Diesel traction for Argentina. 17-18
Until recently little has been done towards introducing diesel traction on any scale on the Argentine Railways. The Buenos Ayres Great Southern as early as 1930 had acquired some experimental types which were not perpetuated. They were for shunting and suburban services and one of them, with hydraulic transmission never ran more than 50 km These were followed by two diesel-electric power stations, running five-car multiple-unit trains, which were then in poor condition. Following this came three 1,700 h.p. travelling power houses, running eight- car trains, and one similarly powered locomotive. All were still doing yeoman service but the later units—two Arrnstrong l-A-A-A-l and two Hariand & Wolff l-AA-AA-l— were destroyed by fire. The only other locomotives, apart from railcars, were some little 100 h.p. rod-driven 0-4-0 diesels with Gnrdner engine and mechanical drive.
The next move was made by the metre-gauge Central Northern Railway which, just before becoming the General Belgrano Railway, ordered 70 Whitcomb 600 h.p. locomotives for suburban work. These were followed in 1950 by 75 General Electric 1,000 h.p, main line diesel-electrics and in 1953 by five of 1,200 h.p. At the same time 25 G.E. 1,400 h.p, locomotives were delivered to the Mitre (former Central Argentine) Railway and 51 Baldwins of 1,600 h.p. to the General Roca (former B.A.G.S.) Railway. In 1955, Werkspoor delivered fifty 600 h.p, locomotives to the San Martin (former Buenos Ayres Pacific) Railway while the same firm a year later brought out ten 1,500 h.p. machines to the same railway and thirty of 600 h.p. to the metre-gauge Belgrano Railway. At the same time we have to record the only British order yet received, for five English Electric of 1,000 h.p, The last deliveries to date are 25 General Motors machines of 1,310 h.p. The last of these were being delivered as the writer left Argentina, but, unfortunately, they are being put on main line service in the winter and were not provided with steam heating boilers! Twenty-five brake vans were now being titted with Merryweather pump boilers.
When the present Provisional Government took ever it was faced with the grave problem of a totally deteriorated steam locomotive stock, since the foregoing purchases had been used tu replace steam locomotives which either could not be repaired or, for lack of spare parts, were passing through the shops at a rare which promised delivery in some three to four years. In the meantime Mr. Sacaggio at the Liniers works of the old Western Railway had succeeded—in five years—in producing two super-diesel-electric locomotives. consisting of two units each supported on four four-wheel bogies, all motored and powered by four diesel engines of some 800 h.p, These units cost an appalling sum, but technically were successful as they could run on from one to four diesel engines and from two to 16 electric motors. Unfortunately, they have been used exclusively on the Mar del Plata luxury Budd train, of four coaches only, instead of in their legitimate sphere of mixed-traffic operation on lines with gradients varying between I in 500 to 1 in 80.
The writer has been called in unofficially to several meetings and has always advocated that, dieselisation should start in the shunting yard, where the greatest savings can be made. But the present situation, with some 40 per cent of available steam locomotives laid off, calls for an immediate replacement of these locomotives to be able to move the next harvest. The Provisional Government had therefore placed orders for or is in negotiation with the Import-Export Bank about the following locomotives:-
San Martin System
25 General Electric 1,800 h.p
Mitre System
25 Montreal '(ALCO) 1,800 h.p.
Roca System
25 Alsthom (France) one 750 h.p.
Administration of Ports
15 General Electric 550 h.p. (5 ft. 6 in. gauge)
Urquiza System (former C.B.A., E.Rios, Argentine N.E. and Slate Eastern)
20 General Electric 1,200 h.p.(4 ft. 8½ in. gauge)
To be divided between San Martin, Roca, Sarmiento and Roca Systems
130 ALCO 1,800 h.p. (5 ft. 6 in. gauge)
Belgrano System
50 General Electric 1,200 h.p. (Metre gauge)
Emergencies call for immediate action, but the future, with the heterogenous stock in existence and on order, is going to prove a major difficulty. The committee on which the writer served recommended that for future requirements locomotives should be built to rigid specifications in units of 600 and 1,200 h.p., duplicating when necessary for higher powers, anJ all engines to be multiples of 600 h.p. with all details interchangeable.
It has yet to be proved that for main-line passenger and goods working in Argentina the diesel-electric is the most economical unit in the long run. For similar powers the diesel-electric costs three times more than a steam locomotive and must obviously run three times the mileage. Over months of tests it was found that a steam locomotive could run 20,000 miles a month on a selected passenger run of 925 miles for the return trip with two hours for servicing at the end of the single trip. But a diesel unit on the same run could do no better as it was found impossible to fit in an immediate return trip because of traffic and single track limitations, and in a country like Argentina, with its single tracks and intermittent goods traffic, it would appear that unless the running and maintenance savings are three times the This is especially true on sections where there is still an abundance of firewood. amortisation charges a loss will result.

Fowler 0-4-0 diresel shunter with B.U.T. 230 h.p. engine. 18. illustration
0-4-0 diesel shunting locomotive, built by John Fowler & Co. (Leeds) Ltd., had been undergoing tests and demonstrations at Fowler's testing site near Leeds. The engine specified for this prototype was the B.U.T. 926 cu, in. direct-injection diesel engine. The locomotive could haul trains of up to 720 tons on level track. It had an initial tractive effort of 15,000 lb. at 3½ m.p.h, and a top track speed of 14½ m.p.h. Power units of this type are already operated by British Railways and had been chosen to power the 24 twin-engined railcars shortly to be shipped to the Indian Railways from Australia under the Colombo Plan. The engine for the Fowler locomotive had been specially derated to 176 b.h.p. at 1,500 r.p.m. Transmission from the engine is through a 20 in. traction type fluid coupling and a Hardy Spicer transmission shaft to a four-speed Self-Changing Gears epicyclic gearbox. A further shaft and. bevel pinion co.ects the main gear- box to the forward and reverse gearbox, which is of Fowler manufacture. Final drive is taken by a jackshaft from the gearbox to coupling rods and so to the wheels.

The "Unionmelt" boxcar rebuilding tecnique of Seaboard Airline R.R., U.S.A. 18-19. 3 illustrations
Welding

New diesel depot at Crewe, B.R. 19-20. 3 illustrations, diagram
Atlas wheel turning machine Iikely to be used for tyre profiling on multiple units as well as locomotives, and also for carrying out such work for other neighbouring Motive Power Districts where the provision of an additional machine is not justified.

News of the month. 20

Engineering company may take over Dundalk Works. 20
To produce even a quarter of the material which Ireland imports from foreign engineering works would require thousands of Irish workers, according to Frank· Aiken, Irish Minister for External Affairs, who recently outlined the Governrnent's plans for the proposed Dundalk Enginering Works. The new company has followed on the closing of sections of railways in Nurthern Ireland, and the cutting off from the Dundalk railway works of all rail servicing work, except what is necessary on the 50-mile section of the Great Northern Railway from Dublin to the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Government considered the alternatives of reducing the servicing staff at Dundalk to the number required for the 50-mile section concerned, or extending the facilities at Dundalk into a large national engineering works. Aiken said that there were tens of millions worth of equipment coming into Ireland every year made abroad by men with the same skills as those who had been employed until now on railway work in Ireland. There were also railway extension programmes in other countries te which rolling stock could be sold if produced at a competitive price. He added that the Dundalk Engineering Company would take over, free from capital liability, the premises and equipment of the old railway works, and would have available hundreds of highly skilled workers,

N.S.W.G.R. electrification. 20. illustration
The western main line of the New South Wales Government Railways was now electrified as far as Lithgow. The route west of Penrith traverses the Blue Mountains and has long sections of 1 in 33 gradients. Originally the line included the celebrated zigzags near Lithgow, long superseded by an ordinary deviation with many tunnels. Considerable accelerations have been made, particularly of freight trains. The Commonwealth Engineering Co. Ltd., Australia, was expecting to complete in December its contract for 40 motor and 40 trailer coaches for this line. With the delivery of this stock all passenger traffic on this section .will be handled by eight-coach multiple-unit trains, comprising two first class and two second class motor coaches and four second class trailers. The electric locomotives which have been used since the service began an 22 June 1957t will be freed for other purposes, The multiple-unit stock is of stainless steel, the first use of this construction on a large scale in Australia.

B.T.C. order Drewry Equipments for diesel shunting locomotives. 20
The British Transport Commission announced that 42 sets of engine transmission and control equipments for 0-6-0 diesel mechanical shunting locomotives of 200 h.p. had been ordered from the Drewry Car Company. The completed locomotives will be allocated between the North Eastern and Southern Regions.

Tulloch Ltd. to use German diesel engines. 20
The New South Wales manufacturing firm of Tulloch Limited' has concluded an agreement with Mercedes-Benz and Fried. Krupp by which ir has the sole use of Mercedes-Benz diesel engines and Krupp hydraulic transmission for rail traction in Australia.

Letters. 20

Pierre Weil.
As perhaps one of its oldest readers (since 1897), may I congratulate the Locomotive Magazine on its recent development into its present form, which greatly enhances its status as a serious technical journal. In years gone by it fulfilled a real want as a recorder of steam locomotive development and news for popular consumption, and wias a source of great joy to the younger generation interested in such matters, amongst whom I was a devoted enthusiast. I well remember the eager anticipation in the 1890s with which I awaited the next issue (price 2d!). Now, however, with the tremendous strides made in electric (and diesel) traction since the War, the beloved magazine of my schooldays has become a technical journal in the true sense.
To watch the departure of an 800-ton high-speed express (or rather rapide) from the Gare de Lyon in Paris, headed by an ultra-modern 80-ton Bo-Bo or 120- ton Co-Co (or even by an already obsolescent 2-D-2) electric: locomotive, is as thrilling an experience as that afforded by a train headed by the finest and largest modern steam locomotive. An electric locomotive is no longer just a motorised truck; it is a highly complicated machine with as much diversity and personality instilled into it by its creators as the steam locomotive always had, and still has. But it is a far more complicated and subtle personality, and the Locomotive Magazine in its wisdom has realised this and has risen nobly to the occasion. This does not signify that it has abandoned our dear old and faithful friend, the beneficent and beloved steam locomotive. It still gives us all necessary news regarding it in its old age, but in the nature of things, the electric (and diesel) traction matters will necessarily take top place more and more.

Number 786 (February 1958)

The manning of diesel and electric units on British Railways. 21
Double-manning agreement between BTC and ASLEF and NUR to convey second man on runs longer than 100 miles, in hours of darkness (midnight and 06.00 and so on W.P. Allen called it a "victoory for commonsense".

[BR class 9F 2-10-0 No. 92178]. G.W. Morrison. 21
Fitted witth double chimney when built at Swindon

Dual-purpose diesel-hydraulic raicars for the Ulster Transport Authority. 22-4. 3 illustrations, diagram
James Courtney design for express services between Belfast and Londonderry/Derry or for limited freight haulage over same route. British United Traction Leyland six-cylinder engines mounted on Metalastik shear mounts with Self-Changing Gears Ltd Schneider torque converters manufactured under licence.

Photographs of CIE K3 2-6-0 as modified to burn turf (T.K. Widd) and Bulleid 0-6-6-0 turf burner at Inchicore Works. 24
See also Volume 63 page 219

Dual frequency electric locomotive for French Railways. 25-6
Bo Bo capable of working on woorking on Swiss Railways at 15 kV and French system at 25 kV

Diesel locomotive experience in the United States. 26-8. illustration
Precis: No other country in the world has so wide an experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, operation and maintenance as the United States; in no other country, indeed, has there been so revolutionary a change of motive power in so short a time. In 1935 U.S.A. railways owned 42,000 steam locomotives and 150 diesels; twenty years later the figures had become 6,000 and 24,700 respectively, and the diesels were handling 90 per cent of the traffic, which itself was 50 per cent heavier than in 1935. By then some £1,200 million had been invested by the railways in diesel power, but this change had made possible an annual reduction of fully £100 million in operating expenses.
Net ton-miles of freight trains per day had risen from 13,000 to 26,000 ; average freight train speed had gone up from 16.4 to 19.0 m.p.h., all operating stops included; and the average daily mileage of freight locomotives from 110 to 150. Over the 20 years, while the total locomotive stock, steam and diesel, was falling by an average of 1,100 units annually, the diesel fleet was growing by an average of 875 units each year, and this reduced number was showing itself capable of handling a steadily increasing flow of traffic.
These striking facts formed the introduction to a paper read on December 18 last before the Institution of Locomotive Engineers Paper 582 by H.G. McClean Export Manager of the Electro-Motive Division, of General Motors Corporation, Chicago. If his paper showed some slight bias in favour of railway dieselisation, this is hardly to be wondered at, seeing that the foresight and enterprise of his own firm, more than any other single factor, have been responsible for bringing about this revolution, and that Electro-Motive has built 65 per cent, and still is building by far the major proportion, of the diesel-electric locomotives at work on American railways to-day.
The rapidity of this diesel development on United States railways has been due in large measure to their acceptance, almost from the start, of the manufacturers' standard locomo- tive designs. This acoeptance has made it possible to streamline production and thereby to reduce the capital cost of the motive power, while at the same time cutting down the stock of spare parts necessary and reducing maintenance costs generally. In the Electro-Motive designs, for example, the V -type diesel engine first introduced in 1938, whether the six-, eight-, 12-, or 16-cylinder model, still retains the same basic cylinder dimensions and continues to have completely interchangeable pistons, liners, cylinder heads and valves.
By developing and improving these standard constituents it has been possible, without any increase in cost, to double the life of the parts and at the same time to increase engine out- put by 50 per cent. In conjunction with the same range of diesel engines built into locomotives, now number- ing some 20,000 in all, only two standard types of electric generator · and a single traction motor design have been used throughout; there has also been a high degree of standardisa- non of bogies, wheels, axles, axle boxes and brake equipment. The manufac- turers' slogan" twice the work at half the cost", as compared with steam traction, has thus largely been realised.
The course followed by railway dieselisation in the D.S.A., Mr. McClean continued, has been, first its application to shunting, then to passenger services, and finally to main line freight operation. Economy in shunting and marshalling was obvious with locomotives which could work around the clock if necessary, and soon was found to be on such a scale that these economies alone could pay the cost of a diesel shunter in two years. The first application in passenger working was with high speed long- distance trains, such as those making continuous 40-hr. runs over distances of 2,200 to 2,300 miles between Chicago and the Pacific coast, with layovers up to 10 hr. at each terminal, where again the continuous avail- ability of diesel power could be put to maximum use.
But the real test of diesel economy in main line operation came in the second stage, with the dieselisation of complete divisions, or of certain types of service en bloc, in which the costly diesel units no longer monopolised the cream of the operating assignments, and had also to provide stand-by- power. For this stage between 300 and 40 separate detailed work studies were made, in which the manufac- turers co-operated with the railways, before final decisions were reached. Precise running times could be calcu- lated and guaranteed by the manufac- turers, in working out the cycles of operation and the number of units nee d e d ; previous experience supplied all the information required as to unit operating costs.
By the time the third stage was reached, of 50 to 80 per cent diesel- isation, the railways themselves had accumulated sufficient information to forecast all the economies that could be effected by further substitution of diesel power for steam. The present and final stage is an intensive study as to how the existing diesel stock can be put to the maximum possible use before the decision is reached as to how many additional units will be needed to complete the diese1isation. On a number of the leading railways, of course, this final stage has been attained already.
American diesel-electric units for passenger service are mostly of the AlA - AlA type, from 2,000 to 2,400 h.p.; for freight of the B - B type, from 1,500 to 1,750 h.p.; and for shunting and general purpose duties also of the B - B type, from 1,000 to 1,200 h.p., though there may be variations from these stan- dards for special reasons. If automatic train control is in use, the passenger diesels travel at up to 100 m.p.h. on certain main lines, and 90 m.p.h. on others; typical freight diesels operate at speeds up to 65 m.p.h., and normally maintain speeds up to 50 m.p.h. on the level and 10 to 12 m.p.h. up 1 in 50 gradients. A modern freight train will be worked by a triple-unit locomotive of 4,500 to 5,250 h.p., permanently coupled, the middle or "B" unit being a hooster unit without driving cab, and the two other "A" units.having driving cabs at the outer ends only. Many passenger trains are operated by two A units coupled.
Some 75 per cent of the total American demand recently, however, has been for general purpose or mixed traffic designs, which have a single driving cab near one end of the unit, and good visibility along both sides of the 6 ft. wide hoods which house the engine-generator sets. These hoods have deep side doors which facilitate inspection and maintenance. The body styles involve a basic difference in body construction; with the narrow-hood diesels the strength of construction is almost entirely in the underframe, with its deep-section longitudinals, whereas in the streamline passenger and freight locomotives, with their light underframes, of shallow depth, the strength is in the deep girder members which extend for the length and depth of the side-walls.
As the first American road diesels were for high-speed passenger service, their bogies were designed accordingly, and this fact has affected all subsequent bogie development. The AlA type passenger diesels have 36 in. wheels, 14 ft. 1 in. wheelbase, and a one-piece cast frame and bolster. Their equipment includes roller-bearing axle boxes, 6½ in. x 12 in., which use parallel rollers mounted on a sleeve; the whole is arranged to permit lateral movement of the box, und with spring control (at first by leaf springs but later by moulded rubber springs) providing for lateral movement which at first is almost free but rapidly comes under restraint. Equalisers are provided between adjacent ax1eboxes, with dual nests of coil springs between fheir upper sides and the underside of the bogie frame. Four long outside swing hangers out- side the bogie frame support two spring planks carrying four sets of fully elliptic springs, on the top of which rests an H-shaped bolster with large diameter centre-plate; the latter carries all the weight.
The freight and general purpose locomotive bogie is of the two-axle type with 40 in. wheels, 9 ft. wheel-base, and a centre-plate 37 in. above rail. As with the passenger bogie, the roller box is 6½ in. x 12 in., but no equalisers are provided; double nests of coil springs are fitted between the axle boxes and the one-piece cast bogie frames. Outside swing hangers 27½ in: long on 7 ft. 6 in. centres support the spring plank, which carries two sets of elliptic springs to the bolster and a large-diameter centre-plate. In the opinion of McClean these bogies have outstanding merit in design and operation, though their development — especially in the matter of the long outside swing hangers — has been possible only because of the generous limits of the American loading gauge. In weight, the passenger diesels average 100 lb. per h.p., and the freight diesels 135 lb. per h.p. Initially, American permanent way engineers did not favour any greater axle-loading with diesels than the maxima previously authorised for steam power; the even torque and absence of hammer-blow with traction motors, as opposed to reciprocating motion, has latterly permitted a relaxation to the extent of 25 per cent, and diesel axle-loads on this increased scale are now coming into general use. Mr. McClean considered, however, that then: had been undue concentration by track engineers on the effect on track of vertical loading, and too little on lateral effects, and that more attention might well be paid to bogie construction and to lateral flexibility at' the axleboxes in order to reduce track wear-and-tear. The general maximum axle-loading now permitted for diesels in the U.S.A. is 60,000 lb. (27 tons) on wheels of from 36 to 40 in. diameter.
In height, a maximum of 15 fr. above rail along the locomotive centre- line, and 13 ft. 6 in. at the eaves level, is generally available, except over the tunnelled railway approaches to New York that have overhead electric equipment. With wheels up to 40 in. diameter, these limits allow generous engine-room dimensions up to le ft. high and 10 ft. wide, affording ample space for the installation of a V -type engine with the radiator above. In length, most diesel locomotive units measure about 50 to 55 ft., with the diesel-generator set occupying about 35 per cent of this total. Bogie centres are located about 30 ft. apart, so that fuel tanks (and water tanks also, if the unit carries a steam-heating boiler) can be accommodated below the main frames between the bogies — a suitable position both for refuelling and for even distribution of weight. The diesel unit underframes are designed to withstand from 800,000 to 1,000,000 lb. (360 to 445 tons) maximum push or pull — an important feature now that four-unit freight locomotives frequently haul loads well in excess of 100 bogie wagons, that is, upwards of a 5,000 tons loaded, over certain routes. Couplers are of the central automatic type, and also are designed to withstand a maximum tension or compression up to ],000,000 lb. (445 tons).
American locomotive ratings in general are conservative; with a 1,750 h.p. freight unit, for example, the gross engine h.p. output is 1,910, and 16-cylinder engines of this type have operated on continuous load for 100 hr. at up to 2,200 h.p. The aim is to assign the locomotive a rating which will ensure reliable operation in all conditions, and yet be sufficiently high to enable it to compete in hauling capacity with locomotives of other makes. There are few countries in which more extreme operating conditions are met with than in the United States. Diesel locomotives may have to' work in extremes of ambient temperatures ranging from 30°F below zero to 120°F above. Moreover, on through north to south runs the same locomotives may travel from an area of heavy snow to one of arid desert in a single journey, or vice versa. Through the Rocky Mountains several of the most important main lines operate over summits ranging from 7,000 ft. to over 10,000 ft. in altitude. Fuel conditions also may vary considerably on one through run; diesels working through between Chicago and the Pacific Coast, for example, may refuel up to four times en route with fuels of differing characteristics.
Of the four types of diesel engine, from all the different manufacturers, now in general use in the U.S.A., the two which predominate are of the V-type, and the other two are in line engines; the two most in use also are of the two-stroke type, the other two being four-stroke. Cylinder dimensions range from 8ý in. x 10 in. to 9 in. x 12 in., and engine speeds from S35 to 1,000 r.p.m. An advantage of the two-stroke V-type engine is accessibility of the "top deck", either within the 10 ft. wide body of the streamline designs, or through the side doors of the hood in the general purpose units. An even greater advantage is the ease with which the condition of pistons, rings and liners can be inspected through the ports in the liners. The engine radiator system embodies a.c. electrically-driven fans, individually controlled by thermostats, which ensure correlation of the temperatures of the engine, cooling water and lubricating oil. Elaborate measures are taken also to ensure the best possible filtration of fuel oil, lubricating oil, and air intake.
In the United States, diesel locomotives — as distinct from railcars — have for the past twenty years been built exclusively with electrical transmissions. As measured from the engine input at the generator to the output of the traction motors at the wheels, transmission efficiency at full load averaging 82 per oent can be relied on from one-fifth to maximum locomotive speed, and a peak efficiency up to 84t per cent. Auto- matic load controls are universal, the equipment, according to the notch used by the driver on his controller, automatically adjusting the generator voltage and current to ensure maxi- mum efficiency of transmission over the widest possible range of operation without permitting either overheating or stalling of the engine. Forced draught ventilation with filtered air is used for generators and traction motors.
With the weight and speed of American trains, high capacity air-brakes are essential. Each locomotive unit is equipped with a three-cylinder two-stage compressor, air-cooled or water-cooled, working at from 275 to 835 r.p.m.; at the full speed the displacement is 235 cu. ft. per min. The normal equipment of an AlA-AlA type passenger diesel comprises 18 in. shoes with clasp brakes on all wheels, and four 11 in. compressed air cylinders on each bogie.
Dynamic braking, first applied on locomotives working over long continuous gradients, such as those through the Rockies, has since become so popular as to have been installed on 40 per cent of the diesel locomotive stock. On long and winding descents, the fact that dynamic brakes can hold heavy trains at the specified maximum speed without any use of the air brakes has effected very considerable savings in the wear and tear of brake blocks and brake rigging, as well as in the avoidance of overheating of wheel tyres. The use of dynamic braking now has spread to railways with relatively level main lines also, particularly on locomotives operating fast and heavy freight services, on which this type of braking does away to a considerable degree with the use of air brakes.
The remainder of Mr. McClean's paper was devoted mainly to statistical' comparisons which bear out the claims made in the first two para- graphs of this review, showing how completely justified has been the revolutionary changeover in the United States from steam to diesel power; they emphasise also the remarkable fact that improved design and building techniques have kept the price of diesel horsepower stationary, if not, indeed, on a slightly falling scale during a period when there has been an increasing rise in the cost of labour and materials. This is an achievement of which American manufacturers may well be proud.

