FR - Earl of Merioneth
| Earl of Merioneth | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The Earl of Merioneth in 2013
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| Number: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | Boston Lodge Works |
| Year of construction (s): | 1979 |
| Retirement: | 2018 |
| Axis formula : | B'B ' |
| Gauge : | 597 mm ( narrow gauge ) |
| Length: | 9,297 mm |
| Smallest bef. Radius: | 45 m |
| Service mass: | 40 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 10 t |
| Top speed: | 40 km / h |
| Starting tractive effort: | 41 kN |
| Cylinder diameter: | 229 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 356 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 10.6 kgf / cm³ |
The Earl of Merioneth is a Fairlie type steam locomotive that was commissioned in 1979 for the narrow-gauge Ffestiniog Railway . It was the first steam locomotive to be completely rebuilt for a museum railway .
history
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In 1971, the Livingston Thompson locomotive was the last double fairlie of the Ffestiniog Railway, which was largely in its original condition from the 19th century, due to heavy wear on numerous large components. Plans to renew the locomotive using the few remaining usable parts were dropped. Instead, based on a petition from permanent staff and volunteers, it was decided to preserve the museum and build a completely new locomotive. The Livingston Thompson is now in the National Railway Museum in York.
The construction of the new Double-Fairlie, which was to receive the name Earl of Merioneth (which the predecessor had also carried for a few years) and the company number 11, began in 1972 in the Ffestiniog Railway's own workshop, the Boston Lodge Works . The naming was based on the nobility title Earl of Merioneth , a subordinate title of the Duke of Edinburgh . The new locomotive was completed in 1979. It was the third Ffestiniog Railway double fairlie built in Boston Lodge and the first steam locomotive to be completely rebuilt by a museum railway company. In 1982 she ran the first train over the rebuilt route of the Ffestiniog Railway to Bleanau Ffestiniog.
Originally, the Earl of Merioneth was oil-fired, as the coal-fired would have increased the risk of forest fires . The fuel and water tanks, which were made much more spacious than on the historical machines, gave the locomotive a bulky, angular appearance that gave it the nickname "the Square" (meaning "the angular", "the box" etc.) among staff and railroad fans .) brought in. In the course of visits to the workshop, attempts were made to give the locomotive a more pleasing appearance through measures such as the attachment of decorative lines and the installation of brass caps for the steam domes . In 2006, due to the increased oil price, a conversion to coal firing with improved spark screens was carried out.
With the imminent expiry of the boiler deadline in 2018, the Ffestiniog Railway board discussed the future fate of the locomotive in 2016. As with its predecessor, numerous components had to be completely overhauled due to the wear and tear, most of which would have been the same as a new building. In her case, too, due to the historical importance of the locomotive, it was decided to keep it as a museum piece and to build a completely new locomotive. This will be named James Spooner and its appearance will be more similar to the historical locomotives.
On April 8, 2018, Earl of Merioneth made his last train from Porthmadog to Bleanau Ffestiniog and back as a charity trip for the Welsh Air Ambulance. The locomotive was then placed on its original bogies from 1979 in Boston Lodge.
technology
The Earl of Merioneth has a double boiler and two two-axle bogies , on which all axles are driven. Originally, it was equipped with reconditioned old bogies that had previously been used with changing locomotives. They were replaced by newly built specimens at a later date. The locomotive has two fire boxes , two smoke chambers and two regulators . The electronic speedometer and the electric headlamps are more unconventional components for a steam locomotive .
The Earl of Merioneth is designed to transport a train with 12 cars and 500 passengers up to an incline of 1.25% and with curve radii of up to 45 meters.
The Earl of Merioneth during a workshop visit (2009)
Side view with decorative lines in Blaenau Ffestiniog (2013)
Earl of Merioneth on a passenger train in Porthmadog (2007)
Train on the open track
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Individual evidence
- ↑ James Spooner rides again. In: Ffestinog & Welsh Highland Railways Homepage. September 4, 2017, accessed September 3, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Andrew Thomas: Squaring the circle . Narrow Gauge World, ed. 130, July 2018, p. 16 ff.
- ↑ James Spooner rides again. (PDF) In: Inside Motion. April 2016, accessed September 3, 2018 .
literature
- Brian Hollingsworth, Arthur F. Cook: Das Handbuch der Lokomotiven , Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1990, ISBN 3-88199-688-5 , p. 391.
- Peter Johnson: Immortal Rails Vol. 2 . Rail Romances, Chester 2005, ISBN 1-900622-09-2 (English).
- David Joy: Engines that bend - narrow gauge articulated locomotives . Atlantic publishers, Southend-on-Sea 2012, ISBN 978-1-902827-23-0 (English).
