A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a gas turbine . Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels (drivers). A gas turbine train typically consists of two power cars (one at each end of the train), and one or more intermediate passenger cars .
130-482: GT3 (Gas Turbine 3) was a prototype mainline gas turbine locomotive built in 1961 by English Electric at its Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows to investigate the use of its gas turbines in rail traction applications. It followed 18000 and 18100 as gas turbines 1 and 2. It was designed by English Electric engineer J. O. P. Hughes in a project that started in the early 1950s. Externally it resembled
260-465: A Leicester Urban Area (LUA); broadly the immediate Leicester conurbation , although without administrative status. The LUA contains the unitary authority area and several towns, villages and suburbs outside the city's administrative boundaries. Suburbs and districts of Leicester (ancient villages now incorporated into the city are shown in bold) Leicester experiences a maritime climate with mild to warm summers and cool winters, rain spread throughout
390-407: A Pescara free-piston engine as a gas generator. It was followed by two further locomotives, Class 060-GA-1 of 2,400 hp (1.8 MW) in 1959–61. The Pescara gas generator in 040-GA-1 consisted of a horizontal, single cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine with opposed pistons . It had no crankshaft and the pistons were returned after each power stroke by compression and expansion of air in
520-660: A Standard class steam locomotive . The most complete record of the locomotive is contained in the paper written by its designer in 1962 and in his papers now held at the National Railway Museum Archives in York. Much of what had been written about the locomotive was based on conjecture until these sources became available; subsequently an article in The Railway Magazine for December 2015 brought together an accurate and verifiable record of
650-474: A VL15 electric locomotive in 2006 and introduced in 2007, runs on LNG and has a maximum power output of 8,300 kW (11,100 hp). One section carries the LNG tank and the other houses the turbine with electric power generation, and both sections have traction motors and cabs. The locomotive has a B-B-B+B-B-B wheel arrangement, and up to three GT1 locomotives can be coupled together. On 23 January 2009,
780-418: A hot air engine using a turbine instead of a piston. Robertson shows a diagram that confirms Sampson's information but also refers to problems with erosion of turbine blades by ash. This is strange because, with a conventional shell and tube heat exchanger , there would be no risk of ash entering the turbine circuit. Working cycle There were two separate, but linked, circuits: the combustion circuit and
910-409: A mechanical transmission to deliver the power output of gas turbines to the wheels. Owing to the difference in their speeds, this is technically challenging and so a mechanical transmission did not appear until ten years after the first electric transmissions. The first gas turbine–mechanical locomotive in the world, Class 040-GA-1 of 1,000 hp (0.75 MW) was built by Renault in 1952 and had
1040-477: A piston engine . There are few moving parts, decreasing the need for lubrication and potentially reducing maintenance costs, and the power-to-weight ratio is much higher. A turbine of a given power output is also physically smaller than an equally powerful piston engine, so that a locomotive can be extremely powerful without needing to be inordinately large. However, a gas turbine's power output and efficiency both drop dramatically with rotational speed , unlike
1170-506: A wider pattern that led to the expulsion of the Jewish population from England in 1290. During the 14th century, the earls of Leicester and Lancaster enhanced the prestige of the town. Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and of Leicester founded a hospital for the poor and infirm in the area to the south of the castle now known as The Newarke (the "new work"). Henry's son, the great Henry of Grosmont , 4th Earl of Lancaster and of Leicester, who
1300-823: A 50% ethnic minority population, making it the first city in Britain not to have a white British majority. This prediction was based on the growth of the ethnic minority populations between 1991 (Census 1991 28% ethnic minority) and 2001 (Census 2001 – 36% ethnic minority). However, Professor Ludi Simpson at the University of Manchester School of Social Sciences said in September 2007 that the CRE had "made unsubstantiated claims and ignored government statistics" and that Leicester's immigrant and minority communities disperse to other places. The Leicester Multicultural Advisory Group
1430-472: A GTEL with a 1,620 kW (2,170 hp) of maximum engine power from Brown Boveri . It was completed in 1941, and then underwent testing before entering regular service. The Am 4/6 was the world's first gas turbine–electric locomotive. It was intended primarily to work light, fast, passenger trains on routes that normally handle insufficient traffic to justify electrification . Two gas turbine locomotives of different design, 18000 and 18100, were ordered by
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#17327725061601560-563: A bishopric again until the Church of St Martin became Leicester Cathedral in 1927. The settlement was recorded under the name Ligeraceaster in the early 10th century. Following the Norman conquest , Leicester was recorded by William 's Domesday Book as Ledecestre . It was noted as a city ( civitas ) but lost this status in the 11th century owing to power struggles between the Church and
1690-475: A central corridor with a boiler water tank beneath. A crew toilet compartment and British Standard corridor connection were located at the rear. The six-wheel chassis was based on then standard British Railways practice, albeit it with specially made and shaped side frames and bespoke tank and bodywork assembled at Vulcan Foundry . The locomotive had a designed maximum speed of 90 mph (140 km/h), weighed 123.5 long tons (125.5 t; 138.3 short tons), and
1820-474: A contemporary sectional view widely published at the time and are flawed with regard to details such as driving wheels (19-spoke), roof and side access hatches, cab rear, tender front and tender rear. The most accurate drawing appears to have been a contemporary "Skinley" drawing produced with the assistance of JOP Hughes. A copy resides with correspondence between Hughes and Skinley in the JOP Hughes papers at
1950-682: A corruption of the original " Corieltauvians ". The Corieltauvians are believed to have ruled over roughly the area of the East Midlands . It is believed that the Romans arrived in the Leicester area around AD 47, during their conquest of southern Britain . The Corieltauvian settlement lay near a bridge on the Fosse Way , a Roman road between the legionary camps at Isca ( Exeter ) and Lindum ( Lincoln ). It remains unclear whether
2080-474: A failure following testing. The sources for the following information are Robertson and Sampson. In 1946, a Northrop - Hendy partnership launched an attempt to adapt the Northrop Turbodyne aircraft engine for locomotive use, with coal dust rather than kerosene as a fuel. In December 1946, Union Pacific donated their retired M-10002 streamliner locomotive to the project. However, the project