The effect of capital cuts on British Railways. 28
Although there is still no word from the B,T.C. as to the items of the modernisation programme postponed because of the Government-imposed cuts in capital expenditure, some answers given in Parliament at the end of the year, although bare of detail, confirm that their effect on British Railways will be by no means negligible. Electrification was not mentioned, supporting our belief that the major projects proposed in the original plan, which are advancing to schedule, are unaffected, but some other departments in which the Minister of Transport & Civil Aviation has disclosed cuts of capital expenditure are vital to the success of the modernisation plan, The most serious is the enforced slowing down of the programme for the fitting of freight stock with continuous brakes, for it is in freight operations that re-equipmerit is most urgently necessary if the railways are to survive. The Minister has also confirmed that future plans for diesel locomotives have had to be reduced, and has revealed that there have been cuts in schemes for new rolling stock, which presumably includes diesel multiple-units, It is difficult to make much of the figures that are being mentioned to support the Government view that the cuts stipulated are small, because of rises in prices since the modernisation plan was announced, with the result that the total of £1,240 million it was estimated to cost in 1955 has now risen to around £1,500 million, As we go to press an officer of the Southern Region at Exeter has disclosed that the a.c. electrification of his Region's western Section main lines has been postponed because of the capital cuts. .

An electrogyro locomotive for the National Coal Board. 29. illustration
Oerlikon electrical equipment in locomotive built by Sentinels (Shrewsbury) Ltd

A motorcar transporter for Anglo-Continental service. 30. illustration
M.A.T. Transport Ltd two-tier vehicle built by Newton, Chambers & Co. Ltd. of Sheffield. Prototype running between British Motor Corporation at Oxford (Cowley) and Cologne via Harwich to Zeebrugge train ferry.

New rolling stock for Boston Rapid Transit. 30-1. 2 illustrations
Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Co. supplied 25 two-car sets of welded all-steel construction with air bellow suspension to the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Boston

Diesel services in Edinburgh District. 31
Inaugurated 3 February to Corstorphine and North Berwick. Later to Galashields via Peebles, Rosewell, the southern loop via Morningside Road and the Leith North branch.

The end of steam construction in Czechoslovakia. 32; 33
Skoda ceased to manufacture steam locomotives: photographs and leading dimensions of 2-10-0 with Krauss-Helmholz truck and claimed to be most economical freight locomotives in Europe and three-cylinder 4-8-2 and 4-8-4T passenger classes. Alll were fitted with Kylchap double chimneys and smoke deflector plates.

Prototype second class open coacch for B.R. by Birmingham R.C. & W. Co. 32; 34. 2 illustrations
Sir Hugh Casson advised on interior design with foam rubber seating for 39 second class passengers.

New lightweight rolling stock for the Ghana Raileway by Cravens. 34; 35. 7 illustrations, plan
Five car trains of welded steel construction with buffet cars anbd rounded observation cars at rear.

G.E.C. transport contracts. 34; 36
General Electric Co. somewhat garbled text relating to North British Locomotive Co. 3,300 h.p. Bo Bo presumably electric locomotives for LMR electrification and to 1000 h.p. engines for diesel melectric Pullman trains and to equipment for electric multiple units

Conversion of Stratford repair shop, B.R., for diesel working. 36-7. illustration
Original structure completed just prior to WW1. A diesel engine section for stripping, cleaning and overhauling diesel engines, with fabricated beds TO accommodate any of the six different types of power units as well as degreasing tanks, Parawash equipment, Colosyl bath and jib cranes over the engine beds. The electrical section repairs main and auxiliary generators, traction motors and control gear. A d.c. supply from a motor generator will supply power for testing control gear and traction motors. This section also contains battery charging sets and portable machine tools. Heavy repairs to diesel shunting locomotives will also continue to be carried out in a portion of this bay.
The heating system uses radiant heat created by water under high pressure fed by an automatic oil fired boiler of the wet back double-pass type. Such a system gives complete freedom of functional use of the entire shop floor space, keeps down the movement of dust and makes for maximum economy in the use of fuel.

News of the month. 37-

B.R. safety in 1956. 37
In view of the tragic collision at St. Johns, Southern Region, on 4 December 1958 and its inevitable publicity it is salutary to have the reminder of The Chief Inspecting Officer's report to the Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation for 1956 that not a single passenger was killed in a train accident proper on British Railways that year, despite an increase of 2.2 per cent m the number of passenger journeys and of 3.2 per cent in passenger-miles over 1955. There was also a decrease in the total number of casualties, but an increase of 6.1 per cent from 1,156 to 1,226: the total number of train accidents of all kinds reported; in these three railway servants and 15 other persons lost their lives, 13 of the latter being occupants of road vehicles involved in level crossing collisions. In his review of the year, the Chief Inspecting Officer comments that the number of accidents directly caused by want of care or irregularities in working by operating staff has been steadily increasing since 1950. The 1956 figure was nearly 24 per cent higher than that for 1950, and train crews were responsible for most of (he increase; the number of accidents caused by them has practically doubled since 1950, with a proportion of enginemen's to guard's mistakes of about six to one. On the other hand, it is encouraging to note a steady post-war decline in the number of accidents resulting from disobedience to signals, with the result that a large proportion of the mishaps due to failure of the human element have been minor, but the tendency of the latter to increase is a disturbing trend to which the B.T.C. is giving careful attention. There has also been a decline since 1951 in the number of accidents caused by technical defects, from 15.1 to 10.1 per cent of the total for 1956.

Miniature buffets in B.R. coaches. 37. illustration
A new type of light refreshment service, a miniature buffet built into an ordinary second class passenger coach, had been developed by British Transport Catering Services for use on services for which a special catering vehicle cannot be provided and to augment or replace existing restaurant car services. The first of twelve vehicles being so equipped was introduced on The Flying Scotsman on 13 January to augment the regular restaurant car services on this train. As more second class vehicles are converted to include the buffets they will be introduced on other Eastern Region services between Liverpool Street and Cambridge, March, St Ives (Hunts. bet eating prohibited on guided bus!) and Norwich.

London Transport new railway rolling stock. 37
London Transport order 248 cars for the Metropolitan Line, at a cost er over £5 million to operate to Watford, and, when electrification is extended beyond Rickrnansworth, to Amersham and Chesham. All seats in facing pairs on each side of a central gangway. The seats to have higher backs, those on one side of the gangway accommodating space for two passengers and those on the other for three passengers. The cars will have air-worked sliding doors and ample standing room so that they can handle heavy in-town traffic on the tunnel sections between Finchley Road and Aldgate. Each train will consist of four driving motor and four trailer cars. There will be rhree pairs of double sliding doors on each side of the trailer cars and two double sliding doors and one single for passengers as well as the motorman's door on each side of the driving motor cars, The stock will have lightweight unpainted aluminium alloy bodies, rubber suspension for smooth running and economical maintenance, and fluorescent lighting. Replacing electric and steam-hauled compartment-type coaches, it will give an improved service to all stations on the outer part of the Metropolitan Line, with all eight-car trains instead of the present mixed six-car and eight-car services. Passengers travelling beyond Harrow-an-the Hill will have four more trains an hour in the morning and evening peak periods. Delivery will be timed to begin with the electrification of the Metropolitan Line between Rickmansworth and Amersham, and Chesharn, and the four-tracking of the present double-track section between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Rickmansworth, which are planned to be completed in 1961.
In the rush hour all Circle Line trains are to be increased from five to six cars by adding to the District Line stock thirteen R stock cars of the latest type which arc now on order. With the rearrangement of certain existing trains and the conversion of some cars at Acton Works, it will then be possible to transfer some cars from the District Line to lengthen the Circle Line trains. This wil! also enable R stock to be used for the Olympia service.
Two prototype tube trains on trial on the Piccadilly Line were equipped with under-floor motors giving one-seventh more passenger accommodation than the present Piccadilly and Central Line trains. They have "silver" aluminium body panelling with rubber suspension and fluorescent lighting. If they prove successful in service, the design will be adopted as the basis for replacement orders for the whole of the Piccadiliy Line and Central Line rolling stock.

London Midland Region diesel success. 37-8
More than one-and-a-quarter million passengers a month were travelling in lightweight diesel trains operated by the London Midland Region — 317,000 more a month than were carried by the same services in 1956, when some were still operated by steam locomotives. But even where the diesels had been running for more than a year, there is still an upward trend in passenger service carryings. The ten lightweight diesel unit services on the London Midland and their carryings in a recent month compared with the same period of 1956 were:-

	1956	1957
West Cumberlansd Area (whole scheme introduced by 7 February 7 1955)	144,585	140,710
Watford-St. Albans (introduced 25 July 1955)	37,877	35,095
Bury-Bacup (introduced 6 June 1956)	101,614	92,688
Birmingham-Lichfield (introduced 5 March 1956)	275,508	159,603
North Wales Area (introduced 28 May 1956)	104,133	83,902
Banbury- Buckingham (introduced 13 August 1956)	6,423	2,693
Manchester-Buxton/ Macclesfield (introduced 8 October 1956)	316,400	186,858
Manchester-Hayfield/ Maccles field (introduced 17 June 1957)	198,303	136,768
Harrow & Wealdstone-Belmont (introduced 6 August 1957)	889	397
Crewe-Stoke-Derby (introduced 16 September 1957)	84,249	60,154

These figures detail only trips beginning and ending within the areas served by the diesels and not those of which the trains were used for part of a journey, hence the low figure for the Belmont branch, which takes no ,account of passengers continuing north or south of Harrow on the main line. The L.M.R. announced in mid-December that 1958 would see extensions of the Manchester and Birmingham area schemes and the introduction of new diesel railcar workings between Liverpool Central and Gateacre and Liverpool Central and Warrington (from 6 January, at hourly intervals and using Gloucester C. & W. Co. units); between Derby and Nottingham; and in the Leicester area. Railbuses are to be tried on the Northampton- Blisworth, Bedford-Northampton and Bedford-Hitchin branches. New diesel railcar depots are in prospect for Allerton, Nottingham, Newton Heath, Nuneaton and Reddish. The Region expected to have 72 main line diesel locomotives at work by the end of this year.

Craven-built coaches on thr S.R. 38-9
The prototype coaches by Cravens, described in our August-September 1957 issue, are making the round the country. At the end of November they were working on the L.M.R., running in the 14.30 p.m. Euston-Liverpool and the 14.10 p.m. back, and were then moved to the Southern Region. From December 3-5 and 9-12 the two cars, Nos. E3082 and E4638, were incorporated in the stock cf the 10.30 Waterloo-Bournemouth West and the 17.00 back, after which they were due .to move in turn to the Western (for work from January 6-17), the E. & N.E. Regions and, ultimately to Scotland. We learn that most passengers using the cars have been much impressed. In December the Southern Recion was also trying out two of the ether prototypes, Doncaster-devised open second h No. M3721 (an existing coach converted) and Metro-Cammell corridor second No. M25455; these cars were running in the 09.40 Brighton-Bournemouth and l3.50 back from December 2-5 and in the 17.00 WaterJoo-Exeter and 07.30 back from December 9-13, after which they too were expected to gc to other Regions. The Metro-Cammell car was on the 07.25 Wolverhampton-Paddington from December 16 for several days and at least one Cravens car was seen in the 14.10 Paddingtcn-Birkenhead on January 1.

Last British Atlantic No. 32424 Beachy Head passing Chelsea on 24 August 1957. S.C. Nash, photographer 39. illustration
On 12.35 Leicester to Hastings on West London line

Swindon to build more diesel-hydraulic locomotives. 39.
Swindon Works to build 30 main line 2,000 h.p, diesel-hydraulic locomotives for use in the W'estern Region, additional to the three locomotives of the same type at present under construction there. This order is a further step in the programme for the complete change over to diesel traction of all Western. Region services west of Newton Abbot, and of many of the through services between Paddington, Bristol and the West of England. Of the 130 diesel-hydraulic locomotives required for this programme, replacing over 200 steam locomotives only 34 locomotives, also of 2000 h.p. remained to be ordered. The 30 locomotives to be built at Swindon would undertake the heaviest passenger and freight working between London and the West of England. They will have Maybach diesel engines and Mekydro transmissions; and will be of the BB wheel arrangement. The locomotives will be classified as Type 4 in the British Railways classification of diesel locomotives, and will be numbered D.803-D.832. Contracts for the power equipments have been placed with Brush Traction Ltd. (for the supply of the Maybach diesel engines) and with J. Stone & Co. (Deptford) Ltd. (for the Mekydro transmissions). The electric control equipments had been ordered from British Brown Boveri Ltd .. London. The three 2,000 h.p. Maybach-Mekhydro locornotives nearing completion at Swindon are now to be mounted en four-wheeled bogies, and will not be AlA-AlA as previously announced.

