross load was 101 tons.
William Mould drove the Sharp engine, and William Barrow the Wilson
engine (No. 26).
The coke consumption was—Sharp’s, 16 cwt., or 44.8lb. per mile;
Wilson’s, 12 cwt., or 33.6lb. per mile.
Water evaporated—Sharp’s, 10,840lb., equal to 27.1lb. per mile, or 6lb.
of water by 1lb. of coke; Wilson’s, 10,116lb., equal to 25.29lb. per
mile, or 7.5lb. of water by 1lb. of coke.
The first 18 miles up the bank were covered in 26 minutes 19 seconds by
the “Jenny Lind,” and in 27 minutes 55 seconds by the “Jenny Sharp.”
The tables show the speeds at which the posts were passed:—
Sharp’s Wilson’s
Engine. Engine.
Mile Miles per Miles per
Post. hour. hour.
1 15.0 18.3
2 36.5 40.9
3 48.0 45.6
4 42.4 46.8
5 43.9 46.8
6 43.9 46.2
7 41.9 43.4
8 42.4 43.4
9 43.9 44.5
10 43.9 44.5
11 44.5 44.5
12 43.9 45.0
13 43.4 45.0
14 43.4 44.5
15 — 45.0
16 42.9 43.9
17 42.9 42.4
18 41.9 41.4
Beyond the thirtieth mile-post Wilson’s engine, which had been
considerably in advance, according to the time taken, began to lose
ground, in consequence of the driver allowing the fire to get low, and
upon arrival at Masborough he had scarcely sufficient steam to shunt
the train.
Mr. Kirtley considered the trial unsatisfactory for this reason, and a
second one was arranged for the next day, but with no more satisfactory
result, as upon this occasion, after travelling a mile, a joint cover
of one of the cylinders worked loose, consequently a great deal of
steam escaped during the remaining 39 miles of the trip. We have given
the real facts in connection with the original “Jenny Linds” at some
length, for the purpose of placing on permanent record the details of
these capital locomotives, and so prevent our readers and students
of locomotive history generally from being misled by the absurdly
inaccurate romances that have, for some obscure purpose, been recently
circulated concerning the “Jenny Lind.” (Fig. 44.)
[Illustration: FIG. 44.—THE “JENNY LIND,” A FAMOUS LOCOMOTIVE BUILT BY
WILSON AND CO., LEEDS, IN 1846.]
The original design of the locomotive now to be described is so
singular that we are reminded of the extravagant examples of locomotive
construction appertaining to 1830, or thereabouts, rather than to the
year how under review. Yet, strange as it may appear, the “Cornwall”
(Fig. 45) is still running express trains, although it must be
confessed it has undergone a complete metamorphosis since it was
built at Crewe in 1847. The engine in question was designed by Mr.
F. Trevithick, son of the famous “father of the locomotive,” and was
intended to be a narrow-gauge improvement on Gooch’s famous “Great
Western,” as Trevithick wished to build a locomotive that would be able
to attain a higher rate of speed than the renowned broad-gauge engine.
To do this, he considered an increase of the diameter of the driving
wheels a _sine qua non_. He therefore constructed the “Cornwall” with
driving wheels 8ft. 6in. in diameter. His next proposition was that as
8ft. was then considered the limit of size for driving wheels on the
broad-gauge, with the boiler above the driving axle, it was necessary
to place the boiler below the driving axle with wheels 8ft. 6in.
diameter on the narrow-gauge. And, therefore, Trevithick constructed
the “Cornwall,” with underhung boilers, i.e., beneath the driving axle.
The cylinders were outside, 17½in. diameter, with a stroke of 24in. The
heating surface was 1,046 sq. ft. The locomotive was carried on eight
wheels—a group of four leading wheels, the driving, and a single pair
of trailing wheels. Weight of engine in working order, 27 tons. The
“Cornwall” was very successful in attaining high rates of speed, and,
indeed, far exceeded Trevithick’s expectations in this respect.
