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LNER Gresley Class A1
The London and North Eastern Railway LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3 locomotives represented two distinct stages in the history of the British "Pacific" steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley. They were designed for main line passenger services and later express passenger services, initially on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), a constituent company of the London and North Eastern Railway after the amalgamation of 1923, for which they became a standard design. The change in class designation to A3 reflected the fitting to the same chassis of a higher pressure boiler with a greater superheating surface and a small reduction in cylinder diameter, leading to an increase in locomotive weight. Eventually all of the A1 locomotives were rebuilt, most to A3 specifications, but no. 4470 was completely rebuilt as Class A1/1. The names for the locomotives came from a variety of sources. The first, '' Great Northern'', was named after its parent company. Others were given the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel Gresley
Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, '' Flying Scotsman'', was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, number 4468 ''Mallard'', still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph). Gresley's engines were considered elegant, both aesthetically and mechanically. His invention of a three-cylinder design with only two sets of Walschaerts valve gear, the Gresley conjugated valve gear, produced smooth running and power at lower cost than would have been achieved with a more conventional three sets of Walschaerts g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of LNER Class A1/A3 Locomotives
Below are the names and numbers of the steam locomotives that comprised the LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3, that ran on the Great Northern (GNR) and latterly the London and North Eastern Railway network. They represented Nigel Gresley's attempt to standardise steam design. The class names mainly denoted various racehorses; there were seven exceptions, detailed at the end. Nos. 4470–81 were ordered by the GNR as their nos. 1470–81; and although only the first two were actually delivered to the GNR, all twelve initially bore their GNR numbers, a distinguishing suffix letter "N" being added to the last two from new, and to five others from August 1923, i.e. 1480N, etc. These twelve all had their numbers increased by 3000 between February 1924 and April 1925. Non-racehorse names GNR no. 1470 was named ''Great Northern'' when new in April 1922 in honour of the Great Northern Railway, which was to lose its identity at the end of the year; similarly, GNR no. 1471 was named '' Sir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Holcroft
Harold Holcroft (12 February 1882 – 15 February 1973) was an English railway and mechanical engineer who worked for the Great Western Railway (GWR), the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) and the Southern Railway (SR). At the GWR, Holcroft helped the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME), George Jackson Churchward, design the 4300 class 2-6-0 Moguls, and took the design principles for this class of locomotive with him when he moved to the SECR. Here, he worked as Assistant to Richard Maunsell and was involved with the design of the Maunsell Moguls, transferring to the Southern Railway when it was created by the amalgamation of the SECR with other railways at Grouping in 1923. After Maunsell's retirement in 1937, Holcroft continued to work for the Southern Railway under Oliver Bulleid until his retirement in 1946. Early life, GWR service and Holcroft conjugated valve gear Holcroft was born in Wolverhampton and undertook a premium apprenticeship at the Wolverhampton works of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cylinder (steam Locomotive)
The cylinder is the power-producing element of the steam engine powering a steam locomotive. The cylinder is made pressure-tight with end covers and a piston; a valve distributes the steam to the ends of the cylinder. Cylinders were cast in iron and later made of steel. The cylinder casting includes other features such as (in the case of the early Rocket locomotive) valve ports and mounting feet. The last big American locomotives incorporated the cylinders as part of huge one-piece steel castings that were the main frame of the locomotive. Renewable wearing surfaces were needed inside the cylinders and provided by cast-iron bushings. The way the valve controlled the steam entering and leaving the cylinder was known as steam distribution and shown by the shape of the indicator diagram. What happened to the steam inside the cylinder was assessed separately from what happened in the boiler and how much friction the moving machinery had to cope with. This assessment was known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belpaire Firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and square in cross-section, indicated by the longitudinal ridges on the top sides. However, it is the similar square cross-section inner firebox which provides the main advantages of this design i.e. it has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox where the heat is greatest, improving heat transfer and steam production, compared with a round-top shape. The flat firebox top would make supporting it against pressure more difficult (e.g. by means of girders, or stays) compared to a round-top. However, the use of a similarly shaped square outer boiler shell allows simpler perpendicular stays to be used between the shells. The Belpaire outer firebox is, nevertheless, more complicated and expensive to manufacture than a round-top version. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firebox (steam Engine)