A dual-purpose wagon. 39. 2 illustrations
MacGregor-Comarain. French open wagon capable of being covered by a roof

New Metropolitan Vickerrs locomotives for National Coal Board. 39
Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Co. Ltd. has supplied many battery locomotives to collieries of the National Coal Board, and orders had been for collieries in the Scottish Division. The first of these was for two 14-ton flame-proof battery locomotives for use at Rothes colliery; these had been commissioned and two more locomotives ordered for the same colliery. Six locomotives of the same type were also on order for Bilston Glen collierv. These locomotives had cabs at both ends and employ a triple combination control, which is economical in its demands on the battery. In operation the two halves of the 200 V 420-Ah battery are first connected in parallel while the two motors are in series; the battery halves are then connected in series with the motors still in series, and finally the motors are connected in parallel. In each of these combinations field weakening gives an additional intermediate running notch. The whole scheme enables shunting and starting operations to be carried out with the least possible waste of battery power in the starting resistors.

Alco shipments to Argentina. 39-40
Alco Products, Inc. begun delivery of 130 new all-purpose export diesel locomotives to the Argentine Railways. Sixteen of the six-motor, 1800-h.p. DL- 540 road-switcher locomotives were shipped in January. The DL-540 is an export version of Alco's widely used domestic road-switchers, the four-motor DL-701 and the six-motor DL-702, introduced two years ago. Of the Argentine order, 30 locomotives to be placed in service on the D.F. Sarmiento railway, 55 will go to the General Mitre and 45 to the General San Martin. The locomotive ir:corporates wide gauge bogies identical to those on the Alco World locomotive. It provides for an electric car-heating system to be installed to adapt the locomotive for passenger service. The equipment includes compressed air brakes for the locomotive and vacuum brakes for the train. The DL-540 is powered by the Alco 12-cylinder, V-type, Model 251, turbo-charged diesel engine, the power unit which is standard in one of three sizes on all Alco locomotives. In designing the locomotive, Alco used a standard DL-701 frame and fitted six General Electric Model 761 traction motors. The units in the Argentine order develop 40,200 lb. continuous traction at 13 rn.p.h. and have a maximum speed of 75 m.p.h. They are equipped for multiple-unit operation. The locomotive has a maximum height of 14 ft. 8 in.

C.I.E. diesel hydraulic shunting locomotives with Maybach 400 h.p. engines. 40. illustration

Improved driver's brake-valve for London Transport stock. 40.
Caption for diagram on page 16

Stone-Faiveley pantographs ordered by B.T.C. 40
See also Issue 780: bulk oorders for electric multiple units on Scottish, London Midland and Eastern Regions

Fish vans with roller bearing axleboxes. 40
Existing fish vans being fitted with Timken roller bearings for North East Scotland: 12.30 Aberdeen to London express fish train: converted vans being identified with a Blue Spot.

Diesel orders and deliveries. 40
Commonwealth Engineering Co. Ltd, Australia order for six Budd-type stainless steel railcars for Malayan Railway with Rolls Royce 230 h.p. engines.
International General Electric Co. of America supplying 45 1200 h.p. diesel electric locomotives to South African Railways.

C.I.E. Post Office vans. 40
Inchicore four-wheel and bigie TPO vehicles

Book reviews. 40

The Electrical Year Book, 1958. Emmett & Co.

The Mechanical World Year Book, 1958. Emmett & Co.

Number 787 (March 1958)

Meeting current steam locomotivbe demands. 41-3. 3 illustrations
Comment on the greatly accelerated schedules introduced on the Midland Division of the London Midland Region from June 1957. Noted that time could be kept with Class 5, notably No. 44985 which ran from Leicester to St. Pancras in ten minutes less than the new scedules. Trains sometimes ran late on the Nottingham route even with double heading. Greater availability of Class 7 locomotives would have helped: further Jubilee class should have been rebuilt or rebuilt West Country Pacifics could have been employed.

British Railways "Warship" class diesel-hydraulic locomotives. 43-5. 3 illustrations, diagram (side elevation)
North British Locomotive Company A1A-A1A with MAN engines and Voith transmissionjs. A demonstration run from Paddington behind No. 600 Active achieved 94 mile/h down Dauntsey bank, but was followed by the faiure of one of the engines and motoring back on one engine.

U.S. railroads store diesel power. 45
270 diesel engines had been placed in store by Class 1 railroads. The Union Pacific was taking deliveryof fifteen 8500 h.p. gas turbine electric locomotives from General Electric. Railroads still using steam power were noted.

Locomotive testing at Rugby, B.R.: the quality of coal. 46-51; 53. 2 illustrations, 13 diagrams
From Locomotive Performance and Efficiency Test Bulletin. One advantage of the steam engine over other types of prime mover is that it can tolerate a wide variation in the nature of the fuel used without damage to itself and with relatively little effect on its efficiency. This is a valuable feature of the steam locomotive, which moves from place to place and receives its fuel supplies from a number of different sources.
Even within the confines of Great Britain there are over 1,000 sorts and sizes of coal liable to be supplied to the railways for locomotive use, besides imported coal, opencast and patent fuel, but it is a little under one- third of this total that is regularly supplied at present and some 90 per cent of the tonnage is covered by about 250 sorts and sizes. In some areas several collieries may work neighbouring parts of the same coal seams so that these varieties will differ relatively little one from another and, in any case, even the coal from one seam of one pit varies a little in quality as mining proceeds. Even allowing for such grouping, however, the total number of kinds and sizes is still very large. The quality varies from some of the best locomotive coal in the world to coal which is not really suit- able for the purpose at all. Coals of many qualities have been used by the railways for a century or so, but, in general, for most of this period there has been an ample supply of good coal available. This is no longer so, for the amount of good locomotive coal mined is decreasing steadily year by year.
Because of the ready availability of , good coal in the past the great majority of British locomotives were designed to burn such coal, even if its precise nature and quality did vary to some extent. Although a steam locomotive' can be designed to burn very low grade fuel effectively, it may not be easy to burn coal of a quality much lower than that for which a particular locomotive was designed, without an appreciable loss of performance. Wide as the toleration of fuel quality may be it has its limits, and those limits are now being reached in some cases and will be reached in many more before the steam locomotive ceases to be an important factor in the motive power of British Railways.
Two questions arise from this situation: how much are the locomotives really affected and what can be done to restore them to their former state of usefulness? It is first necessary to determine how the nature of the coal does affect the performance of the locomotive. There are several quite distinct effects but all result in one way or another in putting a limitation on the power output of the locomotive. With any given kind of coal each locomotive will have an upper limit to the amount of steam that it can produce, and use, per hour.
If the draught available were strong enough, increasing with the rate of steaming, it would be possible to in- crease the rates of firing and steaming until the " grate limit" was reached. If stili more coal were fired and the draught increased, the result would be the production of less steam instead of more. The reason for this is found in the falling boiler efficiency and the consequent parabolic shape of the curve of evaporation against firing rate. The grate limit corresponds to the vertex of the parabola. This fall in boiler efficiency is due almost entirely to coal being lost un- burnt. As the draught gets stronger and stronger more and more coal is carried away before it can be burned and eventually this loss becomes so large that it has the effect mentioned. This phenomenon is only rarely met with, however, because in most cases the draught available is not strong enough and a "front end limit" is reached at a lower steaming rate than that corresponding to the grate limit. 'I he available draught can no longer draw sufficient air through the ashpan, grate and firebed and products of .combustion through the boiler tubes, for a balance to be maintained between supply and demand.
Whereas the grate limit can be precisely .defined from the equation of the boiler efficiency line, there is no absolute definition of the front end limit, the determination of which involves a certain amount of judgment by the testing staff, but it may be said that it is an estimate of the highest steaming rate that can be reliably repeated without failing to satisfy the normal standards of acceptability of the tests. The firing rate at which such a limit is reached with any given kind of locomotive must depend on the nature of the fuel, especially in hand-fired coal-burning locomotives, in which a large part of the resistance to flow of air is due to the firebed'Itseli. The resistance to air flow througb the firebed will depend on the natun of the bed and on its thickness, both functions of the nature of the coal. Is the coal one that cokes, sticking to- gether when heated, or does it burst into small fragments? Does it swell or not? Does the ash melt at the temperature of the firebed and form clinkers or does it accumulate as powder? How large are the pieces of coal that are fired? All these questions are involved.
Much of the problem cannot be dealt with by testing on a test plant but some aspects can be So treated and some examples follow. One reason why the railways cannot obtain the coal that they would like to have is that other users compete for the same grades, and another is that the coal mined may be of the wrong size, or that the preparation plant at the colliery may no longer be adequate to prepare the coal in the desired way due to different methods at the coal face or in underground transport One consequence of changes in min- ing methods and of the exhaustion I)f some seams of coal is that more and more coal is raised in the smaller sizes and less and less in the larger ones, It is generally accepted that an ideal size of lump for use on a hand-fired locomotive is a four-inch cube but pieces anything from half to double this size, say three-inch to five-inch cubes, are good. Appreciably larger lumps will not make a reasonably even firebed and smaller ones tend to cause a variety rof troubles. In practice the lumps are of different sizes, but the variation in size may be limited in 3 graded coal or almost unlimited in un-graded coal or "run of mine" as it is termed in America. Even graded coal contains some fines which result from handling and transport, especially in the case of very soft coals. A few years ago it seemed probable that the Coal Board, would have to supply a considerable tonnage of rail- way coal in much smaller sizes than had hitherto been usual. It was known that the use of such small coal was deleterious to the performance of the locomotives on which it would be used but there was no information on how harmful it would be. A series of tests were conducted at Rugby to investigate this matter. At the same time it had been suggested that the pernicious effect of small coal might br mitigateg byy mixing it with ssome large coal and tests were arranged to include two mixtures as well as small coal alone and large coal to set the standard.
The size of coal is usually described by name or by the use of two figures, which are dimensions in inches. These are not dimensions as understood on an engineering drawing. The first dimension is the size of mesh of the screen through which the coal has passed and the second is the size of screen over which it has passed without falling through. The same name is apt to be used by different pits for various dimensions. Two sizes that have been found very suitable for hand firing are 5 x 3 and 6 x 3, but the proportion of larger and smaller pieces varies considerably. The size it was proposed to supply was 2 x 1, Washed Doubles and two mixtures, one 8 x 1 and one 6 x l, with different proportions of sizes. Pieces with one dimension larger than the first figure can pass through the screens and pieces smaller in some or all dimensions than the lower figure can be carried over the screens ; and there is some degrading of the 'coal in subsequent handling and transport.
Facilities for providing these various sizes were available at Markham Main Colliery, near Doncaster, the coal concerned, from the Barnsley seam, being graded 2B by British Railways wnen supplied as Washed Cubes,6 x 3.
The railway grading of' coals is as follows:-
lA Coal which is suitable for through runs up to 300 miles.
1B Not so good as lA but can be used when that is not available.
2A Coal which is suitable for through runs up to 150 miles.
2B Not so good as 2A but can be used when that is not available.
3A & 3B Coal suitable for shunting and trip working. A is better than B.
U "Unwanted" coaL
The practice of mixing coals of different kinds, which is adopted on a considerable scale by some Continental railways, is not used in Britain and no facilities are available to make such mixtures. The term mixture as now used refers to a mixture of coai sizes, not of different types of coal.
The locomotive available at Rugby at the time was a B.R. Standard Class 5 4-6-0, which had had its draughting improved as described in the supplement to Bulletin No. 6.
Whilst there might be other effects the one expected to be most troublesome from the railway operating point of view was a reduction in the front end limit of the locomotive, since this would put a limit to the power that the locomotive could be relied upon to produce in service, lower than hitherto and possibly lower than the power output normally required on such duties.
A Jubilee class 4-6-0 with improved draughting was also tested.

LOCOMOTIVE TESTING (Concluded from page 51) cern locomotives that steamed well. When the figures quoted at the outset are recalled, the magnitude of the problem will be realised and it will be plain that there is no possibility of subjecting all varieties of coal to systematic tests. Thus, reliance must continue to be placed mainly on the observation of behaviour in service and the judgment of the inspectors concerned. On the other hand it would appear that locornotives that do not steam well are liable to be affected more severely by inferior coal quality than those that do steam well, and in any case even a very small deterioration in the capability of a doubtful performer may be enough to render such a locomotive almost useless for its intended purpose. It is here that tests can play both a direct and an indirect part in helping to deal with the situation and :1 future article will deal with some of the work that has been done with the object of improving the steaming of certain locomotive classes,

Experience with steel fireboxes on the Southern Region, B.R. 52-3
Precis of ILocoE Paper 584 Among the many departures from traditional locomotive practice introduced with varying success in 1941 by O.V.S. Bulleid in his first Southern Railway Merchant Navy Class Pacifies were the first all-welded steel boilers. Experiments had been made in this country in the use of steel in place of copper for fireboxes, but never before had welding replaced riveting. The reason given by Bulleid for this change was that with the high working pressure of 280 lb. per sq. in. which he proposed to use copper firebox plates might have inadequate strength; there would also be the risk of wasting away of stay-bolt heads, and of pitting of the steel tubes by electrolytic action. Moreover, suitable steels were now available for firebox use, and steel also would be free from the creep to which copper is subject.
On 12 February 1958 a paper was read before the Institution of Locomotive Engineers by M.G. Burrows and A.L. Wallace reviewing the successful experience of the Southern with these fireboxes which, it is interesting to note, have been retained in the rebuilt versions of these engines whereas other less satisfactory features, such as the chain-driven valve-motion, have been abandoned. While these boilers at first were a considerable preoccupation to those responsible for their maintenance, improved methods of' welding 'and avoidance of too rapid cooling off of the boilers cured the initial cracking troubles, while the somewhat disturbing corrosion was almost completely eliminated by applying the French T.I.A. (Traitement Integrale Armand) treatment to the boiler feed water.
The paper dealt first with the welding methods developed at Eastleigh Works. The material used in the firebox fabrication is a mild steel containing 0.15 per cent carbon and not exceeding 0.55 per cent manganese and 0.03 per cent sulphur and phosphorus; a tensile strength of 24-28 tons per sq. in. is called for, with an elongation of not less than 25 per cent in 8 in. As the result of experience, a "make-and-break " technique was evolved in the butt-welding. The plates are brought together with their edges forming an angle of 70°, and with a nominal gap of 1/8 in. at the root of the "V". An 8 gauge electrode is used, and is moved in a semi-circular arc from one side of the "V" to the other, when the arc is broken; the process is then repeated in the reverse direction, forming a bridge of metal. The bridge is gradually built upwards at a rate of some 60 strikes per min. until the root run is complete. The slag is then removed by taking a very light chip with a broad-nosed chisel, after which a second run is taken along the length of the "V" ; the latter, however, is a straight and not a make-and-break run. For the third run the progressive down-hand method is used, but with a No. 6 electrode.
The channel foundation ring is fabricated from separate pressings for the sides, ends and corners, and in view of its importance as the link between the inner and outer fireboxes and the number of welds involved, all the latter are subjected to full X-ray examination with each firebox. The firebox is held in a specially designed manipulator for welding, so that the down-hand position may be used throughout. The biggest problems were those posed by the necessity to control the shrinkage rate at the joints and to ensure correct alignment of the plates, and, as the paper remarks, "blood and sweat", if not actual " tears", were expended in the boiler shop at Eastleigh before a reliable technique for all the operations was evolved.
All the firebox stays are of the direct type except for a ring of flexible stays round the diaphragm plate at the lower end of esch of the two thermic syphons with which each firebox is fitted. As the result of experience, monel metal was substituted for the previous acid open hearth steel used at first for certain of the water-space direct stays in the zones in which breaking is most frequently experienced. The water- space stays are screwed in and caulked at the outer ends and riveted over on the fire side, while the crown stays are riveted over at both ends. At the firebox tube-plate the tubes are expanded and beaded, and the joint is completed with a sealing weld round the periphery of each bend. In order to reduce local stresses in the tube-plate during the welding of the tube beads, steam is used to bring the boiler temperature up to about 200°F., and a predetermined sequence is followed in the welding operations. The paper goes in detail into all the procedure both of fabrication and also of subsequent radiographic examination.
Since the introduction of these welded fireboxes, the main troubles which have been experienced and overcome have been divided into two groups, first, cracking, and, at a later date, corrosion. In the earliest days fractures varying in length from tin. to 3 in., and generally radiating from stay holes, began to develop, the greatest concentration being below the necks of the thermic syphons. Occasionally, staff carrying out repairs inside the fireboxes were alarmed by loud reports, caused by the sudden development of fractures up to 20 in. long and opening out to 1/16 in. wide. To a lesser degree similar cracks were found in the back-plate, concentrated chiefly below the firehole door.
Careful investigation established that the cause was a too sudden and uneven cooling down of the fireboxes prior to washing out or repairs, leaving high residual stresses. A system was then evolved to ensure a more gradual cooling, and this has completely eliminated the large cracks and reduced the small ones to a minimum. Partial failures of the welds between the syphon necks and the pockets in the throat-plate were brought to an end by the same means. It may be noted that when the earlier groups of Merchant Navy fireboxes became due for renewal, the syphons were found to be in a condition good enough for re-use as they stood, though the increased present life of these fireboxes will level up this difference in future.
After the first of the light or West Country Pacifies had been in service for a year, a defect peculiar to this class was discovered ; it was the development of horizontal fissures in the foundation ring corners, on the water side of the inner leg of the channel section, and chiefly at the back corners. Careful investigation showed this to be a combined resul: of erosion and corrosion, probably due to the rapid circulation of unsatisfactorily treated boiler water. An immediate remedy was found by welding a 1/8 in. layer of stainless steel as a corrosion-resisting material to the corners affected, and then stress-relieving them. These measures were taken with a few boilers only, however, for shortly after this the 'decision was reached, as mentioned earlier, to apply the French T.I.A. treatment of feed water to all the Bulleid Pacifies.
Up to 1946 it was suspected that corrosion was developing in some of the welded steel boilers, being made evident by leaking stays all round the fireboxes in the fire area and various other signs. But in that year it became a matter of greater conncern when bulging was discovered in the side wrapper plate of one of the first ten Merchant Navy Pacifies. Investigation showed that extensive corrosion had taken place on the water side, to such an extent, indeed, as in part to reduce the thickness of the plate from the original 3/8 in. to ¼ in. The boiler in question had been in service for just over four years and had run 169,000 miles. The firebox was then taken out, and was found to have suffered extensive corrosion, particularly at the back end of the crown-plate and on either side of and between the syphons. In no case had any of the welded seams been attacked, and so far as the syphons were concerned, it was present only in the part of the flanges forming the rear end of the crown-plate. Physical and metallurgical examination proved that there was nothing in the manufacture or composition of the steel to account for the defect and it was clear that if these steel fireboxes were to prove reliable in service, some comprehensive system of feed water treatment was essential. Until then the only such treatment that had been used on the then Southern Railway was by introducing soda-tannin briquettes into tender tanks, and into the boilers of all locomotives after washing out. Such treatment was somewhat haphazard in its application, however, except west of Exeter, where softer water was in use, and briquettes were fed systematically to the water supply by means of a by-pass feeder.
In these circumstances the decision was reached to experiment with the French T.I.A. system of water treatment. Five new West Country Pacifies working between Victoria and Ramsgate were fitted in 1947, and the results achieved in the elimination of scale and reduction of boiler corrosion were so promising that it was then decided to equip in the same way all the engines of both the Merchant Navy and West Country classes without further delay. Already the life of these boilers, which previously averaged about seven years, has been extended to twelve years, and may well continue for some time longer.
Recently a new method of internal water treatment, known as tube feeding, has been devised, and has been applied with considerable success to six West Country Pacifies that had not up till then required the boiler renewal which would have been accompanied by the fitting of the T.I.A." equipment. As the tube feeding equipment has been proved to equal the T.I.A. method in its effectiveness, and is cheaper to fit and maintain than the latter, it is likely to supplant the T.I.A. treatment in future.
With the welded steel boilers, inspection is carried out once every two months instead of the once in four months that is customary with copper fireboxes. Also, the presence of thermic syphons in the fireboxes adds about 45 min. to the time needed for boiler inspection, but the increased frequency and time of inspection have proved to be thoroughly justified by the results. The first Bulleid Pacifies were stationed at Salisbury and Exmouth Junction, and when cracking or other defects came to light, welders had to be sent from Eastleigh to the depots concerned to carry out any welding repairs that might be required. But as more of the engines were built, it was realised that so much time might be wasted in travelling in this way that it would be more economical to station qualified welders, drawn from the ranks of the boiler smiths, at each principal depot housing engines of these classes. Eventually a welding school was established at Eastleigh, and here trainees spend twelve weeks practising welding with both AC. and DC. sets, followed by a further twelve weeks in the boiler shop working under supervision on loco- motives. An examination in butt welding is then taken, and if the trainee passes this, he is ready to be transferred to a locomotive depot when a vacancy occurs. From then on he has to pass a practical test in welding annually to confirm that he is still proficient.
The paper concluded with an analysis of welded boiler records on the Southern Region. Whereas the boilers of the first twenty Merchant Navy class engines ran an average mileage of 229,000 only, the second fireboxes, benefiting from the improved conditions of maintenance and the water treatment, have averaged 560,000 miles each, with from one to three lifts each intermediately for examination and/or major repairs. The average mileage from entering service to the first boiler lift has gone up from 176,000 to 257,000. None of the fireboxes built for the 110 "West Country" class Pacifies has yet required renewal; their average mileage from first entry into service to first boiler lift has gone up from 97,000 to 245,000. The highest mileage yet achieved by a West Country boiler has been 546,000. During 1956 the 30 Merchant Navy Pacifies ran an average of 50,520 miles apiece, and the 110 West Country Pacifies, many of which are engaged on secondary duties, an average of 43,950 miles. The effect of the water treatment has been that whereas before its application the majority of boiler lifts were necessary at mileages up to 150,000, average mile ages of 250,000 and more are now obtained regularly.