It has been stated that she attained a speed equal to 117 miles an
hour down the Madeley Bank. Such a statement must be accepted with
reserve—not that the _bonâ fides_ of the engineer who made it are
doubted, but rather because of the difficulty of obtaining correctly
the exact speed of engines when travelling at a great rate, even when
proper instruments are employed. We know that with an ordinary watch
correct results are almost impossible, and an error of a second or two
when calculating a quarter of a mile will make a very great difference
when arriving at the approximate rates in miles per hour. However,
be this as it may, it is generally acknowledged that the “Cornwall”
attained speeds that may fairly be called phenomenally high.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.—TREVITHICK’S “CORNWALL.” WITH 8FT. 6IN. DRIVING
WHEELS, AND BOILER BELOW THE DRIVING AXLE]
On November 9th, 1847, the “Cornwall” was hauling a goods train from
Liverpool, and upon rounding the curve near Winsford Station, ran
into a coal train, the result being the death of the driver of the
“Cornwall,” the engine being thrown across both lines, whilst the
tender and trucks were projected over the engine, and did not come to a
standstill for several yards.
[Illustration: Photo F. Moore
FIG. 46.—TREVITHICK’S 8FT. 6IN. “SINGLE” LOCOMOTIVE, “CORNWALL,” AS
NOW RUNNING ON THE L. & N.W.R. BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER]
The “Cornwall” was one of the features of the first International
Exhibition (held in Hyde Park, London, in 1851). In 1862 Mr. J.
Ramsbottom rebuilt the “Cornwall,” and placed her new boiler over
the driving wheels. She was numbered “173,” and still works the
three-quarter-of-an-hour express trains between Liverpool and
Manchester. She completed her jubilee of active service last year, and
is still running. The present number of the “Cornwall” is “3020,” and
she is now only a six-wheeled engine.
McConnell made an experiment in counterbalancing a locomotive on the
London and North Western Railway in 1848. The engine in question was
the “Snake,” No. 175, built by Jones and Potts on Stephenson’s long
boiler principle. McConnell’s plan was to provide a connecting-rod
attached to a block working between slide bars, on the opposite side of
the driving axle to that on which the piston, etc., were located. By
this method he considered that, providing his extra rod-block, etc.,
weighed the same as the pistons and other reciprocating parts, he had
attained a perfect method of counterbalancing. The result was a rude
disillusion of the idea, and a complete wreckage of both the theory and
the “Snake,” the engine breaking down on its first trip, after being
fitted with this reciprocating counterbalance. The only result of such
an addition to the “Snake” was an increase in the weight of the engine
and an augmentation of the friction and axle strains.
In the spring of 1848 McConnell built an engine which he expected “to
prove the most powerful narrow-gauge engine ever yet built.”
It had outside cylinders 18in. diameter, and 7ft. 6in. between centres.
The driving wheels were 6ft. diameter, leading and trailing 3ft. 10in.
The boiler was 4ft. 3in. external diameter, 12ft. 7in. long, and
contained 190 tubes of 2in. diameter. Height of top of boiler from rail
level, 7ft. 9in.
The fire-box was 5ft. 9¼in. wide, by 5ft. 5in. long, and of the same
height. The wheel base was as follows:—Leading to driving, 6ft. 8in.;
driving to trailing, 10ft. 6in.
Another combination design in locomotive practice is to be found in
engine “No. 185,” delivered to the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway
on October 3rd, 1848, by R. Stephenson and Co.
This engine had inside cylinders, but outside valve gearing and
eccentrics. The cylinders were 16in. diameter, with 20in. stroke. The
boiler was 3ft. 10in. diameter and 11ft. long; there were 174 tubes,
1⅞in. outside diameter, and 11ft. long; the heating surface being:
tubes, 964 sq. ft.; fire-box, 82 sq. ft. The driving wheels were 6ft.
6in. diameter, the leading and trailing being 3ft. 9in. diameter.
