Railway World
Volume 37 (1976)
Key file
Number 431 (March 1976)
C.P. Atkins. The Mersey Railway tank locomotives — 1. 96-9.
B.K. Cooper. The Buchli drive for electric locomotives. 127-9.
Number 432 (April 1976)
C.P. Atkins. The Mersey Railway tank locomotives — 2. 160-164
Number 433 (May 1976)
K.S. Farr. Rheidol revisited. 188-91.
Number 436 (August 1976)
John F. Clay. Foolish legend but honourable history — 1. Studies
in locomotive performance— 10. 318-23.
Locomotive performance in the United States: Atlantics alleged to
have run at very high speeds, including on the New Jersey to Atlantic City
services run by the Reading Railroad and by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Runs
behind Vauclain compounds are included. Some very long runs, such as New
York to San Francisco are included: 84 hours 17 minutes with 72 stops.
R.G. Western. The Mansfield Railway Company. 328-31.
Served the then new Nottinghamshire Coalfield: 11 miles long from
a junction off the Chesterfield to Limcoln line of the Lancashire, Derbyshire
& East Coast Railway to Kirkby-in-Ashfield on the Great Central. The
Bolsover Colliery Company was behind the railway and its Managing Director,
J. Plowright Houfton was Chairman of the railway. Passenger services began
on 2 April 1917. Clipstone and other colliueries were served.
R. Higgins. The Brussels saga. 332-6.
The preserved Keighley & Worth Valley Railway acquired an oil-fired
Austerity 0-6-0ST from the abhortive Longmoor preservation project. The staff
had to modify the burner and blast pipe arrangements to achieve satisfactory
steaming
Hugh Dougherty. A Loughrea memory. 337.
End of branch line with mixed train, but diesel haulage.
W.R. Devitt. Ellerman Lines—an autopsy. 344-7.
Merchant Navy class No. 35029 sectioned at Buckminster for eventual
display at the NRM.
Robert Tyrrell. Bound to the railway in 1936. 350-1.
Apprentice at Ashford Works on the Southern Railway.
New books. 353-4
Gresley and Stanier—a centenary tribute.
John Bellwood and David Jenkinson. HMSO. 99pp. reviewed by BKC.
Descriptive rather than critical review.
From Stirling to Gresley, 1882-1922. F.A.S.
Brown.Oxford: Oxford Publishing Co., 149pp. reviewed by BKC.
Descriptive rather than critical review.
Number 439 (November)
Charles M. Devereux. Residual railway services. 450-1.
The 23.29 Liverpool Street to Peterborough and Norwich which divided
at Ely and described by Nicholas Montserrat in Life is a four letter word
was much used by Cambridge undergraduates, and similar services.
John A. Lines. All Saints (GWR Nos. 2900-55; 2971-90, 2998: Locomotive
portaits— 18.
A far from profound examination of the 29XX class with error: Holcroft
did not leave Swindon to work for Gresley.
Mark B. Warburton. Some Newquay branch reminiscences. 460-3
In 1948 and 1949 the Saturday holiday trains required considerable
assistance to climb up the Luxulyan Valley from Par. In 1948 Bulldog No.
3441 Blackbird was assisting in thiss activity, but in 1949 No. 4090
Dorchester Castle hauling 13 coaches needed No. 4516 and No, 4559
at the rear to tackle the climb..
Routes of Cross-London trains. 464-5.
Maps of routes via Kew Bridge and via Kensington Olympia and either
Upper Holloway or Canonbury
John F. Clay. Foolish legend but honourable history—2. 466-71.
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad streamlined Class
A Atlantics were introduced to haul the high speed Hiawatha between Chicago
and Minneapolis St Paul and in 1938 were joined by six Hudson 4-6-4 type.
The Chicago & North Western also introduced streamlined Hudsons to compete
for the traffic. These locomotives were capable of continuous 100 mile/h
running on level track. Also considers the Pennsylvania 4-4-4-4 T1 class
and the New York Central Niagara class.
L.A. Nixon. A rail excursion to remember. 476-7.
Austrian Class 17c 4-4-0 No. 372 was photographed on a railway
enthusiast's special.
B.K. Cooper. The Southern booster locomotives. 478-83.
Raworth third rail electric locomotives with flywheels to assist crossing
gaps in the conductor rail. Nos. CC1 and CC2. C.M. Cock/S.B. Warder introduced
No. 20003 after nationalisation. A developemt of these, the class 71 was
introduced for the Kent electrification and enabled the Night Ferry and freight
trains to be worked. The Bournemouth electrification switched to eleectro-diesel
traction with the Class73.
French experimental booster locomotive. 483.
Bo-Bo-Bo from Schneider-Westinghouse designed to work on 20kV ac or
1500V dc.
W.T. Thornewell, Rough ride to Leicester. 484-5.
Rode on Class 5 No. 5040 from St. Pancras to Leicester to assess the
quality of the permanent way under his supervision. He got very bruised ribs
as the train ran through the curves through Desborough: the writer attributed
this to the rough riding locomotive rather than to the track.
Number 440 (December 1976)
B.K. Cooper. Silver Jubilee to HST. 499-501.
