Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers

Volume 29 (1939)

Journal No. 147

Stanier, W.A.
Address by the President: Problems connected with locomotive design. 13-35.
Much of the Paper was devoted to the locomotive as a vehicle (reflecting Stanier's involvement in the Indian Pacific Locomotive Committee, chaired by Lt. Col. Alan Mount). Many of the figures (and much of the text) related to his own designs for the LMS. Fig.1 shows spring control for bogies; Fig. 2 showed the rear pony truck employed on LMS Pacifics; Fig. 3 showed the thick flanges employed on the bogies and trailing trucks of LMS Pacifics; Fig. 4 showed coupled axlebox design; a table showed the axle bearing pressures (driving, and bogie or radial) of the Coronation class Pacifics, 8F, Jubilee and class 5. Dust shields were mentioned. Drop grates and hopper ashpans were described with diagrams. There are diagrams of a Duchess Pacific with a single chimney, but Fig. 12 also illustrated the double chimney arrangement. The reversing shaft mechanism for the Pacifics was also discussed. Internal streamlining forms one of the actual sub-headings adopted and the work of Chapelon as cited. Stanier noted how a test apparatus had been designed to test flow through steam ports and passages. The Vote of Thanks (pp. 33-4) was made by Kitson Clark and in his final comments Stanier (pp. 34-5) noted his debt to Beames for sorting out Crewe Works.

Kastner, L.J. (Paper No. 396)
The exhaust steam injector. 38-78. Disc.: 78-105.
Opening Gencral Mecting of the Session 1938-9 held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, on Wednesday, 28 September 1938, at 6 p m : Lieut.-Col. F R. Collins, retiring President, occupying the chair.
Mentions Alexander Morton of Glasgow's patent Improvements in the lateral action or induction of fluids. Key dates: 1872 Körting (Korting) introduced to Sharp Stewart. Involvement of James Metcalfe from 1876. Discussion: E.C. Poultney (78-80); J.W. Beaumont (80).H.H. Beaumont (80-1); J.C. Metcalfe (81-8). Manchester Meeting 22 November 1938: F.W. Abraham (91-2); J.M. Doherty (93-4) noted the fitting of a Stirling GNR 2-2-2 with an exhaust steam injector; J.C. Metcalfe (94); G.R. Nicholson (94) observed on fitting exhaust steam injectors to Garrett locomotives; E.M. Gass (94-5) that fitted to LYR Atlantics, but they were not used frequently as drivers perfered to use live steam; Rankin (95-6); G.H. Darley (97) noted that the condensing 0-6-2Ts on the GNR no longer used towels, and used hot water injectors and grease separators. Derby 18 January 1939. D.W. Sanford (100-1) cavitation; G.M. Richards (101-2) water treatment.Fowkes (102) unhappy experience; A.N. Edelston (102) location, especially on Royal Scot class; F.J. Pepper (102-3); A.H. Nash (103);.

Pargiter, G.M. (Paper No. 397)
Economical locomotive running shed operation. 106-33. Disc.: 133-43.
First Ordinary General Meeting of the Newcastle-on-Tyne Centre held at the Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle, on Tuesday, 4 October 1938, at 7.0 p.m. Chair was taken by C.J. Tweddle.
Sequel to Paper No. 392. Boiler washing out, periodic examinations, shoppings, engine failures, staff, coal consumption, statistical analysis and oil consumtion. Discussion: J.W. Hobson (133-4) on boiler sediment and lubrication; F.B. Clark (134) on firing; C.E. Appleyard (134) on firing; W.A.A. Scott on coaling plants; A.W. McGregor (135) on oil consumption and nozzles; R. Thompson (Comunication 139-40) wrote about broken stays, boiler washing out, oil consumption and coaling plants.

