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45-595: The GER Class M15 was a class of 160 2-4-2 T steam locomotives designed by Thomas William Worsdell and built for the Great Eastern Railway between 1884 and 1909. The original (F4) class of locomotives were fitted with Joy valve gear which was notoriously difficult to 'set'. This earned them the nickname of 'Gobblers' thanks to their high coal consumption rates. As a result, between 1911 and 1920, 32 of them were rebuilt by James Holden with Stephenson valve gear and higher pressure boilers. Despite this,

90-430: A bunker is used to carry the fuel (for locomotives using liquid fuel such as oil , a Fuel tank is used). There are two main positions for bunkers on tank locomotives: to the rear of the cab (as illustrated in the left of the images below), a position typically used on locomotives with a trailing carrying axle or a trailing bogie ; or on top of and to one side of the firebox, a positioning typically used in cases where

135-518: A 'well' on the underside of the locomotive, generally between the locomotive's frames. This arrangement was patented by S.D. Davison in 1852. This does not restrict access to the boiler, but space is limited there, and the design is therefore not suitable for locomotives that need a good usable range before refilling. The arrangement does, however, have the advantage of creating a low centre of gravity , creating greater stability on poorly laid or narrow gauge tracks. The first tank locomotive, Novelty ,

180-462: A derailment. Some tram engines were fitted with a roof and enclosed sides, giving them an appearance more like a goods wagon than a locomotive. Railway locomotives with vertical boilers universally were tank locomotives. They were small, cheaper-to-operate machines mostly used in industrial settings. The benefits of tank locomotives include: There are disadvantages: Worldwide, tank engines varied in popularity. They were more common in areas where

225-579: A full cab, often only having a front ' spectacle plate '. If a cab was provided it was usually removable along with the chimney, and sometimes the dome, so that the locomotive could be loaded onto a flatbed wagon for transport to new locations by rail whilst remaining within the loading gauge . Steam tram engines, which were built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway were almost universally also tank engines. Tram engines had their wheels and motion enclosed to avoid accidents in traffic. They often had cow catchers to avoid road debris causing

270-450: A number of types of tank locomotive, based on the location and style of the water tanks. Side tanks are cuboid -shaped tanks which are situated on both sides of the boiler , extending all or part of the boiler's length. The tank sides extend down to the running platform, if such is present, for at least part of their length. This was a common configuration in the UK. The length of side tanks

315-508: A space between the tanks and the running plate. Pannier tanks have a lower centre of gravity than a saddle tank , whilst still giving the same easy access to the valve gear. Pannier tanks are so-named because the tanks are in a similar position to the panniers on a pack animal . [REDACTED] Media related to Pannier tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons In Belgium , pannier tanks were in use at least since 1866, once again in conjunction with Belpaire firebox. Locomotives were built for

360-415: A tender was used with a narrow-gauge locomotive it usually carried only fuel, with water carried in the locomotive's tanks. The tender offered greater fuel capacity than a bunker on the locomotive and often the water capacity could be increased by converting redundant bunker space into a water tank. Large side tank engines might also have an additional rear tank (under the coal bunker), or a well tank (between

405-455: A wing tank and an inverted saddle tank. The inverted saddle tank was a variation of the Wing Tank where the two tanks were joined underneath the smokebox and supported it. This rare design was used for the same reasons as the wing tank but provided slightly greater water capacity. The Brill Tramway locomotive Wotton is believed to have had an inverted saddle tank. The inverted saddle tank

450-527: Is a 4-4-0 American-type with wheels reversed. Wing tanks are side tanks that run the length of the smokebox, instead of the full length of the boiler. In the early 19th century the term "wing tank" was sometimes used as a synonym for side tank. Wing tanks were mainly used on narrow gauge industrial locomotives that could be frequently re-filled with water and where side or saddle tanks would restrict access to valve gear. The Kerry Tramway 's locomotive Excelsior has been described, by various sources, as both

495-412: Is injected into the boiler. However, if the water becomes too hot, injectors lose efficiency and can fail. For this reason, the tanks often stopped short of the hotter and uninsulated smokebox . [REDACTED] Media related to Saddle tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons Pannier tanks are box-shaped tanks carried on the sides of the boiler, not carried on the locomotive's running plates. This leaves

