Decauville Type 1... a new production build in England...

....came across this looks interesting.. https://www.facebook.com/groups/385672148111486/permalink/1347471865264838 and http://www.nbres.co.uk/

 

I wonder what they could pull? Ideal for the private owner, but maybe underpowered for most UK 2 foot lines?

 

That was my first thought as well. And it seems surprising that two orders have apparently been placed for these, yet Statfold have never found a buyer for their new Quarry Hunslets

No matter though - they're lovely little engines, I look forward to seeing them when completed.

 

They are being offered at 1/2 the price of the Statfold Hunslets, if ordered soon they are only £70000 + VAT.

 

They don't appear to be that much smaller than a quarry Hunslet or a KS Wren and those find plenty of use! I think that the Statfold-built locos were ca. £120K when first advertised - that might explain the different levels of interest!

 

It looks like there are 2 projects for the Decauvillle. As Joe Nemeth Engineering had embarked on a project to build one, unless this a pooling of resources?

 

I agree, my initial thought was that it can't be hugely attractive to the majority of 2' lines. That said, lines like Amerton, Groudle Glen, Hayling, Kew, Amberley, Old Kiln etc., might all find use for something of that size if a private owner were to base it there

 

Don't forget you can get a range of O&K replicas from the Czech factory: http://www.1loco.eu/EN.building.replicas.steam.locomotives.php
If I recall they quoted around 100-160K euros depending on size of loco and extras etc.

If we could get 20 people to co fund an O&K, I'd certainly be interested!!!

 

The new build Decauville 2' gauge due for finishing early 2018 by NBR Engineering will be on display this coming weekend at the Wharley Show.

I will be there too and will be please to meet anyone who is interested in a similar new build, another locomotive or just general engineering requirements.

David Humphreys

 

Of interest, how does the Decauville design compare with the "Sipat" regarding design, construction and maintenance? I ask as these two locos appear so completely different in concept.

 

The Decauville is the next size up to a Sipat, being similar in stature to an Alice Class Quarry Hunslet.

The Dec has bigger cylinders with Walscharts Valve Gear whereas the Sipat is Bagnall Price.

The boiler is of Locomotive type og the Dec and Marine on the Sipat and the water capacity is about double too on the Dec.

Both were built for operation in the middle of nowhere without any maintenance facilities and should be easy to keep running in those conditions. Plenty of oil and keep sand/grit out!

On UK lines, keeping it running should be straight forward.

As to power, the Sipat at North Bay, Scarborough, will move 120 people in 5 coaches with ease. Mathematically, the Dec has another 60% power it can put down on the rails.

 

Much as we all have a place in our hearts for the quarry Hunslet, they seem ten-a-penny on small narrow gauge lines. Decauville's seem rather novel and fresh in comparison. And I could keep one in the barn....

 

I think that David is being a little optimistic with his comparison with the Alice class. The original Decauville Type 1 is slightly smaller than a Kerr Stewart Wren. Assuming that the new build has the same dimensions, relative cylinder bore/stroke are:

Type 1: 5.3" x 7.9"
Wren: 6" x 9"
Alice Class: 7" x 10"

Resulting tractive effort is about half of the Alice class. Still a very nice design that would do well on many of the smaller lines.

 

What are the weights of the Decauville, Sipat and Alice please?

 

From the Decauville catalogue the Type 1 is 3250 Kg empty and 4750 Kg fully loaded. Typical service weight is given as 400o Kg that would be about 4 tons.

For the Alice class the Hunslet catalogue for the later cabbed version (e.g. Lady Joan) gives an empty weight of 5 tons 19 cwts, and 6 tons 14 cwts in working order. The original Alice class would be slightly lighter with no top half to the cab or dome, and with shallower frames at the ends, but probably still just over 6 tons in working order.

Not sure about Sipat by I believe the original may have been 3 tons 15 cwt in working order.

 

We put the NBR Sipat over the weigh
bridge and empty it was 2856 kg = 2.81 ton. With water, coal and 2 people it will be getting on towards the 3.75 tons mentioned above. The difference can be as simple as there are no rivets in the boiler or tank construction.

 

Pucrures without Chimney.