A.C. Cars Ltd. railbus for British Railways. 54-5. 3 illustrations
Partially an introduction to the railbus prograame which attempted to reduce costs by employing a crew of two: driver and guard. The A.C. railbuses used the standard BUT 150 h.p. engine, Dunlopillo seating, sliding doors and light steel bodies.

A 975 h.p. narrow gauge diesel-electric locomotive for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps. 55-7. illustration, diagram (including sectionalised side elevation & plan)
Convertible for 3ft, 3ft 6in and metre gauges built General Electric Co.

Norfolk & Western R.R. steam turbine electric locomotive No. 2300 Jawn Henry. 57.illustration
Coal fired turbine electric locomotive: taken out of service: photograph by J.N. Westwood

Bagnall diesels for the National Coal Board. 58. illustration
West Midlands Division. 0-6-0 with seven-cylinder 308 h.p. engine, Vulcan-Sinclair fluid flywheel and Wilson epicyclic gearbox

More Rolls-Royce rail engines ordered. 58 illustration
Eighty 180 h.p. diesel engines

Italian dual-voltage electriuc railcars. 58-9. illustration, diagram (side elevation, plan)
Three-phase 3700 V and 3000 V d.c. for Liguria and Piedmont

Book reviews. 60

Deutschlands dampflokomotiven gestern und heute. (German steam locomotives of yesterday and today). K.E. Maedel. VEB Verlag Technik, Berlin.
Although native ingenuity was not lacking, the retarded political condition of the German State was not conducive to early construction of steam railways or locomotives to operate them. It was Stephenson therefore who supplied the first locomotive, Der Adler, for the first German railways, opened in 1835 between Nuremberg and Furth. Saxony led the way in 1838 in home manufacture of locomotives, but British influence continued for some years. The Americas, too. entered the field, with Norris furnishing the new lines in Prussia with unmistakably transatlantic 4-2-0s. From these beginnings the book traces the course of German locomotive design through some 120 years to the present day. The leading types of the State systems and their successors, the Reichsbahn and Bundcsbahn, are described and illustrated and the result is a valuable work of reference which the student of Contiental locomotives will welcome .

On the old lines. Peter Allen Cleaver-Hume Press.
Peter Allen is a lover of train usv for its own sake and fortunate enough to have business which takes him all over world. He admits unabashedly that he is no technician. It is the railway atrnosphere as a whole which attracts him, and steam railway at that. for he deplores what to him is the lack of soul of the diesel and electric, while recognising their utility His picture gallery therefore is primarily of steam, though here and there its rivals and supplanters peep out to acquit the author of any charge of being ultra reactionary. There are some choice things like the pilgrims' light railways in Teheran and one of those centenarian 0-6-0s which incredibly, are still at work in Spain. But all is not quaintness. Mr. Allen has an appreciative eye, too, for the modern and massive and his book is a representative albeit personal, record of steam throughout the world in its final flowering .

The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway. D.S.M. Barrie Oakwood Press.
The Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway, now no more, was an Irish out of the Euston empire, a foothold to enable the North Wlestern to develop a new sea route to Ireland. But the project came too late for Holyhead-Greenore to establish itself as a really popular competitive route. Hit by the Partition of Ireland and the formation of the L.M.S., the passenger steamer service succumbed at last to the General Strike. No better chronicler than Mr. D. S. M. Barrie could have been found to set down the chequered but plucky career of this little company, to the zeal and devotion of whose staff. through many difficult days this officially-sponsored history pays deserved tribute. The production is excellent and the illustrations well convey the North Western atmosphere. B.G.W.

Number 788 (April 1958)

The monorail revival. 61
Partly historical, mainly Alweg system invented by Swedish Axel Wener-Gren

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. 62-7. 6 illustrations (including portrait), 2 tables
Introduction: compares LMS motive power with that on the GWR where there was nothing like the 4F 0-6-0 or the Fowler 0-8-0 and there was a total lack of a modern mixed traffic 4-6-0 recently represented by the Hall class on the GWR

The British Railways standard automatic train control system. 67-8. 2 illiustrations, diagram
J.H. Currey, Signal & Communications Engineer, British Railways: Official system: trial section (King's Cross to Grantham) extended to York; Euston to Blisworth; Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street

B.U.T. licensees for Uerdingen body suspension principles. 68

Park Royal diesel multiple units for British Railways. 69-71. 4 illustrations
Power car with two B.U.T. 150 hp diesel engines seating 52 second classs passengers and trailer seating 48 second and 12 first class passengers who enjoyed curtains and arm rests.

Diesel multiple-units of the Western Region, British Railways. 70; 71-2., 4 illustrations, diagram (side elevation, plan)
Cross Country type was main focus, but table shhowed main dimensions of Inter City, suburban and single car

New dual-power locomotives for the New Haven R.R. 73. 2 illustrations
Straight electic (600V dc) to enter Grand Central station in New York; diesel electric for elswhere

New suburaban eleectric stock for the South African Railways. 74-6. 6 illustrations
Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Co, stock for 3000V dc

A Krupp 800 h.p. Bo-Bo diesel-hydraulic locomotive. 77-8. illustration, 4 diagrams
Had two 440 h.p. eight cylinder M.A.N. diesel engines and a central cab. Diagram of hydraulic transmission gear..

News of the month. 78-80

Fewer defects in U.S. diesel and electric locomotives. 78
Interstate Commerce Commission statutory examination of locomotives ending mid-1956 recorded a 10.9% reduction in failures. Accidents to train crew were caused by oil spillages.

B.T.C. hopper wagon contract for Charles Roberts & Co. 78
Ninety 24 ton covered hopper wagons to convey bulk chemicals

Tests of lubricating oil on Pennsylvania R.R. 78
Quantometer installed at Altoona analysed lubricants for the presence of metals which showed that wear had taken place.

Derailment at Uddingston, Scottish Region. 78
Mid-day Scot partiallly derailed on 17 June 1957 due to incomplete repair by a carriage examiner at Carlisle who failed to open release valve and brake applied to tyre which failed on hitting point. One passenger was killed and four were injured. The train was hauled by No. 46235 City of Birmingham whose crew did not notice the extra drag.

The Hampshire diesel multiple unit scheme. 79
High mileage achieved, and greater passenger numbers especially on Portsmouth to Southampton and to Salisbury services

Western Australian locomotive conversion. 79
U class 4-6-2 to 4-6-4T to work peak suburban services at comparable speeds to diesel multiple units.

Staiinless steel stock for Paris-Lille electric service. 79
Etablissements Carel-Fouché coaches to work services with speeds up to 93 mile/h.

Three-car diesel train at Birmingham New Street. M. Mensing, photographer
Birmingham R.C. & W. Co. unit on 13.37 to Rugby

Northern Aluminium Co. Ltd. expansion. 79
Rolling mill at Rogestone

Aluminium wagon tests in Canada. 79-80
Both covered and uncovered aluminium wagons were tested under tropical conditions in Jamaica and on the Roberval & Saguenay Railway for fatigue. Tests included being loaded with crushed rock.

Former Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 No. 123 leaving Perth with press special for Edinburgh Princes Street. W.J.V,. Anderson, photographer. 80

Improved ventilation for Interfrigo meat wagons. 80
Conveying meat exports via the Harwich to Zeebrugge and Dover to Dunkirk train ferries: electric ventilation installed.

Carriage heaters for new electric rolling stock. 80
Order by Eastern Region for 8960 convector heaters for 25 kV electric multiple units placed with Generaal Electric Co.Ltd.

Decision on Rhodesian electrification. 80
Decision shelved to electrify Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland Railway.

New diesel maintenance depot at Bristol. 80
At Marsh Junction

G.E.C. equipment for Portuguese electric trains. 80
Estoril Railway 1500 V dc

Book review. 80

Casting in steel. Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd.

Number 789 (May 1958)

A comparison of world diesel multiple-unit designs. 81
Report to Intertnational Railway Congress by G.A. Gaebler of the German Federal Railways at the Madrid meeting. Notes errors in report on British data and records costs of items like air conditioning.

English Electric 2,000 h.p. diesel-electric 1Co-Co1 locomotives for British Railways. 82-5. 2 illustrations, diagram (2 side elevations, plan)
Type 4 assembled in Vulcan Foundry. 16 SVT Mark II which ran at 850 rpm. Six axle hung nose suspended traction motors. Bogie layout similar to Southern Region diesel electric. One unusual feature water pick up scoop to pick up water from troughs for steam heating boiler.

The performance of the new locomotive and a Class 7 4-6-2 compared. 85-6. 2 illustrations
On 18 April 1958 a special formed of nine coaches hauled by D200 described above was scheduled to reach Norwich from Liverpool Street in 2 hours, but through no fault of the locomotive and not surprisingly failed to achieve this due to signal checks and a bridge reconstruction. 90 mile/h was achieved at Diss and 88 mile/h on the descent into the hollow in which Norwich is located. On 16 April a Crusaders' Union special to Norwich hauled by Britannia 4-6-2 No. 70030 Sir Christopher Wren achieved a time of two hours in both directions..

Experiments with silicones for traction motors by London Transport. 87-9. diagram
Silicones were developed by Frederic Stanley Kipping at the University of Nottingham in 1896/7 where he was awarded an FRS for this work. They were used to replacce mica in traction motors, notably in armature insulation and in Metadyne machines. They were lighter, but problems were experienced in curing. They were used as resins, varnishes, ekastomers, and in adhesive tapes

The enemies of timber. 89.
Cuprinol booklet

Electrification in Portugal. 89
Work was underway to extend electrification between Oporto and Aveiro, Ermesinde to Campanha and Entroncamento to Aveiro. Bo Bo electric locomotives and stainless steel coaches were in service. Diesel mototor coaches were also in service, both on broad and metre gauge lines.

Prototype Deltic locomotive leaving Liverpool Lime Street. (photograph). 89

A single-anode rectifier for transport and industry. 90-1. illustration, diagram
Generaal Electric Co. Com-Pak with liquid cooling

Electronics in railway engineering. 91; 95
British Railways Research Department mobile laboratory. Paper by J.H. Litttlewood and P.H. Mansfield presented at Southport. Work on rough ridimg rebuilt Scot class and on freight train axleboxes and the protection of goods in transit from buffing shocks.

Cecil J. Allen. Modern Swiss electric locomotive devlopment and performance—1. 92-5. 4 illustrations, table
Brief history oof Switzerland's loss of coal supplies from Germany and France during WW1 which led to the strategic decision to electrify its railways. Locomotive development is also considered. Table shows major classes.

Metalastik axlebox and body suspension for the A.C. Cars railbus. 96. 3 illustrations, diagram (elevation and plan)
Bonded rubber to metal springs for primary and secondary suspension. Primary used chevron springs working in shear.

S.A.R. oders dining cars from Germany. 96
Weggman & Co. of Kassel supplying air-conditioned cars for Blue Train and Orange Express

The Hunslet "Yardmaster" diesel shunter. 97. illustration
Centre cab. Powered by Gardber 4LW or Dorman 4LB. Transmission through Layrub coupling and Hunslet torque converter

Battery railcar for the Scottish Region. 97-8. illustration
Trial on Aberdeen to Ballater branch. Control equipment supplied by Siemens-Schuckert. Car modified Derby light weight type

News of the month. 98-100

Kent Coast electrification. 98
Victoria to Margate in 100 minutes at regular intervals; a ten to twenty minute reduction on steam times. Trains would divide at Gillingham. The Bo Bo electric locomotives were being built at Dncaster Works.

Important Pakistan order for British manufacturer. 98
£2.25 million order placed with R.Y. Pickering & Co. for 1344 freight vans and 400 cattle wagons

Large order for David Brown gearboxes. 98-9
North British Locomotive Co. had placed a £250,000 order for 56 sets of axle mounted gearboxes for incorporation in 52 main line diesel hydraulic locomotives. They would be manufactured by the David Brown General Gear Division at the Park Works.

G.E.C. camshaft controllers for London Transport. 99
Pneumatic pawl escapement. Protype to be tested on Piccadilly Line.

Paxman engine performance. 99
In Scotland on Scottish Region 200 h.p. locomotives and on Neew South Wales Government Railways Bo Bo diesel electric locomotives

British Standards for diesel engines. 99
BS 2953 Diesel engines for rail traction

Plastics in lighting. 99
ICI exhibition. Products included coach lighting bby J. Stone & Co. and station platform lighting by Ionlite Ltd and by Falk Stadelmann & Co.

Hunslet diesel locomotives. 99
With Paxman 6PHH engines

Turbo-charged opposed-piston diesel engine. 100
Fairbanks, Morse turbo-supercharged two-cycle, opposed-piston diesel engine, adding up to 50 per cent to the output and making it available in ratings up to 3.600 h.p.

Book reviews. 100

The Great Northern Railway. O.S. Nock. Ian Allan.
The early history of the Great Northern is one of the most lively of any of the major .pre-1923 companies, and Nock's fresh account of the efforts of the Euston Square confederacy to frustrate Denison's ambitions makes absorbing reading. He has resolutely kept his interest in locomotives and their performance within the bounds of proportion and has generally produced a very well-balanced — and, as always, extremely readable — account of the various activi- ties cf one of the most enterprising of the old companies, The balance does not, perhaps, extend to the illustrations, which arc decidedly overweighted on the locomotive side; one would have liked to see some attention to coaching and wagon stock here, and also to some of the Great Northern's more ambitious civil engineering works. With this reservation, the illustrations are varied and well reproduced, and there is an admirable collection of maps and diagram, in the text. Enthusiasts for Nock's writings on locomotives will find the feats of G.N. power given their just measure of description and appreciation; in this department it is interesting to have on record for the first time the full details of Gresley's comparative trials of his own and Raven's Pacific in the summer of 1923.

ABC of British Railways diesels. Ian Allan
In the new edition of this extremely useful reference bcok the multiple-unit section has been completely re-organised, with a great advance in clarity; a great deal of statistical information not available for the first edition has been included, enhancing the ABC's value to railwayman and amateur considerably.

Tralee and Dingle Railway. P.B. Whitehouse. Locomotive Publishing Co.
The Tralce & Dingle's many devotees will welcome this well documented little history. Full details of its locomotives and rolling stock are included, and the many illustrations include some excellent diagrams of them, as well as a well-executed map, gradient profiles and station layouts. An offset printing process has dealt uncertainly with the photographic illustrations, but some line sketches are much better served and prettily decorate the work.