2210-550: A few have seen any real success in that role. With a rise in fuel costs (eventually leading to the 1973 oil crisis ), gas turbine locomotives became uneconomical to operate, and many were taken out of service. Union Pacific's locomotives also required more maintenance than originally anticipated, due to fouling of the turbine blades by the Bunker C oil used as fuel. In 1939, the Swiss Federal Railways ordered
2340-425: A fleet of 55 turbine-powered freight locomotives starting in the early 1950s, all produced by Alco-GE. The first- and second-generation versions shared the same wheel arrangement as the prototype; the third-generation version were C-C types. All were widely used on long-haul routes, and were cost-effective despite their poor fuel economy, due to their use of "leftover" fuels from the petroleum industry. At their height
2470-513: A ford across the larger channel. The later Roman name was a latinate form of the Brittonic word for "ramparts" (cf. Gaelic rath and the nearby villages of Ratby and Ratcliffe ), suggesting the site was an oppidum . The plural form of the name suggests it was initially composed of several villages. The Celtic tribe holding the area was later recorded as the " Coritanians " but an inscription recovered in 1983 showed this to have been
2600-455: A king Leir of Britain as an eponymous founder in his Historia Regum Britanniae (12th century). Leicester is one of the oldest cities in England, with a history going back at least two millennia. The native Iron Age settlement encountered by the Romans at the site seems to have developed in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC . Little is known about this settlement or the condition of
2730-400: A marker of anti-Asian sentiment throughout Britain as a whole, although the attitudes that resulted in the initial advertisement were changed significantly in subsequent decades, not least because the immigrants included the owners of many of "Uganda's most successful businesses." Forty years later, Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby expressed his regret for the behaviour of the council at
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#17327725061602860-478: A maximum power output of 2,200 kW (3,000 hp), and a hydraulic transmission. Unlike other locomotives, it was not in regular service. In 2006, Russian Railways introduced the GEM-10 switcher GTEL. The turbine runs on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and has a maximum power output of 1,000 kW (1,300 hp). The GEM-10 has a C-C wheel arrangement. The TGEM10-0001, which uses the same turbine and fuel as
2990-452: A maximum power output of 2,600 kW (3,500 hp). Another soviet gas turbine–hydraulic freight locomotive type GT101 was developed and produced in 1960 by Luhansk Locomotive Works . Like the G1 locomotive, it was intended to consist of two sections of a C-C wheel arrangement, but only one section was built. This section was equipped with four free piston gas generators and gas turbine with
3120-458: A mechanical transmission shaft driven from the turbine assembly, with power to the outer axles being transmitted by side rods. Power came from an English Electric EM27L gas turbine arrangement of 2,750 hp (2,050 kW) with high- and low-pressure turbines. The low-pressure turbine ran continuously in operation and was used to drive the locomotive's auxiliaries, with the high-pressure turbine operating as higher power outputs were required. Both
3250-429: A piston engine, which has a comparatively flat power curve. This makes gas turbine–electric systems useful primarily for long-distance high-speed runs. Additional problems with gas turbine–electric locomotives include the fact that they are very noisy and produce such extremely hot exhaust gasses that, if the locomotive were parked under an overpass paved with asphalt, it could melt the asphalt. A gas turbine locomotive
3380-507: A separate cylinder. The exhaust from the diesel engine powered the gas-turbine which drove the wheels through a two-speed gearbox and propeller shafts. The free-piston engine was patented in 1934 by Raul Pateras Pescara . Several similar locomotives were built in the USSR by Kharkov Locomotive Works . The power gas locomotive was built by Gotaverken . It had a vertical, five cylinder, two-stroke diesel engine with opposed pistons. There
3510-444: A steam tender locomotive , but the tender carried kerosene fuel. The designer said the traditional chassis and mechanical transmission avoided complications with (at the time of its conception) relatively untried technologies for bogies and electrical transmission. The National Railway Museum Archives hold the JOP Hughes papers which contain initial concept sketches for various 4-8-4 wheel arrangement single-unit configurations of
3640-541: Is a forum, set up in 2001 by the editor of the Leicester Mercury , to co-ordinate community relations with members representing the council, police, schools, community and faith groups, and the media. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many social and economic challenges across the country and across the world. Leicester has been particularly badly affected in the United Kingdom; from July 2020 during
3770-691: Is at the intersection of two railway lines: the Midland Main Line and the Birmingham to London Stansted Airport line. It is also at the confluence of the M1 / M69 motorways and the A6 / A46 trunk routes. Leicester Cathedral is home to the tomb of King Richard III who was reburied in the cathedral in 2015 after being discovered nearby in the foundations of the lost Greyfriars chapel, more than 500 years after his death. In sporting terms, Leicester
3900-617: Is recorded as Ledecestre . The first element of the name is the name of a people, the Ligore (whose name appears in Ligera ceastre in the genitive plural form); their name came in turn from the river Ligor (now the River Soar ), the origin of whose name is uncertain but thought to be from Brittonic (possibly cognate with the name of the Loire ). The second element of the name
4030-676: Is the Old English word ceaster ("(Roman) fort, fortification, town", itself borrowed from Latin castrum ). A list of British cities in the ninth-century History of the Britons includes one Cair Lerion ; Leicester has been proposed as the place to which this refers (and the Welsh name for Leicester is Caerlŷr ). But this identification is not certain. Based on the Welsh name (given as Kaerleir ), Geoffrey of Monmouth proposed
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4160-530: Is the home to football club Leicester City and rugby club Leicester Tigers . The name of Leicester comes from Old English . It is first recorded in Latinised form in the early ninth century as Legorensis civitatis and in Old English itself in an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for 924 as Ligera ceastre (and, in various spellings, frequently thereafter). In the Domesday Book of 1086, it