West, W. and Hodgson, C.C. (Paper No. 398)
Wear resistance of ferrous materials. 145-75. Disc.:175-85. Bibliography.
Fourth Ordinary General Mceting of Session 1938-39 held at Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Londton, on Wednesday, 14 December 1938, at 6 p.m.: Mr. O.V.S. Bulleid, Vice-President, occupying the chair.
On 14 December Messrs. W. West and C. C. Hodgson presented a paper on the above subject before the Institution in London. British Standard Specifications Nos. 321 and 786. These were issued in 1928 and 1938 respectively and are based on commercial products; they show the later material has an approximate increase in the mini- mum ultimate tensile strength of 80 per cent. based on the 1928 requirement. How far the increase of tensile strength is of value to the engineer is difficult to determine be- cause of the many and various uses for which cast iron is available. It may be that by the use of stronger cast iron, scantlings may be reduced, and in many cases resistance to wear be increased. Suffice for the moment to state that such increase in tensile values are at least a commercial success, and may be achieved in one of two ways- (1) by the control of the structure in general, (2) by the control of the amount of graphitic carbon present, and the size and shape of the flakes in which it occurs.
Strict metallurgical control of composition in the production of modern cast iron, and the conditions under which it passes from the liquid to the solid state, are of great importance. During the last ten years, a much better understanding of the influence of the amount, the size, and. shape of graphitic carbon, and its relative influence and im- portance to the remaining elements, which go to make up the composition of cast iron, has definitely put into the hands of the producers the means of obtaining high strength irons, and the func- tional suitability to most preconceived conditions of servic
e. Turning to inoculated irons the Authors stated that organised attention has been given of late to the inclusions which occur in cast iron, and certain schools of thought have put forward the theory that it is possible by the distribution of a large number of nuclei within the bulk of the molten metal, to produce a corresponding large number of graphite flakes which will be of much smaller dimensions than usual. By adding a graphitiser, i. e., some addition which will cause the graphitic carbon in the molten metal to be thrown out, the graphite commences its formation around the inclusion particles. The graphitiser may be calcium silicide, ferro-silicon, aluminium, or a mixture of nickel and ferro-silicon. The outstanding feature in the production of so- called "inoculated iron" is the necessity for a low silicon content in the original molten iron. A table was given showing some particulars of inoculated irons made from variable silicon con- tents in the base iron; it was seen that 0.57 silicon in the latter iron gave a resultant iron with a mech- anical property of 23.4 tons per sq. in. From the base iron with the lowest silicon content comes the resultant iron with the highest maximum stress.
Inoculated irons are characterised by a very close fracture without the danger of hardness dur- ing machining. This type of iron gives in con- trast to the low total carbon cast irons a higher tensile strength, but as far as the general view is accepted, no greater resistance to wear is obtained. Super-cooled graphitic iron embraces the latest and most extended methods of graphitic carbon refinement in cast iron. It is readily appreciated that the form in which this graphite occurs has a very great influence upon the strength, structure, and mechanical behaviour of the iron in service, so that this particular process of refinement is more applicable to the higher carbon irons usually termed common irons, than to such irons previously referred to in this Paper. .
To the molten iron is added a pre-determined quantity of ferro-silicon-titanium. It is thought that the titanium exerts its influence by covering the slag particles with a liquid layer of titanium- bearing slag. This effect creates a condition where the molten slag particles cease to act as nuclei, with the result that the carbon remains in .solution for a longer period, and is precipitated at a lower temperature than usual, in a very fmely divided state. Cast iron produced in this way gi ves a very close fracture and is free from porosity. Accompanymg the formation of super-cooled graphite is, invariably, a large proportlon of ferrite, or free iron. The extent to which this particular iron has been tested in commercial practice, results indicate that it is not outstandingly resistant to wear under lubricated conditions, and under dry wear, it is specially unfavourable, as the softer portions are picked out and carried on to the accompanying material.
By virtue of the methods of manufacture, the' various kinds of cast iron enumerated lend themselves to a low phosphorous content. This feature is of great assistance to founders, who nave as a primary object the production of sound castings. Dealing with the effect of phosphorous upon the resistance to wear under lubricated conditions, it was stated that while outstandingly benefi.ting from a low phosphorous content by the solidity in heavier sections of cast iron castings, the mass results returned from road service clearly indicated that under petrol engine conditions, the rate of wear was decidedly higher as the phosphorous content was reduced.
Experiments made under controlled conditions of engine operation, to obtain accurate information regarding the rate of wear of certain selected cylinder material, were then described, together with the chemical analyses, hardness and heat treatment of the materials tested. The results obtained were shown diagrammatically, it being noticed that as the chromium is increased the wear resistance increases.
Having considered some of the problems associated with the wear resistance of cast iron, the Authors considered next malleable cast iron and 'related materials; products intermediate between -cast iron and steel. There are two varieties of ordinary malleable cast iron, namely, white heart and bla-ck heart, of these one would consider only the former as a material suitable to resist wear. The latter, being composed essentially of graphite and almost pure iron (the metallographic constituent ferrite), has no value for the manufacture of parts required to resist wear, except for very unimportant applications.