Inside bearings were provided for the driving wheels and outside
bearings for the leading and trailing wheels. Inside and outside
iron-plate frames, 1in. thick and 8in. deep, were provided. This engine
weighed 22 tons in working order, and consumed 18lb. of coke per mile
with express trains of four carriages. The peculiar feature of “No.
185” was the vertical valves, worked by eccentrics outside the driving
wheels; the pumps were also worked off the same eccentrics, and were
consequently outside, as in the “Jenny Lind” design. The exhaust ports
were below the cylinders, the pipes from which united at the blast
orifice.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.—“OLD COPPER NOB,” No. 3, FURNESS RAILWAY, THE
OLDEST LOCOMOTIVE NOW AT WORK]
Locomotives that attain their “jubilee” of active service are indeed
very few and far between, and it redounds much to the honour of the
late firm of Bury, Curtis and Kennedy, of the Clarence Foundry,
Liverpool, that locomotives constructed by them in the year 1846 are
still engaged in hauling trains on an English railway.
This firm of builders ceased to exist 46 years ago, but engines Nos.
3 (Fig. 47) and 4 of the Furness Railway are continuing monuments of
the good material and sound workmanship of Bury, Curtis and Kennedy.
The locomotives in question are mounted on four wheels (coupled) of
4ft. 9in. diameter, the cylinders are 14in. diameter, and stroke 24in.,
the valves being between the cylinders. The wheel base is 7ft. 6in.
The boiler is 11ft. 2in. long, with a mean diameter of 3ft. 8in., and
contains 136 tubes of 2in. diameter, the total heating surface being
940 sq. ft. Steam pressure, 110lb. The tenders are carried on four
wheels of 3ft. diameter, the wheel base being 6ft. 9in. The tank holds
1,000 gallons of water, and the coal space is 100 cubic feet. The
engines weigh 20 tons each, and the tenders 13 tons each.
The prominent “Bury” features—bar framing and round back fire-boxes
with dome tops—are, of course, _en évidence_.
The chimneys appear abnormally high when viewed side by side with
modern engines; whilst the pair of Salter safety valves with long
horizontal arms, the one reaching from the centre to the back of the
fire-box, and its fellow continuing to the front, are also noticeable
objects. These engines are usually employed in shunting goods trains
in the Barrow Docks and goods yards, and are locally called the “old
copper nobs.”
Two further peculiarities of these Bury engines are worth
recording—viz., the splashers, which are extended in a curious way over
the rear of the wheels, and reach within a few inches of the rails, and
the round “old copper nobs.”
The period under review was a time of considerable competition between
the rival gauges, and this competition naturally led to the projection
of various extraordinary designs in locomotive construction, such
designs being the results of the efforts made by the narrow-gauge
engineers to equal the splendid broad-gauge locomotives then recently
introduced.
During the first weeks of 1848 E. Wilson and Co., of the Railway
Foundry, Leeds, turned out a remarkable specimen of locomotive
construction; the engine in question was named “Lablache” (after a
celebrated singer). This locomotive had two inside cylinders 16in.
diameter, 20in. stroke, and was supported on four wheels each 7ft.
diameter; the wheel base was 16ft.
It is necessary to describe the mode of working introduced into the
“Lablache.” Between the two pairs of wheels was a straight bar, or
shaft, extending under the boiler, parallel with the axles, and
projecting on each side beyond the frames. Between the frames two
levers were attached to this shaft, and the other extremities of these
levers were attached to the pistons by the usual piston-rod and
connecting-rods. Now comes the difference in working; the driving
axle, it will be observed, was not cranked, but provided with arms.
The axle did not revolve, but simply vibrated backwards and forwards.
Outside the frames were double-ended levers, one end being coupled
to a crank on the leading wheel, and the opposite end connected in a
similar manner to the trailing wheels. The wheels on both sides of
the locomotive were connected in the same way that a rotary motion
is communicated to a lathe by a treadle. When first constructed
india-rubber springs were provided for this engine’s bearings.