4290-485: Is used to power traction motors . This type of locomotive was first experimented with during the Second World War , but reached its peak in the 1950s to 1960s. Few locomotives use this system today. A GTEL uses a turbo–electric drivetrain in which a turboshaft engine drives the electric generator or alternator via a system of gears . The electric current is distributed to power the traction motors that drive
4420-656: The Air Training Corps . Leicester was bombed on 19 November 1940. Although only three bombs hit the city, 108 people were killed in Highfields. The years after World War II , particularly from the 1960s onwards, brought many social and economic challenges. Mass housebuilding continued across Leicester for some 30 years after 1945. Existing housing estates such as Braunstone were expanded, while several completely new estates – of both private and council tenure – were built. The last major development of this era
4550-621: The Blue Goose , also using the B-B-B-B wheel arrangement. The locomotive used two 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) turbine engines, was equipped for passenger train heating with a steam generator that utilized the waste exhaust heat of the right hand turbine, and was geared for 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). While it was demonstrated successfully in both freight and passenger service on the PRR , MKT , and CNW , no production orders followed, and it
4680-592: The English Civil War . In 1645, King Charles I of England and Prince Rupert decided to attack the (then) town to draw the New Model Army away from the Royalist (colloquially called Cavaliers ) headquarters of Oxford . Royalist guns were set up on Raw Dykes and, after an unsatisfactory response to a demand for surrender, the assault began at 3pm on 30 May 1645 by a Royalist battery opposite
4810-561: The Great Western Railway (GWR) but completed for the newly nationalised British Railways . British Rail 18000 was built by Brown Boveri and delivered in 1949. It was a 1840 kW (2470 hp) GTEL, ordered by the GWR and used for express passenger services. British Rail 18100 was built by Metropolitan-Vickers and delivered in 1951. It had an aircraft-type gas turbine of 2.2 MW (3,000 hp). Its maximum speed
4940-582: The House of Lords in June 1628 who however supported Fleetwood but asked for proceedings made by the Crown against the rioters to be dropped. Compensation made to the legal residents of the forest was reasonably generous by comparison with other forests. The Corporation of Leicester received 40 acres (16 ha) for relief of the poor. Leicester was a Parliamentarian (colloquially called Roundhead ) stronghold during
5070-632: The Jewry Wall ; recovered artifacts are displayed at the adjacent museum . Knowledge of the town following the Roman withdrawal from Britain is limited. It seems to have been continually occupied after Roman protection ceased through the 5th and 6th centuries, although with a significantly reduced population. Its memory was preserved as the Cair Lerion of the History of the Britons . Following
5200-683: The LRC . In 2002, Bombardier Transportation announced the launch of the JetTrain , a high-speed trainset consisting of tilting carriages and a locomotive powered by a Pratt & Whitney turboshaft engine. Proposals were made to use the trains for Quebec City–Windsor, Orlando–Miami, and in Alberta, Texas, Nevada and the UK. One prototype was built and tested, but no JetTrains have yet been sold for service. However, nothing ever came of any of these proposals, and
5330-514: The River Soar at this time, although roundhouses from this era have been excavated and seem to have clustered along roughly 8 hectares (20 acres) of the east bank of the Soar above its confluence with the Trent . This area of the Soar was split into two channels: a main stream to the east and a narrower channel on the west, with a presumably marshy island between. The settlement seems to have controlled
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5460-705: The Saxon invasion of Britain , Leicester was occupied by the Middle Angles and subsequently administered by the kingdom of Mercia . It was elevated to a bishopric in either 679 or 680; this see survived until the 9th century, when Leicester was captured by Danish Vikings . Their settlement became one of the Five Burghs of the Danelaw , although this position was short-lived. The Saxon bishop, meanwhile, fled to Dorchester-on-Thames and Leicester did not become
5590-509: The aristocracy and did not become a legal city again until 1919. Geoffrey of Monmouth composed his History of the Kings of Britain around the year 1136, naming a King Leir as an eponymous founder figure. According to Geoffrey's narrative, Cordelia had buried her father beneath the river in a chamber dedicated to Janus and his feast day was an annual celebration. When Simon de Montfort became Earl of Leicester in 1231, he gave
5720-484: The directly elected Mayor of Leicester role came into effect after the inaugural election. This post exists in addition to that of Lord Mayor which goes back to the Middle Ages and is these days a ceremonial role. The first mayor of Leicester was a Norman knight, Peter fitz Roger ("Peter, son of Roger") in 1251. Following the restoration of city status in 1919 this title was elevated to "Lord Mayor." In 1987
5850-466: The dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII . However, in September 2012, an archaeological investigation of the car park revealed a skeleton which DNA testing helped verify to be related to two descendants of Richard III's sister. It was concluded that the skeleton was that of Richard III because of the DNA evidence and the shape of the spine. In 2015 Richard III was reburied in pride of place near
5980-507: The 11th most populous in England, and the 13th most populous in the United Kingdom . A 2023 report ranked Leicester 16th out of the 50 largest UK cities on a range of economic measures, and the first of seven East Midlands cities. The city lies on the River Soar and is approximately 90 miles (140 km) north-northwest of London, 33 miles (53 km) east-northeast of Birmingham and 21 miles (34 km) northeast of Coventry . Nottingham and Derby lie around 21 miles (34 km) to
6110-564: The 1960s and 1970s: the Great Central and the Leicester and Swannington both closed and the northward extension of the M1 motorway linked Leicester into England's growing motorway network. With the loss of much of the city's industry during the 1970s and 1980s, some of the old industrial jobs were replaced by new jobs in the service sector, particularly in retail. The opening of the Haymarket Shopping Centre in 1971
6240-691: The 19th century also witnessed the creation of many other institutions, including the town council, the Royal Infirmary , and the Leicester Constabulary. It also benefited from general acceptance (and the Public Health Acts ) that municipal organisations had a responsibility to provide for the town's water supply, drainage, and sanitation. In 1853, backed with a guarantee of dividends by the Corporation of Leicester
6370-496: The 19th century, but grew most notably when it annexed Belgrave , Aylestone , North Evington , Knighton , and Stoneygate in 1892. In 1900, the Great Central Railway provided another link to London, but the rapid population growth of the previous decades had already begun to slow by the time of Queen Victoria's death in 1901. World War I and the subsequent epidemics had further impacts. Nonetheless, Leicester
