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129-507: The BR Standard Class 7 , otherwise known as the Britannia Class , is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed under Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed-traffic duties. 55 were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design employed results from the 1948 locomotive exchanges undertaken in advance of further locomotive classes being constructed. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before

258-659: A Scottish inventor, built a small-scale prototype of a steam road locomotive in Birmingham . A full-scale rail steam locomotive was proposed by William Reynolds around 1787. An early working model of a steam rail locomotive was designed and constructed by steamboat pioneer John Fitch in the US during 1794. Some sources claim Fitch's model was operable already by the 1780s and that he demonstrated his locomotive to George Washington . His steam locomotive used interior bladed wheels guided by rails or tracks. The model still exists at

387-660: A (newly identified) Killingworth Billy in 1816. He also constructed The Duke in 1817 for the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway , which was the first steam locomotive to work in Scotland. In 1825, Stephenson built Locomotion No. 1 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway , north-east England, which was the first public steam railway in the world. In 1829, his son Robert built in Newcastle The Rocket , which

516-427: A Locomotive Naming Committee of three senior railway officers, E. S. Cox, George Dow with Derek Barrie as chairman. The Committee set itself several rules and over the years developed many practices. The names had to be euphonious (they had to have a pleasant sound). Also, their meaning had to be readily apparent to anyone interested, whether railwayman or member of the public. There had to be good publicity value in

645-448: A balance has to be struck between obtaining sufficient draught for combustion whilst giving the exhaust gases and particles sufficient time to be consumed. In the past, a strong draught could lift the fire off the grate, or cause the ejection of unburnt particles of fuel, dirt and pollution for which steam locomotives had an unenviable reputation. Moreover, the pumping action of the exhaust has the counter-effect of exerting back pressure on

774-436: A country. Therefore, many governments have enacted rules and regulations, administered by a customs agency, for the handling of cargo to minimize risks of terrorism and other crime. Governments are mainly concerned with cargo entering through a country's borders. The United States has been one of the leaders in securing cargo. They see cargo as a concern to national security . After the terrorist attacks of September 11th ,

903-508: A crank axle on the central driving wheel. Repairs to the class were undertaken at Crewe, Swindon and Doncaster Works until the financial constraints of the British Railways Modernisation Plan in terms of expenditure on steam began to preclude the regular overhaul of locomotives. During the mid-1960s overhauls were carried out exclusively at Crewe Works. The first locomotive to be withdrawn from service

1032-486: A crankpin on the driving wheel ( Main driver in the US) or to a crank on a driving axle. The movement of the valves in the steam chest is controlled through a set of rods and linkages called the valve gear , actuated from the driving axle or from the crankpin; the valve gear includes devices that allow reversing the engine, adjusting valve travel and the timing of the admission and exhaust events. The cut-off point determines

1161-468: A deployable "water scoop" fitted under the tender or the rear water tank in the case of a large tank engine; the fireman remotely lowered the scoop into the trough, the speed of the engine forced the water up into the tank, and the scoop was raised again once it was full. Water is essential for the operation of a steam locomotive. As Swengel argued: Freight Multi-modal container units, designed as reusable carriers to facilitate unit load handling of

1290-559: A factor in the Milton rail crash of 1955. For this reason, the Western Region locomotive depots at Old Oak Common TMD and Plymouth Laira declared that the class was surplus to requirements. However Cardiff Canton depot displayed its liking for the class (despite being part of the former GWR empire) and managed to obtain good results on South Wales passenger traffic. The London Midland Region also had favourable reports, but

1419-483: A freight broker, online marketplace or another intermediary, instead of contracting directly with a trucking company. Brokers can shop the marketplace and obtain lower rates than most smaller shippers can obtain directly. In the LTL marketplace, intermediaries typically receive 50% to 80% discounts from published rates, whereas a small shipper may only be offered a 5% to 30% discount by the carrier. Intermediaries are licensed by

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1548-429: A gauge mounted in the cab. Steam pressure can be released manually by the driver or fireman. If the pressure reaches the boiler's design working limit, a safety valve opens automatically to reduce the pressure and avoid a catastrophic accident. The exhaust steam from the engine cylinders shoots out of a nozzle pointing up the chimney in the smokebox. The steam entrains or drags the smokebox gases with it which maintains

1677-446: A large number of containers that come from shipping ports. Trains are also used to transport water, cement, grain, steel, wood and coal. They are used because they can carry a large amount and generally have a direct route to the destination. Under the right circumstances, freight transport by rail is more economical and energy efficient than by road, mainly when carried in bulk or over long distances. The main disadvantage of rail freight

1806-409: A large opening front for loading. Air freight shipments are very similar to LTL shipments in terms of size and packaging requirements. However, air freight or air cargo shipments typically need to move at much faster speeds than 800 km or 497 mi per hour. While shipments move faster than standard LTL, air shipments do not always actually move by air. Air shipments may be booked directly with

1935-505: A load is limited to the space available in the trailer, normally 48 ft (14.63 m) or 53 ft (16.15 m) long, 2.6 m ( 102 + 3 ⁄ 8  in) wide, 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) high and 13 ft 6 in or 4.11 m high overall. While express, parcel and LTL shipments are always intermingled with other shipments on a single piece of equipment and are typically reloaded across multiple pieces of equipment during their transport, TL shipments usually travel as

2064-488: A lower pressure in the smokebox than that under the firebox grate. This pressure difference causes air to flow up through the coal bed and keeps the fire burning. The search for thermal efficiency greater than that of a typical fire-tube boiler led engineers, such as Nigel Gresley , to consider the water-tube boiler . Although he tested the concept on the LNER Class W1 , the difficulties during development exceeded

