Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid
| Biography | Papers | Patents | Son Henry | West Country in Far East Sheringham 2005 |
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Bulleid was the last British innovator in steam locomotive engineering.
His designs departed radically from the norm and the principal changes are
listed below: see also Merchant
Navy class:
The innovator must be prepared for hostile criticism and to counter
this, Bulleid prepared a considerable number of technical papers and these
present a complete account of his theories. The press releases for his new
designs, as judged by the content in technical journals, did not contain
much information.
Sean Day-Lewis' Bulleid, last giant of
steam is a comprehensive biography, which was written with the
biographee's co-operation. It is of great importance in that it relates to
both his domestic and working lives. It includes information, notably
an account of the loss of their son, Hugh in a cycling accident
on 21 April 1938 on holiday in Dorking whilst at school in Ampleforth (Day-Lewis
reproduces the school's obituary notice). This terrible event is missing
from his son's accounts H.A.V. Bulleid
who was also a trained locomotive engineer. The tragic loss may have
affected his capacity for self-criticism - at least for a time.
Cox is also interesting. Day-Lewis is especially
important for describing his Irish activity. The Day-Lewis book was
reviewed by "HS" in Rly Wld,
1964, 25, 234, but it fails to notice some of Day-Lewis's strengths.
His closing remarks at the Centenary Lecures of the
IMechE on Motive Power make intriguing reading and make Riddles's actions
even more strange: the Southern anticipated four standard steam locomotives,
the LNER eight and Riddles evolved twelve. Bulleid was well aware of alternative
methods of propulsion.
Patents
547,180 Applied 6 February 1941, Published 17 August 1942.
Improvements in piston slide valves for engines
547,156. Applied 6 February 1942, Published 17 August 1942.
Improvements in and relating to locomotive steam engine valve gear
arrangements [valve operation by rocker in exhaust space]
584,858 24 January 1947. Improvements in load-bearing structures
adapted for use as wagon or carriage underframes. [triangulated underframe]
with Lionel Lynes
616,445 2 September 1946, Published 21 January 1949. Improvements
relating to locomotive and like steam boilers [Leader type boiler]
766,917 Applied 23 August 1954, Published 30 January 1957.
Improvements relating to railway wagon or carriage underframes with
Triangulated Underframes Ltd
819,493 Applied 16 July 1956, Published 2 September 1959 Improvements
relating to brake apparatus for railway vehicles
The booster. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs, 1928, 18, 239-74. Disc.: 274-91 (Paper No.228).
It is appropriate that Bulleid, the innovator, should have presented
this paper on one of Gresley's more complex experimental modifications, but
H.A.V. Bulleid in Master builders of steam states that both this,
and the poppet valve project, were directly under Gresley's control. It is
probably significant that the valbve gear on the booster operated within
an oil bath. He also clashed with Clayton and Chambers over the relative
mertits of wide versus narrow fireboxes and the "ten-wheeler" as in Castle
and Royal Scot designs versus the "faster" Atlantic and Pacific types (some
of the discussion was quite acrymonious)..
Locomotive and rolling-stock developments in Great Britain. Mech.
Engng., 1950, 72, 455-61. 14 illus, 2 diagrs., 2 tables.
This is based on a paper presented to the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers, Railroad Division. It gives greater details of Bulleid's later
developments than any other source.
Locomotives I have known.
Proc. Instn mech. Engrs, 1945, 152, 341-52
An unusual (possibly unique: few CME's analysed locomotive design
by themselves or by others) paper in that it selects a number of locomotive
types for detailed consideration. . Three are obvious (Lord Nelson
modifications, Merchant Navy and Q1 classes) in that they were his
own designs. The others considered were the Gresley Al, A4, 01, 02 and P2
designs, the Ivatt Atlantics and a French design. From the choice of L.N.E.R.
types it appear that Bulleid agreed with much of Gresley's design policy.
Perhaps the most intriguing are the detailed analyses of the Sturrock 0-8-0T,
the Ivatt 0-8-2T (considered with the previous), the Ivatt 0-8-0 and big
Atlantics footplate. Between 1902 and 1908 inclusive, 81 of these engines
were built and the results obtained in service were very good, both as regards
speed and hauling capacity. They readily met Mr. Ivatt’s requirements
of a sustained drawbar pull of not less than 2 tons at 60 m.p.h. Mr. Ivatt
used to make two remarks about the proportions of these engines. The first
was: “It is no good having a large purse and nothing to put in it”
(referring to the vogue for large cylinders and small boilers); the second,
“The difficult thing is to get the steam out of the cylinders”,
related to the attention given to the exhaust passages. The simple form of
firebox is noteworthy, the inwardly inclined sides of which, it was claimed,
allowed the bubbles of steam to pass through the water instead of creeping
up the plate as in the narrow box. The rather flat brick arch-obtained by
using large quarries in place of ordinary firebricks-will be noted. The external
appearance of the smokebox is deceptive; the smokebox tubeplate is recessed
into the barrel and the smokebox volume is thereby increased considerably.
This large volume in conjunction with the lower smokebox vacuum found to
be adequate when a wide firebox is used, materially reduced the emission
of sparks. This large boiler feeds two comparatively small cylinders, 18¾
inches diameter by 24-inch stroke. Balanced slide valves were used. As in
this case they were arranged to work vertically, a very direct exhaust was
attained. A detail of interest is the tyre section. The coupled wheels are
6 ft. 8 in. diameter on tread, and their centres are 6 ft. 10 in. apart.
The clearance between the flanges was only 29/32 inch, the
depth of this flange having been made inch, as compared with the standard
of 11/8 inches.
See Turner's observations.
Modern long distance high speed trains in Great Briatin.
presented to Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France (British Section),
Paris. Locomotive Mag., 1939,
45, 11
Brief description of paper presented by O.V.S. Bulleid on 27 May 1938
in Paris wherein he described the Cheltenham Flyer, Bristolian, Silver
Jubilee, Coronation and Coronation Scot and noted the problems
of braking them, but punctuality had been extremely good.
Poppet valves on
locomotives. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1929, 19, 569-605.
Disc.: 605-23 (Paper No. 248)
Possible developments of the steel tyre. Rly Steel Top., 1952,
1, 37-40.
Suggests welding instead of shrinking the tyre onto the wheel.
Presidential Address. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1940, 30, 7-12.
Very dull: concerned arrangements made for mechanical and electrical
engineering during WW2: Committee chaired by Sir Nigel Gresley and membership
of Fairburn and Stanier from the LMS, Graff-Baker from the LPTB. Richards
from the LNER, Collett from the GWR and Raworth from the
Southern.
Presidential Address. Proc.
Instn mech. Engrs, 1947, 156, 1-5
The SR's war effort, also the Leader class.
Presidential Address. Trans. Inst-Weld., 1949, 12, 135-8.
11 illus.
Welding on railways, with emphasis on SR and LNER developments.
Longer extract below..
with other authors.
Railway power plant in Great Britain.
Proc. Instn mech.
