Boiler type most in use

The 'spare boiler' thread has had me thinking, what is the most common 'common boiler' amongst extant locomotives. So there are 10 manors with Std 14 boilers but the std 10 boiler covers 2800, 4000, 4900, 6959 classes. Black 5 and WC/BB will have several.

Do Austerity 0-6-0s share the same boiler?

You know the sort of thing. I'll await to be amazed!

Thanks

Patrick

 

Tea


Keith

 

The 280/460 boiler is the Standard 1. The Standard 10 was Collett 0-6-0 and Hawksworth 0-6-0T.

The widest produced boiler in GB of all time would probably be the GWR P Class which was used on all the Dean Goods and 5700s, many pre group Pannier tanks, some 4-4-0s and much else. I haven't the reference books where I am to look at details. Gut feeling is there are probably more Std1s than P class now though. How any with current/recent certificates also an interesting question.

 

Yes the MOS Austerity tanks will carry the same boiler, so will be the most by far. The GWR standard 1 (not 10) boiler is about 35 boilers, standard 2 about 20 boilers (5101 and 56XX classes) 20 boilers of the Bulleid light Pacific's

 

There were 18 Halls/Modified Halls preserved. 4942 has become 2999 and the boiler of 7927 will be used on 6880. As for the 2800s/2884s, I make it 16 engines either preserved or sent to Barry (2807/18/57/59/61/73/74/85/3802/3/14/22/45/50/55/62, plus 3817 which was scrapped and therefore doesn't count.) Add on 4003 Lode Star and you get exactly 35 Swindon No. 1 boilers. However, "in use" is a different matter. 2818 and 4003 are highly unlikely ever to steam again, 2861's boiler looks like it will end up as a spare and 2873's boiler is a long way from the rest of what remains of the engine.

Are then 10 surviving No. 14 boilers? There are only nine Manors extant (7802/8/12/19/20/1/2/7/8). I'm not a Great Western expert, so some with more knowledge of all things GWR may know of a spare No. 14 boiler somewhere, but I certainly don't.

 

10 Manors was from memory. And I knew it was standard 1 not 10, just a brain freeze.

35 no. 1s is extraordinary when you think about it

Thanks

Patrick

 

All Austerity 0-6-0 boilers are identical, except for those re-boilered in Holland, externally they have the same dimensions, but they have less boiler tubes. Walkden 3155 is an example, currently at Spa Valley

 

There was approx 740 engines built which carried No 1 boiler, but not all at the same time as some of the Saint Class had been withdrawn, and Star Class had been rebuilt as Castle Class before the last Hall Class had been built.

 

I'd hazard that the German BR 52 boiler is both the most extant, and the most in use on a mainline railway locomotive.
Though the j94 must be a contender for most boilers "currently in ticket".

 

How many Austerities are there out there, does anyone know?

Patrick

 

.... and how many spare Austerity boilers, if any?

I wonder if I was a boiler maker and had a spare boiler available would an 'exchange' market be possible amongst Austerity owners in order to speed up overhauls? E.g. sell an overhauled boiler to a loco owner and take the old boiler, as part of the agreed price, and overhaul that ready for the next customer etc. Not really practical with other locos because of the low numbers but there must be quite a few Austerities under overhaul at any given time.

 

9 Manors yes so 9 no 14 boilers unless one is very well hidden somewhere & hitherto unknown. There were 33 no 14 boilers built to keep 30 locos in service.

 

According to Wikipedia about 70 have survived.

 

You know, I had the inkling of a similar idea, or one similar. A couple of years back I read that Southern Locos needed a new siphon and bought one off the shelf. New boiler rings aren't now uncommon. So if there are large numbers of, say, no. 1 boilers out there is there a market for off the shelf supplies - phoning 'Boilers R Us' to have a no. 1 tubeplate to be delivered on Wednesday? Or, as you say, spare boilers to swop?

Very much a flight of fancy as I can't see how, financially, it would get off the drawing board. But an interesting thought all the same.

Patrick

 

Would that no. 1 tubeplate be for a 2-row or 3-row superheater ?

Bob.

 

The South Devon does a good line in boiler pressings; tubeplate, throatplates, etc. Once one has been made, the rest are easy. Well, relatively. I think that you can get a complete Bulleid firebox in kit form nowadays.

 

I also make it 19 'P' class boilers and 14 standard number 4 boilers.

 

standard 2 would include 61xx too I guess

 

If you make it 2 row won't it do for Standard 4s as well?
Given typical preserved line usage is there much advantage in higher steam temperature? Historically it had disadvantages as well as advantages.

 

With piston valves, I'd stick with the superheating. The risk of blowing a cylinder would increase significantly without it.
With regard to Bulleid boilers, I wonder about the wisdom of perpetuating thermic syphons when major surgery is needed. One boiler was modded without them in BR days and, from tests carried out, actually steamed better than one with a syphon. However, the variation was small and within the realms of testing error.