Another engine of a similar design was built, but much lighter. It ran
upon the York, Newcastle, and Berwick line for some years. We may say
that no other engine on this system was ever built. With a train of
three carriages, an average speed of 75 miles an hour is said to have
been maintained between Rugby and Leicester. This was, however, due
to the high pressure of the steam. Upon another occasion 80 miles an
hour was attained; and the engine hauled a train of 53 loaded wagons,
weighing 430 tons, at an average speed of 30 miles an hour. After some
little time, the fire-box of the “Lablache” was destroyed, and she was
then returned to the Railway Foundry, and altered into a four-coupled
engine of the usual type, and sold to a railway contractor.
Another locomotive of peculiar design now deserves notice. At a first
glance it might be supposed that the “Albion” was propelled on the same
principle as the “Lablache” previously described. Such is not, however,
the case, the machinery being of an entirely different character. We
have been fortunate enough to secure the original working drawings
of the “Albion” and the three other engines constructed on the same
method, designated the “Cambrian” system. A patent for this method
of working steam engines was obtained in 1841 by Mr. John Jones, of
Bristol, and applied to stationary engines.
Broadly speaking, the _modus operandi_ is as follows:—A central
shaft is provided, extending under the boiler of the locomotive and
projecting beyond the frames on both sides. Between the frames the
shaft passes through a segmental cylinder, within which and fitted to
the shaft was a species of disc piston, made to vibrate throughout the
length of the hollow segment of the cylinder. It will, therefore, be
observed that the motion was obtained from a vibrating disc engine, the
blades of which were fixed on the driving shaft; the difference between
Wilson’s locomotive and the ones we are now describing being that the
former was actuated by two horizontal engines working a rocking shaft
by connecting-rods, whilst the latter were driven by a disc engine,
fixed directly upon the rocking-shaft. The arrangement for connecting
the driving wheels with the shaft was very similar in both classes of
engines.
The premier “Cambrian” locomotive was named “Albion” (Fig. 48), and
was built in 1848 by Messrs. Thwaites Bros., of the Vulcan Foundry,
Bradford. She was a six-wheel engine, the leading and middle pairs of
wheels both receiving motion by means of the connecting-rods from the
outside levers attached to the driving shaft. The top of the fire-box
was considerably above the level of the top of the boiler barrel. Upon
this raised fire-box was fitted a steam dome with a square seating,
above the dome was an enclosed Salter pattern safety valve.
The principal dimensions of the “Albion” were:—Leading and driving
wheels, 5ft. 6in. diameter, and trailing, 3ft. 9in. diameter; wheel
base—leading to driving, 9ft. 6in.; driving to trailing, 5ft. 8in.;
boiler, 12ft. long, containing 149 tubes; throw of cranks, 20in.
It should be observed that the “Albion” was fitted with the “link”
motion.
The patentee claimed the following advantages for locomotives built
on the “Cambrian” system—viz., perfect balance of working parts, thus
entirely doing away with the centre pressure and strain; the complete
avoidance of all dangerous oscillation; the ends of the oscillating
levers, in passing through the greater part of a circle, gained
increased power at the extremities of the stroke, and so compensated
for the loss of power in the cranks as they approached the dead centres.
This is explained by observing that as the lever approaches the
extremities of the stroke the actual length diminishes, and becomes
from 18in. to 17¾in., 16in., 15½in., 14in., and 13¼in. at the centres,
so that the power of the lever increases in proportion to its
diminution in length.
The wear and tear of the machinery was less than in an ordinary
locomotive, there being fewer working parts, whilst the centre of
gravity was considerably lowered.
The above advantages summarised amounted to the advantages of the
long-stroke crank without a long-stroke cylinder, and consequently the
absence of a high-piston velocity.