Engrs, 1947, 235-9 + 4 plates. 12 illus., diagr. (s. &
f. els.), 2 tables. (Centenary Lectures).
The other speakers were H.G. lvatt, A.H. Peppercorn and F.W. Hawksworth.
Bulleid's own paper reviewed his Merchant Navy design and outlined
the Leader class.
Present Position: (a) Steam Locomotives. A large proportion of the
trafiic on the Southern Railway is suburban-passenger carried in electrically
operated, multiple-unit stock; the company operates the largest electric
service in the world. The density of the traffic around London is such that
all freight and non-electrically operated passenger services have to be
dovetailed into the electric services, this being the case even with the
“boat trains” to Dover and other ports, and with the South-West
and West of England expresses when inside the suburban area.
The past extensions of the electrified areas, and the probable future extensions,
delayed the modernization of the steam-locomotive stock as each extension
made some of the steam locomotives redundant; consequently locomotives of
the constituent companies still form a large proportion of the stock. The
inability of the existing steam locomotives to meet the increasing demands
of the operating department had become obvious prior to the recent war, and
steps were then taken to overcome it by the provision of new and more powerful
locomotives. The old distinction between express passenger engines and others
had been removed by developments in design, so that the need for driving
wheels of large diameter no longer existed. The term “mixed traflic”,
describing an engine able to operate all classes of trains, came into use.
As regards train engines, the traffic requirements could be covered by two
classes of tender engines and two classes of tank engines-the former for
longer distance services, the latter for all local and short distance workings.
One of the tank-engine designs is shown in Fig. 10.
Whilst the benefit of standard parts was not overlooked this was not allowed
to override the major need of meeting, in the most efficient manner possible,
the operating requirements. The behaviour of the existing engines in service
was investigated with a view to affecting such improvements as would reduce
the attention required in the sheds, increase the reliability, and extend
the availability of any future engines and make them more comfortable and
easier to handle.
The first new design was the Merchant Navy class, to operate trains of 600
tons at an average speed of 70 m.p.h., and heavier trains at proportionately
lower speeds.
These engines were the first steam locomotives built for use in England that
mark a considerable breakaway from longaccepted practice.
The main new features incorporated in them are :-
(1) Boilers for 280 lb. per sq. in. pressure, with welded outer fireboxes
and welded steel inner-fireboxes with two Nicholson syphons.
(2) Totally enclosed valve gears under continuous lubrication.
(3) Lightened wheels of improved design, giving continuous circumferential
support to the tyres.
(4) Clasp brakes on the driving wheels and tender wheels. (5) Reciprocating
weights not balanced, thereby obviating hammer blow.
The use of welded steel fireboxes enabled a very powerful boiler to be provided
within the weight available.
These engines with their 21-ton driving-axle loads (a figure only allowed
on the permanent way and bridges in consequence of the absence of hammer
blow) were used on the main lines, but could not run over the secondary lines
such as those west of Exeter.
The second design of tender engines is the West Country class
which can operate over 88 per cent of the company’s lines.
These engines incorporate the innovations first introduced on the Merchant
Navy engines. The reduction in weight has been obtained to some extent by
the greater use of welding. The axlebox horns are welded directly into the
main frames; the cross stays are fabricated; steel castings have been almost
eliminated, and the foundation rings have been formed of plate bent to shape
and welded.
The Southern will shortly have in service 120 of these two types of Pacific
locomotives of high capacity and advanced design and construction.
Fig. 12, Plate 4, shows a modern design of goods engine (Q1 0-6-0), which,
however, is not included among the standard designs selected for the
future.
(b) Electric Multiple-Unit Stock. The lines electrified amount to one-third
of the route miles, and the service provided requires 1,619 motor coaches
and 1,598 trailer coaches.
The stock is of the compartment type in the case of the suburban lines and
corridor vestibule vehicles in the case of the express stock used on the
Brighton, Eastbourne, and Portsmouth services. The installed horse-power
in the various types of units mainly in use is :-
Four-coach suburban (two motor coaches) . 1,100 h.p.
Four-coach main line (two motor coaches) . 900 h.p.
Six-coach main line (two motor coaches) . 1,800 h.p.
Trains are made up of one, two, or three of the four-coach sets and two of
the six-coach sets.
(c) Electric Locomotives. There are in service two Co+Co mixed-traffic
locomotives (Fig. 13, Plate 4) which have given excellent results in service.
These engines are fitted with boosters and can run over long gaps in the
conductor rail without difficulty. The engines are carried on bogies of a
new design without bolster, the usual centre being replaced by four quadrants,
two placed nearly over the outer axles and two over the bogie frames. Spring
control-gear is provided to ensure that the bogies keep in line with the
longitudinal centre-line of the locomotive. One additional locomotive of
this type is in course of construction.
(d) Diesel-Electric Locomotives. Three 350 h.p. six-wheeled shunting engines
have been in service since 1937 and have given a good account of themselves
in yard shunting. Fifteen more of these locomotives are on order.
Future Tendencies:
(a) Steam Locomotives. The requirements to be met by steam tender
locomotives having been covered by the two classes referred to above, attention
was next given to the types of tank engines needed.
A new type of heavy, mixed-traffic tank engine is under construction and
these engines embody further developments of the innovations introduced in
the tender engines, all with the object of developing a steam locomotive
as easy to maintain and operate as possible. As the locomotive is carried
on two six-wheeled bogies, the whole weight is available for adhesion and
braking and the engine can run over 97 per cent of the company’s
system.
Each six-wheeled bogie has a three-cylinder, simple-expansion engine driving
the middle axle, which is coupled to the leading and trailing axles. A new
design of engine has been adopted, completely eliminating all piston or valve
glands subject to steam pressure. Roller-bearing axleboxes are fitted throughout
and the usual horn guides suppressed.
A new design of boiler has been introduced without the usual water legs,
so that stay trouble has been eliminated. The engines will carry water treatment
equipment, so that there should be no longer any trouble resulting from the
failure or absence of water treatment plants.
Automatic lubrication has been carried a stage farther so that it is nearly
complete.
It is expected that the availability of the locomotives will reach a percentage
comparable with that of any other form of traction, i.e. be determined by
traffic conditions rather than by locomotive requirements.
(b) Electric Locomotives. High-speed electric locomotives are under
consideration, the locomotives being designed to give performances comparable
with those of the Merchant Navy and West Country steam locomotives.
(c) Diesel Locomotives. The design of three Diesel-electric locomotives
each fitted with 1,600 h.p. Diesel engines is in hand. These locomotives
will be of the “1 Co+Co 1” type, to operate up to speeds of 90
m.p.h. Each unit will be 62 ft. 3 in. long over buffers and weigh 126 tons.
Two of the units coupled together will be used experimentally to work express
trains to Exeter for comparative purposes.