2193-433: A lower reciprocating mass than three, four, five or six coupled axles. They were thus able to turn at very high speeds due to the lower reciprocating mass. A trailing axle was able to support a huge firebox, hence most locomotives with the wheel arrangement of 4-4-2 (American Type Atlantic) were called free steamers and were able to maintain steam pressure regardless of throttle setting. The chassis, or locomotive frame ,

2322-587: A marked consistency in losing time on the longer runs between Holyhead and Euston was recorded, although all complaints were down to the individual techniques of the operating crews. This was compounded by the irregular allocation of the class to depots all over the network, meaning that few crews ever had a great deal of experience in driving them. The Southern Region also had an allocation of seven in May 1953, when all Merchant Navy Class locomotives were temporarily withdrawn for inspection after 35020 "Bibby Line" sheared

2451-462: A mixed-freight environment. Unlike express or parcel, LTL shippers must provide their own packaging, as carriers do not provide any packaging supplies or assistance. However, circumstances may require crating or another substantial packaging. In the United States, shipments larger than about 7,000 kg (15,432 lb) are typically classified as truckload (TL) freight . This is because it

2580-639: A number of Swiss steam shunting locomotives were modified to use electrically heated boilers, consuming around 480 kW of power collected from an overhead line with a pantograph . These locomotives were significantly less efficient than electric ones ; they were used because Switzerland was suffering a coal shortage because of the War, but had access to plentiful hydroelectricity . A number of tourist lines and heritage locomotives in Switzerland, Argentina and Australia have used light diesel-type oil. Water

2709-461: A number of important innovations that included using high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine and increased its efficiency. Trevithick visited the Newcastle area in 1804 and had a ready audience of colliery (coal mine) owners and engineers. The visit was so successful that the colliery railways in north-east England became the leading centre for experimentation and development of

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2838-459: A rigid frame with a 30% weight reduction. Generally, the largest locomotives are permanently coupled to a tender that carries the water and fuel. Often, locomotives working shorter distances do not have a tender and carry the fuel in a bunker, with the water carried in tanks placed next to the boiler. The tanks can be in various configurations, including two tanks alongside ( side tanks or pannier tanks ), one on top ( saddle tank ) or one between

2967-469: A single theme to an absurd extent was discouraged. The name that was to be bestowed on the first class member caused great debate on the committee and the wider executive of British Railways. However noted enthusiast Bishop Eric Treacy suggested the name "Britannia". This set the general theme of the naming process, which featured great Britons, although several deviations from the theme were allowed. These exceptions were allocated to those that operated on

3096-781: A spell in storage on the Bressingham Steam Museum in Diss, Norfolk , 70013 was moved to the Great Central Railway (preserved) , following an ownership dispute between Bressingham and the National Railway Museum. The locomotive returned to steam in May 2008 on the Great Central Railway after the readers of Steam Railway magazine contributed towards its overhaul. In July 2008 it appeared in WCRC's Open Weekend at Steamtown, Carnforth . August saw

3225-401: A tank in the locomotive tender or wrapped around the boiler in the case of a tank locomotive . Periodic stops are required to refill the tanks; an alternative was a scoop installed under the tender that collected water as the train passed over a track pan located between the rails. While the locomotive is producing steam, the amount of water in the boiler is constantly monitored by looking at

3354-547: A wide range in the pricing offered. If a shipper in the United States uses a broker, freight forwarder or another transportation intermediary, it is common for the shipper to receive a copy of the carrier's Federal Operating Authority. Freight brokers and intermediaries are also required by Federal Law to be licensed by the Federal Highway Administration . Experienced shippers avoid unlicensed brokers and forwarders because if brokers are working outside

3483-470: A wide range of maritime cargoes . Break bulk / general cargo are goods that are handled and stowed piecemeal to some degree, as opposed to cargo in bulk or modern shipping containers . Typically bundled in batches for hoisting, either with cargo nets , slings, crates , or stacked on trays, pallets or skids; at best (and today mostly) lifted directly into and out of a vessel's holds, but otherwise onto and off its deck, by cranes or derricks present on

3612-514: Is a steam engine on wheels. In most locomotives, the steam is admitted alternately to each end of its cylinders in which pistons are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels. Fuel and water supplies are usually carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in a tender coupled to it. Variations in this general design include electrically powered boilers, turbines in place of pistons, and using steam generated externally. Steam locomotives were first developed in

3741-411: Is classified as liquid or dry . Air cargo refers to any goods shipped by air, whereas air freight refers specifically to goods transported in the cargo hold of a dedicated cargo plane. Aircraft were first used to carry mail as cargo in 1911. Eventually manufacturers started designing aircraft for other types of freight as well. There are many commercial aircraft suitable for carrying cargo such as

3870-475: Is crucial to the efficiency of any steam locomotive, and the internal profiles of the chimney (or, strictly speaking, the ejector ) require careful design and adjustment. This has been the object of intensive studies by a number of engineers (and often ignored by others, sometimes with catastrophic consequences). The fact that the draught depends on the exhaust pressure means that power delivery and power generation are automatically self-adjusting. Among other things,

3999-419: Is directed upwards out of the locomotive through the chimney, by way of a nozzle called a blastpipe , creating the familiar "chuffing" sound of the steam locomotive. The blastpipe is placed at a strategic point inside the smokebox that is at the same time traversed by the combustion gases drawn through the boiler and grate by the action of the steam blast. The combining of the two streams, steam and exhaust gases,

BR Standard Class 7 - Misplaced Pages Continue

4128-408: Is food, as supermarkets require deliveries daily to replenish their shelves with goods. Retailers and manufacturers of all kinds rely upon delivery trucks , be they full size semi trucks or smaller delivery vans . These smaller road haulage companies constantly strive for the best routes and prices to ship out their products. Indeed, the level of commercial freight transported by smaller businesses

4257-415: Is its lack of flexibility. For this reason, rail has lost much of the freight business to road transport. Rail freight is often subject to transshipment costs, since it must be transferred from one mode of transportation to another. Practices such as containerization aim at minimizing these costs. When transporting point-to-point bulk loads such as cement or grain, with specialised bulk handling facilities at

