ELECTRO-TURBO LOCOMOTIVE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 280, 19 April 1911, Page 8

ELECTRO-TURBO LOCOMOTIVE

NEW TYPE OF RAILWAY ENGINE. Considerable interest was aroused some fourteen months ago on the occasion of Mr. Hugh Keid's presidential ad- | dress to the (ilasgow University Engincuring Society, when he announced the I pending birth of a new type of railway locomotive. It was explained to be quite an important and new development, which has involved many years of patient investigation on the part of the president and his collaborator, Mr. Ram--1 say. It was described as being driven |by a combined electric-steam turbine system, and the hope was expressed that it might serve as the solution of some of the most perplexing problems confronting railway engineers to-day. The I eminent engineer further stated that the i firm of which he is the chief managing , I director, the North British Locomotive j Company, Limited, of .Glasgow, had the , construction of the first- engine of this time in hand at that moment REVOLUTION IN APPEARANCE. The locomotive has now been completed, and residents along the lines of the Caledonian and North British Railways have been surprised to see a strange looking iron-horse tearing along, for the" new arrival is as much like the conventional engine as the Atlantic liner is like the wind-jammer. It is the turbo-electric steed being put through its paces, over various descriptions of road, for the collection of details concerning its possibili'- ( ties, fuel and water economy, so that the { question as to whether it fulfils the ant ticipations of tne inventors mav be deiin- | itcly ascertained. It measures about l 70ft in length over all, and bv reducing , the height of the smoke-stack, which is only necessary to carry off the products of combustion, it has been possibly to take full advantage of the limits concerning height, which is so restricted in Great Britain by the gauge of bridges and tunnels, in regard to boiler dimensions. The latter is of the ordinary locomotive type, is fitted with super-heater, and carries the fuel and water-supply tanks on cither side. Contrary to usual practice, the smokei stack is placed at the roar end of the engine, as is also the boiler The fore . end normally occupied by the latter is r reserved for the ejector-condenser. It ; occupies about one-fifth of the total i length of the engine, and, being open at • the front, receives the full force of the ■ draught of air created when travelling, ; while beneath the front is a scoop which ■ increases the volume of air brought to bear upon the cooler and circulating ■ water for condensation purposes. By i enclosing the side* of the cooler, leav- , ing a wide space between the inner suri face of the sheath'nsr and the pipes of . the rn 'iator, the air'is enabled to circulate i'','ht round the cooler, and the draug... is increased by means of n fan, , which sweeps the incoming air, heated . by it= "ontact with the cooler, to the , boiler, -iving forced draught. This fan is turbine-driven and of small dimensions. The cooling surface is considerable. THE DRIW.- MECHANISM. The space between the cooler and boiler, in the c*ntre of the locomotive, is occupied by the turbo-electric machinery, as well as the auxiliary plant. The i turbine runs at 3000 revolutions per minute, and is directly coupled to a continu-ous-current variable voltage dynamo. The auxiliary equipment comprises smallI er steam turbines for driving the small 'l centrifugal pumps in connection withTGe I condensation system. j The steam, after compleing its work I in the turbine, passes into the condenser ! and, together with the circulating conI densing water, is delivered finally into I the hot-well. Inasmuch as the turbine i requires no internal lubrication, the waI ter of condensation is free from grease, and is consequently pumped directly inj to the boiler from the hot-well, so that ! the water is used over and over again, ■j the supply in the tank actually being cir- ! dilating water for cooling purposes. The | cycle of condensing operations is explainI ed by Mr. Hugh Reid as follows:—"From the tanks through the first pump, then j through the condenser, where it becomes j heated in condensing the exhaust steam, then to the hot-well. From the hot-well | it passes through the second pump to I the cooler, then is returned to the supply , tanks ready for further condensation." It will be seen, therefore, that the condensing water is circulated practically through a closed cycle. The engine frame is of substantial construction, and is mounted upon two eight-wheeled compound bogies of special construction to facilitate the negotiation ' of curves, since the locomotive is intendJed for high-speed passenger service. The I bogies are carried at either end, and j each bogie includes a driving unit, the non-drivers in each instance being carried forward of the drivers. Each pair of drivers carries a series-wound-traction ■motor, the armatures being built on the driving axle. The motors are fed with current at a pressure varying between 200 and GOO volts, according to the speed required, and the load. S.—iFICANCE OF THE INVENTION. The machine-cab is well-lighted and ventilated from the sides. The motorman's station is at the extreme forward end of the machinery compartment, just behind the condensers, and glazed angle windows afford a clear, uninterrupted view of the track ahead on either side, over the shoulders of the cooler. There is a small switchboard carrying the necessary electrical control equipment, as well as the controller for grouping the four motors in scries series-parallel and parallel, according to the draw-bar pull exerted—together with regulator for varying the voltage in the electrical circuit and consequently the'speed of the train.

In order to gain some reliable nhd comparative data concerning the efficiency and advantages of the system and the ordinary type of locomotive, efforts are being made to run the two systems side by side with the same loads and under similar conditions. Such performances should supply valuable information respecting the relative fuel and water consumptions and so forth. The trials will proTiably lie continued over a long period, since the revolution projected is of a radical character. The engine is being used for hauling both goods and passenger trains. Xow that the question in railway circles is to electrify or not to electrify, the practical success of this new engine is of far-reaching significance. The locomotive being completely self-contained no alteration of the track is necessary. The one objection to electrification is the high initial outlay in regard to overhead wires and the rolling stock. Experience in this country has not yet been sufficient tn determine whether the expenditure involved is justified by results. It may be that the electro-turbo engine will enable the same end to be obtained nt the cost of only the locomotive itself. Should such be the case a irw era will lie owned in railway operation, as remarkable a development in the hi*torv of the iron-horse as that of Parson's turbine in marine propulsion. One advantage that it possesses is the possibility of travelling over anv line, and not bein.i confined in radius of action to that stretch of track provided with overhead wire- from which the necessary electrical cner'jv for propulsion Ims tn ho derived. Tt is therefore to b» lioned tha* 'his latest expression of Ilritish injeimitv end initiative will meet with nraetieil sweess.—Alfred Wharton, in World's Work.