One six-coupled Diesel-mechanical engine fitted with a 500 h.p. engine is
being built, and will be suitable for hump shunting, yard shunting, and
main-line, pick-up goods services, as well as for operating branch-line passenger
service up to a speed of 45 m.p.h. Designs are in an advanced stage for a
1,600 h.p. Dieselmechanical locomotive suited for working passenger trains
up to 90 m.p.h., fast freight, and heavy goods trains. The weight of the
1,600 h.p. unit will be 86 tons and its length 48 feet over buffers. The
efficiency overall of the transmission will be 88 to 90 per cent.
(d) Gas-Turbine Locomotive. The Southern is following the development
of a gas-turbine locomotive using coal instead of oil as fuel, and, as soon
as the pioneer work has been completed, will arrange to carry out the necessary
service trials as its contribution towards the application of our natural
fuel, coal, to this highly efficient form of motive power
Bulleid, O.V.S. Closing remarks. (Centenary
Lectures). Proc. Instn
mech. Engrs, 1947, 251-2
The Southern Railway operates the largest electric service in the
world—a suburban service, almost entirely consisting of multiple-unit
stock.
For main-line work the Southern concentrates on mixed traffic locomotives,
and all their requirements are expected to be met by two classes of tender
locomotives and two classes of tank locomotives. All recent engines have
totally enclosed, continuously lubricated valve gear, steel fireboxes with
thermic syphons, improved wheels, and clasp brakes.
The Southern Railway have built two Co+Co mixed-traffic electric locomotives,
which have given excellent results in service, and are considering high-speed
electric locomotives which will compare with the steam mixed-traffic locomotives.
They are 19 fitted with boosters and can run over long gaps in the conductor
rails without difficulty. The bogies are of unusual design without bolster.
The Southern also has three 350-h.p. Diesel-electric shunting engines, and
have in hand three Diesel-electric locomotives fitted with 1,600-h.p. engines
for main-line work at speeds up to 90 m.p.h. Experiments are also in hand
with a six-coupled Diesel-mechanical shunting engine which is intended for
hump shunting, pick-up goods service, and branch-line working at speeds up
to 45 m.p.h.
The Great Western Railway has continued the policy instituted by the late
George Jackson Churchward in 1902, with improvement in detail.
This policy has resulted in exceptional standardization of parts. with a
booked stock of 3,860 engines, 3,575 of G.W.R. design. There are 3,119 standard
locomotives divided into twenty classes, the whole of which are equipped
with boilers drawn from a range of seven standard boilers.
The company is at present equipping a number of engines for burning oil and
have made some progress in trials of a Diesel-electric shunting engine of
350 h.p. New developments are in the direction of the utilization of gas
turbines, and two 2,500 h.p. gas-turbine electric locomotives have been ordered
and are expected in 1949.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway has been able to reduce the standard
types to ten classes, and has incorporated a number of improvements to assist
availability. The L.M.S.R. are carrying out experiments in roller bearings,
poppet valve gears and steel fireboxes, in the hope that there will be a
further improvement in the time between shoppings, and in the maintenance
in efficiency.
An extensive trial of Diesel-electric locomotives is being made, a most
satisfactory shunting engine of 350 h.p. having been developed. An 800-h.p.
unit for cross-country and branch-line services and two 1,600-h.p. units
for main-line express trains (which can be used singly or as a pair) are
under construction.
L.M.S. authorities hope to explore the whole traffic field and settle where
Diesel-electric traction is most likely to justify itself, and to ascertain
how far this type of locomotive can be considered as an alternative to main-line
electric locomotives.
The London and North Eastern Railway has eight new standard designs, which
are expected to meet all requirements. Experiments are being made on controlled
water treatment, with the possibility of using welded steel fireboxes, and
research is being carried out in valve gears and poppet valves.
Diesel-mechanical railcars to cover a wide range of their secondary services,
and Diesel-electric units of 350 h.p. for shunting purposes, have been proposed.
A mixed-trafiic electric locomotive of 1,868 b.h.p. has been built for the
Manchester-Sheffield electrification scheme.
The Chief Engineer of Motive Power of the New York Central Railroad has presented
a most valuable review of the locomotive position in the United States as
it exists to-day, and he quite rightly emphasizes the fundamental requirements
of availability and utilization. Improved rights of way and operating practices
demand improved locomotive design to support the more intensive utilization
made possible.
A motive power unit must possess a reasonable margin of capacity over that
necessary to perform the appointed task. Rapid acceleration from rest, or
after slacks, is a characteristic much desired, in addition to capacity for
running. In fact, a good big engine is better than a good little one.
In the United States the trend is towards higher standards without over
complication ; the characteristic curves, drawbar horse-power and drawbar
pull, for various United States engines, illustrate the improvement in power.
The Locomotive Development Committee, in association with Bituminous Coal
Research and the General Electric Company, is producing a number of new types
using pulverized coal as the fuel for a steam-turbine locomotive, and two
gas-turbine locomotives with approximately 3,750 s.h.p.
The table giving the principal characteristics of reciprocating Steam locomotives
is a valuable contribution to the lecture. The lecture concludes with a review
of what is taking place in the Diesel-electric field, and is illustrated
with some interesting curves comparing steam, electric, and Diesel locomotive
performance: tables of annual costs, and of the acceleration characteristics
of steam, Diesel-electric, and electric locomotives complete this very valuable
contribution.
The Deputy Director General of the French National Railways reports that
between the two world wars numerous experiments were carried out to obtain
increased efficiency from the locomotive : Schmidt and Löffler high-pressure
boilers, Krupp and Maffei turbine and condenser locomotives were tried. It
was generally found that the savings did not justify the additional complications
and increased maintenance costs.
In France the experiments made by M. Chapelon opened up a new field of
improvement for conventional locomotives. These results were hardly established
before experiments were started with the Velox boiler, Wintherthur high-pressure
locomotives with individual axle drive, and Schneider locomotives with individual
turbine drive, but in general the increased cost of maintenance and the
complications required to obtain the theoretical efficiency make the innovations
uneconomical.
The trend of modern steam locomotive design in Europe is towards reduction
of maintenance costs and towards longer daily hauls, simplicity, increased
robustness (leading to an increase in axle load), and to design for
general-purpose service. Steel fireboxes are coming more and more into favour
with the introduction of controlled water treatment. For high power, a preference
is being shown for three-cylinder arrangement instead of four, and a new
three-cylinder compound designed by M. Chapelon has just gone into service.
The French Railways prefer piston valves to poppet valves—they require
less maintenance.
Diesel-electric locomotives of 600 h.p. are being used in increasing numbers
for shunting purposes, but very little has been done to develop a main-line
Diesel-electric locomotive. Extensive trials have already been made with
the gas-turbine locomotive built by Brown Boveri.
Electrification of main lines has resulted in many experiments introducing
various forms of electric locomotives, apparently with the object of finding
a good total adhesion machine, and tests are being made of the influence
on the track of various arrangements of drive and wheels, by means of blades,
or with piezo-electric quartz as used by M. Mauzin in France.
Each of these three valuable lectures deserves very careful study, bearing
in mind the different conditions, especially geographical, of the three
territories considered, and we are indebted to the authors for their valuable
contributions.