6500-696: The Crown of Thorns, given to the Duke by the King of France. The church (described by Leland in the C16th as "not large but exceeding fair") also became, effectively, a Lancastrian mausoleum. Duke Henry's daughter Blanche of Lancaster married John of Gaunt and their son Henry Bolingbroke became King Henry IV when he deposed King Richard II. The Church of the Annunciation was the burial place of Duke Henry, who had earlier had his father re-interred here. Later it became
6630-698: The Danelaw . Leicester became an important town during the Middle Ages , and then an important industrial and commercial centre in the Victorian age , eventually gaining city status in 1919. Since the mid-20th century, immigration from countries of the British Commonwealth has seen Leicester become an ethnically diverse city, and one of the largest urban centres of the Midlands . Leicester
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#17327725061606760-618: The English throne for nine days in June 1553, was born at Bradgate Park near Leicester around 1536. Queen Elizabeth I 's intimate and former suitor, Robert Dudley , was given the Earldom of Leicester . After the Union of the Crowns , Anne of Denmark , Prince Henry , and Princess Elizabeth travelled to Leicester on 24 June 1603, after the courtier and usher Thomas Conway was assured that
6890-417: The GEM-10, is a two-unit ( cow–calf ) switcher GTEL with a B-B+B-B wheel arrangement. The slave unit of this locomotive is used as a fuel tender with compressed natural gas (CNG) and does not have a prime mover , so its traction motors are powered by the main section. The turbine of this locomotive also has a maximum power output of 1,000 kW (1,300 hp). The GT1-001 freight GTEL, rebuilt from
7020-543: The GT1-001 conducted a test run with a 159-car train weighing 15,000 metric tons (14,800 long tons; 16,500 short tons); further heavy-haul tests were carried out in December 2010. In a test run conducted in September 2011, the locomotive pulled 170 freight cars weighing 16,000 metric tons (15,700 long tons; 17,600 short tons). In 2012, the helper diesel engine used for shunting operations was replaced with an accumulator, and
7150-589: The Institute of Locomotive Engineers. The event ran from 11 to 14 May 1961 and GT3 was filmed by British Pathé being inspected by the Duke of Edinburgh . Later testing was undertaken on the West Coast Main Line from Crewe over Shap Summit to Carlisle . On one of these runs Oswald Nock travelled on board and was able to both witness the locomotive in operation and record its performance, his log of
7280-605: The JetTrain essentially disappeared, being superseded by the Bombardier Zefiro line of conventionally powered high speed and very high speed trains. The JetTrain no longer appears on any of Bombardier's current web sites or promotional materials, although it can still be found on older web sites bearing the Canadair logos. The first TGV prototype, TGV 001 , was powered by a gas turbine, but steep oil prices prompted
7410-418: The Leicester Waterworks Company built a reservoir at Thornton for the supply of water to the town. This guarantee was made possible by the Public Health Act 1847 and an amending local Act of Parliament of 1851. In 1866 another amending Act enabled the Corporation of Leicester to take shares in the company to enable another reservoir at Cropston, completed in 1870. The Corporation of Leicester was later able to buy
7540-423: The National Railway Museum. In recent years a 5-inch (127 mm) gauge turbine powered model of the locomotive has been built and exhibited in the UK. Canadian-based Model Railway manufacturer KR Models announced that would be creating a OO Scale model of the GT3 in its prototype brown livery in 2018, and the model was delivered in 2020. Gas turbine locomotive A gas turbine offers some advantages over
7670-422: The Newarke. The town – which only had approximately 2,000 defenders opposed to the Royalist Army of approximately 10,000 combatants – was sacked on 31 May 1645, and hundreds of people were killed by Rupert's cavalry. One witness said, "they fired upon our men out of their windows, from the tops of houses, and threw tiles upon their heads. Finding one house better manned than ordinary, and many shots fired at us out of
7800-409: The Northeast Corridor where electrification was not economical. Bombardier Ltd, at the Plattsburg, N.Y. plant where the Acela was produced, developed a prototype ( JetTrain ) which combined a Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 gas turbine and a diesel engine with a single gearbox powering four traction motors identical to those in Acela. The diesel provided head end power and low speed traction, with
7930-438: The Romans fortified and garrisoned the location, but it slowly developed from around the year 50 onwards as the tribal capital of the Corieltauvians under the name Ratae Corieltauvorum . In the 2nd century, it received a forum and bathhouse . In 2013, the discovery of a Roman cemetery found just outside the old city walls and dating back to AD 300 was announced. The remains of the baths of Roman Leicester can be seen at
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#17327725061608060-555: The Soviet Union. The test program began in 1959 and lasted into the early 1970s. The G1-01 freight GTEL, produced by Kolomna Locomotive Works , was intended to consist of two locomotives of a C-C wheel arrangement, but only one section was built. The GP1 passenger locomotive was a similar design with body of TEP60 diesel locomotive , also with a C-C wheel arrangement, introduced to the test program in 1964. Two units were built by Kolomna Works, GP1-0001 and GP1-0002, which were also used in regular service with passenger trains. Both types had
8190-448: The ability to run on electric third rail as well. In 1977, the LIRR tested eight more gas turbine–electric/electric dual mode railcars, in an experiment sponsored by the USDOT . Four of these cars had GE -designed powertrains, while the other four had powertrains designed by Garrett (four more cars had been ordered with GM / Allison powertrains, but were canceled). These cars were similar to LIRR's M1 EMU cars in appearance, with
8320-407: The addition of step wells for loading from low level platforms. The cars suffered from poor fuel economy and mechanical problems, and were withdrawn from service after a short period of time. The four GE-powered cars were converted to M1 EMUs and the Garrett cars were scrapped. In 1997 the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) solicited proposals to develop high speed locomotives for routes outside
8450-438: The auxiliaries, combustion chamber, turbines, heat exchanger and locomotive cab, but also provided adhesive weight for the finished machine. The frames were carried by a leading two-axle outside-framed bogie and three main axles. The driving wheels were of conventional design in the finished locomotive and were of 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) diameter with 19 spokes and conventional balance weights. The centre axle mounted