Well made white heart iron, consisting essentially of graphite and laminated pearlite, is a 'material which gives good results when used for such parts as lightly loaded gears, and other parts 'where the stresses and pressures are not high. The 'presence of graphite aids machining, but it is im- portant to ensure that sufficient material is machined from the surface to remove entirely the decarburised skin which is usually found on white 'heart castings.
Although well made white heart machines fairly 'well and takes a good finish, the advantages 'Offered by black heart to the production engineer make it a very tempting material; it may be machined, for instance, at a speed of 120 ft. per minute, using high speed steel, or at 400 ft. per minute with carbide-tipped tools, compared with only one-half of these speeds for good white heart malleable cast iron.
The Authors understand that there is a fairly common belief that black heart malleable 'cast iron cannot be heat treated. This is incorrect, and it is rather surprising that more has not been attempted in this direction, for by a correct sequence of operations and suitable treatment, it is possible to combine the advantages of rapid machining obtained from normal black heart with the good wear resistance of white heart. In this way the advantages of both processes are obtained. The heat treatment consists merely of heating the parts up to a suitable temperature, which is generally between 850°C. and 900°C, and after soaking, allowing them to cool freely in air. This treatment causes some of the graphite to pass into solution, and the relatively quick cooling causes the carbon so dissolved to form pearlite. If the treated castings are broken for examination of fracture, this should appear steely and not black as it would have been before treatment. A table giving the effect of reheating and normalising black heart malleable ·cast iron was included in which it was shown that this treatment raised the ultimate tensile strength from 23.0 tons per sq. in. to 44.2 tons per sq. in., the Izod impact value changing from 11.12. ft. lb. to 5.4. ft. lb. in the respective conditions. Still nearer to the steel range there is a group of alloys, the members of which are best regarded as high silicon alloy cast steels containing graphite, or as alloy malleable cast irons; although they are sometimes referred to as cast irons. Usually such an alloy in the condition in which it is used, consists essentially of pearlite or -sorbite with free car- bide and graphite, the proportions of the two last constituents depending on the exact composition and heat treatment. Many of these materials possess excellent wear resisting surfaces.
Related to such materials are what have recently been referred to as graphitic steels; they are reported to have met with considerable success for the manufacture of dies, giving less wear and consequently longer life than the die steels previously used. These steels may be rolled and forged. Such materials may be regarded as forming a connecting link between malleable cast iron and the more usual kinds of cast and wrought steel. For wear resistance, steel is in some ways at a distinct disadvantage when compared with cast iron. Ordinary constructional steel does not contain graphite, and whatever its real influence may be, it seems to the Authors that graphite plays an important part in wear resistance. Then again, except in a few instances, which in themselves are not at present of great practical importance, it is not possible to provide in steel that duplex structure of hard particles embedded in a softer matrix which is usually regarded as essential in a good bearing metal. It is true that all mild and medium carbon steel when in the normalised or annealed condition consists of masses of soft iron and hard eutectoid, and that the eutectoid itself is, in turn, a mixture of iron with hard carbide, but such a structure is distinctly different from that of, say a high phosphorous cast iron, or of bearing bronze and white metal.
Under conditions of normal lubrication, there is some rough relationship between the hardness of a steel component, and its resistance to wear. The method of producing a given hardness appears, however, to be a matter of some Importance. Two steels one containing carbon 0.3 per cent., and the other carbon 0.6 per cent., might be given similar hardness by suitable treatments; for example, by oil quenching and tempenng the first, and by normalising the second, they might be caused each to have a Brmell hard- ness number of 200. In service, such steels would, in the Authors' experience, show the higher carbon steel to be distinctly the superior. Some alloy steels of low carbon content attain high hardness after quenching, but here again, it is found that better wear resistance is obtained when the carbon is kept fairly high, but manufacturing difficulties and the necessity of ensuring sufficient ductility and shock resistance, clearly set a period to the upper limit for carbon. The Authors concluded by referring to surface hardening methods. Case hardening, the oldest and still most widely used method was dealt with, also the nitriding process and the Shorter and Tocco processes. In the Shorter process the surface to be hardened is heated by means of an oxy-acetylene torch and the heated surface afterwards quenched. The exact method of operation varies with the nature of the part being treated.
In the Tocco process the part to be hardened is surrounded by inductor blocks from which it is separated by an air gap. The high frequency current passed through the inductor blocks induces eddy currents at the surface and these, together with the effect of hysteresis from the strong magnetic field, rapidly raising the temperature of the surface of the steel to a hardening heat. Hardening is then brought about by quenching with a water spray directed on to the heated surface through holes in the copper inductor blocks. Precis from Locomotive Mag., 1939, 45, 4..
Discussion: A.H.C. Page described experience on the LMS (177-8) noting the percentage of phosphorus in cylinders, and that nitriding led to distortion. F. Hargreaves of the Southern Railway described the wear of cylinders on the Southern Railway. T. Potter (181) advocated the use of electric furnaces. K. Cantlie (181-2) described the blue discolouration which occurred at high temperatures in piston rings and rods. T. Henry Turner (175-7) noted that the German State Railways used spun cast iron. Mentioned phosphorus and chromium, and was critical of the failure to mention manganese. Noted that cast iron is a very economical material.