4386-598: Is more efficient and economical for a large shipment to have exclusive use of one larger trailer rather than share space on a smaller LTL trailer. By the Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula the total weight of a loaded truck (tractor and trailer, 5-axle rig) cannot exceed 80,000 lb (36,287 kg) in the United States. In ordinary circumstances, long-haul equipment will weigh about 15,000 kg (33,069 lb), leaving about 20,000 kg (44,092 lb) of freight capacity. Similarly

4515-400: Is often a good barometer of healthy economic development as these types of vehicles move and transport anything literally, including couriers transporting parcels and mail. You can see the different types and weights of vehicles that are used to move cargo around . Less than truckload (LTL) cargo is the first category of freight shipment, representing the majority of freight shipments and

4644-415: Is the principal structure onto which the boiler is mounted and which incorporates the various elements of the running gear. The boiler is rigidly mounted on a "saddle" beneath the smokebox and in front of the boiler barrel, but the firebox at the rear is allowed to slide forward and backwards, to allow for expansion when hot. European locomotives usually use "plate frames", where two vertical flat plates form

4773-489: The Boeing 747 and the more prominent An‑124 , which was purposely built for easy conversion into a cargo aircraft . Such large aircraft employ standardized quick-loading containers known as unit load devices (ULDs), comparable to ISO containers on cargo ships. ULDs can be stowed in the lower decks (front and rear) of several wide-body aircraft , and on the main deck of some narrow-bodies . Some dedicated cargo planes have

4902-924: The Drache , was delivered in 1848. The first steam locomotives operating in Italy were the Bayard and the Vesuvio , running on the Napoli-Portici line, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The first railway line over Swiss territory was the Strasbourg – Basel line opened in 1844. Three years later, in 1847, the first fully Swiss railway line, the Spanisch Brötli Bahn , from Zürich to Baden

5031-591: The Ohio Historical Society Museum in Columbus, US. The authenticity and date of this locomotive is disputed by some experts and a workable steam train would have to await the invention of the high-pressure steam engine by Richard Trevithick , who pioneered the use of steam locomotives. The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was the 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge Coalbrookdale Locomotive built by Trevithick in 1802. It

5160-549: The Pennsylvania Railroad class S1 achieved speeds upwards of 150 mph, though this was never officially proven. In the United States, larger loading gauges allowed the development of very large, heavy locomotives such as the Union Pacific Big Boy , which weighs 540 long tons (550  t ; 600 short tons ) and has a tractive effort of 135,375 pounds-force (602,180 newtons). Beginning in

5289-452: The Settle rail crash , which cost the lives of five passengers, was caused when the piston rod, cross-head and connecting rod of No. 70052 came loose and damaged the opposite line as a freight train was approaching. The locomotive of the freight train was derailed towards 70052's train and tore out the sides of three passenger coaches. Part of the slide assembly was redesigned, and was fitted as

BR Standard Class 7 - Misplaced Pages Continue

5418-535: The United Kingdom during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. Richard Trevithick built the first steam locomotive known to have hauled a load over a distance at Pen-y-darren in 1804, although he produced an earlier locomotive for trial at Coalbrookdale in 1802. Salamanca , built in 1812 by Matthew Murray for the Middleton Railway ,

5547-585: The WD Austerity 2-8-0 and WD Austerity 2-10-0 locomotives for wartime use. The first design requested by the Railway Executive was for a new express passenger " Pacific " locomotive, designed specifically to reduce maintenance and using the latest available innovations in steam technology from home and abroad. Various labour-saving devices were utilised to produce a simple, standard and effective design, able to produce equivalent power to some of

5676-422: The dock or on the ship itself. If hoisted on deck instead of straight into the hold, liftable or rolling unit loads, like bags, barrels/vats, boxes, cartons and crates, then have to be man-handled and stowed competently by stevedores . Securing break bulk and general freight inside a vessel, includes the use of dunnage . When no hoisting equipment is available, break bulk would previously be man-carried on and off

5805-600: The "Pacifics" that were still available as legacies of the Big Four. The design of the "Britannias" was based on best practice from the pre-nationalisation railway companies. For example, they utilised a variation of both boiler and trailing truck of the Merchant Navy class , while weight was kept within the margins laid down by the Light Pacifics , all of which were designed by Oliver Bulleid . The firebox

5934-476: The BR1D, which had 9 tons of coal and 4,750 gallons of water, due to the fact that they were intended for use on longer runs in the north of the railway network. This tender design also featured a steam-powered coal pusher, which eliminated the need for crew members to mount the tender to pull forward coal when the locomotive was at a stop. Nos.70043 and 70044 were delivered with Westinghouse airbrakes fitted alongside

6063-457: The British loading gauge were used for ease of maintenance compared with "inside" cylinders located between the frames of a three- or four-cylindered locomotive. Boiler 'plumbing' was also generally exposed to give ease of access. For ease of maintenance, outside Walschaerts valve gear was used. A self-cleaning smokebox enabled ash to be ejected through the chimney, reducing the workload of

6192-491: The DOT and have the requirements to provide proof of insurance. Truckload (TL) carriers usually charge a rate per kilometre or mile. The rate varies depending on the distance, geographic location of the delivery, items being shipped, equipment type required, and service times required. TL shipments usually receive a variety of surcharges very similar to those described for LTL shipments above. There are thousands more small carriers in

6321-539: The Eastern Region, where its lower weight and high power transformed motive power over the restricted East Anglian lines. However, negative feedback was received from various operating departments, most notably on the Western Region. The criticism was primarily out of partisan preference for GWR-designed locomotive stock among Western Region staff; in particular, the class was 'left-hand drive' in contrast to 'right-hand drive' GWR locomotive and signalling practice,

