NWNGR - Russell
| NWNGR / WHR - Russell | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Russell as guest on the Talyllyn Railway (2015)
|
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| Number: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | Hunslet |
| Year of construction (s): | 1906 |
| Type : | 1'C1 'n2t |
| Gauge : | 597 mm, today 600 mm |
| Fixed wheelbase: | 1,676 mm |
| Total wheelbase: | 4,724 mm |
| Service mass: | 20.3 t |
| Friction mass: | 20.3 t |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 711 mm |
| Impeller diameter: | 457 mm |
| Cylinder diameter: | 279 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 381 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 110.2 N / cm² |
| Grate area: | 0.58 m² |
| Radiant heating surface: | 3.34 m² |
| Tubular heating surface: | 32.05 m² |
| Water supply: | 2 m² |
The Russell narrow-gauge tank locomotive is the only surviving locomotive of the former Welsh Highland Railway or its predecessor, the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR). It was manufactured in 1906 by the Hunslet Engine Company as a single piece with the work no. 901 built.
history
Russell was delivered on behalf of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway (PBSSR). At that time, however, the line operated by this company was not yet completed (and never was), so the locomotive was used by the NWNGR, whose Beddgelert locomotive was worn out, but which could neither afford to be repaired nor to buy a new one. Like Beddgelert , Russell was mainly used for freight trains on the route between Dinas and Bryngwyn , which contained a section lying in a narrow 180 ° curve with a gradient of 1:40 (25 ‰), for which the other locomotives of the NWNGR were too weak were.
PBSSR and NWNGR merged into the newly founded Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) in 1922.
In 1923, Russell's chimney, steam dome and driver's cab were reduced in height so that the locomotive could also be used on the Ffestiniog Railway line connected to the WHR , which had a narrower clearance profile. However, this measure was not sufficient and Russell still did not fit through the (old) Moelwyn tunnel.
When the WHR ceased operations in 1937, Russell was the only operational locomotive. In June of this year, the locomotive collected all of the cars parked at the railway stations along the line and brought them to the depot in Dinas. It stood there for more than four years, until it was repaired for the Ministry of Supply in 1942 and relocated for use in a quarry in Oxfordshire . In 1948 Russell was sold to a mine in Dorset .
The locomotive's running gear was not designed for use on the poorly laid tracks on these industrial railways, and so it tended to derail. Even the temporary removal of the running axles changed little, and in 1953 Russell was retired after an axle breakage.
Restoration and museum use
The Birmingham Locomotive Society bought the locomotive and the Talyllyn Railway provided space for its accommodation. Restoration began in 1956. The broken axle was repaired free of charge by Hunslet, and in 1967 Russell also received a new boiler.
The locomotive was unsuitable for operation on the Talyllyn Railway, which has a track gauge of 686 mm, and it reached the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) - today the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR) - an association which was founded to rebuild the old WHR. There Russell was fundamentally overhauled by 1987, whereby the height reduction from 1923 was reversed. The locomotive was then used in front of museum trains on the association's short route.
In August 2000 Russell was a guest on the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernafon) and hauled trains on the section between Dinas and Waunfawr, which was already completed at that time .
Russell was out of service between 2004 and 2014. After a fundamental overhaul, during which the locomotive was also given a new boiler, it has been in use again at WHHR since August 2, 2014.
technology
Russell is a tank locomotive with a 1'C1 ' wheel arrangement. The water supply of 2 m 3 is located in lateral water tanks that run the entire length of the boiler and smoke chamber. The coal boxes are located on both sides in front of the driver's cab.
The coupling axles are mounted in an outer frame and are driven by external, horizontal cylinders via cranks. The running axles are designed as Bissel racks with internal axle bearings. The controls correspond to the Walschaert design - which was still very rare in British narrow-gauge locomotives in 1906.
Originally, Russell was equipped with an air brake. In 1923 this was replaced by a suction air brake in order to make the locomotive compatible with the braking system of the Ffestiniog Railway. As part of the restoration, a compressed air brake was installed again; the suction air brake - the brake system used by the FR and WHR to this day - was retained.
The locomotive is a one-off; However, Hunslet had already used a structurally identical boiler for an earlier locomotive (serial number 865 from 1905). Other components - wheels, springs, axle bearings, reversing mechanism and many parts of the engine - came from a series of locomotives built in 1898 for the Sierra Leone Railway (762 mm gauge), with which Russell also shares the wheel arrangement. Despite the smaller gauge, Russell was slightly heavier and more powerful than the locomotives for Sierra Leone.
literature
- James IC Boyd: Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire , Volume 2. The Oakwood Press, ISBN 0-85361-383-4 .
- Peter Johnson: An illustrated history of the Welsh Highland Railway . Revised and expanded 2nd edition. Oxford Publishing Co., 2009, ISBN 978-0-86093-626-8
Web links
- The story of Russell with illustrations (English)
- The return of Russell on the website of WHHR (English)