100 years of steam locomotives. Compiled and edited by Walter A. Lucas Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, New York,
Picture. and drawings of more than 20\0 North American locomotives covering a century of steam locomotive development which, so far as the United States is concerned, closed in 1949, make up this compendious work of 278 pages. The variety of wheel arrangements of locomotives of orthodox type represented would alone make the book outstanding but the inclusion of articulated and .other unorthodox designs still further enhances its value as a collector's piece.

Eisenbahn-modern. H.K. Stockklausner. Zeitschriftenverlag Ployer & Co., Vienna
With widening interest amongst British amateurs in developments overseas, it is surprising that so much of the output of railway literature in this country relies on digging up the British past. An English edition of this handsome, large-size book would be of considerable value. Its author is one of the most widely knowledgeable writers on European railways to-day, and his work is an up-to-date and copiously illustrated survey of locomotives and rolling stock in use throughout the world to-day (the comprehensive data and pictures of East European equipment are particularly valuable). The book is divided into sections covering steam, diesel, electric and gas-turbine power and coaches, and in each the latest examples of all the major railway-operating countries are discussed and illustrated.

The Railway Magazine miscellany; edited Henry Maxwell. George Allen & Unwin.
Our contemporary The Railway Magazine celebrated its Diamond Jubilee and to mark the occasion this anthology of excerpts from its 1897-1919 issues, has been compiled. Miscellany is the word, for precious space has been accorded to some curious trivia — reports of new paperweight productions, the development of commercial modelrnaking, and editorial self-congratulation on increased circulation, for example — that might usefully have been devoted, from the reader's viewpoint, to railway events of more lasting significance'. Although important chapters from the past receive a reasonable measure of attention, and ;t is pleasant tu re-read in the reporting of the time the stories of such excitements as the racing up from Plymouth at the beginning of the century, The Railway Magazine Miscellany is rather a mirror of amateur railway enthusiasts· and enthusiasm of the time — even more prone, it seems, to weighty pontification without full possession of the facts than it is now in some quarters — than a landscape of railway development. As such it will give enormous pleasure to the older generation of amateurs.

Trains, tracks and travel. T.W. and R.G. Van Mètre , Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, New York.
Since the first edition was published In 1926 this work has deservedly established itself as a classic of transatlantic railway literature. The present edition, the ninth, is the result of collaboration between T.W. Van Metre, Professor (Emeritus) of Transportation, Columbia University, and his son, to instruct whom, as a boy, the work was first written. Van Metre junior, a mechanical engineer, has extensively revised the chapters on steam locomotives, permanent way and rolling stock, and has written those on electric and diesel locomotives and motive power depots, Even in the five years which have elapsed between the appearance of the eighth and ninth editions there have been profound changes in the American railway scene, The diesel has all but completed its conquest of steam. Lightweight vehicles have largely ousted the traditional heavy coach on some important services, new methods of signalling, train control and freight handling have transformed operating, and mechanical aids have ligh tened the task of maintaining rolling stock and track, All these developments are ably chronicled within the 500 pages of a book which every student of American railways will find of absorbing interest.

Mechanical Handling on Show. 100
Mechanical Handling on Show, a 16 mm. colour film made by the journal Mechanical Handling, was shown in London last month. Its object is to provide a pictorial record' of some of the main exhibits at the Mechanical Handling Exhibition which is held in London every two years and is being staged at Earls Court this year from May 7 to 17. The film features many modern handling methods and appliances, including action shots of a tippler, manufactured by Strachan & Henshaw Limited, handling a 20-mn wagon; a model of an aerial ropeway as developed by British Ropeway Engineering Co, Ltd.; and a new system of passenger transport by belt conveyor, for which the licensees in this country are Richard Sutcliffe Ltd,

Number 790 (June 1958)

Electric locomotive maintenance practice. 101-2.
International Railway Congress in Madrid: K.J. Cook: approximately 1000 lcomotives in countries surveyed. Mileages for passenger and freight. Tyre wear; rail wear. Traction motor overhaul periods. Pantograph performance. Costs.

English Electric diesel-electric locomotive No. D201 near Stevenage on trial Sheffield Pullman. M. Thompson, photographer. 101
29 April 1958: return journey from Sheffield to King's Cross

New Type 1 on trial. 102
NBL/GEC 800 h.p. locomotive had been on test at Dumfries. Being returnned to North British before being forwarded to Doncaster for Estern Region acceptance trials.

Tests of the English Electric "Deltic" diesel locomotive. 103-4. illustration
Bulletin No. 19. Report of the Locomotive Testing Sub-Committee of the British Transport Commission into the performance and efficiency. Locomotive was capable of hauling 20 coaches weighing 643 tons up a 1 in 100 gradient at 56 mile/h. Tests conducted on Settle & Carlisle line. Report had few reservations other than noise from exhaust

Cecil J. Allen. Modern Swiss electric locomotive devlopment and performance—II. 104-7. 3 illustrations
Two classes were the subject of cab rides: Re 4/4 Bo-Bo No. 441 on the Rhone-Isar from Geneve to Zurich and (from train) No. 444 from Zurich to Berne and with Ac 6/6 Co-Co. No. 11401 Ticino on the Gotthard route from Lucerne to Lugano.

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. Part II. 107-11. 6 illustrations, 5 tables
Broad policy beyond Pacifics: 5XP three-cylinder 4-6-0 devloped from Patriot/Baby Scots; two-clinder mixed traffic 4-6-0; two-cylinder 2-6-0 developed from Horwich type; Class 4 2-6-4T developed from Fowler design; 2-6-2T developed from Fowler design; and 2-8-0 freight locomotive. All were to have Swindon style taper boilers with Belpaire fireboxes. Boiler proportions are tabulated. Fails to question why class 5 and class 5XP had slightly different boilers, but tabulates cylinder diameter to stroke ratios for the GWR Saint, GWR Star, LNWR Claughton and LMS Royal Scot, class 5 and 5XP 4-6-0s. Swindon practice extended to the use of vacuum pumps (quickly abandoned on the LMS) and coupled wheel axleboxes. Notes use of Class 5 on Ulster Express which was both heavy and fast. Also initial work of Jubilee 5XP class. Illustrations: Class 5 No. 5051 fitted with indicator shelter; Class 5XP No, 5583 with domeless boiler. vacuum pump and no name; Class 5 No. 45223 passing Kingmoor with Manchester to Glasgow express (Eric Treacy); Class 5 2-6-0 leaving Oxenholme pre-1939 with heavy northbound freight (H. Gordon Tidey); Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42544 near Shap Summit with 17.00 Oxenholme to Carlisle stopping train in 1950 (E.D. Bruton); Jubilee No. 45564 New South Wales in Lune Valley on Edinburgh to Birmingham express (P. Ransome-Wallis)

New single unit railcars for B.R. 111. 2 illustrations
Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. units seating 65. Photographs by P.J. Sharpe

Locomotive testing at Rugby. Improvement of steaming. Part one. 112-15. 5 diagrams
When it becomes desirable to improve the steaming of a locomotive it is not necessarily because an increase in the maximum output in service is required bur sometimes that the existing maximum is wanted reliably rather than the reverse. Nevertheless such more reliable performance can usually be expressed by the amount of margin that exists between the desired maximum attainable on test and that required in regular service, so that anv alteration to improve reliability does usually result in a greater maximum cutput, even though this may never be used in practice.
Most locomotives steam badly because not enough air can be brought into contact with the fuel to burn it at tae rate required. To increase the flow of air through a locomotive boiler two different approaches are possible. The force inducing the air fiow may be increased or the resistance to flow may be decreased. In general, the kind of alteration that makes any appreciable difference to the resistance to air flow through a boiler amounts to a major re-design of the boiler and is very expensive, such as the fitting of new tubes of different sizes and the new tubeplates to suit. Even the fitting of a different grate or a re-designed ashpan may be a far larger task than it would appear. The problem is therefore most often attacked, from the smoke box end, by various means to improve the draught. Even in doing this there are relatively cheap and expensive ways of doing the job, both in first cost and in costs of operation and maintenance. Anything in a locomotive smokebox is bound to have a hard life and, in general, the less "ironmongery", and especially removable equipment, there is in the smokebox the better. Actual moving parts are best avoided altogether as they are apt to become inoperable before long. When they have been regarded as indispensable they have been fitted only at a price exacted in the form of higher maintenance and reduced availability and utilisation. It is for this reason that variable blast pipes, superheater dampers and such have long ceased to be fitted and that even such items as extended petticoats or self-cleaning equipment are regarded with very mixed feelings by those who have to deal with them.
Another important factor is, that the circumstances of each case differ from those of another and may dictate the approach, if not to the problem, at least to the solution. If somethinz must be done quickly to a number of locomotives, then time is limited to find a solution to the problem and that solution must be one that can he rapidly applied.
The best solution, in the circumstances, may not be the ideal one from anyone point of view. None of the improvements made or suggested after tests at Rugby has been claimed as the best possible but only as a practicable means of achieving the desired object, in most cases ones that had been found effective within a reasonable period of time. It is more useful to give an answer to the prob- lem that is partially effective in a matter of months than to give the perfect solution after several years. So many are the possible variables that tests could easily take years if toe' ultimate object were not kept plainly in view. . There has hardly been a locomotive class tested at Rugby that could not have benefited to some extent from improvement of its combustion and mostly from improvement of draughting. In many cases the improvement would have been marginal and was not necessary to enable the engines to do their work, but in other cases it was very desirable or even essential. As a first example a marginal case will be mentioned briefly.
Stanier Class 5
In 1950, when the design of the B.R. Standard locomotives was in progress, some alterations to the chimney and blast pipe of the L.M.S. 2F 2-6-0 locomotive, then being tested at Swindon, were found to make a large improvement in the performance of the engine. A remit was given to Rugby to examine the effect of a similar alteration to the chimney of an L.M.S. Class 5 4-6-0, then being tested there. In the Class "2F" the alterations had consisted, briefly, in reducing the diameter of the chimney choke, reducing the taper in the upper part of the chimney from about 1 in 7 to 1 in 14 and in increasing the diameter of the blast pipe cap, this last being made possible by the better proportions of the modified chimney, correctly located in relation to the blast pipe cap.
On the Class 5 the situation was different, there being no question of reduction of the choke diameter, which was considered to be, if anything, a trifle on the small side. The only alteration to the chimney was to reduce the taper from 1 in 6.964 to 1 in 14 and to increase the length from 243/8 in. to 28 in. above the choke. The blast pipe cap was not altered from its usual diameter of 51/8 in.
The effect was to increase the draught and the air flow through the boiler, the latter despite adjustment of the ash pan dampers to prevent excessive carry over of unburnt fuel by the greater air flow, the former partly because of this adjustment. The net effect was a draught some 11 per cent greater. At that date it was not part of the remit to investigate any increase in the "Front end limit", nor was there any intention of altering the L.M.S. Class 5 locomotives, which a:re reputedly good steamers.
BR Standard Class 5
The alteration just mentioned was, however, the basis of the chimney for the B.R. Class 5 4-6-0. At the time of the tests it was important that some results should be available quickly as the B.R. Standard loco- motives were then being designed and would soon be under construction. Indeed, work on some was already in progress. The next example relates to the B.R. Class 5 4-6-0 itself. On first being tested at Rugby it compared well with the L.M.S. Class 5 when Grade lA coal was used, both being capable of producing 25,000 lb/hr. of steam. The two boilers are closely similar in most main dimensions but the L.M.S. boiler uses superheater elements with short return bends, and the grates are different. These differences in the boiler itself must roughly have counterbalanced the improved draught due to the modified chimney profile.
When grade 2B coal was used on the B.R. locomotive the performance was rather disappointing, but nothing comparable was known of the L.M.S. locomotive when this coal was used, ac it had not been tested with it. The maximum production attained with the B.R. locomotive was some 18,000 lb/hr. in test conditions though rather more could be obtained with a relaxation of the standard of combustion. Moreover, though acceptable, the combustion was not good even at lower rates of steaming. Though the likelihood of trouble in service was foreseen it was not so great as to require immediate action. It was soon found in service, however, that with any but the best coal the engines were not reliably up to requirements. The Hulson type of firebar, with which the grate was equipped, was not suitable for much of the lower grade fuel that the engines were liable to use, and grid type firebars were substituted. This is an example of a difficulty, often encountered with locomotive grates, in that some compromise is needed since no one grate may give the optimum results with all the kinds of coal that the locomotive may be required to burn. However desirable it may be to get the best results with as many coals as possible, it is even more necessary that the locomotive should not be rendered incapable with any variety of coal that it is likely to receive in the course of its normal duties.
In this instance the change of grate had two effects. With no change m the blast pipe or chimney the "Front end limit" was increased by 1000 Ib /hr., or 5½ per cent, when using Blidworth coal, but the boiler efficiency over most of the effective working range was reduced slightly.
With the grid type bars the combustion of the coal that was bur was more complete, there being formation of carbon monoxide, hydrogen unburned and less emiss of smoke, but the loss of unbun coal was slightly greater. At: rates of firing the former effects I dominated but at the higher re the latter effect.
This small loss in boiler efficiency with the engine working on moderate to fairly hard duties would be a very small price to pay for any improvement in reliability. However the small increase in output was by no means sufficient to bring the loconotive into line with other Class 5 4-6-0 types, such as the Hall the B1, and indeed its maxirm steam production, with Bliisworth coal, was less than that from the smaller boiler of the B.R. Standard Class 4 4-6-0.

German-built railbuses for British Railways. 116-17. 2 illustrations, plan
Five Waggon und Maschinenbau GmbH of Donauwörth supplied to be used on Cambridge to Mildenhall, Witham to Maldon and to Braintee and Audley End to Saffon Walden branches. Used Ferrozelll guides for SKF roller bearing axleboxes and Buessing engines

New railcars for India. 117
Commonwealth Engineering Co. Ltd. supplying 22 railcars with Albion diesel engines and Voith-Sinclair fluid flywheels.See also p. 160

D. Patterson. The correction of dynamic balance. 118-20. 2 illustrations, 3 diagrams
Ballancing machines

Diesel m.u. practice. 120.
International Railway Congress Association report by A.S. Canavezes of the Rolling Stock & Traction Diviision of the Portuguese Railways

News in brief. 120

Stone air conditioning for new Hungarian coaches. 120
J. Stone & Co. order for £1 million worth for Hungarian State Railways being supplied by Wilhelm Pieck works at Gyö.

New furnaces for Crewe Works. 120
Birlec Ltd electric arc melting furnaces, capacity 21 tons per day.

New electric units for Manchester-Bury line. 120
English Electric Co. Ltd to supply 26 four-car units to operate 1200 V dc system.

No. 791 (July 1958)

British Railways technical development. 121
The British Transport Commission decided in 1957 on an important technical reorganisation which arose from the need to regroup the technical departments of the British Railways Regions and redistribute their duties in the light of the change from steam to electric and diesel traction inherent in the Modemisation Plan. The Mechanical and Electrical and the Carriage & Wagon Engineering Departments are being merged and placed under a Chief Mechanical & Electrical Engineer in each Region. The Motive Power Department will gradually lose its independence and become part of the Operating Department, which will be responsible for the serviceability of locomotives arid rolling stock to standards prescribed by the Chief Mechanical & Electrical Engineer. This change, initiated during the year and referred to in the newly-issued Report of {he B.T.C. for 1957, means that there will be only three chief engineering officers in each Region, the C.M.E.E., the Chief Civil Engineer, and the Signal Engineer, all stationed at Regional headquarters and reporting directly to the General Manager.
The Report gives due prominence to the intensive research being carried cut into such matters as braking, lubrication, bogie suspension, train heating and goods vehicle design, all made necessary by the changes to which the Plan looks forward. Variations from the present design of vacuum brake are being tested on a special site brought into use last year, and extensive running trials are to begin this year. Work continued on designs of spring and hydraulic buffers to be tried on new types of wagon, with the aim of reducing maintenance costs and the risk of damage to consignments. As the advantage of fitted freight stock is partly offset by the extra time now needed to couple and uncouple trains and test the brakes in yards, a fully-automatic coupler is being developed. A change over device will automatically ensure the different braking required by 16-ton mineral wagons when empty and when loaded; the number of vacuum cylinders for each wagon will thereby be reduced from two to one. Diesel traction involves problems of lubrication demanding closer control than was necessary with steam locomotives. Apart from the correct selection of the type of oil to be used, it is necessary to introduce a proper system of controlling the state of oil in the sump so as to detect the onset of deterioration. Spectrographic analysis assesses both deterioration of the oil and engine wear, and a Direct Reading Spectrograph is on order for one of 'the Commission's laboratories. Novel forms of suspension and roller-bearing axleboxes are incorporated in 162 experimental coach bogies being built or converted. Riding tests were made with trains in which all the tyres had been turned to a modified profile giving a smoother ride. The behaviour of bogies with axle-hung electric motors was also studied, from the point of view both of smooth riding and reaction on the track. The problem of train heating posed by the change from steam haulage was carefully considered during the year. To demonstrate to loading and shunting staff the effect of shunting on the goods inside, two covered vans fitted with transparent perspex sides toured the system. More demonstrations are to be made, after which the vans will be used for research.
The Commission authorised last year a Carriage & Wagon Engineering Development Unit in Faverdale Wagon Works, Darlington. Until now, prototype development of both complete units and components has been carried cut by different Regions in existing design drawing offices and fitted in with current production in the regional workshops, often causing delay. As well as initiating new projects, the unit will co-ordinate ideas which emanate from the Regions and guide development work on rolling stock carried out for the Commission by private firms.
Thirteen prototype long-distance coaches, some built by British Railways and others by contractors, were exhibited in London and then put into service on main line routes. It will take some time to determine the reaction of passengers to them, and in any event newly-imposed cuts in capital expenditure will affect the construction of locomotive-hauled stock in 1958 and 1959. Development work has shown that more comfortable long-distance travel can be afforded in second class vehicles of the present overall size by arranging the accommodation in centre-gangway instead of compartment coaches. All second-class main line stock in the 1959 programme will be of the open type.
The freight vehicle programme includes the replacement of the old timber-bodied mineral wagon by all-steel wagons of greater capacity, the introduction of specialised types for important traffic flows and the gradual reduction of the whole fleet. Cuts in the programme dictated by capital restrictions arc being applied as far as possible to normal rather than special types of wagon. Some 270 vacuum-fitted wagons of 33-ton capacity for carrying iron ore in bulk in Scotland and 400 for carrying imported ore between Newport Docks and Ebbw Vale were delivered. One hundred air-slide wagons for conveying certain bulk traffics wen: ordered for delivery last year: 600 more are to follow this year. The 24-ton covered hopper wagons for bulk chemicals traffic and open wagons to convey bricks on pallets are in quantity production. Particular attention is being directed to promoting container and pallet traffic, and a new range of containers for special, including bulk, traffics, with associated handling equipment and special wagons is being produced.