Journal No. 148

Annual dinner. 189-97.
Lord Stamp and E. Leslie Burger? spoke about the Indian Pacific locomotive inquiry

Page, A.H.C. (Paper No. 399)
The heat treatment of metals in connection with locomotive and carriage and wagon building. 199-235. Disc.: 235-58.
Third Ordinary General Meeting of the Session 1938-39 held at thc Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, on Wednesday, 23 Novemher, 1938, at 6 p.m., Mr. W.A. Stanier, President, occupying the chair.
LMS practice. Includes alloy steels used in the Duchess Pacifics. Especially springs, with dimensions of spring plate, rib and button; cross-section of pulverised fuel furnace suitable for heat treatment of steel castings. Discussion: W.A. Stanier (235) spoke about tool steels; J.R. Taylor (235-7); F.R. Collins (237); T. Henry Turner (237-8) acknowledged the contribution which had been made by Sir Henry Fowler; J.A. Jones (239-40) spoke on behalf of the steel industry. Newcastle Meeting 31 January 1939: J.C. Tweddle (242-3); G.M. Pargiter (243-4); D.R. Carling (245-6) noted the distortion of alloy steel rods. Manchester Meeting 23 February 1939. F.W. Abraham (247-8); C.R. Nicholson (248); H.H. Saunders (248-9); I.C. Forsythe (249); E.M. Gass (249-50) suggested that high tensile steel locomotive tyres were suitable for better balanced locomotives, such as the LYR 4-cylinder 4-6-0s. Derby 23 February 1939. H. Rudgard (253-4); F.J. Pepper (254); W.R. Carslake (255); G.F. Parker (255) and D.W. Peacock (285-6). Paper awarded Trevithick Prize: Locomotive Mag., 1940. 46, 179.;