8580-411: The body of the 2ES6 electric locomotive. This serial type has a maximum power output of 8,500 kW (11,400 hp). Both GT1h locomotives are in operation in Egorshino in the Ural region . Canadian National Railways (CN) was one of the operators of the Turbo , which were passed on to Via Rail . They operated on the major Toronto–Montreal route between 1968 and 1982, when they were replaced by
8710-416: The burial place of Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster (second wife of John of Gaunt) and of Mary de Bohun , first wife of Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) and mother of King Henry V (she did not become queen because she died before Bolingbroke became king). John of Gaunt died at Leicester Castle in 1399. When his son became king, the Earldom of Leicester and the Duchy of Lancaster became royal titles (and
8840-497: The cathedral. A second major extension to the boundaries following the changes in 1892 took place in 1935, with the annexation of the remainder of Evington , Humberstone , Beaumont Leys , and part of Braunstone . A third major revision of the boundaries took place in 1966, with the net addition to the city of just over 450 acres (182 ha). The boundary has remained unchanged since that time. Leicester's diversified economic base and lack of dependence on primary industries meant it
8970-454: The change to overhead electric lines for power delivery. However, two large classes of gas-turbine powered intercity railcars were constructed in the early 1970s ( ETG and RTG ) and were used extensively up to about 2000. SNCF (French National Railways) used a number of gas-turbine trainsets, called the Turbotrain , in non- electrified territory. These typically consisted of a power car at each end with three cars between them. Turbotrain
9100-415: The city a grant to expel the Jewish population "in my time or in the time of any of my heirs to the end of the world". He justified his action as being "for the good of my soul, and for the souls of my ancestors and successors". Leicester's Jews were allowed to move to the eastern suburbs, which were controlled by de Montfort's great-aunt and rival, Margaret, Countess of Winchester, after she took advice from
9230-400: The early 1960s, producing one prototype coal GTEL in October 1962. The problems with blade fouling and erosion were severe. The project was declared a failure after 20 months, during which time the locomotive ran less than 10,000 miles. On 23 December 1952, the UK Ministry of Fuel and Power placed an order for a coal-fired gas turbine locomotive to be used on British Railways . The locomotive
9360-536: The early 1970s. In 1972, Idi Amin announced that the entire Asian community in Uganda had 90 days to leave the country. Shortly thereafter, Leicester City Council launched a campaign aimed at dissuading Ugandan Asians from migrating to the city. The adverts did not have their intended effect, instead making more migrants aware of the possibility of settling in Leicester. Nearly a quarter of initial Ugandan refugees (around 5000 to 6000) settled in Leicester, and by
9490-406: The end of the 1970s around another quarter of the initially dispersed refugees had made their way to Leicester. Officially, the adverts were taken out for fear that immigrants to Leicester would place pressure on city services and at least one person who was a city councillor at the time says he believes they were placed for racist reasons. The initial advertisement was widely condemned, and taken as
9620-461: The essential features of gas turbine locomotives built in the 20th century, including compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and air pre-heater. Work leading to the emergence of the gas turbine locomotive began in France and Sweden in the 1920s but the first locomotive did not appear until the 1940s. High fuel consumption was a major factor in the decline of conventional gas-turbine locomotives and
9750-490: The event not all of the planned North Wales Coast Line test runs were completed. GT3 then moved to Leicester Shed on the Great Central Main Line line for testing and crew training between Leicester and Woodford Halse and then Leicester and Marylebone . Leicester was convenient for English Electric's Whetstone turbine works. During this period it was displayed at Marylebone for the 50th anniversary of
9880-531: The experiments had mixed results, these were the most powerful locomotives with a purely mechanical powertrain in the world and also the most powerful independent-traction locomotives in Czechoslovakia. The British Rail GT3 was a simple machine consisting essentially of a standard oil-fired gas turbine mounted on a standard steam locomotive chassis, built as a demonstrator by English Electric in 1961. Its almost crude simplicity enabled it to avoid much of
10010-574: The first batch of Howitzer shells by a British company which was not making ammunition before the war. After the war, the city received a royal visit; the king and queen received a march-past in Victoria Park of thousands of serving and demobilised soldiers. Following the end of the war, a memorial arch—the Arch of Remembrance —was built in Victoria Park and unveiled in 1925. The arch, one of
10140-506: The first type were similar in appearance to SNCF's T 2000 Turbotrain, though compliance with FRA safety regulations made them heavier and slower than the French trains. None of the first-type Turboliners remain in service. Amtrak also added a number of similarly named Rohr Turboliners (or RTL) to its roster. There were plans to rebuild these as RTL IIIs, but this program was cancelled. The units owned by New York State were sold for scrap and
10270-505: The fully enclosed cab. Despite returning favourable performances on longer runs requiring sustained power outputs, the prototype nature of the locomotive would have required further investigation and development into a configuration which would have matched the convenience of the new double-ended diesel-electric locomotives then being built. Neither English Electric or British Railways were prepared to fund this work as they were committed to diesel-electric locomotives.They were rapidly becoming
10400-550: The future of rail traction with ever-improving power-to-weight ratios . Upon completion of the Shap test runs GT3 was returned to English Electric at Vulcan Foundry at the end of 1962 and stored. Following internal correspondence in September 1965 the locomotive was partially dismantled and its turbine and heat exchanger equipment removed. It was finally scrapped at Thos. W. Ward , Salford in February 1966 having been towed there by
10530-513: The growth in the city of trade unionism and particularly the co-operative movement . The Co-op became an important employer and landowner; when Leicester played host to the Jarrow March on its way to London in 1936, the Co-op provided the marchers with a change of boots. In 1938, Leicester was selected as the base for Squadron 1F, the first A.D.C.C (Air Defence Cadet Corp), the predecessor of
10660-602: The high altar in Leicester Cathedral . On 4 November 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested on charges of treason and taken from Yorkshire. On his way south to face dubious justice at the Tower of London , he fell ill. The group escorting him was concerned enough to stop at Leicester to rest at Leicester Abbey. There, Wolsey's condition quickly worsened. He died on 29 November 1530 and was buried at Leicester Abbey , now Abbey Park . Lady Jane Grey , who claimed