6450-488: The Festival of Britain later that year). Steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam . It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal , oil or, rarely, wood ) to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point where it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it

6579-582: The Saar (today part of Völklingen ), but neither could be returned to working order after being dismantled, moved and reassembled. On 7 December 1835, the Adler ran for the first time between Nuremberg and Fürth on the Bavarian Ludwig Railway . It was the 118th engine from the locomotive works of Robert Stephenson and stood under patent protection. In Russia , the first steam locomotive

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6708-781: The TL market than in the LTL market. Therefore, the use of transportation intermediaries or brokers is widespread. Another cost-saving method is facilitating pickups or deliveries at the carrier's terminals. Carriers or intermediaries can provide shippers with the address and phone number for the closest shipping terminal to the origin and/or destination. By doing this, shippers avoid any accessorial fees that might normally be charged for liftgate, residential pickup/ delivery , inside pickup/delivery, or notifications/appointments. Shipping experts optimize their service and costs by sampling rates from several carriers, brokers and online marketplaces. When obtaining rates from different providers, shippers may find

6837-423: The US), or screw-reverser (if so equipped), that controls the cut-off, therefore, performs a similar function to a gearshift in an automobile – maximum cut-off, providing maximum tractive effort at the expense of efficiency, is used to pull away from a standing start, whilst a cut-off as low as 10% is used when cruising, providing reduced tractive effort, and therefore lower fuel/water consumption. Exhaust steam

6966-617: The United States, including John Fitch's miniature prototype. A prominent full sized example was Col. John Steven's "steam wagon" which was demonstrated on a loop of track in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1825. Many of the earliest locomotives for commercial use on American railroads were imported from Great Britain, including first the Stourbridge Lion and later the John Bull . However, a domestic locomotive-manufacturing industry

7095-606: The Western Region, which were given names of former Star Class locomotives, and those of the Scottish Region, which were granted the names of the various Scottish firths . The locomotive naming ceremonies were carried out at various railway stations around the British Railways network. No. 70047 was never named. The class was well liked by crews in most regions of British Railways, with especially glowing reports from those operating them from Stratford depot on

7224-550: The adhesive weight. Equalising beams connecting the ends of leaf springs have often been deemed a complication in Britain, however, locomotives fitted with the beams have usually been less prone to loss of traction due to wheel-slip. Suspension using equalizing levers between driving axles, and between driving axles and trucks, was standard practice on North American locomotives to maintain even wheel loads when operating on uneven track. Locomotives with total adhesion, where all of

7353-501: The area. A succession of bulk withdrawals began in 1967, and the last, of number 70013 "Oliver Cromwell", took place in 1968, at the very end of steam operation in Britain. Subsequently, that locomotive was selected to represent the class in the National Collection . Only 70000 "Britannia", which was privately preserved, saw main line service during the preservation era – until 2008, when 70013 "Oliver Cromwell"'s restoration

7482-402: The boiler materials to the point where it needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Start-up on a large engine may take hours of preliminary heating of the boiler water before sufficient steam is available. Although the boiler is typically placed horizontally, for locomotives designed to work in locations with steep slopes it may be more appropriate to consider a vertical boiler or one mounted such that

7611-404: The boiler remains horizontal but the wheels are inclined to suit the slope of the rails. The steam generated in the boiler fills the space above the water in the partially filled boiler. Its maximum working pressure is limited by spring-loaded safety valves. It is then collected either in a perforated tube fitted above the water level or by a dome that often houses the regulator valve, or throttle,

7740-399: The boiler. Boiler water surrounds the firebox to stop the metal from becoming too hot. This is another area where the gas transfers heat to the water and is called the firebox heating surface. Ash and char collect in the smokebox as the gas gets drawn up the chimney ( stack or smokestack in the US) by the exhaust steam from the cylinders. The pressure in the boiler has to be monitored using

7869-518: The carriers, through brokers or with online marketplace services. In the US, there are certain restrictions on cargo moving via air freight on passenger aircraft, most notably the transport of rechargeable lithium-ion battery shipments. Shippers in the US must be approved and be "known" in the Known Shipper Management System before their shipments can be tendered on passenger aircraft. Trains are capable of transporting

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7998-519: The class for the benefit of future generations. However, 70000 had been purchased privately from British Railways by the Britannia Locomotive Group, which ensured that the doyen of the class was to survive into the preservation era. Subsequently, utilised on mainline railtours, the locomotive was out of use in the late 1990s, requiring work to bring it back to steam; it was eventually sold to Pete Waterman and stored at Crewe. After

8127-689: The dominant fuel worldwide in steam locomotives. Railways serving sugar cane farming operations burned bagasse , a byproduct of sugar refining. In the US, the ready availability and low price of oil made it a popular steam locomotive fuel after 1900 for the southwestern railroads, particularly the Southern Pacific. In the Australian state of Victoria, many steam locomotives were converted to heavy oil firing after World War II. German, Russian, Australian and British railways experimented with using coal dust to fire locomotives. During World War 2,

8256-440: The early 1900s, steam locomotives were gradually superseded by electric and diesel locomotives , with railways fully converting to electric and diesel power beginning in the late 1930s. The majority of steam locomotives were retired from regular service by the 1980s, although several continue to run on tourist and heritage lines. The earliest railways employed horses to draw carts along rail tracks . In 1784, William Murdoch ,

8385-492: The end of steam plain green livery was substituted, with the touching-up of existing paintwork being preferred to full aesthetic overhaul. Two Britannias have survived: the prototype engine number 70000 Britannia , and 70013 Oliver Cromwell . Both engines have also operated at certain points in preservation as well as both running on the main line in preservation. Withdrawn from traffic in August 2023 for repairs following