In all three lectures we find the importance of robustness, efficiency, and
reliability stressed, in order that the availability may be as high as possible.
The advantage of the two-cylinder design of steam locomotive (for locomotives
within the two-cylinder power range) as regards simplicity has been advocated.
The multi-cylinder locomotive is used when greater power is required, and
when it is desired to increase axle load by the elimination of hammer blow.
Whilst the four-cylinder design was largely a French development, there is
in France a tendency towards the three-cylinder type so widely used in British
practice.
The disadvantages of special types of locomotives are emphasized, the ideal
being the engine which can be used most widely (i.e. on most of the lines
and on most classes of trains) and which requires the minimum of preparation
and attention in service.
A marked reduction in the types of locomotives required to cover all classes
of train working is envisaged, with an expected reduction in operating costs.
The use of Diesel locomotives for shunting is extending, and may be expected
to become general. Main-line Diesel locomotives are on order for trial purposes
to obtain operating results under British conditions, with a view to determining
the most suitable field in which they can be used.
Electric locomotives have demonstrated their reliability and great availability.
They appear to provide the best alternative to steam power in coal-producing
countries, certainly until such time as coal can be made available as a fuel
for use in the cylinders of compression-ignition engines or in gas
turbines.
Railway rolling stock and tendencies in design. Engineering,
1949, 167, p71; 94-5; 60. 13 illus., 4 diagrs. (s. els.), 5 tables.
Lecture presented to British Association (Section G) meeting at Brighton
(10/9/1948). The paper uses a number of designs to illustrate development
from the time of H.A. Ivatt and Churchward until his own locomotives. A number
of his contemporaries' designs were described to indicate their lack of
development.
The "Silver Jubilee" trains of the London and North Eastern Railway.
Bull. int. Rly Congr. Ass., 1935, 17, 1299-1325 + 2
folding plates. 17 illus., 7 diagrs., 3 tables, 2 plans.
Some notes on the "Merchant
Navy" class locomotives of the Southern Railway. Proc. Instn mech.
Engrs, 1946, 154, 316-33. Disc. 333-43.
Very extensive account of the justification for the design and
observations on its performance in service.
Comments on other's papers
Like Stanier, Bulleid was a major contributor to papers by other engineers and these comments frequently air his own design philosophy.
Borgeaud, Gaston. The latest
development of the electric locomotive in Switzerland – its mechanics
and some problems. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1949, 39, 121-224.
Paper 484 page 212
Cox, E.S.: Balancing of locomotive
reciprocating parts. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1943, 33, 218. (Paper No. 432).
Pp. 222-3: Bulleid noted how horizontal oscillations caused by the
short cylinder stroke and lack of counter-balances on the Merchant Navy were
prevented by being transmitted to the train by the use of rubber
springs.
Cox, E.S.: Locomotive axleboxes.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1944, 34, 275. (Paper No. 447).
Pp. 325-7: Lubrication on the Merchant Navy class.
Holcroft, H. (Paper No. 430):
Smoke deflectors for locomotives. J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1941,
31, 462-89. Disc.: 490-509.
O.V.S. Bulleid (503-4) considered that long boilers accentuated the
problem of drifting smoke and suggested that the problem was "amost
insoluble".
McClean, H.G. (Paper 454)
The mechanical design of the latest class F high-speed electric locomotives
of the Swedish State Railways. J.
Instn Loco. Engrs,,1945, 35, 336-65. Disc. 365-77.
H. Holcroft spoke on behalf of O.V.S. Bulleid (365-8) on the Southern
Railway electric locomotives.
Robson, T.: The counter pressure
method of testing locomotives. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1943, 33,
171. (Paper No. 441).
Pp. 206-7 : The P2 tests on the Vitry plant and other topics. Also
very sharp response to "inferiority" of three cylinder locomotives (Gresley's
B17 class had been tested using the counter pressure locomotive)
Sanford, D.W. The relationship
between smokebox and boiler proportions. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1944,
34, 40-53. Disc. : 53-76. 5 diagrs., 2 tables(Paper
451).
O.V.S.B. (53-5) was highly critical of the use of a mercury U-tube
for measuring smokebox vacuum and advocated the Cambridge Instrument developed
with Gresley. Described his WW2 experiment of fitting a locomotive with two
separate chimneys in an attempt to break-up the exhaust trail. He advocated
larger chimneys with a 7 to 1 ratio rather than the more usual 3 to 1 ratio
and cited work on Lord Nelson chimneys.
Shields, T.H.: The evolution of
locomotive valve gears. J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1943, 33, 368.
(Paper No. 443).
Pp. 454-6: Musings on a variety of topics including the Cossart gear
and his preference for engineering dimensions to be quoted as l/64ths instead
of l/1000ths. A longer extract follows:
As a matter of interest, he had compared the valve events of the first "austerity" engine built on the Southern Railway with those of the second "austerity" locomotive, produced by the Ministry of Supply. The Southern Railway engine used the Stephenson gear; the Ministry of Supply used the Walschaerts.
When one looked at the figures, one had to admit that it was quite immaterial whether one used the one or the other; the events' were both good, both engines did the work for which they were designed, and both stood up to their job. The Stephenson gear did not cause any trouble with lubrication. It was piston ring trouble rather than gear trouble which was generally experienced.
Going through the Paper, he could not help thinking of the past. He could just remember the engine on the G.N.R. which was fitted with the Marshall gear. He had been a youngster then, and at Doncaster they were all very interested in the engine fitted with this new contraption. Why it was taken oft' he did not know; it was probably a case of " Here's a foreigner; kill it! " The next gem: which amused him was the Cossart gear on the Nord Railway of France, which was not-mentioned in the Paper.
On one occasion when he happened to be in the Nord railway offices, he asked why anyone ever invented that gear, and the answer was amusing. It appeared that the Nord never found it necessary to borrow ideas from other people, and. so M. Cossart was ordered, he believed by Baron Rothschild, to invent a valve gear. To maintain the tradition of not copying. anything used anywhere else, therefore, the Cossart valve gear was evolved, and it was a very good valve gear. On one occasion Sir Nigel Gresley, who at one time had an unfortunate reputation in France — they called him the " Jonah," because whenever he travelled by the boat train from Calais it was almost certain that something would happen between Calais and Paris, and they even went so far as to suggest that they would prefer him to travel via Le Havre — was on the train and the engine failed at Creil, and the train had to be taken on to Paris by an 8-coupled tank engine fitted with the Cossart gear. He was very surprised to run into Paris behind this suburban tank engine at about two minutes under the normal time with a Pacific, and after that he was very interested in the Cossart gear, its performance having been rather startling. - ..
Everyone was interested in the poppet gears, but they did not seem to have got as far as they should. They were certainly attractive, but there seemed to be something about them which prevented them making progress; what it was he did not pretend to know.