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540-640: Is the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete trains , or the reverse. In the United States this activity is known as switching . Motive power is normally provided by a locomotive known as a shunter locomotive (in the UK) or switcher locomotive (in the US). Most shunter/switchers are now diesel-powered but steam and even electric locomotives have been used. Where locomotives could not be used (e.g. because of weight restrictions) shunting operations have in

585-546: The firebox overhangs the rear driving axle, as this counterbalances the overhanging weight of the firebox, stabilising the locomotive. There are several other specialised types of steam locomotive which carry their own fuel but which are usually categorised for different reasons. A Garratt locomotive is articulated in three parts. The boiler is mounted on the centre frame without wheels, and two sets of driving wheels (4 cylinders total) carrying fuel bunkers and water tanks are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of

630-454: The 20,964 Railway Inspectorate accident investigations have been transcribed and made freely available by the Railway Work, Life & Death project, along with around 28,000 other cases. The main tool of shunters working with hook-and-chain couplings was a shunting pole, which allowed the shunter to reach between wagons to fasten and unfasten couplings without having physically to go between

675-666: The Belgian State and for la Société Générale d'Exploitatation (SGE) , a private company grouping smaller secondary lines. In the United Kingdom , pannier tank locomotives were used almost exclusively by the Great Western Railway . The first Great Western pannier tanks were converted from saddle tank locomotives when these were being rebuilt in the early 1900s with the Belpaire firebox . There were difficulties in accommodating

720-550: The F4s or F5s survived into preservation. However, a project to build a working replica of F5 number 789 was launched in the early 2000s. The project is based at Tyseley for erection and construction work. The completed locomotive (originally set to appear as 67218 in BR Black) is to be outshopped as No.789 in Great Eastern Railway blue livery. Side tank locomotive There are several different types of tank locomotive, distinguished by

765-767: The German Class 61 and the Hungarian Class 242 . The contractor's locomotive was a small tank locomotive specially adapted for use by civil engineering contractor firms engaged in the building of railways. The locomotives would be used for hauling men, equipment and building materials over temporary railway networks built at the worksite that were frequently re-laid or taken up and moved elsewhere as building work progressed. Contractor's locomotives were usually saddle or well tank types (see above) but required several adaptations to make them suitable for their task. They were built to be as light as possible so they could run over

810-539: The boiler. Articulation is used so larger locomotives can go around curves which would otherwise restrict the size of rigid framed locomotives. One of the major advantages of the Garratt form of articulation is the maintenance of the locomotive's centre-of-gravity over or inside the track centre-line when rounding curves. A crane tank (CT) is a steam tank locomotive fitted with a crane for working in railway workshops or other industrial environments. The crane may be fitted at

855-552: The country (Bicester, Long Marston and Wooton Dassett. By 1943 they were being returned to the LNER and were later fitted with brass plaques commemorating their role. These read - "LNER - during the war of 1939-1945 this locomotive was armoured and hauled defence trains on coast lines". Thirty-seven F4s and all of the F5s, including 7218 and 7219 (ex-7789 and 7790), passed into British Railways (BR) ownership in 1948. Their BR numbers were: Ten of

900-504: The flat top of the latter within an encircling saddle tank which cut down capacity and increased the tendency to overheat the water in the tank. Pannier tank locomotives are often seen as an icon of the GWR. In Logging railroads in the Western USA used 2-6-6-2 Saddle tanks or Pannier tanks for heavy timber trains. In this design, used in earlier and smaller locomotives, the water is stored in

945-536: The frames when extra weight and traction was required, then removed when it was not. Most had sanding gear fitted to all wheels for maximum traction. Some method of keeping mud and dust from clogging the wheels and brake shoes was also required – this either took the form of scraper bars fitted to the leading edge of the wheels or wheel washer jets supplied from the water tank. To handle long trains of loose-coupled (and often un-sprung) wagons, contractor's locomotives usually had very effective steam-powered brakes. Most lacked

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990-629: The frames). This may have been to increase the water capacity, to equalise the weight distribution, or else improve the stability by lowering the centre of gravity . Because tank locomotives are capable of running equally fast in both directions (see below) they usually have symmetrical wheel arrangements to ensure the same ride and stability characteristics regardless of the direction travelled, producing arrangements with only driving wheels (e.g. 0-4-0 T and 0-6-0 T ) or equal numbers of leading and trailing wheels (e.g. 2-4-2 T and 4-6-4 T ). However other requirements, such as