10790-460: The imposition of the first local lockdown which saw all non-essential retail closed again and businesses such as public houses, restaurants and hairdressers unable to reopen. Businesses such as these in areas such as Glenfield and that part of Braunstone Town which outside of the formal city council area, have since been allowed to reopen following a more tightly defined lockdown area from 18 July 2020. The Office for National Statistics has defined
10920-657: The largest First World War memorials in the UK, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens , who also designed the Cenotaph in London and is a grade I listed building . A set of gates and lodges, again by Lutyens, were added in the 1930s, leading to the memorial from the University Road and London Road entrances to Victoria Park. In 1927, Leicester again became a cathedral city on the consecration of St Martin's Church as
11050-578: The latter remains so). At the end of the War of the Roses , King Richard III was buried in Leicester's Greyfriars Church a Franciscan Friary and Church which was demolished after its dissolution in 1538. The site of that church is now covered by King Richard III Visitor Centre (until 2012 by more modern buildings and a car park). There was a legend his corpse had been cast into the river , while some historians argued his tomb and remains were destroyed during
11180-414: The locomotive and its fuel tender were vacuum-braked, with vacuum brake ejectors being driven by air pressure bled from the turbine. The locomotive's other auxiliaries (housed in its leading end beneath the large side air intakes) were shaft- and belt-driven. The tender was permanently coupled behind the locomotive and contained a Spanner train heating boiler at the leading end and fuel tanks either side of
11310-526: The locomotive was renamed to GT1h (where 'h' stands for hybrid ). The GT1h-001 remained a prototype and never went into production. The GT1h-001's successor is the GT1h-002. Despite the same type designation, this locomotive has a fundamentally different design with a (B-B)-(B-B)+(B-B)-(B-B) wheel arrangement, derived from the TEM7 diesel shunting locomotive, and the new body with open LNG tank, derived from
11440-541: The locomotive was then based at the former locomotive shed at Whitchurch in Shropshire for initial light testing and crew training on the Malpas line between Crewe and Chester , before commencing loaded test runs to Llandudno Junction . One of these runs was filmed from on board the locomotive by British Movietone News and the resulting film also showed the locomotive being turned on Llandudno Junction turntable. In
11570-405: The locomotive. In overall terms the system is very similar to a conventional diesel–electric , with the large diesel engine replaced with a smaller gas turbine of similar power . Union Pacific operated the largest fleet of such locomotives of any railroad in the world, and was the only railroad to use them for hauling freight. Most other GTELs have been built for small passenger trains, and only
11700-480: The locomotive. No detailed engineering drawings of the locomotives as built are thought to have survived, the York archive containing an internal memo instructing that these were to be returned to the Gas Turbine division of English Electric when dismantling commenced in 1965. Several articles with drawings have appeared in the railway modelling press since the locomotive was scrapped, but most appear to be based on
11830-406: The machine and early 4-6-0 tender locomotive drawings. These early concept drawings show various names, numbers and liveries, and were drawn with Boxpok -type wheels. The final design was for a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement locomotive with a fuel tender, looking much like a traditional steam locomotive in form. As constructed the locomotive was built with bespoke heavy steel frames which not only bore
11960-649: The north and northwest respectively, whilst Peterborough is located 37 miles (60 km) to the east. Leicester is close to the eastern end of the National Forest . Leicester has a long history extending into ancient times, it was the site of the Roman town of Ratae Corieltauvorum , which was later captured by the Anglo-Saxons , and then by the Vikings who made it one of the Five Boroughs of
12090-968: The proportion employed in trade, commerce, building, and the city's new factories and workshops rose steadily. Hosiery , textiles, and footwear became the major industrial employers: manufacturers such as N. Corah & Sons and the Cooperative Boot and Shoe Company were opening some of the largest manufacturing premises in Europe. They were joined, in the latter part of the century, by engineering firms such as Kent Street's Taylor and Hubbard (crane makers and founders ), Vulcan Road's William Gimson & Company (steam boilers and founders), and Martin Street's Richards & Company (steel works and founders). The politics of Victorian Leicester were lively and very often bitter. Years of consistent economic growth meant living standards generally increased, but Leicester
12220-499: The railroad estimated that they powered about 10% of Union Pacific's freight trains, a much wider use than any other example of this class. As other uses were found for these heavier petroleum byproducts, notably for plastics, the cost of the Bunker C fuel increased until the units became too expensive to operate and they were retired from service by 1969. In April 1950, Baldwin and Westinghouse completed an experimental 4,000 hp (3,000 kW) turbine locomotive, #4000, known as
12350-435: The scholar and cleric Robert Grosseteste , at that time Archdeacon of Leicester . There is evidence that Jews remained there until 1253, and perhaps enforcement of the banishment within the city was not rigorously enforced. De Montfort however issued a second edict for the expulsion of Leicester's Jews in 1253, after Grosseteste's death. De Montfort's many acts of anti-Jewish persecution in Leicester and elsewhere were part of
12480-479: The three remaining RTL trainsets are stored at North Brunswick, New Jersey and New Haven, Connecticut . In 1966, the Long Island Rail Road tested an experimental gas turbine railcar (numbered GT-1 ), powered by two Garrett turbine engines. This car was based on a Budd Pioneer III design, with transmissions similar to Budd's 1950s-era RDCs . The car was later modified (as GT-2 ) to add
12610-516: The time. In the 1990s, a group of Dutch citizens of Somali origin settled in the city. Since the 2004 enlargement of the European Union a significant number of East European migrants have settled in the city. While some wards in the northeast of the city are more than 70% South Asian, wards in the west and south are all over 70% white. The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) had estimated that by 2011 Leicester would have approximately