Smith, S.G. Standardisation of coaching stock.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1951,
41, 135. (Paper No. 499)
O.V.S. Bulleid said that he had come specially to this country to
congratulate Mr. Smith on his paper. “He has suffered from me frequently
and often.”Bulleid added. “I have watched him at work, and he is
a first-rate fellow. He has produced the sort of paper that both your President
and I expected him to produce.” Less than justice, however, had been
done to the President. What had been described was a wonderful example of
standardisation, and the author of it was sitting in the Chair. He could
give the assurance that it required someone with a good deal of drive to
get carriage draughtsmen to agree on anything.
Mr. Wade had criticised the lavatory doors, but it was something to have
a standard door which could- be easily repaired, even if it did not represent
perfection. Mr. Wade might care to help the work of standardisation by suggesting
to the Committee concerned the best type of door lock, the best type of lettering
and the best arrangements generally.
As he had already said, it was the President whom they had to compliment
for having initiated the work which had been described and for carrying it
through to its present state in such an extraordinarily short time. How he
had done it Mr. Bulleid did not know; " I am," he said, " an old-fashioned
individualist and do not believe in standardisation, not one little tiny
bit," but he believed that in the circumstances standardisation had been
essential, and he thought that they would all wish to say how much they admired
what had been done and holw astounded they were at the amount of work which
had been done in such a short time.
Spencer, B. The development of L.N.E.R. locomotive design, 1923-1941.
J. Instn Loco. Engrs, 1947,
37, 211-12. (Paper No. 465)
commented on (1) balancing and how there had been a dispute between
himself and the Doncaster Drawing Office over the calculating that of the
original Pacifics, but that Dalby had verified Bulleid's calculations. Bulleid
considered that over-runing of the inside cylinder was due to inadequate
stiffness of the support for the fulcrum. He described K3 No. 1003 as "a
very nice engine", and the first to demonstrate the advantage of high average
speed on the level and uphill. Bulleid partly spoiled the case for
three-cylinder locomotives by stating that for goods engines the running
men "given an equal tractive effort , had a weakness for a two-cylinder engine"
as on adverse gradients with heavy loads that the "unequal turning" would
enable a train to be started.
Bulleid described testing P2 No. 2001 Cock o' the North on
the test plant at Vitry. It is interesting that he always refered to the
locomotive as "she" as in she compared favourably with the French engines
in coal consumption per rail-h.p., and, better still, per d.b.h.p. When tested
on the open road between Orleans and Tours "she" developed a very high
horse-power of the order of 2,800, and was again shown to be an efficient
engine from the point of view of coal consumed per d.b.h.p. In service, however,
it was an extravagant engine as it was not properly used: instead of working
trains well within its capacity over long runs, it was employed on a service
such as Edinburgh to Dundee on trains much under its capacity; it stood for
a long time at Dundee, went to Aberdeen and hung about there, and did a very
poor mileage per day, with the result that it showed a heavy coal consumption,
most of the coal being burnt through misuse rather than in working
trains.
The P1 class engine was interesting, and he had always regarded her
as the best-looking engine Gresley ever built. She worked trains of 100 loaded
wagons from Peterborough to Ferme Park, and the real reason for her withdrawal
from that class of work was that the train occupied three block sections
and it was necessary to divide it at Ferme Park on a running main line before
it could be disposed of.
Bulleid recorded the Bugatti connection for Gresley's streamlining:
not only were the models tested in the wind tunnel, but Sir Nigel, who knew
Bugatti, followed his work in France with close interest, made it his business
to travel on the Bugatti rail-cars between Deauville and Paris, and was much
impressed by the efficiency with which the wedge form of the front of the
engine passed through the atmosphere with the minimum of disturbance. It
was really that which led to the type of front end adopted on the "Pacifics."
Wilson, A. Gordon. Trends in transmission design for self-propelled
diesel railcars. J. Instn Loco.
Engrs., 1960, 50, 217-18.(Paper No. 606)
Probably one of the earliest railcars was that built by the English
Electric Company in 1905. It had two 40- horse power Daimler 4-cylinder engines
and a gearbox with two speeds. The vehicle weighed 15 tons on four wheels,
and it was soon found that adhesion on one pair of wheels was sufficient
to absorb the horse power of the two Daimler engines. With regard to the
Bugatti car, he recalled a memorable occasion when Sir Nigel Gresley and
he travelled with Bugatti in his railcar from Deauville to Paris. It was
a remarkable performance because it maintained a speed of 70 m.p.h. or over
regardless of curves, and the effect on the passengers, especially at the
leading end, was something that had to be seen to be imagined! Sir Nigel
Gresley asked Mr. Bugatti how he dared put so many gallons of petrol in the
vehicle, and did he not fear a fire. Bugatti replied that the vehicle travelled
so fast that in the event of the tanks discharging their contents and thus
catching fire on the line the railcar at speed would have left the fire well
behind.
The manner in which Bugatti determined the streamlined form of his railcar
was a splendid and pleasing piece of practical engineering. He, like Mr.
Bulleid, was convinced that testing rolling stock in wind tunnels was not
the way to solve the problem. He had fitted a nunber of bodies of different
streamlined forms on some of his fast road chassis, and on the long, straight
French roads he found the type of vehicle which went the fastest for a given
fuel consumption. He found the wedge front and rear the best and adopted
it for the railcar form. When travelling in it, it was noticeable that there
was no side disturbance of the atmosphere at all, the air passing over the
body and striking the track some distance behind the railcar.
Letter to The Telegraph in July 1963 (via Day Lewis pp. 286-7).
The correspondence in your columns reveals a growing doubt as to the
wisdom of the dieselization of British Railways.
In the absence of reliable British statistics, the results of diesel operation
cannot be ascertained. Reference to the experience elsewhere shows that the
estimated economies are not obtained under service conditions.
Diesel traction is noisy and malodorous: in confined spaces the exhaust fumes
can be dangerous to health. The exhaust fumes are decidedly unpleasant when
they penetrate into the interior of carriages.
The ultimate solution of the traction problem lies in complete electrification,
using multiple unit stock, rail cars, and locomotives. When the sections
of railways which do not pay have been closed, and the new railway system
is known, there will be no difficulty in justifying financially the
electrification of the whole ot it.
Until such time as the lines are electrified, full use should be made of
the existing steam locomotives.
No one with any desire to improve rail travel and with any feeling for the
staff can wish to see coal-burning locomotives retained in service any longer
than can be helped.
It is too often forgotten that it is not the steam engine of a steam locomotive
that should be criticized, but the use of coal under unsuitable conditions.
All the dirt and grime now thought to be inseparable from rail travel is
entirely due to the use of coal resulting in the smoke and grit from its
combustion.
Sir James Milne, when general manager of the Great Western Railway, demonstrated
the very substantial savings to be effected by equipping the locomotives
to use oil fuel in place of coal. Quite apart from the increased thermal
efficiency the abolition of coaling plants, ash pits and ash disposal equipment
with their inevitable dirt nuisance would save much labour. The locomotives
would be able to develop greater sustained power, and the increased radius
of action would allow longer runs between refuelling, and would enable
intermediate depots to be closed.
Out of the coal supplied .10 per cent is discharged through the chimney unburnt.
