Long boiler locomotive

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Typical passenger locomotive on the London and North Western Railway circa 1852

The long boiler design was based on a patent granted to Robert Stephenson in 1842 . In order to avoid the destruction of the smoke chamber and heating pipes from excessive heat during prolonged use, the boiler was lengthened from the usual nine feet to thirteen or fourteen feet. At that time the prevailing opinion was that the center of gravity should be as low as possible for smooth running . This limited the size of the drive wheels and restricted the use of inner cylinders.

The first long boiler locomotives were built with a 1A1 wheel arrangement to accommodate the additional boiler length. But their outer cylinders led to a restless, swaying run. Stevenson later moved the rear wheels to the front, creating locomotives with a 2′A wheel arrangement and inner cylinders between the leading wheels. The classic long boiler machines were powerful, but the large overhang led to strong pitching and yawing movements . They were therefore only suitable for low speeds and were often used to transport goods trains. In Prussia , the Avenwedde railway accident meant that long boiler locomotives were no longer used in front of express trains from 1851 onwards.

literature

  • JW Lowe: British Steam Locomotive Builders . Guild Publishing London 1989
  • PJG Ransome: The Victorian Railway and How it Evolved . Heinemann London 1990