12740-586: The town to the national network by 1840. A direct link to London St Pancras was established by the Midland Railway in the 1860s. These developments encouraged and accompanied a process of industrialisation which intensified throughout the reign of Queen Victoria . Factories began to appear, particularly along the canal and river, and districts such as Frog Island and Woodgate were the locations of numerous large mills. Between 1861 and 1901, Leicester's population increased from 68,100 to 211,600 and
12870-524: The town was free from infection or plague. Prince Charles, later King Charles I , travelled to London with his guardian Alexander Seton . The royal party stayed at Leicester for three days in August 1604 at the townhouse of William Skipwith . The Corporation of Leicester opposed the efforts of Charles I to disafforest the nearby Leicester Forest , believing them to be likely to throw many of its residents into poverty and need of relief. Sir Miles Fleetwood
13000-519: The trip later appearing in The Railway Magazine ' s practice and performance feature for February 1962. Commenting on the testing the designer noted that, despite some of the expected teething troubles and modifications, once it had departed on a test run GT3 had never failed to complete its booked workings. The locomotive was described as being comfortable and easy to handle for the crew, with conversation at normal volumes possible in
13130-495: The turbine circuit. Specification Leicester Leicester ( / ˈ l ɛ s t ər / LES -tər ) is a city , unitary authority area, unparished area and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a population of 373,399 in 2022. The greater Leicester urban area had a population of 559,017 in 2021, making it
13260-490: The turbine not being started until after leaving stations. The prototype was completed in June 2000, and safety testing was done at the FRA's Pueblo, CO test track beginning in the summer of 2001. A maximum speed of 156 miles per hour (251 km/h) was reached. The prototype was then taken on a tour of potential sites for high speed service, but no service has yet begun. Two gas turbine–electric locomotive types underwent testing in
13390-409: The turbine then travels forwards through ducts to preheat the incoming air. The turbine drives the compressor through gearing and an external shaft. There is additional gearing to a jackshaft which drives the wheels through side rods. The fuel is solid (presumably coal, coke or wood) and there is a fuel bunker at the rear. There is no evidence that the locomotive was actually built but the design includes
13520-436: The unreliability which had plagued the complex experimental gas turbine–electric locomotives 18000 and 18100 in earlier years, but it failed to be competitive against conventional traction and was scrapped. Examples of gas turbine–mechanical locomotives: A gas turbine–electric locomotive (GTEL) is a locomotive that uses a gas turbine to drive an electric generator or alternator , producing an electric current which
13650-406: The use of a piston engine as a gas generator would probably give better fuel economy than a turbine-type compressor, especially when running at less than full load. One option is a two-shaft machine , with separate turbines to drive the compressor and the output shaft. Another is to use a separate gas generator , which may be of either rotary or piston type. Gas turbine–mechanical locomotives use
13780-470: The waterworks and build another reservoir at Swithland, completed in the 1890s. Leicester became a county borough in 1889, although it was abolished in 1974 as part of the Local Government Act , and was reformed as a non-metropolitan district and city. The city regained its unitary status, being administered separately from Leicestershire, in 1997. The borough had been expanding throughout
13910-617: The windows, I caused my men to attack it, and resolved to make them an example for the rest; which they did. Breaking open the doors, they killed all they found there without distinction". It was reported that 120 houses had been destroyed and that 140 wagons of plunder were sent to the Royalist stronghold of Newark . Following the Parliamentarian victory over the Royalist Army at the Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645, Leicester
14040-526: The world. Many Polish servicemen were prevented from returning to their homeland after the war by the communist regime, and they established a small community in Leicester. Economic migrants from the Irish Republic continued to arrive throughout the post war period. Immigrants from the Indian sub-continent began to arrive in the 1960s, their numbers boosted by Asians arriving from Kenya and Uganda in
14170-423: The year should attain a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The lowest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford was −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) during January 1963. Typically, 54.9 air frosts will be recorded during the course of the year. Rainfall averages 684.4 mm per year, with 1 mm or more falling on 120.8 days. All averages refer to the period 1971–2000. On 5 May 2011,
14300-411: The year, and low sunshine levels. The nearest official Weather Station was Newtown Linford, about 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Leicester city centre and just outside the edge of the urban area. However, observations stopped there in 2003. The current nearest weather station is Market Bosworth, about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city centre. The highest temperature recorded at Newtown Linford
14430-402: Was 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) during August 1990, although a temperature of 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) was achieved at Leicester University during August 2003. However, the highest temperature since records began in Leicester is 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) on 15 July 1868. More typically the highest temperature would reach 28.7 °C (83.7 °F) – the average annual maximum. 11.3 days of
14560-621: Was 90 miles per hour (140 km/h). A third locomotive, the GT3 , was constructed in 1961. Although built by English Electric , who had pioneered electric transmission with LMS 10000 locomotives, this used a turbine–mechanical transmission. The British Rail APT-E , the prototype of the Advanced Passenger Train , was turbine-powered. Like the French TGV , later models used an alternative electric powertrain. This choice
14690-491: Was Beaumont Leys in the north of the city, which was developed in the 1970s as a mix of private and council housing. There was a steady decline in Leicester's traditional manufacturing industries and, in the city centre, working factories and light industrial premises have now been almost entirely replaced. Many former factories, including some on Frog Island and at Donisthorpe Mill , have been badly damaged by fire. Rail and barge were finally eclipsed by automotive transport in
14820-531: Was a single crankshaft connected to both upper and lower pistons. The exhaust from the diesel engine powered the gas turbine which drove the wheels through reduction gearing, jack shaft and side rods. Turbine power was considered for railway traction in the former Czechoslovakia . Two turbine-powered prototypes were built, designated TL 659.001 and TL 659.002, featuring C-C wheel arrangement, 3,200 hp (2.4 MW) main turbine, helper turbine and Tatra 111 helper diesel engine. The first prototype (TL 659.001)