Haworth, H.F. and Hornbuckle, T. (Paper No. 400)
A diesel train with multiple axle drives. 260-84. Disc.: 284-303.
Fourth Ordinary General Meeting of the Session 1938-39 was held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey’s Gate, London, on Wednesday, 25 January 1939, at 6 p.m., Mr. J. Clayton, M.B.E., Vice-president, occupying the Chair.
Resume reproduced from Locomotive Mag., 1939, 45, 33-4. The train concerned is a three-car one recently placed in service by the L.M.S.R. The bodies of these cars are built direct on to the underframes, the teak pillars being bolted into steel pillar brackets welded to the solcbars. The body side framing and cant rails are of timber, with light steel diagonal bracing in the bays between the pillars, the bottom light rails, and the solebars. Timber filled steel carlines are bolted to the cant rails and the roof sheets secured to these by arc welding. The body side panels are welded together by the carbon arc process before being screwed to the timber framing. The under frames, fabricated by electric arc welding from high tensile structural steel, are of "cantilever" type. The main load is taken by two central longitudinal trusses, which also carry the engines and radiators. The four bogies, 9 ft. 0 in. wheelbase, are fabri- cated by electric arc welding from high tensile structural steel, and include six driving axles. Skefko roller bearing axleboxes are fitted. The method of articulation allows of the use of longer bodies than hitherto. A horizontal link 15 ft. 0 in. long is pivoted at its centre at the bogie centre, and at its ends to the car underframes. The weight of the bodies and frame is, however, taken by rollers on the bogie bolster, the link being hinged to allow for slight vertical movement be- tween the bodies. In this way the versed sine of the bodies on a curve is reduced, which enables the bogies to be separated to the full extent permitted by the switch locking bars in the track. The brakes are operated by compressed air. The system gives a straight air brake, with emerg- ency features which automatically apply the brake in case of failure of the air supply. A graduated application is secured by means of self-lapping valves in the driver's cabs. Steam at 30 lb. per sq. inch is used for heating the train, and is produced by means of waste heat boilers utilising the exhaust gases from the engines on the end cars. A connection is available at each end of the unit whereby the vehicles may be pre- heated. at stations from a locomotive or stationary plant. Electricity for lighting, engine starting, engine control and air compressors, etc., is provided by two Stone's "Tonum" 125-ampere generators each driven from one of the power transmission shafts by three endless vee belts.
Details of ventilation, finish and seating accom- modation followed; the latter provides for 24 first- class passengers out of a total of 162. The train is powered by six Leyland Diesel hydraulic traction units. Control of all the engines is simultaneously effected from either 'end of the train by means 'of the Leyland electro-pneumatic control system. Each traction unit consists of an 8.6 litre Ley- land oil engine of the indirect injection type, the Leyland hydraulic torque converter (Lysholrn- Smith system), the driving axle and suitable radia- tors, together with the necessary control gear. The engine is a six-cylinder unit 4t in. by 5t in., which develops 125 horse-power at its governed speed of 2,200 r.p.m., which gives a train speed of 75 m.p.h. Each engine drives through a hydraulic torque converter which provides a smooth acceleration from start until, at higher speeds, the engine crankshaft is coupled direct to the propeller shaft. The torque converter is of the Leyland type with free wheels incorporated on both the direct and in- direct drives. The final drive and reverse gear box has a ratio of 3.12 to 1. It is of the double reduction type in which the bevel pinion engages with two crown wheels, either of which can be engaged with a slid- ing spur pinion to give a change of direction of motion. This change of direction is effected by compressed air electrically controlled from the control panels. Engine starting is effected electrically from the driving control panel, the starter on each engine being engaged by its respective button. During starter operation, maximum oil injection is auto- matically maintained on that particular engine. The three positions of the torque converter clutches are given by a double acting compressed air cylinder, under the control of two electro- pneumatic valves and a rotary contactor which cuts off the supply of air and current when the desired position is obtained. Similarly, the direction of motion of each driving axle is controlled by another double acting air cylinder, electro-pneumatic valves and contactor. Each engine can be controlled from its own individual local panel, the object of which is to enable engines to be started and warmed up or ex- amined individually. In the development of the system it has been accepted as a fundamental principle that failure of one engine must not involve stoppage of the train, and the multiplication of power units must demand only the minimum of additional skill or attention on the part of the driver, above that required for the control of a single power unit. The mutual independence of the power plants in respect of failure is assured by provision of free wheels in the transmission units, which prevent the drag of a stopped engine from being imposed upon the remainder; in the event of seizure, overrunning takes place as soon as the engine's internal friction retards it below the corresponding train speed, thus tending to obviate the wholesale destruction which otherwise would result. The instruments, switches and controls were described in considerable detail, and a schematic diagram shown of the control system connections. A large number of devices contribute to safe and foolproof operation. Six axles are driven which have a total adhesion weight of 60 tons, 81 per cent. of the total train weight. ' From the description it will be seen that this train departs considerably from the general trend of development in Diesel rail traction, and it may be of interest to set out some of the more important factors influencing the design. The type of unit requested was a three-car train. seating 150-200. To be of light construction and capable of running on practically any L.M.S. line. To meet the requirements of the signal engineer, axle loads of not less than 10 tons were required to ensure reliable operation of all types of track signalling appliances. Good adhesion was desired to ensure a good getaway under all rail conditions and without the use of sand. The application of mechanical transmission is facilitated by employing power units of moderate horse-power. Experience obtained with engines and transmis- sion on three light rail cars indicated that these would give satisfactory results if operated in multiple. Important advantages obtained by the use of these power units was the fact that they could be mounted under the floor thus making available the whole of the floor space (apart from driver's com- partment) for traffic purposes. A brief description of the preliminary trials carried out before the train was put on its full scheduled service concluded this interesting paper.
Light weight articulated streamlined diesel railcar with hydraulic transmission: livery described as aluminium upper and Post Office red lower panels. Air-operated sliding doors.
Contributors to the discussion included L.J. Le Clair (284); L.H. Short (284-5); F.C. Johansen (285-7) who discussed air through the radiators; J. Alcock (287-8); W.S. Graff-Baker (288-9) who mentioned that London Transport had considered the manufacture of a diesel-electric locomotive using bus engines; C.F. Cleaver (289-90); W. Cyril Williams (290-1); E.S. Cox (290-1) who quibbled about the effectiveness of such units!; C.M. Beckett (291-2); A.K. Bruce (292-4);
Brian Reed (294-5); remarked that he was encouraged by what Mr. Cox had said to ask the Authors for some further information as to just what the rather remarkable train described was intended to do, a question which had been puzzling him for the last 12 months. From what Mr. Johanssen had said it might appear that the train was designed to allow him to carry out his aerodynamic experiments, and that was strengthened by Mr. Cox’s remarks. It appeared that the traffic side of the railway had not the slightest idea what to do with the train. The time-table included in the Paper seemed to show that that was the case. About the time that the train was completed, i: was stated in the press that it was intcndcd to give an accelerated stopping service over the Oxford-Cambridge line, but what it was in fact set to do was to give a semi-fast service, missing out most of the stations and running at no remarkable speed, while at each end and in the middle it missed important connections. If the train had really been designed to do a job of work it seemed remarkable that it should miss important G.W.R. connections at Oxford, and L.M.S.R. connections at Bletchley among others. Compared with the number of people who wanted to travel direct from Oxford to Cambridge, there would be quite a number ‘who wished to’ travel from intermediate stations to one of the thrcc main lines touched. Incidentally, it would be interesting to know whether Mr. Stanier had this train in mind when he referred to ‘‘philandering” with Diesel traction at a meeting of the Institution last year. There were certain additional particulars which it wo,uld be interesting to know. First of all, perhaps, the Authors could give a resistancc curve from starting up to top speed, and also the shape of thc speed-tractive effort curve. Having made a number of runs on the train, he could confirm the statement that it was extremely comfortable to ride in, but apparently nobody had been riding in it. The remarks on ornithology were interesting, but it seemed to him remarkahle that there should have been any serious trouble from birds. He had travelled a good deal on high-speed rail cars and, though numbers of birds had been killed, he had never heard of any accident to the driver or of any great damage to the window.
R.B.M. Jenkins (295) who asked a question about the serviring of the engines. Prcsumably, he said, the engines were sufficiently accessible for most of the work to be done while they‘were in position in the train, but there was some work for which it would be necessary to remove the engines. When that was the case, was it quite a simple matter to change the engines on a car, or did it mean that the car would havc to be laid up for some time? He would also like to know whether during the trials it had ever been necessary to change the engines, or whether the same six engines had been working throughout.. The response was on pp. 295-303. Paper was presented by Ron Jarvis.See also Langridge