8514-529: The engine cleaner at the end of a working day. The single chimney was unusual for a "Pacific" type of locomotive, but was chosen because the exhaust dimensions including the blastpipe were designed using work done at the Rugby test plant and by S.O. Ell at Swindon Works , who claimed that "better results could be obtained from a well-designed single chimney than some of the previous double chimney arrangements". The design also featured raised running plates above

8643-431: The exhaust gas volume was vented through a cooling tower, allowing the steam exhaust to draw more air past the radiator. Running gear includes the brake gear, wheel sets , axleboxes , springing and the motion that includes connecting rods and valve gear. The transmission of the power from the pistons to the rails and the behaviour of the locomotive as a vehicle, being able to negotiate curves, points and irregularities in

8772-460: The failure of its right side crosshead while working a railtour in August 2023. Returned to service in March 2024 following completion of repairs. Number 70000 was originally selected to represent the class in the embryonic form of the future National Railway Museum, but was ultimately rejected due to the locomotive's poor mechanical condition. As a result, 70013 was eventually selected to represent

8901-448: The firebox becomes exposed. Without water on top of the sheet to transfer away the heat of combustion , it softens and fails, letting high-pressure steam into the firebox and the cab. The development of the fusible plug , a temperature-sensitive device, ensured a controlled venting of steam into the firebox to warn the fireman to add water. Scale builds up in the boiler and prevents adequate heat transfer, and corrosion eventually degrades

9030-621: The fledgling British Railways (BR) during 1948, to compare pre- nationalisation locomotive design across the Big Four railway companies. The research gained from operating the best designs of the GWR , LMS , LNER and Southern railways on different areas of the British Railways network paved the way for several new classes of standardised locomotives intended to replace some of the ageing designs inherited. The new classes were designed by E. S. Cox , under Robert Riddles who had previously designed

9159-512: The frames ( well tank ). The fuel used depended on what was economically available to the railway. In the UK and other parts of Europe, plentiful supplies of coal made this the obvious choice from the earliest days of the steam engine. Until 1870, the majority of locomotives in the United States burned wood, but as the Eastern forests were cleared, coal gradually became more widely used until it became

9288-407: The goods contained, are also referred to as cargo, especially by shipping lines and logistics operators. When empty containers are shipped each unit is documented as a cargo and when goods are stored within, the contents are termed containerized cargo. Similarly, aircraft ULD boxes are also documented as cargo, with an associated packing list of the items contained within. Seaport terminals handle

9417-418: The grate into an ashpan. If oil is used as the fuel, a door is needed for adjusting the air flow, maintaining the firebox, and cleaning the oil jets. The fire-tube boiler has internal tubes connecting the firebox to the smokebox through which the combustion gases flow transferring heat to the water. All the tubes together provide a large contact area, called the tube heating surface, between the gas and water in

9546-582: The highly mineralised water was available, and locomotive boilers were lasting less than a quarter of the time normally expected. In the days of steam locomotion, about half the total train load was water for the engine. The line's operator, Commonwealth Railways , was an early adopter of the diesel-electric locomotive . The fire-tube boiler was standard practice for steam locomotive. Although other types of boiler were evaluated they were not widely used, except for some 1,000 locomotives in Hungary which used

9675-436: The last was withdrawn in 1968. Two survived into preservation, the first-of-class, number 70000 Britannia , and 70013 Oliver Cromwell . Number 70000 has hauled mainline excursions and 70013, after a period of display following limited steaming, returned to mainline steam in 2008 for the first time since leaving British Railways ownership. 70000 was returned to the main line in 2011. Locomotive exchanges were commissioned by

9804-522: The law by not having a Federal Operating License, the shipper has no protection in case of a problem. Also, shippers typically ask for a copy of the broker's insurance certificate and any specific insurance that applies to the shipment. Overall, shipping costs have fallen over the past decades. A further drop in shipping costs in the future might be realized through the application of improved 3D printing technologies.   Governments are very concerned with cargo shipment, as it may bring security risks to

9933-485: The left of the firebox was a GWR-type live steam injector, that on the right was an 11 mm Davies and Metcalfe exhaust steam injector. These injectors fed the boiler through clack valves of SR design. Unlike the smaller BR Standard locos the exhaust steam manifold within the smokebox saddle (along with the BR Standard Class 6 engines) was an intricate steel casting. Designed at British Railways' Derby Works ,

10062-430: The locomotive being classed as mixed traffic. This was lined in orange and black, and the class was given the power classification 7MT. The "Britannias" were numbered under the new British Railways standard numbering system in the 70xxx series. The locomotives were numbered between 70000 and 70054, and featured brass nameplates with an initial black background, followed by red, located on the smoke deflectors . Towards

10191-681: The locomotive ran on a circular track in the factory yard. It was the first locomotive to be built on the European mainland and the first steam-powered passenger service; curious onlookers could ride in the attached coaches for a fee. It is portrayed on a New Year's badge for the Royal Foundry dated 1816. Another locomotive was built using the same system in 1817. They were to be used on pit railways in Königshütte and in Luisenthal on

10320-622: The locomotive return to the main line. Its first turn was the 1T57 ' Fifteen Guinea Special ' re-run from Manchester to Carlisle, 40 years after it performed the same duty in 1968. As a result, both preserved members of the class have operated on the mainline in preservation. After its sale to the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust , 70000 was overhauled at Crewe and returned to the main line in 2011 (its 60th anniversary), initially in unlined black without name plates as originally outshopped in 1951 (the plates were first fitted for

10449-556: The locomotives giving them favourable reports as regards performance. However, operation in some areas of the British Railway network returned negative feedback, primarily due to indifferent operation of the locomotive, with its effects on adhering to timetables. They were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h). The Britannias took their names from great Britons , former Star class locomotives, and Scottish firths . The class remained in service until

10578-416: The locomotives were routinely "shopped". Western Region based examples had hand/foot holds cut into the smoke deflectors replacing the original handrails after a major derailment , to improve forward visibility. Some of these deflectors subsequently migrated to other members of the class. From 1948 until the mid-1950s, the responsibility for recommending names for locomotives on British Railways rested with