Locomotive testing at Rugby. Improvement of steaming. Part two. 122-5. illustration, 6 diagrams
Double chimneys and blastpipe arrangements for Stanier Jubilee class.

"RDC" diesel railcar operation on the Boston & Maine R.R. 125-7. illustration
Rail Diesel Car built by Budd with hydraulic transmission withh two 275, later 300, h.p. diesel engines. Boston & Maine R.R. had 108 in service

Diesel locomotive development on the German Federal Railway. 127-9. 3 diagrams (side elevations & plans)
V320 diesel huydraulic design with two 1900 h.p. diesel engines with Voith transmission; also V100 and V160 types

The Italian State Railways Series D341 diesel-electric Bo-Bo. 128-9. illustration, diagram (side elevation & plan)
For service in the South of Italy in Calabria

Ten-coupled steam locomotives in Greece. P. Ransome-Wallis. 129-30. 3 illustrations
Hellenic State Railways 2-10-2 builr by Breda and Ansaldo

Expansion of Ruston air-cooled diesel range. 130
Ruston & Hornsby YWA and YDA types

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. Part III. 131-6. 4 illlustrations, 7 tables
Princess Royal Pacifics. The coupled wheel size and cylinder dimensions led to the class having an identical tractive force to the Collett King class. Initially two locomotives were built and they were used on the Royal Scot express where differrent coals (Yorkshire hards at Camden and Scottish softs at Polmadie) caused steaming problems which were accentuated by the poor trimming properties on the initial tenders. On a footplate run on the up Royal Scot Nock observed that steam ppressure remained within the range 200 to 215 psi for the whole journey. No. 6200 was fitted with a new boiler in 1935 with an improved tube layout and higher superheat and on 27 June 1935 Nock observed Riddles step off the cab of the up Liverpool flyer which had arrived 14 minutes early (details of this run are tabulated). Subsequent trials between London and Glasgow confirmed the improved haulage capacity and speed of the modified locomotive. Illustrations: No. 6207 Princess Arthur of Connaught vclimbing Camden Bank (H. Gordon Tidey); No 6201 PPrincess Elizabeth with stove pipe double chimney; No. 6201 in o0riginal condition at Euston withh up Royal Scot; No. 46203 Princess Margaret Rose between Lamington and Abington with Glasgow to Birmingham express (W.J.V. Anderson).

New motive power depot at Thornaby, N.E. Region, British Railways.136-7. 6 illustrations
Had a sand and water gantry (illustrated) and notes its locomotive allocation which included 34 Q6 0-6-0, 30 WD 2-8-0 and 64 former North Eastern Railway 0-6-0. Official opening on 5 June with opening speech by T.H. Summerson, Chairman North Eastern Area Board.

New rolling stock for British Railways. 138-9. 4 illustrations, plan, 2 tables
Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. to supply fifteen 2-car diesel multiple units: ten for London Midland Region (Stoke Division and five to the Eastern & North Eastern Regions. British Transport Commission orders placed with Metropolitan Cammell Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. to supply 46 3-car diesel multiple units, 20 for North Eastern and 26 for Scottish Regions, and ten 3-car diesel multiple units with Rolls Royce engines and buffets for the North Eastern Region and one diesel motor brake with two B.U.T. engines. Orders for catering vehicles had been placed with Charles Roberts Ltd for 12 kitchen cars for the London Midland Region; Cravens Ltd for 27 kitchen buffet cars: 15 for Eastern Region and 12 for LMR. Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. were to supply 19 unclassified restaurant cars mainly for Eastern and North Eastern Regions (but 4 for Scottish); 4 first class reatuarnt cars for LMR and 38 restaurant buffet cars: 3 ER; 13 LMR; 6 Scottish; 9 Southern and 8 Western. Illustrations: Bristol Eastern Coachworks diesel railbus (P.J. Sharpe); buffet car in 4 BEP electric multiple unit; 2-car HAP unit for London to Gillingham service (with plan) and Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd 2-car diesel multiple unit.

News in brief. 140

Fastest electric suburban service in the world. 140
Address by G.F. Fiennes, Line Traffic Manager of the Eastern Region, looked forward to electric trams leaving Royston three times each peak hour for London, calling at Baldock, Letchworth and Hitchin and then running non-stop from Hitchin to Kings Cross in thirty minutes at an average speed' of 64 mile/h.. and three separate trains an hour from Stevenage calling only at Knebworth and Finsbury Park and reaching Kings Cross in thirty-five minutes. No suburban service in the; world would match those speeds, but it would need the support of fifteen hundred passengers an hour in each of the two groups of trains to justify it.

Analogue computer for time-table revision. 140
The British Transport Commission has installed a special purpose analogue computer in the office of the Chief Electrical Engineer, British Railways Central Stall, for use in pre-determining train performance with the new forms of motive. power which are being introduced under the railway modernisation prczra+ime. The advance infurmation obtained will be used to compile revised timetables, designed for the maximum utilisation of the new equipment. To carry out such a revision the information is required long before the trains enter service arid is usually pre-determined at the design stage, before the equipment is even manufactured. This is made possible by the precise characteristics to which modem traction equipment can be built, and by the knowledge that all the units produced of a particular type will reach standard performance.
From known data of a type of locomotive or train, and' details of a particular line—gradients, speed restrictions, and stopping places—it is a srraightforward process to work out the time taken to travel from one place to another. The production of the information, however, can be substantially speeded-up by the use of a computer, and in particular by an analogue computer of the type which employs angular rotation or voltage to represent the magnitude of the physical quantities concerned—acce'erating or decelerating effort, speed, time, and distance.

Either-side operation of diesel shunters. 140
One of the objections to the abolition of a second man on diesel shunting engines is the difficulty of an unaccompanied driver if he has to cross the footplate to see signals or signs from yard staff on the opposite side of the engine, hidden from the driving position by the engine- room hood. A time-lag is usually allowed between release of the deadman's handle or pedal before the diesel engine automatically cuts out or the brakes are applied, but this is unlikely to be more than a few seconds, and the driver may require a longer interval than that before returning to the driving position, To meet this difficulty, the Unted States firm of General Motors Diesel Limited developed a portable locomotive control set which weighs no more than 14 lb., and measures 9 in. long, 8 in. deep and 5 in. wide, connected by a cable with the locomotive controls. The handle of this box performs the same function as the deadrnan pedal; provided the box is held by the handle, its weight ensures continued operation. The box contains a combination throttle and reversing handle, a reducing valve, two solenoid valves and a check valve for control of the locomotive brakes. The brake-handle applies and releases the locomotive brakes by means of the electrically-controlled solenoid valves which begin the supply to or exhausting of air from the brake cylinder at a controlled rate. If the circuit is interrupted, the brakes are applied automatically. If preferred, pneumatic instead of electric throttle control can be installed.

£350,000 locomotive order for Yorkshire Engine Company. 140
The Yorkshire Engine Co. Ltd. obtained an order worth £350,000 for the supply of 16 diesel-electric shunting locomotives to the Port of London Authority. The order follows the success of six Yorkshire Engine diesel-electric locomotives which had been operating at Tilbury docks for the past year. Some od' the locomotives now on order will be twin-engined 400 h.p, units similar to those at Tilbury and the others will be powered by single 300 h.p. engines. All the engines are of Rolls Royce manufacture and the electrical equipment will be supplied by B.T.H.

Hudswell, Clarke diesels for Sierra Leone. 140
Hudswell, Clarke & Co. Ltd. received from the Crown Agents for Oversea Governments & Administrations an extension to their contract for a further eight main line diesel-hydraulic locomotives for the Sierra Leone Government Railway, This addition brings to 16 the number of locomotives which the company was building for the railway, and the total value of the contract is approximately £500,000. The locomotives are being fitted with a Paxman Hi-Dyne (Constant h.p.) diesel engine, as well as a Vulcan Sinclair dual fiuidrive transmission unit. This type of locomotive has been developed by Hudswell, Clarke over the past four years under the name of the Enterprise series, according to the power ranges required.

Beclawat (Australia) Pty. Ltd. 140
Following the visit made by R. Antony Beckett, Managing Director of Beckett, Laycock & Watkinson Limited, in January and February last to Australia and New Zealand, it is announced that the Company has now formed a wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia called Beclawat (Australia) Pry. Ltd., incorporated in Victoria. An existing engineering company with works in Melbourne has been acquired, and operations are now in train to develop the company to suit Beclawat potential in Australia.

Ghana repeats order for English Electric locos. 140
The English Electric Co. Ltd. was to supply 12 more 750-h.p. Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives to the Ghana Railway. Fourteen units, the first diesel-electric locomotives to operate in Ghana, were supplied by English Electric in 1955 and have been well tried in service on shunting and transfer duties and as single units on light passenger and freight trains. They also operate in multiple unit on the heavier main-line services. The locomotive, which weighs 53 tons in working order, is powered by an English Electric six-cylinder SKRT type diesel engine, manufactured at the company's Preston Works, and current is generated tu four electric traction motors which drive the locomotive through reduction gears. The maximum service speed is geared to 55 m.p.h. The locomotives now ordered will be built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns Ltd., Darlmgton, a member of the English Electric Group, In addition to . the locomotives of this type operating i:l Ghana, diesel-electrics of generally similar design have been supplied for service in Nigeria, Jamaica, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania Repeat orders for locomotives have been received by the company from South Africa, .Rhodesia, Spain and Malaya.

London Transport acquires another Western Region locomotive. 140
To replace a 57-year-old 0-6-2 ex-Metropolitan Railway F class tank locomotive London Transport had acquired another 5700 class 0-6-0 steam pannier tank locomotive from the Western Region. The 0-6-0, now L.92, formerly Western Region No. 5786, was built in 1929 at Swindon. The other two locomotives of this class, L.90 and L.91, were taken over from the Western Region in 1957. It was proposed to increase the London Transpcrr fleet of these loxcmotives as existing locomotives require extensive boiler repairs. Two more will probably be acquired towards the end of this year and will be carried as additions to the London Transport stock of 11i steam locomotives until completion of the Metropolitan Line quadrupling and electrification scheme.

Abandonment of steam by Norfolk & Western. 140
Norfolk & Western RR announced that it would acquire 268 new diesel locomotives at an investment of about 50 million dollars. The company's President, Stuart T. Saunders, has said that delivery of the units will probably begin in October and continue at the rate of 12 to 15 a month. Tne acquisition of the units will enable the company to turn over completely to diesel working the operations at present traffic levels. Of the 262 steam locomotives then owned, 202 to be withdrawn between then and the end of 1960. The remaining 60 to be used as stand-by power to meet demands for locomotives during peak levels of traffic and in emergencies, This programme will enable the railway to exhaust the serviceable mileage remaining on its fleet of steam locomotives. The new units will be general-purpose road-switchers, like the 198 already owned, and switchers. Some of them were to be equipped for passenger service.

No. 792 (August 1958)

High daily mileages by British Railways diesel-electric multiple-units. 141
By both the Hampshire two car and Hastings six car units: notes success of low speed diesel engines, but problems with hard riding.

New buffet cars for Hastings diesel-electric trains. 141-2. 2 illustrations, plan
Gangways fitted with rubber elements to reduce noise

New rolling stock for British Railways. 142-3. 2 illustrations, 3 diagrams (side elevations & plans)
Bogie General Utility Vans manufactured by Presssed Steel Co. at Paisley with end doors for loading motor cars and ninety horse boxes with welded steel bodies and groom's compartment with toilet and electric lighting.

Australian order for English Electric. 143
Victorian Railways order for 90 motor coaches and 120 trailer coaches for Melbourne 1500 V dc suburban services placed with English Electric Co. (Australia) Ltd

A 2,200 h.p. diesel-hydraulic locomotive for British Railways. 144-7. 4 illustrations
Warship class No. D800 Sir Brian Robertson built at Swindon Works with Maybach engines and transmission

A 1,160 h.p. diesel-electric locomotive for British Railways. 147-51. 4 illustrations, 2 diagrams including side elevation
Derby built with Sulzer engines and British-Thomson-Houston electrical equipment built to conform to the London Transport 12ft 8in high loading gauge. Nos. 5000-5029. Engine mounting limited to hard rubber strips.

Diesel-hydraulic 300 h.p. shunting locomotives for British Railways. 152. illustration
North British Locomotive Co. design with M.A.N. diesel enging for London Midland Region: No. 2905 illustrated.

More International G.E. diesels for Tata. 152
Tata Iron & Steel Co. purchased six diesel-electric locomotives from the International General Electric Co.

No. D8400, North British Locomotive Co. 800 h.p. diesel electric locomotive. 152. illustration
Photograph by P. Tait of freight locomotive for use on Eastern Region in London area

The French Railways panoramic diesel railcar. 153. diagram (side elevations, plan)
Renault X 4200 vista dome seating 44 first class passengers plus 44 second class passengers on scenic routes, such as Grenoble

Budd Pioneer III coaches for Pennsylvania Railroad electric multiple-unit services. 153-4. 2 illustrations
Six Pioneer III for Philadelphia suburban services

The exclusion of dirt from diesel locomotives. 154-7.
J.W. Horine, Electrical Engineer Pennsylvania RR ASME paper: dust major proplem on Santa Fe (paper by M.B. Adams, General Supervissor of Diesel Engiines, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, P. Kangas and W.C. Kern of the Baltimore & Ohio RR with W.L. Richardson of Westinghouse on electric precipitation method of cleanin air and D.H. Noble of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR and R.L. Indy on the economics of cleaning

News of the month. 157-60

Beyer Peacock (Hymek) Ltd. 157
Consoortium of Beyer Peacock, Armstrong Sideley and the Brush Group to exploit hydraulic transmission

New B.R. diesel multiple-unit services. 157-8
Oldham and Rochdale: two power cars to cope with steep gradients: 1 in 50 via Hollinwood and 1 in 27 via Werneth Incline. Also new Scotttish service including Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Princes Street and in Fife and based on Dundee

Suspension system for Iternational G.E. Universal locomotives. 158
Four curved rubber mounts on each bogie placed between the bogie bolster and the bogie frame capable of absorbing high frequency vibration. Locomotives using this suspension had been sold to railways in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Turkey.

L.T. 1909 stores locomotive renovated. 158. illustration
L9 (illustrated) and L8 were supplied as battery locomotives by W.R. Renshaw of Sutton-on-Trent. In 1925 the batteries were removed and the locomotives became straight electrics. The traction motords have been replaced several times, but the vehicles are still useful for conveying materials between Acton Works and Ealing Common.

New rolling stock for London Transport Metropolitan Line. 158-9. illustration
For services to Amersham, Chesham and Watford: mock-up of seating and luggage racks.

Transistor units for railway coach fluorescent lighting. 159. illustration
Fluorescent lighting in first class compartments for Caledonian service on London Midland and Scottish Regions.

More main line diesel electric locomotives for B.R. 159-60.
As parrt of the accelerated programme of partial conversion to diesel traction on British Railways the British Transport commission placed orders for 124 main-line diesel-electric locomotives for mixed traffic duties. A batch of forty complete locomotives is to be built at Brush Electrical Engineering Co. and 84 at BR workshops incorporating traction equipment supplied by British Thornson-Houston Co. Ltd. Deliveries of the locomotives and traction equipment will begin early in 1959. The Eastern Region will take 106 of the 124 locomotives now ordered. The remaining 18 units to be allocated to the North Eastern Region. All the locomotives would be in the 1000-1250 h.p. range, classified as Type 2 in the main-line diesel locomotives classification.

Britannia Class 4-6-2 working on St Pancras-Manchester main line of the L.M.R. leaving Loughborough on on up express. J.F. Henton, photographer. 160

Multiple unit diesel trains for West Country service, Western Region. 160
The first multiple-unit diesel trains to enter service in the West Country were to be provided from an order for 48 diesel cars and trailers placed by the British Transport Commission for the Western Region. Most of the vehicles were intended for West of England services and over half of them would operate as three-car train sets, each with a buffet car. The remainder to be used as single-units or with trailer cars. All the vehicles 63 ft. 6 in. long. Two B.U.T. 150 h.p. engines fitted to each of the 32 powered cars. Details of the vehicles, ordered from the Pressed Steel Co. Ltd., Paisley, were as follows:
Motor brake open composite and Motor open second with lavatories: 9 three-car sets
Trailer open second with buffets: 10 three-car sets
Motor second broke with driving cab at each end 14 for use singly or with driving trailer second: 6

New railcars for India. 160
Additional information about the twenty four 5ft. 6in.-gauge railcars the Commonwealth Engineering Co. Ltd. (see also page 117) was supplying to India and of which some particulars appeared in our June 1958 issue. The vehicles incorpor- ate B.U.T. 0.900 type power units rated at 200 b.h.p. at 1,800' r.p.m. This engine i;; a Leyland design, manufactured at the Albion works. This unit was specifically designed as a horizontal six-cylinder unit for rail traction duty. For this particular installation, the engines were fitted with 20 in. fluid flywheels based on the standard type built by B.U.T. parent companies for British Railways. Twelve of the cars were for operation on the Tuni-Tadepalliguden section and its branches, on the Southern Railway, and twelve on the Northern Railway between Lahore and Ludhiana and from Ambala Cantonment.
The railcars were 70 ft. long over headstocks, had 48 ft. 6 in. bogie centres and a bogie wheelbase of 9 ft. 6 in. They had a full-width driver's cab at one end and a half cab at the other.

[A3 class with double chimneys]. 160. illustration
All the Gresley A3 4-6-2s of British Railways to be modified with double blast-pipes and chimneys. No. 60055 Woolwinder was the first to be treated. Photograph by P.Tait.