Ball, R.D. (Paper No. 401)
The inspection of locomotives for repair. 304-22. Disc.: 322-39. 19 figures (illustrations & diagrams)
Third Ordinary General Meeting of the Birmingham Centre held at the Queens Hotel on Wednesday, 14 December 1938, at 7 p.m.: the Chair being taken by Mr. D.W. Sanford.
Based on LMS practice. Discussion:
D.W. Sanford (332-3) ) unnecessary work might he avoided and much noney saved by an intelligcnt examination such as descrihcd. He asked if the author had any idea as to the way in which wear occurrcd. Supposing, for instance, aftcr 10,000 miles there was a wear of 10 thous. slack in a certain pin and it was put back for anothcr similar period, would they get another 10 thous. slack, or would the wear go up in a sort of parabolic curve. Once a thing had hepun to wear had they any figures to show how the rate of wear varied.
He thought a matter of great importance was the leakage which took place round pistons and piston valves and their rings. They once carried out a dynamometer test on an engine before and after every piston and valve examination from shopping to shopping and found that where new rings had been fitted the efficiency of the engine came back almost to what it was when new in terms of lbs. of steam per horse power hour.
He undertood that they bored out liners in place. What was then done with the old piston valve heads which were then too small—were they put into stock and used up on another engine which had a smaller size of liner?
With regard to the visual examination. It was the practice to press out wheels from tender axles to detect flaws or fatigue fractures whikh took place just about 1½in. inside the wheel boss.
With regard to casual repairs. Whose was the responsibility for seeing that the engine went out again in proper order? If say, an engine came in wwith a bent buffcr beam, was it the business of the shop people to go all round and find out other defects, or did their responsibility end with the repair of the buffer beam? If tubes were afterwaes found to be leaking would the shop people be blanied for not seeing to that?
He thought that the reporting by thc examiners to the drawing office, of any particular item which gave continuous trouble, was a very valuable and useful thing. It did not matter how much care was exercised in designing if thcy never knew how a thing was going to work out in service. The more reliable information that was recorded with regard to failures and defects the better could the drawing office make those improvcments which were necessary. The reporting of unusual defects did not come within that category.
G.H. Hutcheson (333-4); said that with regard to "casual repairs," he dealt with that class of work some time ago and it appeared to him that the motive power people imagined, when an engine came in for casual repair, that the whole engine was overhauled and if anything went wrong afterwards they would say the engine had been in the shops and the defect should have been rectified there. Actually engines sent in for casual repair were exarnined for
specific details which were mentioned in the "shopping proposal" report, hut other dctails were also exsamined by an experiencecl inspector and the mileage run by the engine was taken into account to decide whether the defects should have attention then or wait to the general or service repair. If If details failed which were not mentioned on the report it would appear that the shed had no cause for complaint.
The chief point to be borne in mind was that the shops had to work to a financial budget and if “casual repairs2 were to be thoroughly overhauled in the shops they could not keep to that budget.
He was instrumental in a scheme to carry out a sort of statistical investigation into the number of repairs required on certain parts and also into the wearability of certain components, the figures being derived from examiners' and inspectors' reports. It was extraordinary to find that an exactly similar detail would wear many times longer on one class of engine than on another, and hee tried to find out the reason. Had any further work been done in that direction?
H.H. Basford (334); Loach (334);
D.G. Ritson (334-5) recalled a practice.of marlting flaws in certain components to show whetlier there was any growth after being returned to service. He enquired if that practice was still continued, and if it was applied to any motion parts, or whether, in the case of the motion, it was necessary to scrap the whole of the component when a flaw was detected. With regard to the question of pressing off wheels from axles if looseness was suspected, that seemed to him to be a rather extravagant practice. If they pressed the wheel off, it was probable that the wheel seats would be scored, that meant that in the one case the wheel seat had to be welded up, and in the other case, the axle was scrapped, and all that for the sake of ascertaining if the wheel was tight on the axle. Would it not suffice, he asked, to put the wheels in the press, and, providing there was no, movement before a predetermined pressure was reached, to assume the wheel was tight on the axle? ;
E.J. Larkin (335); F.J. Pepper (335); R.S. Hall (335-6); J.D.B. Carmichael (336)