10707-403: The main chassis, with a variety of spacers and a buffer beam at each end to form a rigid structure. When inside cylinders are mounted between the frames, the plate frames are a single large casting that forms a major support element. The axleboxes slide up and down to give some sprung suspension, against thickened webs attached to the frame, called "hornblocks". American practice for many years

10836-509: The mainframes. Locomotives with multiple coupled-wheels on a rigid chassis would have unacceptable flange forces on tight curves giving excessive flange and rail wear, track spreading and wheel climb derailments. One solution was to remove or thin the flanges on an axle. More common was to give axles end-play and use lateral motion control with spring or inclined-plane gravity devices. Railroads generally preferred locomotives with fewer axles, to reduce maintenance costs. The number of axles required

10965-431: The majority of business-to-business (B2B) shipments. LTL shipments are also often referred to as motor freight and the carriers involved are referred to as motor carriers . LTL shipments range from 50 to 7,000 kg (110 to 15,430 lb), being less than 2.5 to 8.5 m (8 ft 2.4 in to 27 ft 10.6 in) the majority of times. The average single piece of LTL freight is 600 kg (1,323 lb) and

11094-470: The moment when the valve blocks a steam port, "cutting off" admission steam and thus determining the proportion of the stroke during which steam is admitted into the cylinder; for example a 50% cut-off admits steam for half the stroke of the piston. The remainder of the stroke is driven by the expansive force of the steam. Careful use of cut-off provides economical use of steam and in turn, reduces fuel and water consumption. The reversing lever ( Johnson bar in

11223-474: The names as well as providing good morale for the staff, and the collection of names for a class had to provide some form of class identity. Another rule was not to use names of people who were still alive at the time, and some on the committee had a strong dislike of names or associations with the military (largely because they were fed-up with the recently ended war). There was a preference for names of heroes and other well-known people. However, slavishly following

11352-462: The new class was constructed at British Railways' Crewe Works between 1951 and 1954. The initial order was for 25 locomotives, but such was the demand for the Britannias on the Eastern Region that more were rushed through construction before the teething problems had been ironed out on the prototypes. In total, 55 members of the class were constructed over three batches at Crewe Works, where each

11481-407: The only shipment on a trailer. In fact, TL shipments usually deliver on exactly the same trailer as they are picked up on. Freight is usually organized into various shipment categories before it is transported. An item's category is determined by: Shipments are typically categorized as household goods, express, parcel, and freight shipments: An LTL shipper often realizes savings by utilizing

11610-861: The original John Bull was on static display in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. The replica is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania . The first railway service outside the United Kingdom and North America was opened in 1829 in France between Saint-Etienne and Lyon ; it was initially limited to animal traction and converted to steam traction early 1831, using Seguin locomotives . The first steam locomotive in service in Europe outside of France

11739-468: The piston in turn. In a two-cylinder locomotive, one cylinder is located on each side of the vehicle. The cranks are set 90° out of phase. During a full rotation of the driving wheel, steam provides four power strokes; each cylinder receives two injections of steam per revolution. The first stroke is to the front of the piston and the second stroke to the rear of the piston; hence two working strokes. Consequently, two deliveries of steam onto each piston face in

11868-447: The publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan . The Britannia Class design was based on best practice from the pre-nationalisation railway companies in terms of operating efficiency and lower maintenance costs; various weight-saving measures also increased the route availability of a Pacific -type locomotive on the British Railways network. The Britannias received a positive reception from their crews, with those regularly operating

11997-411: The purpose of which is to control the amount of steam leaving the boiler. The steam then either travels directly along and down a steam pipe to the engine unit or may first pass into the wet header of a superheater , the role of the latter being to improve thermal efficiency and eliminate water droplets suspended in the "saturated steam", the state in which it leaves the boiler. On leaving the superheater,

12126-498: The rail sidings, the rail mode of transport remains the most convenient and preferred option. Many governments are encouraging shippers to increase their use of rail rather than transport because of trains' lower environmental disbenefits. Many firms, like Parcelforce , FedEx and R+L Carriers transport all types of cargo by road. Delivering everything from letters to houses to cargo containers , these firms offer fast, sometimes same-day, delivery . A good example of road cargo

12255-404: The remaining axles, whilst 70040–70049 were built with plain bearings throughout. However throughout their service the roller bearings used in remaining cases showed no advantage in reliability or cost. An unusual fault with the first engines of the class was fore-and-aft vibration, strong enough to prompt passengers to complain and to cause fire-irons stowed in a longitudinal compartment on top of

12384-478: The return cranks on the main driving wheels were of LNER block type, as seen on Arthur Peppercorn 's A1s and A2s , but this was changed to the simpler LMS four-stud fitting. This was the result of a problem of overheating bearings within the cranks, and difficulty in removing the LNER-type casings. 70035–70039 were built with roller bearings on the leading and trailing coupled axles only and plain bearings on

12513-1095: The security of this magnitude of cargo has become highlighted on the over 6 million cargo containers that enter the United States ports each year. The latest US Government response to this threat is the CSI: Container Security Initiative . CSI is a program intended to help increase security for containerized cargo shipped to the United States from around the world. Europe is also focusing on this issue, with several EU-funded projects underway. Many ways and materials are available to stabilize and secure cargo in various modes of transport. Conventional load securing methods and materials such as steel strapping and plastic/wood blocking and bracing have been used for decades and are still widely used. Present load-securing methods offer several other options, including polyester strapping and lashing, synthetic webbings and dunnage bags, also known as airbags or inflatable bags. Practical advice on stabilization

