Current and Proposed New-Builds

I'm an unapologetic Big Chufferist, I love seeing 8Ps working hard, but really, how many preserved railways NEED anything above Class 4 power for most working days?

 

On the subject of proposed new builds, I seem to recall a few years ago there was a project to build a NER Atlantic locomotive in time for the 2012 Olympics. I presume it was just a joke as I don't recall seeing a website for this loco and I think I might have noticed if it had been completed! Any ideas or was I just mis-remembering?

 

Yes, I vaguely remember this floating around at the time

 

To be quite frank you really don't know what your talking about, having fired a humble Austerity/J94 with seven MK1's hung on the back up not inconsiderable gradients (at worst 1/56) on occasions, and with regularity 5 & 6 with no problems at all. Now there are industrials that are better left in the sidings but the J94 is sort of a half way house - a longer wheelbase would smooth things out a bit especially on a longer run, but you underestimate their capabilities by a large mark. Steaming could be better (a Giesel helps a bit - although not when lighting up) but the std version will be ok if you keep on top of it and they can easily manage the loads discussed above for a 25mph railway.

 

It's all very well taking that approach, but you have to ask who pays for such a thing? As with most heritage railway things, yes, of the people that appreciate things it's 90% public, bit of the people who donate money and time to look after such things, it's 90% enthusiast, and they *will* mind.

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Do you really think anything bigger than a J94 is a "big chuffer" ?

Really?

 

The J94 class was rated 4F, so arguably, anything bigger is indeed fairly big.

I'm not sure I understand the point of some of the posts above - "let's have a new small-to-medium tank engine design, better make it a 2-6-2T to reduce wear, let's make it a modern batch-buildable design" - when the 82045 project is already filling all those requirements whilst filling a historical gap too. What would any of these "let's have a completely new design!" concepts have that 82045 doesn't?

 

Whilst a Std 3 tank will do very well and will do all that's asked for it, if one takes a long hard look at it for most railways such a loco is still larger and more complex than needed and if I was with a blank piece of paper and was starting from scratch for the most economical solution a slightly enlarged J94 with longer wheelbase would do the job and do it well, although to get the donations flowing in will be a tad more difficult. Some of the larger railways will always require something a bit larger and in most cases a Std 4 in tender/tank is more in line with their needs IMHO although I doubt that I could count on much more than one hand the railways that fit into that bracket.

 

If I am not mistaken, they have already proved themselves underneath a certain A1...not to mention locos in other countries...

 

So there we have it, a worthy challenge to design a Tank engine ( that isn't an 0-6-0) around a Hunslet Austerity Boiler and as many other bits of it as you can.
You could - double the length of the smoke box, room for superheat if desired, extend the saddle tank, extend the frames and add a pony truck, extend the rear frames and bunker and add a trailing truck... to a 2-6-2. or be really unconventional and try an 0-6-4....roller bearings optional.

 

What about the GWR 2251 class 0-6-0's?

Tender loco, well liked by crews, neither to big or to small for most jobs

 

No doubting the ability of an Austerity tank. Solid workhorses in the preservation era.

If I am honest, I feel the new build Lyn for the Lynton and Barnstaple has the idea right. Original design, modified carefully, producing a locomotive capable of taking loads beyond its original design but not to the detriment of its working parts, whilst retaining the original's outline.

Tornado was this on a lesser scale (no gas producer system or lempor) for standard gauge and the new P2 takes Tornado's work even further, with components much modified for the modern day (see new crank axle, Lentz system and streamlined passages) but also retaining some standard parts of the Tornado design (modified boiler, roller bearings, etc etc).

If the question is; what would you like to see as a new build? It is never going to match the practicalities of "what does X railway need to match Y schedule".

That's one of the beautiful things about railway preservation though - diversity of history, individuals and talents coming together to present things in a unique way. I love all steam railways for their unique appeals.

 

A bit like 3205, then?

 

Or you could just build some more GWr 4575s, which were designed for the job...

 

Sorry, yes

 

Yer - you only have to get rid of the Belpair Box, Superheat, Piston Valves and your on for a winner - oh I forgot something to be rid of, what was it, oh yes its a Gas Works loco

 

The big disadvantage of a conventional axlebox and bearing arrangement is that the bearing is essentially designed to take only a vertical load and not the horizontal thrust of the pistons. We can probably blame Stephenson for that as the earliest locos had an indirect drive from cylinders to wheels, a far better arrangement from the point of loading of bearings. Rolling contact bearings are far better in this respect and split rollers are now probably advanced enough in design to be satisfactorily incorporated into a steam locomotive without any concern.

 

3205 has slide valves and yes is well liked by the crews.

 

Big chufferitis is nothing more than casting about for excuses to use larger motive power than the job actually requires. See post 464 above.

PH

 

Any new build is never going to be about what is the most efficient for railway X. It is always about recreating some lost Engine where non still exist.

Try and start a new build J94 or Black Five and nobody would be interested because there are plenty that already exist.

I hate to say it but I tend to think of railways that rely constantly on only a J94 as very much "bottom of the league table" of preserved railways and am less likely to visit them. They are very much starter Engines for new lines. If lines want to "move up the league" they need some more exotic locos !