Remembered how the press and the public responded to the streamlined
high speed trains of the 1930s as compared with the almost everday introduction
to 125 mile/h running on the Western Region (KPJ it stll seemed very fast
until travel on Eurostar and TGV)
Alan Godfrey. 100 years ago—men of the Midland. 506-7.
K.J. Leeming. Itchingfield Junction—Ib memorium. 508-13.
Near Christ's Hospital
J.N.C. Law, A survey of modern East Coast traction. 514-19.
Comparison of Deltic Type 55 with Types 47, 46, 45 and 40 between
York and Darlington. in terms of transit times and acceleration and maximum
speeds
Jeff Alderson. Bolivia's railways: at the crossways. 526-9
V.G. Christie. Last steam in East Anglia. 531-4.
The rapid replacement of steam by diesel traction in East Anglia.
Table shows how this was achieved on a depot by depot basis.
Books for Christmas. 535
60 years of West Coast express running. O.S. Nock.
lan AIIan. 264pp. Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
Nock begins his review of performance on the West Coast Route in the
days of Georges, Claughtons, Princes and Precursors, and brings it up to
the present electrification. Two world wars and the diesel revolution en
route provide plenty of material for this expert observer and commentator
on locomotive matters. His experiences include a run on the 4-6-0 prototype
gas turbine locomotive GT3 from Crewe to Upperby Yard. The performance was
such as to justify the question why this enterprising project got no further
but Nock prefers not to guess. Performance is the reflection of locomotive
development, and on the West Coast Route the course of development sometimes
reflected personalities and policies. The plan to remodel loads and schedules
after Grouping so that the whole service could be worked by Midland Compounds
is one of the oddities Nock recalls. His close contact with railways and
railwaymen at all levels throughout his career enables him to explain much
that may puzzle the student of history today. The passages on the introduction
of diesel power are particularly interesting for the historical record. We
are an optimistic people, and it was held by some at that time that all the
railways' problems would disappear when the last steam locomotive was laid
to rest. Dieselisation and electrification were the North Sea Oil of the
period. Differences between diesels of the same class soon became apparent
in Nock's own experience and in the logs he received, so that train running
retained its place as a combination of a spectator sport and a subject for
scientific analysis. Both aspects are seen in these pages. Nock's own records
of train running on the West Coast Route began in 1920. They are supplemented
in this book by data from other distinguished recorders. The 48 pages of
illustrations show the changing pattern of West Coast motive power from the
LNW Experiment class 4-6-0s to the two most recent electric classes.
The railways of Devil's Dyke. Paul Clark. Sheffield: Turntable
Publications. 69pp. Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
In an old LBSCR poster the Devil is depicted apparently standing on
his Dyke at Brighton with arms outspread to welcome visitors to a place of
resort offering "Real Rest from the Bustle of Business". The poster is one
of many interesting illustrations reproduced in Mr Clark's book. This is
much more than an account of the LBSCR branch which climbed 415ft from Dyke
Junction on the main line to a single-platform terminus still 200ft below
the highest point of the Downs. An inn built on the Dyke Hill in 1831 expanded
into an hotel and acquired a kind of amusement park for visitors before the
railway came in 1887. Thereafter a cableway was built across the Dyke gorge
in 1894, and in 1897 a double-track funicular railway was opened on the northern
slope of Dyke Hill, communicating with the village of Poynings below. The
history of all these projects is related, supported by the reminiscences
of local people and extracts from the local press. Mr Clark has been as assiduous
in collecting illustrations as in amassing facts, so that both the LBSC branch
itself and the various attractions it served are brought clearly into view
for the present-day reader.
Lokomotlv-athleten A. Giesl-Gieslingen.
Vienna: Verlag Jose! Otto Slezak 264 pp. Reviewed by DRC
This is a technical and historical account of all locomotives that
have been built with six or more coupled axles under a single frame; it also
includes a concise miniature text-book on certain aspects of locomotive design,
which is not apparent from the title. The text can be read with pleasure
by anyone with a moderate knowledge of German and, being written by a loco-
motive engineer, is suitable for profes- sionals and laymen alike who are
interested in the steam locomotive. It is well illustrated and there are
numerous drawings as well as some diagrams and graphs in the text. After
an initial chapter setting out the methods used to estimate the behaviour
of the locomotives on the track, when negotiating curves of small radius,
and their haulage capacity and performance, each of 20 classes is individually
examined. Of these 17 were actually built and in a number of cases their
performance in service was recorded. The mathematical analysis, based on
the dimensions and involving nothing more than ordinary arithmetic and graph
reading, gives results that are remarkably close to what was, in fact, achieved
in practice. This, in itself, will prove something of an eye-opener to those
who have regarded steam locomotive design as almost incalculable, or based
only on rule of thumb. The basis for the graphs and formulae lies in each
case primarily on well-founded test results of many locomotive classes. The
locomotives are mostly European, two are North American, one "Colonial" and
one South American: one of the American designs is electric. The range in
date is from 1862 to 1954 and in size from the Union Pacific 4-12-2 to a
narrow gauge industrial tank weighing less than the axleload of the UP engine,
but which worked over gradients even steeper than those traversed by the
three rack and adhesion locomotives also included. Anyone with a genuine
liking for the steam locomotive, wishing to improve his understanding of
it, and having the necessary linguistic ability. will appre- ciate this book.