Journal No. 149

Wilson, E.J. (Paper No. 402)
Railcars on the Entre Rios and Argentine North-Eastern Railways. 353-98.
Third Quarterly Meeting, which, by the kind permission of the Management of the Entre Rios and Argentine N. E. Railways, was held at the Parana workshops: the chair being occupied by Mr. Frank Campbell, the Chairman of the Centre. Members left Buenos Aires by night train on the Central Argentine Railway for Santa Fé, crossing the River Parana in one of the Diesel-engined ferry boats which handle the transport of cars and lorries, etc., between the cities of Santa Fé and Paraná. During the 1½ hours’ river crossing an inspection was made by the members, of the engine rooms and other installations of the ferryboat, these facilities having been granted by the Director General of the Navigation and Ports Dept. of the Ministry of Public Works of Argentina

Da Costa, G. (Paper No. 403)
The indicator diagram and the efficiency of the non-condensing simple expansion steam locomotive. 399-475.
Ordinary General Meeting of the Western Branch of the Indian and Eastern Centre held in the Lecture Room of the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Co., Ltd., Bombay, on Monday, the 31 October 1938, at 6.0 p.m.: the chair being taken by Mr. C.F. White.

Pinchen, D.B.H. (Paper No. 404)
A treatment of locomotive feed-water. 476-520.
Ordinary General Meeting of the Southern Branch of the Indian and Eastern Centre held on Saturday 10 December 1938 (repeat reading of Paper)

Journal No. 150

Chilton, A.H. (Paper No. 405)
Air conditioning of railway passenger stock. 524-51. Disc.: 551-70.
Seventh Ordinary General Meeting of the Session (1938-39) held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, on Wednesday,22 March 1939, at 6 p,m.: W.A. .Stanier, President, occupying the chair.
Notes that air conditioning was tried on the Southern Belle in 1908 using an evaporative system. In 1928 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad adopted an electro-mechanical system and this was widely adopted.

Saksena, S.L. (Paper No. 406)
Air conditioning of railway coaches (abridged). 574-99. Disc.: 599-614.
Ordinary General Meeting of Western Branch of the Indian and Eastern Centre held in the Conference Room of the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Co., Ltd., Bombay, on Tuesday, 14 February 1939, at 6.0 p.m.: the chair being taken by Mr. T. Cooper, the new Chairman.
Indian conditions

Clarke, C.W. (Paper No. 407)
Locomotive hornblocks (with a note on frame stresses). 615-39. Disc.: 639-60.
Ordinary General Meeting of the Western Branch of the Indian and Eastern Centre held in Bombay on Tuesday, 14 March 1939, at 6.15 p.m.: the chair being taken by Mr. C. F. White,
Noted at beginning that most British railways used parallel block horncheecks, but that certain LNER locomotives had taper-wedge front horncheeks. Based on Indian experience. Also notes (pp.. 620-1) that "latest" LMS locomotives have divided hornblocks, whereas new LNER locomotives have solid hornblocks. In some designs, such as the LMS 2-6-0 and SR King Arthur class the leading and driving hornblocks were of the solid type, but those for the trailing axle were divided to reduce head room. Includes geared (electric locomotives) with the forces transmitted through quill drives and jackshafts.
Discussion: S.L. Saxsena (646-8) The senior draughtsman under whom he had served his time in drawing office in England had a rule of thumb based on experience. He maintained that under the best conditions, the minimum sectional area of the mild steel frame plate above the gap [or ordinary conditions should be in sq. inches equal to the diameter of the cylinder. The allowance should be made 10 to 33 per cent. above it to suit the condition of service track, etc. For example, if the cylinder diameter was 20 in., he would allow 20 sq. inches as minimum, if the engine was for Brazil, he would put up, say, 27 sq. inches, if it was for England probably say 22 sq. inches.
A.F. Benson (648) said horn stays should be secured by horizontal studs as incariage & wagon. practice to take the dead load off the nuts and save constant attention in sheds. No mention had been made of the obvious method of taking up excessive clearances by renewing the axlebox side liners, when those were fitted. No mention had been made of the use of fabric liners on the horn blocks to overcome the lubrication problem, nor of manganese steel liners to overcome the trouble of the axleboxes tilting and" digging in " which seemed inevitable with the Cartazzi type of radial box fitted to the l.R.S. locomotives. I t had been found that riveted cast iron horncheeks gave just as satisfactory service on tenders as ones made of cast steel. Abstract of Clause 54 relating to the I.R.S. specifica- tion for axlebox guides was to be criticised as typical of the general detail design of the I.R.S. locomotives, in which

