Practical Issues in Preserving Steam Locomotives

Not sure how common it was on Garratts per se, but common on larger locomotives around the world.

We forget I think how much more advanced the locomotives of France, Germany, the USA, and the colonies were. It wasnt just the GWR who developed at a snails pace, our "best" the 9F was only on a par with designs 20 years earlier in many places. The Beyer Peacock, Hunslet and North British companies (and others) all produced superior locomotives for export (versus what was produced for the home market). We seem to have been a bit stuck in our ways.

 

The only Locomotives I have heard of having a drifting Valve are from South Africa.
Certainly no Australia locomotive ever had one, drifting steam was always supplied via the regulator valve.

 

Should be noted that for the class 26 rebuild (The Red Devil) Wardale took the drifting valve off, the design intent being to coast in mid-gear. The atomiser steam was adjudged sufficient for this, although if the atomiser hadn't been present then a notch on the regulator quadrant was the plan.