14950-523: Was a stronghold of Radicalism . Thomas Cooper , the Chartist , kept a shop in Church Gate. There were serious Chartist riots in the town in 1842 and again six years later. The Leicester Secular Society was founded in 1851 but secularist speakers such as George Holyoake were often denied the use of speaking halls. It was not until 1881 that Leicester Secular Hall was opened. The second half of
15080-416: Was abandoned by the end of 1947 and there is no clear evidence that the locomotive provided for the experiment ever actually moved under gas turbine power or even had it installed. Details of the research were passed to Britain's London, Midland and Scottish Railway . Following a rise in fuel prices that was making their oil-fired GTELS uneconomic, UP experimentally revived the coal-fired gas turbine idea in
15210-535: Was built with lessons learned from the first. It left the factory in March 1960 and was the only turbine locomotive to pass the tests for regular service on tracks of the former Czechoslovak State Railways . It was tried near Kolín and Plzeň with mixed results. This engine was taken out of service in April 1966 and sold to the University of Žilina as an educational instrument. It was scrapped some time later. Although
15340-520: Was finally recognised as a legal city once more in 1919 in recognition of its contribution to the British war effort. Recruitment to the armed forces was lower in Leicester than in other English cities, partly because of the low level of unemployment and the need for many of its industries, such as clothing and footwear manufacturing, to supply the army. As the war progressed, many of Leicester's factories were given over to arms production; Leicester produced
15470-525: Was finished in February 1958 and was scheduled to be exhibited at Expo '58 . However, this was aborted because it was not ready in time. The first out-of-factory tests were conducted in March 1959 on the Plzeň – Cheb – Sokolov line. On 15 May 1959, the first prototype pulled its heaviest train, 6,486 t (7,150 short tons), but the turbine caught fire only a day later. The engine was never restored and eventually scrapped. The second prototype (TL 659.002)
15600-604: Was followed by a number of new shopping centres in the city, including St Martin's Shopping Centre in 1984 and the Shire Shopping Centre in 1992. The Shires was subsequently expanded in September 2008 and rebranded as Highcross. By the 1990s, as well, Leicester's central position and good transport links had established it as a distribution centre; the southwestern area of the city has also attracted new service and manufacturing businesses. Since World War II Leicester has experienced large scale immigration from across
15730-502: Was in use up until 2005. After retirement, four sets were sold for further use in Iran. In the 1940s and 1950s research was conducted, in both the US and UK, aimed at building gas turbine locomotives that could run on pulverized coal . The main problem was to avoid erosion of the turbine blades by particles of ash. Only one working example is known to have been produced and it was written off as
15860-516: Was made because British Leyland , the turbine supplier, ceased production of the model used in the APT-E, having lost interest in gas turbine technology following the 1970s oil crisis . ALCO-GE built a prototype oil-fired gas turbine–electric locomotive in 1948, with a B-B-B-B wheel arrangement . After demonstration runs it was acquired by Union Pacific , who were seeking a more powerful alternative to diesel for transcontinental trains. UP ran
15990-468: Was made first Duke of Lancaster, enlarged and enhanced his father's foundation, and built the collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of The Newarke. This church (a little of which survives in the basement of the Hawthorn Building of De Montfort University) was destroyed during the reign of King Edward VI. It became an important pilgrimage site because it housed a thorn said to be from
16120-520: Was much better placed than many other cities to weather the tariff wars of the 1920s and Great Depression of the 1930s. The Bureau of Statistics of the newly formed League of Nations identified Leicester in 1936 as the second-richest city in Europe and it became an attractive destination for refugees fleeing persecution and political turmoil in continental Europe . Firms such as Corah and Liberty Shoes used their reputation for producing high-quality products to expand their businesses. These years witnessed
16250-517: Was painted in a lined Beech Leaf Brown Livery, earning it the nickname The Chocolate Zephyr by railway enthusiasts . Underframes, grilles and the front access and cab doors were painted Brunswick Green with lettering and lining in Orange. The locomotive was taken to British Railways' Rugby test centre in an incomplete state for testing on rollers, and then on a short section of specially laid track. After returning to Vulcan Foundry for final assembly,
16380-468: Was patented in 1861 by Marc Antoine Francois Mennons (British patent no. 1633). The drawings in Mennons' patent show a locomotive of 0-4-2 wheel arrangement with a cylindrical casing resembling a boiler. At the front of the casing is the compressor, which Mennons calls a ventilator. This supplies air to a firebox and the hot gases from the firebox drive a turbine at the back of the casing. The exhaust from
16510-523: Was recovered by Parliament on 18 June 1645. The construction of the Grand Union Canal in the 1790s linked Leicester to London and Birmingham . The first railway station in Leicester opened in 1832, in the form of the Leicester and Swannington Railway which provided a supply of coal to the town from nearby collieries. The Midland Counties Railway (running from Derby to Rugby ) linked
16640-576: Was scrapped in 1953. In the 1960s United Aircraft built the Turbo passenger train, which was tested by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later used by Amtrak and Via Rail . The Via remained in service into the 1980s and had an excellent maintenance record during this period, but was eventually replaced by the LRC in 1982. Amtrak purchased two different types of turbine-powered trainsets , which were both called Turboliners . The sets of
16770-482: Was sent to commission the disafforestation and division of lands being used in common. Riots destroyed enclosures in spring 1627 and 1628, following a pattern of anti-enclosure disturbances found elsewhere including the Western Rising. Petitions challenging the enclosures were presented by the Corporation of Leicester and borough residents to the King and Privy Council . They were unsuccessful so petitioned
16900-519: Was to be built by the North British Locomotive Company and the turbine would be supplied by C. A. Parsons and Company . According to Sampson, the plan was to use indirect heating. The pulverized coal would be burned in a combustion chamber and the hot gases passed to a heat exchanger . Here, the heat would be transferred to a separate body of compressed air which would power the turbine. Essentially, it would have been
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