Fine, he can send me an email, the address is in the guide, or a PM at this forum.I will not be reading it for the next four weeks though.
One important point to note is that dampers should usually be set to 100 per cent closed when the loco is working hard. The controls are at the fireman's feet on his side of the loco. They are 0 per cent by default and this will lead to a rapid loss of boiler pressure. For some reason this point and the damper controls aren't really discussed in the tutorial.
Yes. Manipulating the damper settings is a great way to maintain steam pressure but not have the safety go off all the time. Like I said, I have no experience driving a steam locomotive. However, I thought that the 100% damper meant that the damper was 100% open and not 100% closed. I would assume to keep the pressure up, you would want the damper opened.Is this correct?
Sorry (brain fade moment) yes of course I meant 100per cent open to draw air through the fire and increase heat to aid steam production.
No it is not true, or at least only partly true. There were several types of valve gear but by far the most common were the Stephenson and Walschaerts. Stephenson valve gear was almost universal before about 1920, but most locos built after that date used Walschaerts gear, except for a few small freight locos such as the LMS Jinty and the LNER J50. The only British railway company to persist with Stephenson gear for mixed traffic locos was the GWR. Normal practice with Stephenson gear was to set the reverser at around 25% and drive by only adjusting the regulator. According to O.S. Nock "It was not usual to link the Great Western 2-cylinder engines up to much less than 22 per cent cutoff..." ("The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1925 - 1965") That would have included locos such as the Hall, Grange and Manor classes. Locos with Walschaerts gear could (sometimes) be driven at much shorter cut-offs. For example, when writing about Fowler's 2-6-4 tank engines for the LMS, Nock wrote "The 2-6-4 tank engines were fitted with long-lap, long-travel valves and proved exceptionally fast and economical locomotives. In working the outer suburban services from Euston, many of which trains ran non-stop to and from Watford Junction, it was normal practice for these engines to be linked up to cut-offs as short as 7 or even 5 per cent. Speeds in excess of 80 m.p.h. were common on the inward run from Watford to Euston." However Nock also explains than many locos were prone to knocking if run with a full open regulator and very short cut-off. In this case the driver would use a narrower regulator opening, and longer cut-off, to try to stop the knocking. The Jubilee and 8F both have Walschaerts gear, so it would probably have been possible to drive them at cut-offs of quite a bit less than 25%, but perhaps not as short as 5%.
Query: was it possible, and if so done more than seldom, to use negative reverser as a kind of dynamic braking on long downgrades?
Train Reporting Codes and Operating Speeds - British Railways 1962 Type HeadLamps Description 1 |._.| Express passenger train, newspaper train or breakdown van train or snowplough going to clear the line or light engine going to assist disabled train. Officers' special train NOT requiring to stop in section. 2 |_'_| Ordinary Passenger train, mixed train or breakdown van train NOT going to clear the line. Branch passenger train (To be used only where authorised by the regional Operating Officer). 3 |.._| Parcels, fish, fruit, horse, livestock, meat, milk, pigeon or perishables train composed entirely of vehicles conforming to coaching stock requirements. Empty coaching stock train (not specifically authorised to carry '1' headcode). 4 |.._| Express freight train pipe fitted throughout with the automatic brake operative on NOT less than 90% of the vehicles. Maximum speed 55 mph. A maximum speed of 60 mph will apply in respect of certain trains specifically indicated in the Working Timetable. 5 |.'_| Express freight train partly fitted, with the automatic brake operative on NOT less than half of the vehicles. Maximum speed 50 mph. 6 |_..| Express freight train partly fitted, with the automatic brake operative on NOT less than 20% of the vehicles. Maximum speed 45 mph. 7 |_'.| Express freight train NOT fitted with the automatic brake. Maximum speed 40 mph. Where fitted vehicles are required to be placed next to the engine and coupled up, this will be shown in the appropriate Regional train loading instructions. 8 |_:_| Through freight train NOT fitted with the automatic brake. Maximum speed 35 mph. Where fitted vehicles are required to be placed next to the engine and coupled up, this will be shewn in the appropriate regional train loading instructions. 9 |__.| Branch train or stopping freight train and Officers' Special train or ballast train requiring to stop in section. Maximum speed 35 mph. Where fitted vehicles are required to be placed next to the engine and coupled up, this will be shown in the appropriate regional train loading instructions. 0 |_._| Light engine or light engines coupled. Engine with not more than two brake vans. Maximum speed according to class of engine and type of brake van. Class 0 - Light engine, 60mph max unless linespeed 90mph or more, in which case 75mph. Class 1 - Express Passenger or Postal. Class 2 - Local Passenger. Class 3 - Parcels train. Class 4 - Fully fitted Freight train permitted to run at up to 75mph. Class 5 - Empty coaching stock. Class 6 - Fully fitted Freight Train permitted to run at up to 60mph. Class 7 - Fully fitted Freight Train permitted to run at up to 45mph. Class 8 - Fully fitted Freight Train permitted to run at up to 35mph. Class 9a - Partially fitted Freight Train permitted to run at up to 35mph. Class 9b - Unfitted Freight Train permitted to run at up to 25mph.
Thanks for posting this link. Shame on DTG for not providing a user's manual -- again. Driving a steam engine has always been difficult for me, but -- attracted by the shunting activities included in the new steam route -- I'm hoping that I'm hoping that the tutorial sessions cover all operational aspects thoroughly.
What you describe is known as "counter-steam braking". In the earliest days of steam locomotives, this was practically the only type of braking available. Needless to say, braking arrangements were improved as soon as the technology allowed for it - the type used on 8mph road carriages was not up to the task! In later years, I would expect counter-steam to have been used mostly for low-speed shunting operations, where it is a convenient means of quickly reversing the direction of motion rather than of stopping, and only in the direst emergencies employed on the main line. A few European railways employed a development of the idea known as the "counter-pressure brake" on long, steep gradients. Here, instead of applying live steam to the cylinders, air would be compressed by them and cold water then injected, which in the compression-heated air would flash to steam. This had the considerable advantage of cooling the cylinders to reduce wear. I think this might also be used on some rack railways, possibly even the Snowdon Mountain Railway.