Taking into account the increased heat value and greater efficiency in use
of oil fuel, 10 million tons of locomotive coal would be replaced by between
6¼ million and 6 million tons of fuel oil, costing at the refinery £8
per ton, of which £2 is tax. In addition there would be the expenditure
on fitting the locomotives with burners and tanks, and on providing the oil
storage plants at the refuelling points.
Yours faithfully, O. V. S. Bulleid, Exmouth, Devon.
Oliver Vaughan Snell was born in Invercargill, New Zealand on 19 September 1882 and died in Malta on 25 April 1970. He was brought up as an Anglican, but became a Roman Catholic, and died as a devout one. His son tells one delightful story of "an occasional visit to the Assistant for the Isle of Wight, a rather delightful job in which G. L. Nicholson had charge of everything and accordingly reported to all the bosses. When the C.M.E. came down to look over the carriage paint shop at Newport he was rather surprised to be met at Ryde by Nicholson in his modest motor car. Quarr Abbey lies on the route, a delightful Benedictine Monastery where, curiously, the choirmaster was a grandson of William Dean. "Possibly you might care to pause for a few moments to look round," Nicholson suggested, casually. They entered, received V.I.P. treatment and an excellent lunch from the Prior, and arrived at Ryde very late indeed.".
He started an apprenticeship under the equally devout H.A. Ivatt at Doncaster on the GNR in 1901. In 1908 he left to join Westinghouse in France. He married Ivatt's youngest daughter Marjorie on 18 November 1908. He then worked for the Board of Trade at the International exhibitions in Brussels in 1910 and Turin in 1911. This gave him a knowledge of European languages which enabled him to join several parties of senior engineers on their forays into Europe (see for instance his visit to Belgium with Gresley, Stanier and Hawksworth to see the demonstration of a bogie metre gauge locomotive for Colombia). In December 1912 he bacame Gresley's personal assistant, but left to become the CME of the Southern Railway in 1937. According to Winkworth (Br Rlys ill., 1994, 4, 78-87) his salary on the SR was £3,000 - a considerable reduction on that paid to Maunsell (£4,500). But the appointment occurred when the Board had decided not to electrify to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells and was querying electrification towards Oxted, thus reopening the need for steam motive power.
He was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1946 and of the Locomotive Engineers during WW2 from 1939 to 1945. In case of former, son relates an incident with a gold watch owned by H.L. Guy which fell through the toilet onto the track and was retrieved, repaired and retuned to him
In 1949 retiresd from the Southern Region (Locomotive Mag., 1949, 55, 142) and became the CME of CIE in Ireland and retired in 1958. John Marshall implies that he retired to Malta (but this was only after the dampness of Devon had become intolerable). Bulleid is excellently served by his main biographers, Sean Day-Lewis (better for personal information, such as the terrible death of his son Hugh) and his son (better for engineering): the latter refers to the former (Day-Lewis) in the end of his book.
Other sources
Cox's Locomotive panorama v. 2.: (See pp. 15.19; 105; 144; 148)
Page 16: With Bulleid on the other hand, there was rather a different situation which merits some description because of its unusual nature. To an extent unknown on other railways, he had been supreme autocrat within his own department, and had been able to impose his will upon a management otherwise pre-occupied with electrification. In locomotive matters on the former S.R. it could be said of him, as of Joseph in the Egyptian prison, that 'Whatsoever was done therein, he was the doer thereof'. An individualist of the deepest dye, he had no sympathy at all with the painstaking improvement of the breed which I [Cox] have outlined, but wished with brilliant and dramatic improvisations to solve all the remaining problems of steam by quite other means. To him novelty was everything. If it would not work then this could not be the fault of the idea itself, but only of the incapacity of those who tried to carry it out or use it. The cross which he had to bear was that his developments with conventional practice were successful, sometimes brilliant, whereas his exercises in the bizarre, which he loved dearly as his brain children, often failed. A recent book [Sean Day-Lewis] has described in great detail the fascinating personality and the ideas, achievements and failures of this enigmatical man.' He knew in advance that we were bound to introduce practice which was alien to his own thought processes, and to divert the activities of his assistants from frantically trying to solve the impossible into more normal channels. I recollect my first official contact with him after my new appointment when he assembled all his principal technical staff for lunch at the Old Ship Hotel at Brighton to meet me. His charm and tact eased a confrontation which could have been difficult, and he offered then, and loyally upheld later, every assistance from his people in what we wanted to do. He did not disguise his attitude however, and expressed in an extremely gentlemanly way, that he had cast his pearls before swine, and that if we found nothing to learn from his 'Merchant Navy' and 'Leader', so much the worse for us.
Bannister, Eric.
Trained by Sir Nigel Gresley. 1984. pp. 23
Encountered Bulleid at a rerlatively late stage in his work with
Gresley.
Bond, Roland C.
A lifetime with locomotives. Cambridge: Goose, 1975. page
191 et seq
Oliver Bulleid and his brother-in-law George Ivatt, were the last
of the Company C.M.E.s to go. It is perhaps difficult to imagine two men
more diverse in temperament than were these two, subjected as they~ere to
similar early influences, and both ultimately carrying very much the same
responsibilities as Chief Mechanical Engineers. Both were indeed 'Master
Builders of Steam' so well portrayed in the book of that name, written by
the former's son, Anthony Bulleid. His father must often have been up in
the clouds exercising his inventive mind on new and original ideas. His uncle
was very much down on terra firma.
See more from same source in section
on Leader class.
Bulleid, H.A.V.
Bulleid of the Southern. Ian Allan, 1977.
Includes an appendix by Author's mother: Ivatt's daughter which records
death of Ivatt's eldest son in 1898 and observations on Gresley and the
Fowlers.
Bulleid, H.A.V. Master builders
of steam London, Ian Allan, 1963.
This book is of major importance as HAV Bulleid was a trained locomotive
engineer (Cambridge University and Derby?), although most of his professional
life was spent within the polymer industry (British Nylon Spinners at Pontypool).
Further, until recently he was one of the few writers with access to the
private proceedings of the Association of Railway Locomotive Engineers. His
pantheon includes: Churchward, Gresley, Stanier and his father .
Carpenter, George W. biography in
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Vol. 8 pp. 606-7.
Day-Lewis,
Sean. Bulleid, last
giant of steam. 1964.
Major source of biographical material: elegantly written.
Duffy, M.C. Technomorphology
and the Stephenson traction system. Trans. Newcomen Soc.,
54, 55-74. Disc.: 74-8.
A note in this paper states that "apart from the Q1 'Austerity'
locomotives, his [Bulleid's] steam engines were failures"
Excursionists on the footplate. Rly Gaz., 1939, 70, 715.4 illus.
Excursionists on the footplate. Rly Mag., 1939.84, 423. 4
illus.
Bulleid allowed organized footplate excursions to be run on the Bisley
Branch during 1939. This unusual event perhaps indicates a certain puckish
attitude on the part of the CME.
Glover's British locomotive design is an
introductory account.