Book reviews. 160

Great Western steam. W.A. Tuplin. George Alien & Unwin. .
Tuplin's new book, following closely on the heels of H. Holcroft's authoritative work on the same subject, must inevitably stand judgment alongside it, and will be found wanting. Holcroft recounted history as seen from the "inside", a factual study, interlaced with personal experience and accounts of schemes, experiments and trials and the reasons behind them. In this book, after an opening on the aesthetic merits of double-framed engines as seen through a boy's eyes, G.W.R. locomotive practice is dealt with in a curiously vague manner. Much of it is laced with "apparently" and "it seemed that ... ", and persistently Tuplin intrudes to show what he would have done in Churchward's shoes. Three cylinders, single-axle drive, low boiler pressure and valve proportions, are favourite themes of the author which are here reiterated. The last parr of the book is devoted to accounts of footplate work and of specific footplate trips. Some clearly spring from personal observations, though they are in very general terms, while others might be described as semi-technical and slanted story-telling more appropriate to the more enlightened boys' magazines. This section seems to set out to prove that the undoubted G.W.R. esprit de corps among footplate staff arises from doing a job under the worst conditions. The serious student of Swindon locomotive practice will learn little from this book that is not available elsewhere in better form.

The locomotives of the Great Western Railway, Part 5. Railway Correspondence & Travel Society. 160
Part Five of this historv covers the six-coupled tank engines of the Great Western Railway design. with the exception of the standard 2-6-2 tanks to be included in Part Nine. It displays the painstaking detail which has characterised the parts (l. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 11) which have already appeared. There are 96 pages of text and 147 illustrations, including a number from the collection of the Locomotive Publishing Company.

Von Salzburg Nach Bad Ischl (From Salzburg to Bad Ischl). Josef Otto Slezak
The recent closing of the Salzkammer gut-Lokalbahn has deprived Austria of one of its most delightful minor railways. It was well-known to British tourists for its 42 miles of 0.76 m. gauge line traversed a region of great scenic charm, a charm which for British railway enthusiasts was matched by that of the line itself, almost wholly steam worked, most of the engines being 0-6-2s built in the 1890s, aided by some 0-8-0s and an 0-10-0 tender-tank manufactured by Borsig in 1939. Herr Slezak ably tells the history of this little system, which in Hapsburg times was graced by the presence of the Emperor Francis Joseph, and brings the story up to date with an account of the circumstances which led up to the decision to close the line. Austrian devotees of the minor railway may well envy Britain its virile preservation societies and one hopes that Slezak's little book may encourage similar action there. The book, which runs to 20 pages and contains eight illustrations and a map, is published by and obtainable from the author

No. 793 (Sepember 1958)

The maintenance of relectric locomotives. 161-2
Mario Viani, Head of the Electrical Department, Spanish National Railways reported on global practice (sixteen countries rresponded to a questionnaire) on electric locomotive maintenance at the International Railway Congress held in Madrid. Tyre, pantograph and rail wear depended to an extent on conditions including the extent to which motors were sprung.

Henschel diesels for South African Railways. 162
Seven 75-ton four-axle diesel hydraulic locomotives with General Motors engines and Voith transmissions

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. Part IV. 163-7. 3 illustrations, 4 tables
Class 5 4-6-0: tabulates boiler types, the mileages achieved by locomotives fitted with manganese axlebox liners and argues that suuperior on express passenger work to both the Claughton and L&YR 4-6-0 ttypes and the greater haulage capacity of the Class 5 than the Highland Railway Castles and Claans.

North British/G.E.C. Type 1 diesel-electric locomotives for British Railways.167-9. 2 illustrations
No. D8403 of Stratford mpd illustrated

New railbuses for British Railways. 1. Bristol Commercial/Eastern Coach Works. 169-71. 4 illlustrations
Two railbuses with chassis built in Bristol and body at Lowestoft where bus components were used. Gardner 112 bhp diesel engine. Chassis conveyed by road from Bristol. Conveyed 56 seated passengers. Svenska Aktibolaget Bromsregulator resilient wheels. Self Changing Gears transmission. Metalastik suspension. Dunlop Monitor Brake System.

New railbuses for British Railways. 2. Park Royal. 171-3. 2 illustrations
Five railbuses with seats for 50 passengers, BUT 150 hp diesel engine. Self Changing Gears transmission

Cecil J. Allen. Electric locomotive development and performance on the Rhaetian Railway. 173-7. 5 illustrations, table
Three locomotive types: C-C 1500hp; Bo-Bo 1600 hp; Bo-Bo-Bo 2400 hp. Cab ride on C-C Noo. 610 Viamain on 16.15 Chur to St. Moritz on which 1 in 29 gradients were common. Also menntions powerful railcars on Arosa branch

Developments on London Transport. 1.—Improved shaft insulation for traction motor reverser switches. 177. 2 illustrations
Glass cloth insulation

Developments on London Transport. 2.—New stock for Piccadilly Line. 177; 179
Rubber suspension. Fluorescent lighting; unpainted aluminium bodies

Berkeley mechanical stoker for three B.R. class "9" 2-10-0s. 178-9. 3 illustrations
Three locomotives, all with double chimneys for Saltley to Carlisle workings.

Book review. 179.

British narrow gauge railways. R.B. Jones A. & C. Black.
Incrreasing standardisation on British main lines, which has robbed them of some of their old interest for not a few devotees', and the success of the Talyllyn and Festiniog revivalists have turned the attention of many enthu- siasts still more towards the remaining narrow gauge lines, diverse in their loca- tion, operation and rolling stock. There has been no lack of literature to support this trend and, indeed, the market might be said to be temporarily glutted. Jones describes 15 lines, from the defunct to the very much alive and ranging in gauge from the 15 in. of the Rornney, Hythe & Dymchurch and the Ravenglass & Eskdale to the Glasgow Underground, whose gauge of only 8½in. less than standard makes it a shaky candidate for inclusion. The treatment is' strictly factual and one would welcome the relief \)of a 'little atmosphere. It is a pity that here and there the text has not been brought up to date since the completion of the typescript, so that the Festiniog still appears as awaiting reopening to Penrhyndeudraeth, let alone Tan-y- Bwlch, though in this case a caption makes amends. The reader well addicted to the narrow gauge will learn little that is new but the book may usefully introduce a wider public to the delights' of railway microcosmcgraphy,

New diesel parcels car. 180. 3 illustrations
Cravens Limited built three diesel parcels cars for service on British Railways. Each was fitted with two 150 h.p. B.U.T. engines and standard transmission and a standard 56 ft. l l in. underframe. The illustrations show (left) guard's compartment, parcels section and exterior.

More main-line diesels for British Railways. 180
Contracts for 83 more main-line diesel locomotives had been placed by the British Transport Commission. Sixty three of 2,000 h.p., with a maximum speed of 90 m.p.h., for express passenger and freight services, and 20 of 1100 h.p., capable of 75 m.p.h. on general mixed-traffic duties.
Details of the orders are as follow:- North British Locomotive Co., Ltd. 33, diesel-hydraulic, of 2000 h.p. (Type 4). 20, diesel-electric, of 1100 h.p, (Type 2).
English Electric Co., Ltd. 30 diesel-electric, of 2000 h.p. (Type 4).
The 33 locomotives of 2000 h.p. with hydraulic transmission were for use in the Western Region and will be introduced from early 1960 all heavy passenger and freight trains between London and the West of England. They represent the final instalment of a scheme for the cornplete replacement of over 200 steam locomotives by 129 diesel-hydraulic locomotivcs on services west of Newton Abbot, and on many through trains between Paddington, Bristol and the West Countrv, Deliveries of the diesel-electric locomotives of both power ranges wiII begin in 1959.

Northbound Heart of Midlothian approaching Offord &Buckden, hauled by Type 4 English Electric l-Co-Co-l diesel- electric locomotive No. D206. 180. photograph
Intensive use was being made of five of these locomotives on the East Coast main line in the winter schedules, which call for a weekly rostered mileage of more than 4500 per unit.

No. 794 (October 1958)

Diesel locomotive utilisation on the Eastern Region, British Railways. 181-2. 2 illustrations, table
Tablle shows weekly rostered mileage of more than 4500 per unit mainly on Newcastle to King's Cross workings (including some freight and overnight sleeper services and on Sheffield Pullman.

Dieselisation & electrification on the L.M.R. 182-4. 2 photographic illustrations, 2 artists impressions, diagram (side elevation & plan)
Stoke maintenance depot; impressions of diesel Pullman and electic multiple unit and locomotive and diagram and plan of St. Pancras to Bedford diesel multiple unit outer suburban train

Multiple operation of Union Pacific gas turbine units. 184.

Cecil J. Allen. Diesel-hydraulic main line locomotive performance on the Western Region. 185-7. 2 illustrations
North British A-1-A+A-1-A Ark Royal on down Cornish Riviera non-stop to Plymouth. Arrival 4 minutes early. 92 mile/h mamimum speed near Taunton. Speeds attained on South Devon banks comparable to those of good club cyclist or by Grayling's bi-modes

Wickham railbuses for B.R. 187-9. 3 illustrations, table.
Five supplied by D. Wickham & Co. Metalastik Cushyfoot mountings. Radius arm controlled axleboxes. Air operated sliding doors. Gear change as on London TRansport buses. Six cylinder Meadows diesel engine. Seats for 44 paseengers plus four on tip up seats. In service on Buntingford branch

The New York Central "Flexi-van" road-rail system. 190. 3 illustrations
Fruehauf Trailer Company, Detroit

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. Part V. 191-6. 4 illustrations, diagram, tables
Turbine locomotive: in effect an abstract of Bond ILocoE Paper 458. Records rebuilding as reciprocating Pacific Princess Anne with photograph of her leaving Crewe by P. Ransome-Wallis..

New Fowler hydraulic-mechanical shunting locomotives. 196-7. illustration, diagram, table
Schneider torque converter and Wilson epicyclic gearbox. Leyland/Albion 185 b.h.p. diesel engine

New South Wales interurban electric units. 197-8. illustratiuon, diagram (plan)
Commonwealth Engineering Co. supplying forty motor cars and forty trailer cars for 1500 V dc Sydney-Lithgow (Blue Mountains) and Sydney-Gosford sections. Budd staiinless steel Shotweld construction.

English Electric diesels for East Africa. 198
Eight main line diesel electric locomotives ordered by East African Railways & Harbours from English Electric: 1800 hp at an altitude of 5500 feet. Capable of handling 700 ton trains. Class 90 1-C-C-1 layout

News of the month. 198-200

B.R. diesel multiple units. 198
English Electric had received an order for 600 h.p. for diesel elctric equipment to upgrade the Southern Region Hampshire diesel electric multiple units for four motor coaches, four driving trailers and 22 non-driving trailers to enable the two car units to be enlarged to three car units.
The North Eastern Region was introducing four car diesel units on the Yorkn to Harrogate service; two car units on the Newcastle to Sunderland and Sunderland to South Shields services and was receiving some Derby light weight units.

British electrification developments. 198-9
A British Thomson Houston silicon power rectifier had been installed in one of the motor coaches on the Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham line. The Colchestrer to Clacton branch electrified at 25 kV was being used to run trials of the rolling stock intended fpr London Tilbury & Southend services. These English Electric units had seats for 344 second class and 19 first class passengers and were equipped with double bolster bogies. The foundations for the overhead supports for electrification were being constructed between Jordanhill and Kilpatrick for thge Glasgow northside system.

Two new German specialised wagors. 199. 2 illustrations
Shown at the Brussels Exhibition.Gantry-type wagon built by Waggonfabrik Talbot; the raised hopper to allow direct gravity unloading to lorry, conveyor belt or other device. Road-rail vehicle with separate rood and rail wheels, built by Christaph Schöttler Maschinenfabrik and Waggon und Maschinenbau Donauwörth. In this the buffer coupling wheel asse:nbly is rolled into position whilst the vehicle is jacked up, the road wheels being then high enough to clear the track,

New end-loading vans for British Railways Ferry Services. 199. illustration
Since the notes on the general utility vans were published in our August issue we learn that a production batch of the four-wheel vans is now being placed in service. These vehicles, built at Lancing Works, Southern Region, are virtually identical to the prototype four-wheel general utility van built in 1956, but are regarded as freight vehicles since they are painted brown and numbered in the wagon stock series. The vans, which are intended for the conveyance of cars and other traffic between Great Britain and the Continent, incorporate a number of detail modifications compared with the prototype. These include the provision of attachments on the solebars to take the ropes securing the vans while on board ship, the fitting of Continental type large buffers and drawgear, Westinghouse air brakes in addition to the normal vacuum and hand brakes, through electric jumper cables and modified wheel tyre profile. Accommodation for cars is rather limited as it is possible to take only two cars of the 8-10 h.p. range or one vehicle if it is more than about 15 ft. in length.

Former Devon Belle Pullman observation car on North Wales Land Cruise train at Barmouth. P.H. Wells (photographer). 199. illustration
This and its companion vehicle, working between Glasgow and Obnn, had been repainted in British Railways maroon.

B.R. diesel orders. 199
Orders for diesel locomotives and rolling stock placed by the British Transport Commission comprised four l65-h.p. diesel-electric and three 88-h.p. diesel- mechanical shunting units from Ruston & Hornsby Ltd. and eight diesel parcels vans from the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. The shunting locomotives were allocated to the Civil Engineers' depots of the Western and North Eastern Regions. The parcels vans, powered by twin 230 h.p. engines and with driving cabs at each end, would be used in the Western and London Midland Regions.

Henschel diesels for South African Railways. 199-200
Seven 75-ton four-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotives were being built by Hensche1 for the South African Railways, which will probably use them in the Transvaal. They will be powered by two General Motors 6-567C engines of 710 h.p. each, driving two Voith L.306r hydraulic transmissions. Their continuous rated tractive effort will be 38,000 lb. at 10 m.p.h. These locomotives were additional to the 45 General Electric Universal-type Bo-Bo diesel-electric units delivered to S.A.R.

Brush A-1-A-A-1-A 1,250 h.p, diesel-electric locomotive. 200. 2 illustrations
Locomotive No. 5511 had been on trial on the Highland, West Highland, Waverley and Aberdeen-Edinburgh routes of the Scottish Region; it has now returned to the Eastern Region. Illustrctions show it alongside 0-4-0 saddle tank No. 56011 at Inverness Motive Power Depot [F.E. Rowley] and entering lnvergordon on Wick-Inverness test train [E.J. Dew]

Metrovick CoB 1,200 h.p. diesel-electric locomotive No. 5700 at Derby. photograph by A.N. Yeates. 200

South African Railways 1958-59 Budget . 200
The largest increase in the current estimates of the South African Railways was that for new locomotives and rolling stock — from £105,074,400 in 1957-58 to £150,869,000. Of this sum, £27,956,774 to be spent in 1958-59, an increase of £14,047,250 over the preceding year. There is no provision for the purchase of more steam locomotives, and future expenditure on motive power is now directed to electric and diesel locomotives. The total estimate for electric locomotives has increased from £12,280,000 in last year's estimates to £2:0,850,000; a new item indicates that another large order for electric locomotives will be placed, covering .110 Class 5E units at a cost of £7,000,000. The increase in the estimates for new diesel locomotives is from £9,175,000 in 1957-58 to £14,785,000. Forty-five diesel-electric locomotives had been delivered and the first of seven German-builr diesel-hydraulics was expected. Additional items in the estimates cover the purchase of 55 more main line and 21 branch line diesels. Five three-car diesel units are also being acquired. In addition to the sum allowed for the present deliveries of suburban electric rolling stock, a new amount, totalling £5,001,200, has been included for 292 lightweight trailers. Another new item relates to 102 electric motor coaches, at a cost of £3,876,000. The current estimates for goods vehicles are £61,330,100, compared with £37,401,600 in 1957-58. The estimate for diesel running sheds had gone up from £595,000 to £905,400, accounted for by the addition of £90,400 to the cost of the Gerrniston sheds and the provision of £220,000 for sub-depot facilities at De Aar, Upington and in South West Africa.

MetropoIitan-Carnmell sponsors new South African rolling stock manufacturing company. 200
The Metropolitan-CammeIl Carriage &Wagon Co. Ltd. and Dorman, Long (Africa) Ltd. jointly sponsored a new company in South Africa, called Metro-Donnan Carriage Company (Pty.) Ltd., to construct passenger rolling stock in South Africa. The initial intention is to manufacture lightweighr steel coaches in an extension of the wagon works of Dorman, Long (Africa) Ltd., Germiston, where wagons had been built since 1944. When production demands, the new company will build its own plant.

Australian Rolling Stock Manufacturers Export Group. 200
Eleven Australian manufacturers of diesel locomotives and rolling stock formed an export group called The Railway Rolling Stock Manufacturers' Association of Australia. Its object is 'Cl foster and develoo exports of Australian- manufactured railway equipment. The group provides emnloyrnent directly and indirectly for 25,000 skilled employees and has an annual turnover of some £A17,000,000.· The firms concerned were: Clyde Industries Ltd.; Commonwealth Engineering Co. Ltd.; A. E. Goodwin Ltd.; Evans, Deaki:1 & Co. Ltd.; Moriscn & Bearbv Ltd.; Tulloch Ltd.; Vickers, Hoskins Ltd.; A. Goninan & Co. Ltd.; Bradford Kendall Ltd.; Industrial Steels Ltd.; and Tomlinson Steel Ltd .

