Gas Turbines used on the railways.

[45685Barfleur]

In the latter part of the 50's there was a move to industrialize the aircraft gas turbine and I was involved in a project for a 3MW mobile unit using a RR jet engine. It was intended for standby duties and peak-lopping.

On the railways the Western Region had two gas turbine locomotives 18000 and 18100. The former was given the name "Kerosene Castle" by the enginemen and I frequently saw it outside Paddington waiting to back down on to its train, whistling quietly to itself and blowing blue smoke.

Between 1960 and 1970 Union Pacific invested in a fleet of gas turbine locos which were used over the Wasatch mountain range between Utah and Wyoming replacing the 4-8-8-4 'Big Boys'. The gas turbines used Bunker C heavy oil and made such a noise that they were confined to freight traffic.

Typical of UP, who always had to have the biggest, these were enormous locos developing 8500HP at sea level (about 6.5 MW).

Pentrax, who specialise in railway videos, have "Union Pacific Gas Turbines over the Wasatch" made up from personal 8 mm and 16mm movie archives. The activities shown include bunkering and sanding, fast runs on the level and steep climbs up Sherman Hill. A good buy for anyone interested in this form of traction. Pentrax also have archive material of the 'Big Boys' and topically many scenes of snow shifters operating over the Sierra Nevada.

[Dave Rowland]

Don't forget BR also had GT3, a 4-6-0 gas turbine loco, built in 1961 by English Electric, with a tractive effort of 38,000 lbs.

[62440]

And finally, there was the APT-E, now preserved at Shildon, which had eight gas turbine "engines".

Regards, 62440

[Dave Rowland]

Oddly enough, since my first posting on this subject, I've found (purely by chance) an article in Feb 1962 Modern Railways, concerning a gas turbine locomotive built for the Swiss railways as early as 1941; this loco, Am4/6 1101, had a serious accident in 1954, and a decision was made to convert it to an experimental electric loco as a testbed for testing in preparation for the consruction of multi-voltage Trans Europe Express traction. It was numbered Ae4/6 10851. The conclusion following the 1954 accident suggested that GT power is best suited to a flat, open landscape, and that the concept wasn't suitable for the small & mountainous confines of Switzerland. I don't know what happened to the rebuilt loco.

[ccmmick]

I bought this book about five years ago and it is a very interesting read

ccmmick.

[Dave Rowland]

Having lost my Ian Allan ABCs from the 1956/57 period, I don't know what locos I saw at Tilehurst (Reading) for that period; I know I only needed four 'Kings', but I'm bu**ered if I know WHICH four. The ONLY loco I can be sure of having seen was the very distinctive GT 18000, which passed Scours Lane sports field on our school's sports day around summer 1957. Let's hear it for locos with BIG numbers!

[ccmmick]

I bet it was quite a sight Dave and something that you will never forget.

ccmmick.

[Dave Rowland]

Oooh - it's a bit vague; I think I might have been concentrating on projecting myself as far as possible into a sandpit or somesuch thing when it passed on the embankment. Vivid enough, I suppose - just!

[45685Barfleur]

The WR gas-turbine 18000 was withdrawn from service after covering around 400,000 miles. Firstly it was transferred to Rugby Locomotive Testing Station to act as a power supply vehicle. Then in 1965 it was returned to Brown Boveri and in the same year was transferred to Swiss Federal Railways and converted into a mobile laboratory. It became known as 'Test Machine 18000' with the unofficial name of 'Elizabetta' (Rather more charming than 'Kerosene Castle)

WR gas-turbine 18100 was withdrawn in 1958 and rebuilt as an A1A-A1A electric locomotive being used on the Styal loop for electric locomotive driver training.

GT-3 turned out to be unreliable and was withdrawn in 1961. It had a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement, one cab and a mechanical drive. Turntables were being abolished on BR around this time which also militated against GT-3 which of course had to be turned.

Whilst the maintenance cost of these locomotives was low the fuel consumption was high. A gas turbine really has to be operating at full speed to be efficient and this is rarely the case with traction duties.

It was said that the two WR gas-turbines acted as vacuum cleaners for all the stations and tunnels they passed through.

I have frequently pondered over how much power is lost by any gas turbine in sheer exhaust noise.

[swisstrains]

Originally Posted by Dave Rowland

Oddly enough, since my first posting on this subject, I've found (purely by chance) an article in Feb 1962 Modern Railways, concerning a gas turbine locomotive built for the Swiss railways as early as 1941; this loco, Am4/6 1101, had a serious accident in 1954, and a decision was made to convert it to an experimental electric loco as a testbed for testing in preparation for the consruction of multi-voltage Trans Europe Express traction. It was numbered Ae4/6 10851. The conclusion following the 1954 accident suggested that GT power is best suited to a flat, open landscape, and that the concept wasn't suitable for the small & mountainous confines of Switzerland. I don't know what happened to the rebuilt loco.

10851 was scrapped in 1978.