1035-411: The front, centre or rear. During the 1930s there was a trend for express passenger locomotives to be streamlined by enclosed bodyshells. Express locomotives were nearly all tender locomotives, but a few fast tank engines were also streamlined, for use on high-speed, but shorter, services where turn-around time was important and the tank engine's independence from turntables was useful. Examples included

1080-483: The idea quickly caught on, particularly for industrial use and five manufacturers exhibited designs at The Great Exhibition in 1851. These were E. B. Wilson and Company , William Fairbairn & Sons , George England, Kitson Thompson and Hewitson and William Bridges Adams . By the mid-1850s tank locomotives were to be found performing a variety of main line and industrial roles, particularly those involving shorter journeys or frequent changes in direction. There are

1125-562: The length of run was short, and a quick turn around time was needed or turning facilities were not available, mostly in Europe. With their limited fuel and water capacity, they were not favoured in areas where long runs between stops were the norm. They were very common in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In the United Kingdom, they were frequently used for shunting and piloting duties, suburban passenger services and local freight. The GWR

1170-408: The lightly built temporary rails and had deeply flanged wheels so they did not de-rail on the tracks which were often very uneven. At the same time, they had to be very powerful with good traction as they would often have to haul trains of wagons up very steep gradients, such as the sides of railway embankments or spoil heaps. Many were designed so that large iron ballast blocks could be fitted to

1215-550: The need to support a large bunker, would require a non-symmetrical layout such as 2-6-4 T . In the Whyte notation for classification of locomotives (primarily by wheel arrangement ), various suffixes are used to denote tank locomotives: In the UIC notation which also classifies locomotives primarily by wheel arrangement , the suffix 't' is used to denote tank locomotives On tank locomotives which use solid fuels such as coal ,

1260-587: The nickname stuck for many years after. Rebuilding included the fitting of a higher pressure boiler, and also involved replacing Joy valve gear with Stephenson valve gear thus forming the M15R class. Many were fitted with condensing gear for working in the London area. In 1949 seven F5s were fitted with vacuum-controlled regulators, converted from Westinghouse air brake to steam brake, and fitted with push-pull apparatus and trip cock gear for branch line operation. (67199

1305-524: The original series of forty engines constructed between 1884-87 were withdrawn in Great Eastern days, between September 1913 and December 1922. F4 withdrawals continued until 1937, and then again from 1943 to June 1956 when the last one, number 67157, was withdrawn from Kittybrewster . The F5 class remained intact until 1955 but withdrawal then proceeded rapidly, and they finally became extinct in May 1958. None of

1350-439: The past been effected by horses or capstans . The terms "shunter" and "switcher" are not only applied to locomotives but also to employees engaged on the ground with shunting/switching operations. The task of such personnel is particularly dangerous because not only is there the risk of being run over, but on some railway systems—particularly ones that use buffer-and-chain/screw coupling systems—the shunters have to get between

1395-457: The position and style of the water tanks and fuel bunkers. The most common type has tanks mounted either side of the boiler. This type originated about 1840 and quickly became popular for industrial tasks, and later for shunting and shorter-distance main line duties. Tank locomotives have advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional locomotives that required a separate tender to carry needed water and fuel. The first tank locomotive

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1440-405: The saddle tank arrangement in 1849. Saddle tanks were a popular arrangement especially for smaller locomotives in industrial use. It gave a greater water supply, but limited the size of the boiler and restricted access to it for cleaning. Furthermore, the locomotive has a higher centre of gravity and hence must operate at lower speeds. The driver's vision may also be restricted, again restricting

1485-408: The safe speed. The squared-off shape of the Belpaire firebox does not fit easily beneath a saddle tank, and so most saddle tanks retained the older round-topped boiler instead. A few American locomotives used saddle tanks that only covered the boiler barrel, forward of the firebox. Water in the tank is slightly pre-heated by the boiler, which reduces the loss of pressure found when cold feedwater

1530-432: The smokebox protruding ahead. A few designs did reach to the front of the smokebox and these were termed 'flatirons'. The water tank sits on top of the boiler like a saddle sits atop a horse. Usually, the tank is curved in cross-section, although in some cases there were straight sides surmounted by a curve (like an inverted 'U'), or even an ogee shape (a concave arc flowing into a convex arc). Walter Nielson patented