[Illustration: FIG. 48.—THE “ALBION,” A LOCOMOTIVE BUILT ON THE
“CAMBRIAN” SYSTEM]
The “Albion” made its initial trip in June, 1848, the length of line
selected being from Bradford to Skipton, on the Leeds and Bradford
Railway; the distance was about 18 miles. The speed attained and
the low fuel consumption are stated to have more than satisfied the
builders and others concerned. The “Albion” was afterwards tried on
the Midland Railway between Derby and Birmingham, and the result of
these trials showed that the coke consumption was 5lb. per mile less
than with the ordinary locomotives, although the trains hauled were
of greater weight than usual. We have been unable to obtain further
details of the working of this interesting locomotive. The patentee
appears to have sent details of the duties performed by the “Albion”
to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1849; but these were not
printed in the “Proceedings,” nor is the Secretary of the Institution
now able to find any trace of the papers in question among the archives
of the Institution. Messrs. Thwaites Bros., the builders, inform
us that about 30 years ago the engine in question was working at
Penistone, near Sheffield, and that she was afterwards taken over by
the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
Unfortunately, the locomotive department of that railway does not
appear to have preserved any particulars relating to the “Cambrian”
locomotive after it came into the possession of the Manchester,
Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
The other three engines with “Cambrian” machinery were tank
locomotives. Two of these were propelled in a similar manner to the
“Albion,” the segmental cylinder being below the frames, and located
between the driving and leading wheels, both pairs of which were 5ft.
3in. diameter, the trailing wheels being 3ft. 9in. diameter. One of
these two tank engines had a raised fire-box, similar to that of the
“Albion”; but the other had a “Gothic” fire-box, with the wood lagging
exposed to view. The other features of the former were a boiler 12ft.
long, and a steam dome on the fire-box, fitted with two Salter safety
valves, placed side by side. This engine had the “link” motion. Three
water-tanks were provided, one beneath the foot-plate, the second
below the frames between the leading and driving wheels, and the third
extended from the front of the leading axle under the smoke-box, and
terminated at the buffer beam. The wheel base was, L. to D. 9ft. 6in.,
D. to T. 5ft. 8in. The engine had inside frames and bearings.
The locomotive with the “Gothic” fire-box was fitted with a gab
reversing gear, worked off the leading axle; the throw of the cranks
was 19in. The boiler was 12ft. long and 3ft. 5in. diameter, and
contained 121 tubes. Two water-tanks were provided—one beneath the
foot-plate, the other below the frames between the leading and driving
wheels. The wheel base of this engine was, L. to D. 11ft., D. to T.
5ft. 8in.
The third Cambrian tank engine of which we possess the drawings was a
six-wheel locomotive, with single driving wheels 5ft. 6in. diameter,
the leading and trailing wheels being 3ft. 9in. diameter. The wheel
base was 15ft. 5in., equally divided.
This engine also had a “Gothic” fire-box, and was provided with a
sledge brake, which acted on the rails between the driving and trailing
wheels. The reversing gear was of the fork pattern. The water-tanks
were fixed—one below the foot-plate, the other beneath the frames,
between the driving and trailing wheels. The boiler was 11ft. 2in.
long, and contained 126 tubes. The machinery in this engine was
arranged in an entirely different manner, the segmental cylinder being
below the smoke-box. The driving shaft passed through the cylinder, and
projected beyond the frames on either side of the engine, and vibrated
in an arc, as did that of the “Albion”; but instead of a lever being
attached to each end of the cranks, the latter only extended in one
direction, so that at one end the crank was fixed on the driving shaft,
while to its other extremity was pivoted a connecting-rod, 4ft. long,
the other end of which was pivoted on a vertical arm, the upper end of
this arm being attached to the frame by a horizontal bolt, on which it
hung. It is very difficult to explain the method of propulsion without
a drawing, but it will be understood that the connecting-rod from the
driving shaft to the hanging-rod only vibrated. Another crank, 6ft.
long, was also attached to the bottom end of the vertical swinging-rod;
the other end of this crank was connected with the driving wheel by
means of the usual outside pin. It will, therefore, be seen that by
means of the hanging-rod the vibrating motion was transformed into a
rotary one. The feed pumps were worked off the vertical rod, the motion
of which was similar to that of a pendulum, with the connecting-rods
fastened to its bottom end. The drawings of these four remarkable
locomotives are on a large scale, and are well executed; parts of them
being coloured, they are also mostly in a good state of preservation.