In a steam engine, the firebox is the area where the fuel is burned, producing heat to boil the water in the boiler. Most are somewhat box-shaped, hence the name. The hot gases generated in the firebox are pulled through a rack of tubes running through the boiler. Steam locomotive fire tube firebox In the standard steam locomotive fire-tube boiler, the firebox is surrounded by water space on five sides. The bottom of the firebox is open to atmospheric pressure, but covered by fire grates (solid fuel) or a firing pan (liquid fuel). If the engine burns solid fuel, like wood or coal, there is a grate covering most of the bottom of the firebox to hold the fire. An ashpan, mounted underneath the firebox and below the grates, catches and collects hot embers, ashes, and other solid combustion waste as it falls through the grates. In a coal-burning locomotive, the grates may be shaken to clean dead ash from the bottom of the fire. They are shaken either manually or (in larger locom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locomotive Boiler
A fire-tube boiler is a type of boiler in which hot gases pass from a fire through one or more tubes running through a sealed container of water. The heat of the gases is transferred through the walls of the tubes by thermal conduction, heating the water and ultimately creating steam. The fire-tube boiler developed as the third of the four major historical types of boilers: low-pressure tank or "haystack" boilers, flued boilers with one or two large flues, fire-tube boilers with many small tubes, and high-pressure water-tube boilers. Their advantage over flued boilers with a single large flue is that the many small tubes offer far greater heating surface area for the same overall boiler volume. The general construction is as a tank of water penetrated by tubes that carry the hot flue gases from the fire. The tank is usually cylindrical for the most part—being the strongest practical shape for a pressurized container—and this cylindrical tank may be either horizontal or verti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loading Gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and keep clear of platforms, trackside buildings and structures. Classification systems vary between different countries, and gauges may vary across a network, even if the track gauge is uniform. The term loading gauge can also be applied to the maximum size of road vehicles in relation to tunnels, overpasses and bridges, and doors into automobile repair shops, bus garages, filling stations, residential garages, multi-storey car parks and warehouses. A related but separate gauge is the structure gauge, which sets limits to the extent that bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure can encroach on rail vehicles. The difference between these two gauges is called the clearance. The specified amount of clearance makes allowance for wobbling o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. It is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about southeast. Schenectady was founded on the south side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, many of whom came from the Albany area. The name "Schenectady" is derived from the Mohawk word ''skahnéhtati'', meaning "beyond the pines" and used for the area around Albany, New York. Residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west by the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, Schenectady developed rapidly in the 19th century as part of the Mohawk Valley trade, manufacturing, and transportation corridor. By 1824, more people worked in manufac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers and Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York. A subsidiary, American Locomotive Automobile Company, designed and manufactured automobiles under the Alco brand from 1905 to 1913. ALCO also produced nuclear reactors from 1954 to 1962. The company changed its name to Alco Products, Incorporated in 1955. In 1964, the Worthington Corporation acquired the company. The company went out of business in 1969. The ALCO name is currently being used by Fairbanks Morse Engine for their FM, ALCO line. Foundation and early history The company was created in 1901 from the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers with Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York: * Brooks Loco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GNR Class C1 (large Boiler)
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class C1 is a type of 4-4-2 steam locomotive. One, ex GNR 251, later LNER 2800, survives in preservation. Much like their small boiler cousins, they were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h). They were also known as ''Large Atlantics''. Development The C1 Class, as it was known under both GNR & LNER classifications, was designed by Henry Ivatt as an enlarged version of what became the LNER C2 Class. The principle of the design was to produce a powerful, free-steaming engine to haul the fastest and heaviest express trains on the Great Northern. They could thus be seen as the start of the East Coast 'Big Engine' policy. None were ever named. First engine and improvements The first engine, No. 251, was introduced in 1902, with eighty more being built at Doncaster Works between 1904 and 1908. Although they suffered from a number of teething troubles, the Atlantics were generally very successful. They were original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock. In Britain, the post of ''locomotive superintendent'' was introduced in the late 1830s, and ''chief mechanical engineer'' in 1886. Emerging professional roles In the early Victorian era, projected canal or railway schemes were prepared by groups of promoters who hired specialists such as civil engineers, surveyors, architects or contractors to survey a route; and this resulted in the issue of a prospectus setting out their proposals. Provided that adequate capital could be raised from potential investors, agreements obtained from the landowners along the proposed route and, in Britain, an Act of Parliament obtained (different terminology is used in other countries), then construction might begin either by a new compan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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