12642-524: The ship, over a plank, or by passing via human chain . Since the 1960s, the volume of break bulk cargo has enormously declined worldwide in favour of mass adoption of containers . Bulk cargo , such as salt , oil , tallow , but also scrap metal , is usually defined as commodities that are neither on pallets nor in containers. Bulk cargoes are not handled as individual pieces, the way heavy-lift and project cargo are. Alumina , grain , gypsum , logs, and wood chips, for instance, are bulk cargoes. Bulk cargo

12771-418: The side of the piston receiving steam, thus slightly reducing cylinder power. Designing the exhaust ejector became a specific science, with engineers such as Chapelon , Giesl and Porta making large improvements in thermal efficiency and a significant reduction in maintenance time and pollution. A similar system was used by some early gasoline/kerosene tractor manufacturers ( Advance-Rumely / Hart-Parr ) –

12900-450: The size of a standard pallet. Long freight and/or large freight are subject to extreme length and cubic capacity surcharges. Trailers used in LTL can range from 28 to 53 ft (8.53 to 16.15 m). The standard for city deliveries is usually 48 ft (14.63 m). In tight and residential environments the 28 ft (8.53 m) trailer is used the most. The shipments are usually palletized, stretch [shrink]-wrapped and packaged for

13029-506: The smokebox and with no smoke deflectors. The two locomotives, which looked radically different from the rest of the class, were allocated to Manchester (Longsight) and ran a series of brake trials on the London Midland main line during the mid-1950s. Subsequently, both had the equipment removed and deflectors fitted. No. 70045 was fitted with LMS-style oval buffers in the course of repairs after collision damage. On 21 January 1960,

13158-504: The steam exits the dry header of the superheater and passes down a steam pipe, entering the steam chests adjacent to the cylinders of a reciprocating engine. Inside each steam chest is a sliding valve that distributes the steam via ports that connect the steam chest to the ends of the cylinder space. The role of the valves is twofold: admission of each fresh dose of steam, and exhaust of the used steam once it has done its work. The cylinders are double-acting, with steam admitted to each side of

13287-477: The steam locomotive. Trevithick continued his own steam propulsion experiments through another trio of locomotives, concluding with the Catch Me Who Can in 1808, first in the world to haul fare-paying passengers. In 1812, Matthew Murray 's successful twin-cylinder rack locomotive Salamanca first ran on the edge-railed rack-and-pinion Middleton Railway . Another well-known early locomotive

13416-544: The success of Rocket at the 1829 Rainhill Trials had proved that steam locomotives could perform such duties. Robert Stephenson and Company was the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives in the first decades of steam for railways in the United Kingdom, the United States, and much of Europe. Towards the end of the steam era, a longstanding British emphasis on speed culminated in a record, still unbroken, of 126 miles per hour (203 kilometres per hour) by LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard , however there are long-standing claims that

13545-494: The tender to work their way forward into the cab. The passengers' complaints were dealt with by reducing the tension in the drawbar spring. Locomotive tenders were also changed as new, improved designs became available. Some examples of the second batch (70025–70029) were equipped with the BR1A tender, which had a higher water capacity of 5,000 gallons. Members of the third batch (70045–70054) were equipped with another tender design,

13674-434: The track, is of paramount importance. Because reciprocating power has to be directly applied to the rail from 0 rpm upwards, this creates the problem of adhesion of the driving wheels to the smooth rail surface. Adhesive weight is the portion of the locomotive's weight bearing on the driving wheels. This is made more effective if a pair of driving wheels is able to make the most of its axle load, i.e. its individual share of

13803-433: The two cylinders generates a full revolution of the driving wheel. Each piston is attached to the driving axle on each side by a connecting rod, and the driving wheels are connected together by coupling rods to transmit power from the main driver to the other wheels. Note that at the two " dead centres ", when the connecting rod is on the same axis as the crankpin on the driving wheel, the connecting rod applies no torque to

13932-419: The water level in a transparent tube, or sight glass. Efficient and safe operation of the boiler requires keeping the level in between lines marked on the sight glass. If the water level is too high, steam production falls, efficiency is lost and water is carried out with the steam into the cylinders, possibly causing mechanical damage. More seriously, if the water level gets too low, the crown sheet (top sheet) of

14061-401: The water-tube Brotan boiler . A boiler consists of a firebox where the fuel is burned, a barrel where water is turned into steam, and a smokebox which is kept at a slightly lower pressure than outside the firebox. Solid fuel, such as wood, coal or coke, is thrown into the firebox through a door by a fireman , onto a set of grates which hold the fuel in a bed as it burns. Ash falls through

14190-408: The wheel. Therefore, if both cranksets could be at "dead centre" at the same time, and the wheels should happen to stop in this position, the locomotive could not start moving. Therefore, the crankpins are attached to the wheels at a 90° angle to each other, so only one side can be at dead centre at a time. Each piston transmits power through a crosshead , connecting rod ( Main rod in the US) and

14319-411: The wheels are coupled together, generally lack stability at speed. To counter this, locomotives often fit unpowered carrying wheels mounted on two-wheeled trucks or four-wheeled bogies centred by springs/inverted rockers/geared rollers that help to guide the locomotive through curves. These usually take on weight – of the cylinders at the front or the firebox at the rear – when the width exceeds that of

14448-488: The wheels, which allowed easy access to the inside of the frames for purposes of lubrication. The "Britannias'" footplate was designed around the requirements of the operating crews, with a mock-up being constructed at Crewe to test ergonomics and usability. Two injectors were fitted, one on each side of the boiler, securely fixed to the firebox foundation ring to eliminate problems previously experienced with fractured pipework on frame-mounted injectors. The injector on

14577-406: The will to increase efficiency by that route. The steam generated in the boiler not only moves the locomotive, but is also used to operate other devices such as the whistle, the air compressor for the brakes, the pump for replenishing the water in the boiler and the passenger car heating system. The constant demand for steam requires a periodic replacement of water in the boiler. The water is kept in

