Tornado

Part of the process of getting locos to have a higher permitted maximum speed.

 

How much further clearance is needed?
By the way many fast GWR and LMS locomotive had 36 inch front boggie wheels.
The rearmost driver do not do much for a living.
With two shortened aft coupling rods it can be moved 25mm forward and nobody will know.
Do aft driver set have roller bearings ?

 

Once upon a time the Trust would have enlightened us James ….

 

Well, you're going to need a big hacksaw to make a new cut in the frames for the axleboxes at the front face and either enlarged boxes or enlarged horn block to fill the bigger gap or weld in a one-inch strip to the frames at the rear face.

 

Has anybody actually stated the reason for the error that has occurred during this overhaul?

 

It's possible that this is the reason but I'm not sure it is a good one. I think it would only work with an empty boiler so not a good replacement for blowing down. It would have the advantage of not requiring the mudhole to be removed to flush out the ring but it would have the disadvantage in that you can't rod to persuade stubborn sludge and scale to move.
The truth is, I'm guessing what the Trust's philosophy and reasoning is, as is everyone else. They may be intelligent guesses but they're still guesses. I'm sure that there are people on here that are involved with Tornado as part of support crew and could tell us more about their past operational regime with regard to boiler operation and blowing down.

 

I’ve never witnessed it happen, or I would gladly have shed some light in our darkness.

 

Just had a look at the Chinese QJ manual, and I note it calls blowdown valves "boiler drain valves" (other translations of fangshui fa are available, fangshui literally means to release water and is for instance a slightly crude way to say have a pee), and notes that in addition to clearing "floating matter" and sediment, they are used to empty and fill the boiler when it is being washed out. Chinese steam is generally based on Soviet/US practice and this may be common in other countries. If you have seen videos of Chinese steam in action you will know that these valves are used quite frequently on the move and they often simply vent at a right angle to the loco so the driver / fireman needs to choose his moment.

 

There are some new pictures on the A1 website showing, in more detail, the new "in cab" electronics... it is a very complex installation so no wonder it has taken much longer than anticipated. Well done to the team and the "in steam testing" will start very soon now I believe.

 

I assume these also here? https://x.com/steve220459/status/1798792902241403053

 

Well thats taking up a fair bit of space...

 

It all looks very busy in that cab.
Leaving aside their mechanical woes, the Trust deserves credit for getting the ETCS to this stage. Railway Magazine this month carries the news that 66039 (the 'first in class' Class 66) has just begun testing after 16 months installation work (preceded by 2 1/2 years of design work).
Pat

 

It sure is, makes you wonder, on some engines with less cab space, where will it all go, there is only so much room on a loco cab, The ideal situation would have been to find a way where the bulk of it goes into the support coach, and the loco has just a panel of lights and switches etc,

 

And yet people are complaining on here about the overhaul running late....

 

387101 is still at Old Dalby for testing. Should've been back at Hornsey last autumn - it's been away for 20 months! Partly down to the line being severed by a landslip, but mainly due to the ETCS not working properly with existing equipment.

 

It does, I suspect its just a trick of perspective but that screen looks like it potentially takes away a lot of forward vision?

 

And when the engine runs light...?

I understand one reason for the removal of the steam heat boilers on the Deltics was to make room for the ETCS kit - I had a chat with Fiona Napier-Page about it when I did my driving course on 55 019.

 

With good cause, if they knew there was likely to be an overrun they should not have agreed to accept bookings for mainline work or heritage railways. The Nene Valley particularly have been badly let down.

 

It couldn't could it. Which would also be awkward if there were a need for tender first running, to go and turn on a triangle for instance. But I have no idea whether the regulations would permit such an installation.

 

I think the photo is taken from a standing position - seated in the driver's seat should still give a clear view ahead.

Only the screen (the driver-machine interface) needs to be in front of the driver. The rest of the equipment can be tucked away in the tender or under the cab seats. The European Vital Computer (EVC - the brains for ETCS) takes up about as space as a bedside cabinet. It's not like the Welsh 158 installation that's the size of a big fridge-freezer!

https://www.a1steam.com/tornado/news/tornado-details/etcs-advances

One thing that could be added to the support coach is a generator to power the ETCS. As far as I know, 60163 has a couple of steam-powered turbo generators and a tender axle mounted generator to provide power to the batteries. Obviously any loco fitted with ETCS will need a power supply on the loco itself, but a small diesel generator on the support coach would provide backup.