The illustrations and drawings can be understood without a knowledge of
German.
Steam into the seventies; edited by Brian Hollingsworth. New
English Library. 192pp. Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
Ten of the preserved lines are the subject of individual chapters
in this copiously illustrated book, much of it in colour and all pictures
in the grand manner made possible by an impressive page area. Others are
more briefly sketched in the chapter, Steam in variety, by the editor, who
also relates the history of the Return to Steam movement. The book is well
supplied with sketch maps and practical information for the intending visitor
to preservation sites of all kinds. There is a list of live steam clubs and
a map showing their locations for the model enthusiast. In its combination
of articles, illustrations and directory material, Comprehensive and enjoyable
introduction to subject.
The splendour of British steam; edited by Patrick B. Whitehouse.
New English Library. 144pp. Reviewed by JTG
The contents of this volume are based on the publisher's part works
on railways and are selected to give a coherent picture of the development
of steam motive power. The various contributions are not signed, but the
authors write with authority and can be controversial. There is a good mix
of history, speed achievements, locomotive design from the earliest days
to the 1960s, and such background items as superheaters, long valve travel
and turbine locomotives. The contents do not bear out the faint fears stirred
by the revivalist fervour of the title. There is enough hard fact in them
to keep the reader interested, perhaps even to make him re-examine cherished
beliefs. Colour predominates in the illustrations.
The railway cartoon book Ken and Kate Baynes David & Charles.
96pp . Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
Falstaff said he was not so much witty in himself as the cause that
wit was in other men, and much the same is true of railways. Humorists have
had a go at them with pen and pencil since their earliest days, but usually
with more affection than malice, and directing their shafts as much at those
who use the railways as at the railways themselves. Ken and Kate Baynes have
made a collection of drawings that can be enjoyed for the amusement they
provide but also studied as a reflection of society in peace and war. They
are grouped broadly by themes, such as the early age of speculation, social
attitudes and fellow travellers, and railway fantasies; and they include
the comic postcard where it has a railway slant. Punch figures widely,
but we also have Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, to say nothing of the
incident-packed end- papers of The Wonder Book of Railways. There
are some surprises. A Giles cartoon from the Daily Express reminds
us that football specials were already being smashed up in 1968 and the
Great Western Railway Magazine had some prophetic drawings in 1935
illustrating among other things a new General Manager taking over in 2030,
in the shape of a mechanical computer attended by one employee with a feather
duster. The second world war and its aftermath are represented by the
incomparable David Langdon, whose Billy Brown cheered the home front with
excellent precepts in rhyme which are here recalled.
Steam In West Germany., J.S. Whiteley and G.W. Morrison. Oxford
Publishing Co. 112pp. . Reviewed by KHS
In this handsome album only one picture shows passengers, and they
are stepping forward to join a steam-hauled express with complete unconcern.
In Britain today the appearance of a steam locomotive on a main line is the
occasion for a fiesta, and a large proportion of those lucky enough to travel
behind one spend much of their time with their heads thrust out of the carriage
windows as if to assure themselves that it is not all a dream and the steam
locomotive is still tbere. The survival of steam in West Germany until the
current year will be long remembered and discussed. It was witnessed by a
devoted band of enthusiasts from this country among whom the compilers of
the present book are numbered. Their selection of prints, impeccably reproduced,
enable all to sense the fascination exerted by a territory where steam remained
a commonplace. Unfortunately the true initiates knew the German steam story
so well that they often assumed others were similarly informed. In this book
the authors in an introduction mention the principal classes shown in their
pictures but the reader unfamiliar with German railway geography would welcome
a map showing the areas in which they worked.
The Scottish 4-6-0 classes. C.P. Atkins.
lan AIIan Ltd. Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
Many enthusiasts have admitted to an early memory of a colour plate
of Cardean, and that this was about as far as their acquaintance with
the Scottish 4-6-0 went in after years. In Atkins' book they will discover
what they have missed in not following the subject of the 4-6-0 in Scotland
more closely, for it is a story of both technical and human interest. Add
a touch of mystery, as in the chapter on F.G. Smith and the River class,
and one has the ingredients of drama. The author assesses data and personalities
objectively and quotes the comments of contemporaries as well as the printed
records in the technical literature of the time. The chapters on the individual
locomotive classes graphically depict their operating characteristics and
individualities, while tbe performance of the Caledonian 4-6-0s has a chapter
to itself. Throughout the book there are interesting references to proposed
designs which did not materialise, and some of these are shown in the appendix
of dimensioned outline drawings. The author's comments on similarities between
different railways' locomotive designs and how influences of one on another
can be detected add notably to the literature of an always intriguing aspect
of railway history. Several little-known personalities emerge in the course
of the book and the references to other works and articles open up a wide
field for study by the reader whose interest has been kindled, as it certainly
will be. There are 46 pages of half-tone illustrations