1575-520: The two examples erroneously allocated as F6 by the LNER:- During World War 2 in 1940 a number of the class were taken out of service and had armoured plating added. They were then deployed on armoured trains, not only in their native East Anglia (Westerfield, Mistley and Tilbury), but in Kent, Lincolnshire and as far north as Aberdeen. They were also found at Ministry of Defence depots in the west of

1620-560: The two locomotives that were rebuilt with GER Class G69 cabs), passed into London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) ownership at the 1923 grouping . The number 7000 was added to the ex-GER fleet. They received the following classifications: On 1 January 1923 the majority of the class were allocated to Stratford Engine Shed and were employed on suburban traffic in East London on the lines out of Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street. The table below shows where they were allocated and includes

1665-461: The vehicles. This type of shunting pole was of an entirely different design than objects of the same name in North American practice (see below). In some countries, a pole was sometimes used to move cars on adjacent tracks. In the United States this procedure was known as "pole switching" or "poling" for short. In the UK it was known as "propping." In these instances, the locomotive or another car

1710-562: The wagons/carriages in order to complete coupling and uncoupling. This was particularly so in the past. The Midland Railway company, for example, kept an ambulance wagon permanently stationed at Toton Yard to give treatment to injured shunters. Of the 20,964 staff accidents in the UK that were investigated by the Railway Inspectorate between 1900 and 1939 (around 3% of all staff accidents), 6701 have been classified as involving shunting. Of those 6701 cases, 1033 were fatalities. All of

1755-411: Was a speciality of W.G.Bagnall . A tank locomotive may also haul a tender behind it. This was the common arrangement on the largest locomotives, as well as on narrow gauge railways where the small size of the locomotive restricts the space available for fuel and water. These combined both fuel and water in a proportion (where coal was used) of 1 pound of coal for every 6 pounds of water. . Where

1800-503: Was a well tank. [REDACTED] Media related to Well tank locomotives at Wikimedia Commons In this design, the tank is placed behind the cab, usually over a supporting bogie. This removes the weight of the water from the driving wheels, giving the locomotive a constant tractive weight. The disadvantage is a reduction in water carrying capacity. A rear tank is an essential component of the American Forney type of locomotive, which

1845-589: Was famous for its Prairie tanks (such as the " 61xx " class), used for many things including very heavy trains on the Welsh valley coal mining lines that the GWR 4200 Class 2-8-0 T were designed for. In Germany, too, large tank locomotives were built. In the United States they were used for push-pull suburban service, switching in terminals and locomotive shops, and in logging, mining and industrial service. Shunting (rail) Shunting , in railway operations,

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1890-523: Was moved to be near the car that needed to be moved. The on-ground railwayman would then position a wooden pole, which was sometimes permanently attached to the locomotive, and engage it in the poling pocket of the car that needed to be moved. The engineer would then use the pole to push the car on the adjacent track. Before poling pockets or poles were common on switching locomotives, some US railroads built specialized poling cars which could be coupled to locomotives that lacked poling pockets. The practice

1935-513: Was never fitted with trip cock gear). Five of these locomotives worked trains on the line between Epping and Ongar , two (numbers 67199 and 67218) were allocated to Yarmouth for working the Yarmouth-Beccles line . 67218 would later be transferred to Epping in 1955. These seven received British Railway lined-black passenger livery; the rest were unlined-black. One-hundred-and-eighteen M15s and all thirty-two M15rs (including numbers 789 and 790,

1980-413: Was often limited in order to give access to the valve gear (inside motion). Tanks that ran the full length of the boiler provided greater water capacity and, in this case, cut-outs in the rectangular tank gave access to the valve gear. Longer side tanks were sometimes tapered downwards at the front to improve forward visibility. Side tanks almost all stopped at, or before, the end of the boiler barrel, with

2025-646: Was the Novelty that ran at the Rainhill Trials in 1829. It was an example of a well tank . However, the more common form of side tank date from the 1840s; one of the first of these was supplied by George England and Co. of New Cross to the contractors building the Seaford branch line for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1848. In spite of the early belief that such locomotives were inherently unsafe,

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