14706-878: The world also runs in Austria: the GKB 671 built in 1860, has never been taken out of service, and is still used for special excursions. In 1838, the third steam locomotive to be built in Germany, the Saxonia , was manufactured by the Maschinenbaufirma Übigau near Dresden , built by Prof. Johann Andreas Schubert . The first independently designed locomotive in Germany was the Beuth , built by August Borsig in 1841. The first locomotive produced by Henschel-Werke in Kassel ,

14835-562: Was Puffing Billy , built 1813–14 by engineer William Hedley . It was intended to work on the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne. This locomotive is the oldest preserved, and is on static display at the Science Museum, London . George Stephenson , a former miner working as an engine-wright at Killingworth Colliery , developed up to sixteen Killingworth locomotives , including Blücher in 1814, another in 1815, and

14964-685: Was also similar in having a rocking grate , which allowed the fire to be rebuilt without stopping the locomotive, removing both ash and clinker on the move; but unlike the SR Pacifics, the inner firebox was constructed of copper instead of steel and lacked thermic syphons . The "Britannias" had 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) driving wheels, a compromise for their mixed-traffic role to allow sustained fast running with passenger trains, yet small enough to give sufficient tractive effort for freight haulage. The largest, only outside, cylinders capable of giving maximum tractive effort whilst staying within

15093-644: Was built in 1834 by Cherepanovs , however, it suffered from the lack of coal in the area and was replaced with horse traction after all the woods nearby had been cut down. The first Russian Tsarskoye Selo steam railway started in 1837 with locomotives purchased from Robert Stephenson and Company . In 1837, the first steam railway started in Austria on the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway between Vienna-Floridsdorf and Deutsch-Wagram . The oldest continually working steam engine in

15222-523: Was completed, and she worked part of the "15 Guinea Special" – a special train run to commemorate the final BR steam working in 1968. 70013 is now to be found operating main line railtours over the Network Rail system. The first member of the class was given a livery of plain black without lining; this was changed to the new standard British Railways Dark Locomotive Green that was applied to express passenger locomotives after nationalisation , despite

15351-760: Was constructed for the Coalbrookdale ironworks in Shropshire in the United Kingdom though no record of it working there has survived. On 21 February 1804, the first recorded steam-hauled railway journey took place as another of Trevithick's locomotives hauled a train along the 4 ft 4 in ( 1,321 mm )-wide tramway from the Pen-y-darren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil , to Abercynon in South Wales. Accompanied by Andrew Vivian , it ran with mixed success. The design incorporated

15480-411: Was dictated by the maximum axle loading of the railroad in question. A builder would typically add axles until the maximum weight on any one axle was acceptable to the railroad's maximum axle loading. A locomotive with a wheel arrangement of two lead axles, two drive axles, and one trailing axle was a high-speed machine. Two lead axles were necessary to have good tracking at high speeds. Two drive axles had

15609-487: Was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials . This success led to the company emerging as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives used on railways in the UK, US and much of Europe. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened a year later making exclusive use of steam power for passenger and goods trains . Before the arrival of British imports, some domestic steam locomotive prototypes were built and tested in

15738-478: Was given improvements to improve reliability and efficiency, and to overcome flaws with the original design. Problems with the class were experienced immediately, with the first 25 locomotives being withdrawn in October 1951 after several complaints were received from crews regarding the driving wheels shifting on their axles. They were subsequently modified, and released back into revenue-earning service. Initially

15867-654: Was named The Elephant , which on 5 May 1835 hauled a train on the first line in Belgium, linking Mechelen and Brussels. In Germany, the first working steam locomotive was a rack-and-pinion engine, similar to the Salamanca , designed by the British locomotive pioneer John Blenkinsop . Built in June 1816 by Johann Friedrich Krigar in the Royal Berlin Iron Foundry ( Königliche Eisengießerei zu Berlin),

15996-531: Was number 70007 "Coeur-de-Lion" in 1965, and the entire class was gradually transferred to Carlisle Kingmoor and Glasgow Polmadie depots as steam was displaced by the dieselisation of British Railways. Some members of this class were a common sight in the Cumbrian main line , pulling both passenger trains and parcel trains in Grange-over-Sands , Barrow-in-Furness , Preston , and other locations in

16125-534: Was opened. The arid nature of south Australia posed distinctive challenges to their early steam locomotion network. The high concentration of magnesium chloride in the well water ( bore water ) used in locomotive boilers on the Trans-Australian Railway caused serious and expensive maintenance problems. At no point along its route does the line cross a permanent freshwater watercourse, so bore water had to be relied on. No inexpensive treatment for

16254-577: Was soon established. In 1830, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 's Tom Thumb , designed by Peter Cooper , was the first commercial US-built locomotive to run in America; it was intended as a demonstration of the potential of steam traction rather than as a revenue-earning locomotive. The DeWitt Clinton , built in 1831 for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad , was a notable early locomotive. As of 2021 ,

16383-403: Was supplied at stopping places and locomotive depots from a dedicated water tower connected to water cranes or gantries. In the UK, the US and France, water troughs ( track pans in the US) were provided on some main lines to allow locomotives to replenish their water supply without stopping, from rainwater or snowmelt that filled the trough due to inclement weather. This was achieved by using

16512-488: Was the first commercially successful steam locomotive. Locomotion No. 1 , built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company , was the first steam locomotive to haul passengers on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway , in 1825. Rapid development ensued; in 1830 George Stephenson opened the first public inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , after

16641-404: Was to use built-up bar frames, with the smokebox saddle/cylinder structure and drag beam integrated therein. In the 1920s, with the introduction of "superpower", the cast-steel locomotive bed became the norm, incorporating frames, spring hangers, motion brackets, smokebox saddle and cylinder blocks into a single complex, sturdy but heavy casting. A SNCF design study using welded tubular frames gave

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