Holcroft, H. Locomotive
adventure.
Holcroft was more closely associated with Maunsell than with Bulleid.
He does, however, present another point of view. Bulleid appears to have
been interested in the author's experimental work on condensing by
compression.
Institution of Locomotive Engineers, Mr O.V.S. Bulleid (President 1939-1940).
Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev.,
1939, 45, 238. illus. (port.)
MR. O.V.S. Bulleid. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1937, 43, 293.
illus. (port.)
Appointment as C.M.E., Southern Railway: portrait is relatively unusual
one.
Nock, O.S. British locomotives
of the 20th century. Volume 2. 1930-1960.. 1984.
On page 121 emphasises Bulleid's contribution to welding, but states
that his technical assistants were very often "kicked around".
Retirement of O.V.S. Bulleid from British Railways. Loco.
Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1949, 55, 142.
Robertson, Kevin. Bulleid:
man, myth and machine. Hersham: Ian Allan, 2010. 160pp.
No mention of patents; clearly has never investigated Bulleid's papers:
some of his trite comments on the West Country design might have been avoided
if he had seen the above..
Robertson, Kevin. The
Leader Project. page 40
G.L. Nicholson, within the Traffic Manager's Department at the
time, recounted the following in correspondence to the author in 1984, while
also, perhaps modestly, commenting that his own part in the 'Leader' story
was only 'marginal'. But it was Nicholson who managed to persuade the General
Manager of the day, 'much to Bulleid's displeasure', that the original building
order should be reduced from 25 to five. In the same letter to the author,
Nicholson continued, ' ... which - as events turned out - was still four
too many .. .' Nicholson also gave his own views on Bulleid:
'OVB was a man of extraordinarily complex character and gifts. His normal demeanour seemed quiet and almost unassuming. This concealed a quite enormous determination to have his own way. He was extremely astute, and would normally pursue his ends with a combination of charm and guile, backed up by argument, sometimes well reasoned, often assertive, and an almost overwhelming power of persuasion and conviction that he was right. Like many another, he could become pretty unpleasant if he thought he was being thwarted. He was a difficult man to argue with. In bad times, such as failure on his - or his Dept's part - to deliver in accordance with previously declared promises, he would quite unscrupulously conceal the true position, even if this entailed further misleading undertakings he knew he could not fulfil.
Rudd, E.T. Thoughts on the Bull in
H.A. Vallance's The railway
enthusiast's bedside book. (pp. 13-21: anecdotal
material).
Shepherd, Ernie. Bulleid and the Turf Burner. Southampton:
KRB Publications, 2004?.
A study of O.V. Bulleid's experiments with steam traction in Ireland
after 1949 and in particular with his turf burning locomotive CCl.: "a
fascinating read." (Archive 2004, (44), 41)
Scott-Morgan, John. The original
Bulleid Pacifics.. Sparkford: Haynes, 2012. 160pp.
Includes quite a good biography of Bulleid.
Tayler, A.T.H. 600/750V DC
electric and electro-diesel locomotives of the Southern Railway and its
successors. Trans. Newcomen Soc., 1996, 68, 231-65.
Involvement with Raworth in design of Southern Railway electric
locomotives; includes "segmental" bogie design.
Taylor, A. No tears, says the man of steam. The Observer, 1967,
July 9th, p. 5.
Miss Taylor reported Bulleid's observations on the withdrawal of his
last locomotives when the Bournemouth line was electrified.
Thomas, D. St. J. Steam's indian summer in
Thomas, G. and Thomas, D. St. J.
Double headed two generations of railway enthusiasm. 1963.
Pp. 132-5 A brief, but vivid biographical sketch of
Bulleid.
Webb, B. Locomotive engineers of the
Southern Railway and its constituent companies. 1946.
Condensed information.
Westwood, J.N. Locomotive Designers
in the Age of Steam. 1977.
Considered Bulleid to be the most innovative of the last generation
of British designers. and after he left Britain in 1949 to join the
Irish State RaIlways he developed a turf-burning (peat-burning) prototype,
which was not proceeded with .when dieselization, supervised by himself,
seemed a better alternative.
Winkworth, D.W. Bulleid' s
Pacifics
Highly critical work.
There is an article on Bulleid's bibliographical sources by Rutherford (Backtrack 11 445) which includes most of the references cited above plus some secondary sources (some of which are listed above), and some of the manuscript material which may add still more to this controversial figure held by the National Railway Museum.
Rolling stock
A chance glance at a contemporary account of the double-deck train was a reminder that Bulleid was a significant contributor to non-steam motive power (diesel and electric) design and to improvements in rolling stock, especially electric multiple units where he was able to increase the width of compartments to accommodate six aside, the double-deck train which has remained to sole British example to run on a main line railway, and the tavern cars.
Diesel locomotives
500 hp diesel mecanical locomotive. Loco. Rly Carr. Wagon Rev., 1950, 56, 100.
Personal view (Kevin Jones)
It is strange that other than Aspinall and Stanier, we know more about Bulleid than any other leading British CME. We know about his marriage, the terrible loss of a child in a traffic accident (which may have blunted some his later judgements), and much about his design philosophy (this probably did not exist to the same extent in the case of Stanier, although the latter was highly aware of the contribution which light weight rolling stock could make to operating costs). As Rutherford notes at the end of his bibliographical survey the Southern Railway considered timekeeping to be extremely important, a factor which the LMS with its small locomotive policy did not appreciate (there was nothing unusual about trains arriving hours late at Euston, but this was unknown south of the Thames, it was far too near Parliament for that). Thus powerful locomotives were an important factor in maintaining schedules even if the work was not always available for them to perform. On an aesthetic level the original Pacifics were almost as magnificent as the Gresley A4s: they looked modern and could thus offer some visual comparison with the electrics which the Southern portrayed with its huge green "electric flash" as the ultimate in modernity.
Extract from Bulleid's Presidential address
In this he stated: "Each year the
chief mechanical engineer of the Southern Railway Company, like his colleagues
on the other main line railways, is asked to sign a certificate worded as
follows:
I hereby certify that the whole of the Company's Plant, Engines, Tenders,
Carriages, Wagons, Road Vehicles, Machinery and Tools, under my charge, have,
during the past year, been maintained in good working condition and repair.
The form of words indicates that the responsibility for keeping the company's
locomotives, carriages, wagons and road vehicles in good repair and in safe
working condition is placed upon the chief mechanical engineer This certificate
is a statutory requirement and must be signed before the accounts can be
passed by the auditors. Professionally the implications of such a certificate
are highly important. If, for reasons outside his control, the stock could
not be maintained to the standard the chief mechanical engineer considered
necessary, he could not sign a certificate in the form I have quoted. He
should require an amended form of certificate to be prepared, worded in such
a way as would meet his objections. This has been recognised during the war
[and a reworded certificate issued]".