Spanish Railways modernisation. 200
The Spanish National Railways have issued details of a new five-year modernisation plan. The total cost is to be 24,700 million pesetas. Electrification is to be extended to all lines running north from Madrid and not so far converted, to Saragossa and, later, to Barcelona and also to lines south of Seville. Motive power and rolling stock requirements are :-
50 high-power diesel locomotives 162 350-h.p. and 70 130-h.p. diesel shunting locomotives
Conversion to oil burning of 100 steam locomotives
Ten 172-passenger railcars
30 light railcars
11 324-passenger Talgo-type trains
15 Talgo locomotives
100 coaches
130 vans
10,000 wagons
400 ore hopper wagons
50 tank wagons

No. 795 (November 1958)

Driving wheel diameter, coupled wheels and speed. 201-2.
In the last years of steam locomotive building in Great Britain, construction has concentrated almost exclusively on locomotives of mixed traffic types, with coupled wheels of moderate diameter, in order to make them suitable for passenger or freight haulage at will. The purpose, of course, is maximum potential utilisation. Express engines with the traditional driving wheel diameter of 6 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft. are limited in their tractive effort, and thus in their ability to handle heavy freight trains; in general, therefore, at the end of a lengthy outward journey an express locomotive may remain idle for several hours awaiting a suitable return assignment. With improved front end design, however, the modern mixed traffic locomotive with coupled wheels of from 6 ft. to 6 ft. 2 in. diameter is constantly demonstrating its capacity to travel at speeds almost if not fully equal to those of the larger-wheeled express engines, so that an engine of the former type can tackle freight or passenger duties with equal competence. So, over any main line or in any area where fairly dense passenger and freight traffic is operated, it is possible to arrange the rosters of mixed traffic locomotives in such a way that the maximum possible proportion of their working day is spent in the movement of traffic. Up to the end of the last century the preference of not a few railways in the express passenger realm was for locomotives with single driving wheels of 7 ft. 6 in. to 8 ft. diameter. Although their adhesion weight might be no more than 18 to 20 tons at most, this was adequate with the light train-loads commonly hauled, and it was considered that the absence of coupling-rods was of advantage in reducing the internal resistance of the locomotive. But with the introduction of corridor stock, the weight of trains began to increase considerably, and additional adhesion became a necessity; the result was the gradual abandonment of the "single-drivers", and concentration on coupled types. While the latter were mainly four-coupled engines, by 1899 the North Eastern Railway was introducing its first 4-6-0 express locomotives, while the Great Western Railway followed suit in 1902. But whereas the N.E.R. from 1903 until all but the end of its independent existence joined the other East Coast Companies in building 4-4-2 rather than 4-6-0 locomotives for express passenger service, the G.W.R. concentrated on the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement, and soon demonstrated, with the help of Churchward's high steam pressure, enlarged steam-pipes, passages and cylinder ports, long-lap and long-travel piston-valves, and full regulator and short cut-off working, that six-coupled engines could more than match any existing single or four-coupled types in sustained high speed capacity,
In subsequent years all the world's principal speed records with steam have been made by locomotives with six-coupled driving wheels. They include the 43 miles covered by the L.N.E.R. Pacific Silver Link at an average of 100 m.p.h. in 1935, the 113 m.p.h, attained by the sister engine Silver Fox in 1936, and, of course, the historic 126 m.p.h. "blue riband" for steam secured by Mallard in 1938, an engine of the same type but with the advantage, in regard to freedom of exhaust, of a double blast-pipe and double chimney. These maxima were attained with driving wheels of 6 ft. 8 in. diameter, and they were matched by the 114 m.p.h. reached in 1937 by the L.M.S.R. Pacific Coronation, with 6 ft. 9 in. wheels. With the German streamlined Pacific No. 05.002. a party of members of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers was entertained in 1936 to a maximum speed on the level of 118 m.p.h., and another engine of the same type was credited with a top speed of 124 m.p.h., in this case with 7 ft. 6 in. coupled wheels. In the United States one of the fine 4-6-4 locomotives of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, built for working the Hiawatha streamlined trains" has maintained an average speed of 104.9 m.p.h. over 48 miles of level track continuously. These engines, since displaced by diesel-electric power and scrapped, had 7 ft. driving wheels.
Until about the 1930s most of the British locomotives built for mixed traffic service, with driving wheels of from 5 ft. 8 in. to 6 ft. or 6 ft. 3 in. diameter, were sluggish machines, rarely attaining any speed much in excess of 60 m.p.h., and except in emergency not used on any passenger work other than the haulage of moderately-timed excursion trains. But as improved front-end design became general, so the speed potential of the mixed traffic types began to increase, until with such engines as the extensively built Stanier Class 5 4-6-0s on the L.M.S.R. 80 m.p.h. speeds in passenger service became cornmon, and an ability was displayed on occasion even with 6 ft. wheels to attain 90 m.p.h. Equally a 6 ft. Western Region Hall 4-6-0, called upon at short notice to take over the up Bristolian after a failure of the train engine, has covered the 77.3 miles from Swindon to the Paddington stop in 59 min. 37 sec., with from 80 to 84 m.p.h. maintained for 57 miles continuously. Finally, when the Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacifies were introduced in 1941 and the light West Country Pacifies in 1945, although with 6 ft. 2 in. driving wheels they have teen classed nominally as mixed traffic locomotives these designs were intended for passenger service exclusively, and both have shown themselves to be among the speediest locomotives the country has known. But in the last two decades high speed records have been made with locomotives having still smaller driving wheels, and, moreover, with more pairs coupled. The second notable rebuilding carried out by Chapelon, when he was in charge of Paris-Orleans locomotive design, was a conversion of a Pacific to the 4-8-0 wheel arrangement, with 5 ft. 11 in. driving wheels, compound propulsion, oscillating-cam poppet-valves, thermic syphons, and a working pressure of 290 lb. per sq. in. With a 635-ton train, worked from Calais to Paris, one of these engines was timed in 1935 to maintain an average of 79.7 m.p.h. over 46.6 miles of level track, and to reach a maximum of 91 m.p.h. down 1 in 200. Still more surprising was the feat of one of the highly efficient J class 4-8-4 locomotives of the Norfolk & Western Railway, U.S.A., in attaining 110 m.p.h. on level track with a train of 935 tons weight, but with the considerable assistance of roller bearings through-out both locomotive and coaches.
These reflections have been prompted by an extraordinary performance in August last by one of the new Class 9 heavy 2-10-0 British Railways standard freight locomotives. As is generally known, these were used extensively on passenger service during last summer on such trains as the former steam-hauled Master Cutler and the South Yorkshireman; on the occasion now under review one of them was attached at Grantham to the up Heart of Midlothian", to work this train to Kings Cross. After clearing Stoke Summit, No. 92184, hauling a train with a tare weight of 462 tons and a gross weight of 485 tons, attained 78 m.p.h. by Corby Glen, 86 by Little Bytham, and 90 before Essendine, keeping up an average of all but 86 m.p.h. for 12!- miles. At the 90 m.p.h. speed, the 5 ft. driving wheels were revolving 8!- times per second, and the 21 ft. 8 in. coupling rods were moving round a circle of 2 ft. 4 in. diameter at the same speed. Later on in the same journey the engine maintained from 75 to 78 m.p.h. for some distance on practically level track. One could hardly imagine that such speeds, if attained frequently with ten-coupled 5 ft. diameter wheels, would be beneficial from the main- tenance point of view, but such a performance is of considerable interest as a measure of the vast change which has taken place during the past half-century in the relation between driving wheel diameter, the coupling of wheels, and maximum attainable speed.

Loconotive testing at Rugby: regulator tests. 202-5. 5 diagrams
With certain large locomotives, especially those with a high boiler pressure, it has occasionally been found very difficult to close a regulator of the sliding type in the event of the engine slipping severely. When the engine slips, with the regulator only partly open, there is a relatively high pressure drop through the regulator, imposing an increased load on the face of the slide and this load may be so great that it becomes beyond a man's strength to move the slide against friction, even with the large leverage usually provided by the regulator handle and linkage. In the case of a regulator in the dome, it is not practicable to lubricate the regulator slide, as can be done with a similar regulator in the smokebox, because any excess lubricant would find its way into the boiler where its presence would be most unwelcome. This trouble was found to occur occasionally with the BR Standard Class 9 2-10-0. An attempt to lubricate the slide of the regulator with a coating of molybdenum disulphide proved to be effective for only a few days and thought was given to the fitting of a smaller regulator, as the total pressure on the smaller slide would be less and so the force needed to move it would be less and, possibly, a smaller total movement would enable the leverage to be greater. It has, however, been regarded as a matter of good design to provide a large cross sectional area for the whole steam circuit of modern locomotives and the question naturally arose of how great an effect the reduction of area of the regulator parts would have on the normal performance of the locomotive. The work of Chapelon, in particular, has shown the great benefits that accrue from the provision of steam passages of ample size, so that any step in the opposite direction might be regarded as retrograde and harmful. Only an actual test could show if the proposed change was sufficiently harmful to matter or to warrant some other more costly solution of rhe problem. The essential parts of the regulator originally fitted to the B.R. Standard Class 9 are shown in Fig. 53.. This regulator is of the type in which the main valve consists of a slide, with a number of slots in it, which moves over a horizontal surface, with a number of similar slots also, on the body of the regulator and which carries a smaller slotted pilot valve. Fig. 54 shows how the port opening increases in area as the regulator is opened. The horizontal scale shows both the movement of the pin and that of the main valve after the lost motion has been taken up. The diagram refers only to the opening and not to the closing of the valve, when the effect of the lost motion is to leave the main valve open, whilst the pilot valve closes, so that movement of the pin at first has very little effect in reducing the area that is open. When this valve is fully open the area through the ports is 34.2in². The regulator that it was proposed to substitute for the original one is that normally fitted to the B.R Standard Class 4 2-6-4 tank engine, having a maximum port area of 24.3 sq. in.. The essential parts of this regulator are shown in Fig. 55. For the purpose of the test, however, a new regulator was not fitted but a special stop was applied to the large regulator to stop die slide in the appropriate position. The resistance to flow through the larger regulator thus partly open would probably be a little greater than that through the smaller regulator with its valve fully open and the slots in the valve and in the head correctly in line with one another. The usual stop on the operating handle was removed so that there was no doubt that the regulator valve was really moved right on to the stop of the regulator itself whether in the fully open or in the restricted position. See also letter from E.V.M. Powell on p. 240

Two more historic locomotives preserved. 205. 2 illustrations
GNSR D40 No. 62277 Gordon Highlander and L&YR 2-4-2T No. 1008 ex-BR No. 50624

Dual-voltage electric multiple-units for the Brussels-Amsterdam service. 206-8. illustration. 2 diagrams
Twelve two car units capable of operating on 3000V or 1500V with pantographs for each voltage built by Werkspoor

O.S. Nock. The locomotives of Sir William Stanier. VI. 208-14. 6 illustrations, 10 tables
Class 4 2-6-4T evolved from excellent Fowler design, but the initial Stanier locomotives were a three-cylinder variant and this was followed by a two-cylinder version with a higher route availability. Nock does not postulate a reason for the three-cylder version, although these were always associated with Southend services. Details of performance between Bushey and Euston in which the two and three cylinder types and the Fowler original all operated were remarkably similar. The 8F 2-8-0 is then comsidered

More Barclay diesel shunters for British Railways. 214. illustration, table
Andrew Barclay 204hp diesel-mechanical 0-4-0: No. D2413 illustrated

Diesels as assistants to Milwaukee electric locomotives. 215
Between Avery, Idaho, and Deer Lodge, Montana.

New B.R. multiple units. 215
Derby light weight unit at Whitby Town (M. Mensing) and Western Region Cross Country unit built by Gloucester R.C.&W. Co. (R.J. Sharpe)

G.T. Bevan. Track weight and bogie type considerations in changing from steam to diesel operation. 216-17. 4 tables.
The balance weights used on steam locomotives led to pounding and stress on the permanent way. Initially the designers of diesel locomotives tended to be excessively cautious and the A1A-A1A layout was adopted, but this reduced the weight available for adhesion and many American locomotives of this type were converted to Co-Co. or Bo-Bo to increase their haulage capacity and adhesion

New electric multiple-units for British Railways, Eastern Region. 217-18
For London, Tilbury & Southend Line

Motive power changes on the Great Eastern Line. 218. 2 illustrations
Photograph of No. 72009 Clan Stewart leaving Colchester on a Clacton to Liverpool Street service (K.L. Cook) and No. 70000 Britannia leaving Sheffield Victoria with Liverpool to Harwich boat train (J.K. Morton): caption gives details of complex working.

Diesel developments on the Great Northern Line of British Railways, Eastern Region. 218-19. illustration
Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. Type 2 diesel-electric locomotives allocated for use between King's Cross and Hitchin and Hertford North; also Craven's two-car dmus

New stock for London Transport Central Line. 219-20
Twelve prototype motor cars ordered from Cravens Ltd to be used in association with reconditioned trailer cars from the Piccadilly Line

[22-ton Platefit wagons]. 219. 2 illustrations
Modified at Shildon for conveying containers and equipped with SKF roller bearings to work Freight Liner service between Hendon and Gushetfaulds Glasgow.

News of the month. 220

Kent Coast electric stock. 220
Eastleigh turning out a series of four-car units (CEP and BEP) at rate of three per fortnight

More Western Region diesel multiple-unit trains. 220
Being built by Pressed Steel Co. at Paisley and Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd for Paddington suburban services and in the Bristol area and in Devon and Cornwall.

Book reviews. 220

Directory of Railway Officials and Year Book, 1958-59. Tothill Press

Twenty locomotive men. C. Hamiilton Ellis. Ian Allan
Just before WW2 Hamilton Ellis began in The Locomotive a series of entertaining essays on some of the better-known British locomotiveengineers of yesteryear. They were well received and now Ian Allan Ltd., with which the Locomotive Publishing Co. is associated, has had the happy idea of presenting some of the essays in book form, augmented by new contributions from Mr. Ellis to bring the number up to the "Twenty" of the title. The earlier essays have been amended where necessary in the light of the author's later researches. The result is an engrossing collection spanning almost a century- and-a-half, from the birth of its first subject, William Bridges Adams, to the death of Sir John Aspinall twenty-one years ago. Autocrats to a man, knowing just what they wanted, and getting it, Mr. Ellis's characters were diverse enough in temperament. The apparently unspeakable Craven, unlikeable Webb and ill-starred Sacre rub shoulders with the jovial bon viveur William Adams and the firm but kindly Manson. The Railway Age bred them, they were of it, though a few outlasted it. Now all have passed and we shall nut see their like again.

[Duke of Edinburgh inspecting British Timken stand]. 220. illustration
Brussels Exhibition

No. 796 (December 1958)

The mechanics of the train.. 221-2. illustration
Abstract of Institution of Locomotive Engineers Paper 588 by S.O. Ell.

Cecil J. Allen. Electric locomotive performance on the Bern-Lötscberg-Simplon Railway. 223-7. 6 illustrations, table
Locomotive development including the Be 5/7 1-E-1 type with Krauss-Helmholz trucks at both ends; the Be 6/8 1Co-Co1 with Sécheron individual axle drive and Ae 4/4 Bo-Bo. There were also powerful electric railcars. A cab ride from Spiez to Brigue is descibed.

Wickham articulated railcar for Brazil-Bolivia Railway. 227-9. 4 illustrations, diagram (side elevation)
For the Corumba Santa Cruz section. Fitted with B.U.T. engines

J.N. Westwood. Liquified gas locomotive in Russia. 229-30. 4 diagrams
Two papers presented in Soviet journal Railway Transport which described experiments at Baku to burn liquified natural gas (mainly propane) in a steam locomotive boilers. Another experiment in the North Caucasus described using a propane/butane mixture as liquid gas.

Metropolitan-Vickers 1200 h.p. diesel-electric locomotives. 231-5. 2 illustrations, 2 diagrams (including 2 side elevations, lleft and right & plan)
Crossley two-stroke engine

Stone's equipment for railway service. 235-8. 3 illustrations
Exhibition of its products at its works. Included Stone-Faiveley pantograph, inter-coach electricity coupler (Stone-Keops couplers); Stone-Mekydro hydraulic power transmissions; Stone-Vapor steam generators for heating and pressure ventilation and air conditioning equipment. Notes visit by Insitution of Locomotive Engineers on 31 October 1958

Hunslet diesels for Scottish Region. 238. illustration
201 h.p. diesel mechanical 0-6-0

A collapsible light alloy container for B.R. 239. 2 illustrations
Neoprene sealing strip. Experimental

News of the month. 239-40

Davey, Paxman agreement with French firm. 239
Sociét des Forges et Chamtiers de la Meditérranée to build Paxman YL diesel engine at Le Havre

New diesel multiple-units for B.R. 239
100 cars to be poweered by single 238 h.p. Rolls Royce engine: 50 to be fitted with torque converter rtansmission

Completion of new diesel depot at Stratford, Eastern Region. 239-40. illustration
Boasting asbestos sheeting! Photograph shows inside depot: on extreme right Brush 1,250 h.p Type 2 diesel-electric is being lubricated with the aid of a Wakefield oil dispenser mounted on a Worksaver truck. On the adjacent road a Type 4 English-Electric 2,000 h.p. diesel electric. undergoes an inspection of cab equipment.

Letters . 240

Regulator tests. E.V.M. Powell.
Re article on November Locomotive: it appears that trouble is experienced in shutting a slide valve regulator, when a relatively high pressure drop occurs through the regulator due to severe slipping. I have never handled a slide valve regulator with as much as 250 psi. on it, but from experience with 180 psi engines I can well believe it. What astonishes me is the adherence in modern locomotive design to the old slide valve regulator. There are at least two types of regulator on the market that do not suffer from the trouble described, are easy to open or close, and offer fine control of steam admission, without having to tug on the regulator handle; I refer to the M.L.S. multiple valve regulator and the Joco regulator. My experience of the former was limited, but once the stiffness of the external operating gear had worn off, the operation was easy and smooth. The Joco regulator, I found, was the answer to the engineman's prayer. Its three concentric poppet valves provide a very nicely graduated control, and the pilot valve gives just enough steam to run the engine light about the yard, with no risk of slipping.
I am sure in my own mind that a lot of the violent slipping of the Southern Region Pacifies is due to the absence of an intermediate valve in their poppet valve regulators, their pilot valve being very small, and the main valve unduly large. In the light of the Rugby tests it looks as though the S.R. Pacifies could do with a smaller regulator.
To make pilot valves smaller, as suggested in the penultimate para. of your- article, without providing an intermediate valve would reduce conditions to that of the S.R. Pacifies.
I am well aware of the dislike of home railway locomotive departments of purchasing any proprietary article (it was F. W. Webb's boast that every bit of his locomotives was made in Crewe except the rubber vacuum fittings), but it does seem a pity that so little use seems to have been made of one of these two excellent regulators, and apparently no extensive trial carried out of the other. I have handled all sorts, rotary, ... double- beat, slide and these two modern ones, and the Joco arid M.L.S. are, in my opinion, unequalled.

Wagon bearing unit. 240. 2 illustrations
Developed by British Timken Limited, in conjunction with the Western Region of British Railways, for application to existing wagon bogie. New 5 ft. 6 in. wagon bogie built by the Metropolitan Cammell Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. Ltd. and fitted with British Timken wagon bearing units.

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