Journal No. 151

Agnew, W.A. (Paper No. 408)
Review of electric traction in England. Part 1. – Statistical review. 664-81.
Seventh Ordlinary Genera1 Mecting of the Session (1938-39) held at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Loiidon, on Wednesday, 19 April 1939, at 6 p.mi., Mr. O.V. S. Bulleid, President- Elect, occupying the chair. The Chairman explained that Mr.W A. Stanier, the President, was unable to he present due to illness.
Surveys LMS, LNER and Southern lines in somewhat greater depth than LPTB lines. Includes a very interesting map of distances from London, Hull, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle in increments of 25 miles up to 100 miles. Only Cornwall, small Welsh outposts and the coast between Lowestoft and Sea Palling fell outwith the 100 mile zone; although West Runton's proximity to Hull was only appropriate for electrically-powered ships!. Some of the towns marked on the map are significant in that Beeching failed to see their significance: Hawick, Swaffham and Tavistock illustrate how poorly geography was taught in Maidstone.
Thompson, W.G.
Part II – Power supply for railways. 681-7.
Voelcker, J.W.
Part III – Electric traction motors. 687-93.
Cansdale, J.H.
Part IV – Control equipment. 693-700. Disc.: 700-4.
Included electro-magnetic, electro-magnetic camshaft, electro-pneumatic contactor, electro-pneumatic camshaft and Metadyne with its ability to provide regenerative braking.

Case, R.C. (Paper No. 409)
Notes on rolling stock bearings and lubrication problems (with special refernce to Indian conditions). 708-66. Disc.: 766-803.

Journal No. 152

Topham, W.L. (Paper No. 410)
The solution of some after problems of water softening. 805-50. Disc.: 850-903.
First Quarterly Meeting of the South American Centre, 1939 Session, held at Mar del Plata, F.C.S. Argentina, on Friday, 14 April th, 1939, at 9 a.m., the Chair being taken by Mr. Frank Campbell.
South American conditions

Young, H. (Paper No. 411)
A brief survey of the motive power employed on railways today (transport in the United States). 905-925.
General Meeting of the New South Wales Members of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers held in the Royal Empire Society's Hall, Bligh Street, Sydney, on 6th June, 1939, at 7.45 p.m. Mr. R.S. York (in the Chair).
Quoted verbatim. Since the days of George Stephenson, more than 100 years ago, the steam locomotive has held the premier place as an agent for land transportation, and will hold this position for many years to come. Because of the amazing results obtained from other forms of motive power in recent years, steam locomotive engineers have been encouraged to exert themselves afresh to maintain the supremacy of their favourite.
Many engineers know the remarkable results which are obtained by modifying, re-building and so-called modernising obsolete steam locomotives, proving conclusively to designing engineers that George Stephenson was right in his fundamentals: world railway administrations realise now that were their fleet of obsolete locomotives replaced by modern locomotives, some 25% less in number, they could operate the same business and, at the same time, reduce their working expenses by about 25% at least in their mechanical departments. The modern steam locomotive has a major field of operation which need fear no legitimate competitor where coal and water is in abundance. Its flexibility, availability, reliability and economy in hauling heavy loads at high speeds over long distances is recognised.
Electrification of Main Lines.
It has been shown that the electrification of the American railways is a small fraction of the total mileage and the likelihood of its extension on a big scale is remote, more so now, owing to the greater economy and efficiency of the modern steam locomotive, and also the introduction of the internal combustion engine in its various applications, particularly the Diesel locomotive. Electrification is warranted when a given railway section operated by steam locomotives reaches saturation point, and where the cost of electrification would be less than the cost of providing additional tracks and steam locomotives. Costs, however, should be compiled having regard to the operation of modern motive power units scheduled to haul both passenger and goods rolling stock.
A study of line capacity indicates that varying train speeds definitely reduces the number of trains possible in a section, and this fact points to the need for uniform speeds both for passenger and goods rolling stock.
The question of national emergency must be considered, for, should this arise, a large number of separate motive power units for military reasons would be the better proposition. Whilst it is desirable to eliminate smoke and spark nuisance from railway travel, modern designs of passenger cars with air-conditioning apparatus-mechanical ventilation, and windows fitted with smut-traps have gone a long way to improve matters in this regard.
Rail Car and High Speed Diesel Trains.
Railcars are efficient and economical for country lines where passenger traffic is light, and no railway with this class of business can afford to carry on without them. Experience indicates that railcars increase passenger business to such an extent that it is profitable on occasions to replace these with light high-speed Diesel trains. An important advantage obtained by the use of Diesel units is that speeds in excess of those permitted for the steam locomotives on the tangents and curves are sanctioned by permanent way engineers, so that strengthening the track is delayed until the business offering warrants expenditure on track for the heavier traffic.
Diesel shunting locomotives are employed where legislation forbidding the use of steam locomotives exists. Where intensive utilisation has been demonstrated, however, evidence is available to prove economic justification. Heavy high-speed Diesel electric locomotives now operating on the Union Pacific Railways of America have definitely displaced steam locomotives on certain main line runs. It is too early to forecast their further use and development.
The “City of San Francisco” operating between San Francisco and Chicago, has completed its 88th consecutive round trip, having completed a total of about 400,000 miles in about 16 months, or 300,000 miles per annum. Truly a marvellous performance, and providing food for thought.