The CME has to provide the means whereby the passengers can be carried
safely, comfortably, quickly, and punctually, and goods can be delivered
expeditiously and in good order. The provision of rolling stock to satisfy
these requirements involves constant progress in design and manufacturing
processes to ensure that the stock is kept abreast of the times in respect
of efficiency, reliability and suitability, and that the costs are commercially
reasonable.
Whilst the CME must profit from all developments in other fields of
mechanical engineering affecting rolling stock design he has to be convinced
that all changes made will be of lasting value, for the life of rolling stock
is long and his is the responsibility for looking after it in service. Further,
complete reliability throughout each journey is demanded, in so far as it
can be achieved, because the dislocation in traffic on our congested railways,
resulting from breakdown, has consequences out of all perspective to the
cost of
repair.
These reasons explain an apparent tendency to conservatism in design and a comparative reluctance to adopt new ideas
That new design had become a relatively subordinate task was emphasised by Bulleid's general manager a couple of years later:
Railway management is not really interested in electrification as electrification. It is not interested in steam locomotion as steam locomotion or in diesel-electric traction as diesel-electric traction; it is interested only in movement, the movement of trains over its tracks, which is the essence of a good railway. Management, therefore, is interested only in what is the best method of shifting people or the freight".
Extract from Cook, K.J. Swindon steam. (page 33)
I [Cook] recall a discussion in the GN Hotel at Peterborough during an interval between dynamometer tests there. Weatherburn, a delightful self-made man in charge of testing on the North Eastern Railway asked me if we [the GWR] ever used the pressure we said we did. I told him emphatically "Yes", most running was done with the safety valve just tending to lift, definitely between 220 and 2251b; if the pressure could not be maintained well above 200 the engine was regarded as a bad steamer. O.V.S.Bulleid (later CME Southern Rly) was there and he confirmed, having had several runs on GW locomotives and said to Weatherburn "You have no idea how those engines really run".
Extract from Nock Southern steam
Shortly after the outbreak of war, Gilbert Szlumper was succeeded
as general manager of the Southern Railway by E.J. Missenden, and Bulleid
was fortunate in enlisting his sympathy and backing for his entire programme.
It is very important that the development of this pleasant relationship at
Waterloo should be fully appreciated, because otherwise it is very dilficult
to appreciate how Bulleid obtained authority for large-scale construction
of new steam locomotives after the end of the war, while Maunsell, in his
time, had been forced to exist on a shoestring for so many years.
Although Bulleid had a slight figure and a rather shy demeanour he had the
heart of a lion. He had served in France in the Railway Operating Division
dining the First World War, and he let it be known to all around him that
he regarded the Second World War not so much. a tragedy as a challenge to
his ingenuity and. resource, and to his department as a whole. Far from being
overawed or disheartened by the restrictions placed upon him by war conditions,
he actively sought out means of furthering the plans he had for development
on the Southern Railway, despite the circumstances imposed by the war. Wartime
austerity was made the excuse — if one may express it so — for
the produetion of one of the most extraordinary-looking locomotives that
has ever taken the toad in Great Britain
Day-Lewis quotes T. Henry Turner, the metallurgist, taking part in the discussion, on Bulleid's Address to the Mechanicals in 1945 said: 'There are in this country at the present time few men who could hope to put their name to a class of famous locomotives, and everyone will welcome the fact that the author has joined the select few. His paper was a model of precise and concise description, and it showed that the 'Merchant Navy' locomotives, bear features which distinguish them from all their predecessors. His design embraces many features which he no doubt learned in those years when he worked so hard in connection with international railway conferences and inquiries; he has probably obtained a wider knowledge of Continental, American and world-wide practice than most engineers, but he has not only adopted those things which he found to be the best – he has also stepped into the untrodden paths of real invention and inspiration.
'To judge any creation one must take note of the background, recall the preoccupations of his staff and the author's own heavy load from Dunkirk to D-Day. The 'Merchant Navy' locomotives stand out from their background, they stand out at the head of trains, and they stand out as leaders of thought. To railwaymen, Pacific main-line locomotives are more than engines; they resemble the banner, or the band, at the head of a procession; they give direction and pride and comradeship to the whole of the railway staff. The author has raised a new banner. There is still novelty in the steam locomotive. When one looks across the lecture theatre to the portrait of the author's old chief, Sir Nigel Gresley, who also designed and wrote papers about locomotives, one feels that Sir Nigel would have wished to join the members present in congratulating the author on an outstanding paper.
Extract from Bulleid: last giant of steam (Sean
Day-Lewis) page 105
The only thing he, could not do was to air any disagreement with the
General Manager. Schemes had to be talked over beforehand and at the meeting
itself the professional staff were required to present a united front. Unofficial
scheming behind the General Manager's back was the most diabolical sin. The
friendly and absent-minded Rob Holland-Martin sat in the Chair, but it was
the short, taciturn yet amiable-looking tycoon, Dudley Docker, who really
ruled. Once he had given his approval the rest of the Board usually followed
suit and it is more than likely that this is what happened when Gilbert Szlumper
urged Bulleid on Sir Herbert as the new CME in 1937.
For his part Bulleid soon made a good impression despite a reputation as
'a bit of a genius'. He mitigated his revolutionary zeal as an engineer with
impeccable manners and a profound respect for authority. He was seen to talk
with his hands and apparently wanted to invent an improvement for every trivial
object which met his gaze, from cigarette lighters upwards. He may have been
lucky that Sir Herbert retired with Maunsell in October, 1937, and left his
seat of honour to Szlumper. Walker had been an enthusiast for electrification
above everything; Szlumper shared this point of view to a large extent, but
after much persuasion was able to appreciate the urgent need for improvements
in the steam stock.
Bulleid's first action on taking over at Waterloo was in fact to write a
report on the locomotive stock and to urge on John Elliot, then Assistant
General Manager, that a new building programme must be instituted. Much of
the present stock was elderly in the extreme and whatever directors might
say the Southern was fast approaching the point at which further electrification
would not be economical. Something must be done if there was not to be a
breakdown in steam services, and if higher overall speeds and heavier trains
were to be managed.
'If you replace half a cavalry regiment with tanks this does not make your
horses any younger,' he wrote.
Elliot was won over to the principle and set about converting the less than
wildly enthusiastic Board to the idea of new engines.
Also one of 93 "personalities"
in Nock, O.S. Railway enthusuast's encyclopedia
Atkins, Philip Dear Mr Stanier,
you don't know me but...Steam Wld. 1999.(144), 21-4.
In 1965 the author wrote from his home address to several of the retired
CMEs to ask them fairly specific questions about their design policy: Atkins
was successful and some of his replies are reproduced as received, including
a hand written response from Bulleid .
Portraits
Bonavia, Michael R. The
birth of British Rail. p. 56
Group photograph at opening of Rugby Locomotive Testing Station on
19 October 1948 with Peppercorn, Louis Armand, F.W. Hawksworth, Edward Thompson,
Parmentier, Stanier and H.G. Ivatt
As President Institution of Locomotive Engineers: brief biography & portrait (fp.). J. Instn Loco. Engrs., 1939, 29, 351.
Corrected: 2018-06-02