Preserved Andrew Barclay 0-6-0 fireless steam locomotive, South of Scotland Electricity Board, No. Andrew Barclay Sons & Co was a steam and later diesel Locomotive builder based in Kilmarnock, Scotland founded in 1840 1

A fireless locomotive was a type of locomotive designed for use under conditions restricted by either the presence of flammable material (such as in mines) or the need for cleanliness (such as at a food factory). A locomotive is a railway Vehicle that provides the motive power for a Train. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Cleanliness is the absence of dirt including Dust, Stains bad smells and Garbage. Thus a traditional steam locomotive is ruled out because of its open fire and the possibility of hot embers ejected from its chimney. A steam locomotive is a Locomotive powered by Steam. The term usually refers to its use on Railways but can also refer to a "road locomotive" Fire is the heat and light energy released during a Chemical reaction, in particular a combustion reaction.

There are two types of fireless locomotive – fireless steam locomotives and compressed air locomotives. Pneumatics, Pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion Pneumatic power is used in Industry, where it is common to have factory units plumbed for Compressed

Types

Fireless steam locomotives

A fireless steam locomotive is similar to a conventional steam locomotive, but has a reservoir, known as a steam accumulator, instead of a boiler. A steam locomotive is a Locomotive powered by Steam. The term usually refers to its use on Railways but can also refer to a "road locomotive" A Steam accumulator is an insulated steel pressure tank containing hot water and Steam under Pressure. A boiler is a closed vessel in which Water or other Fluid is heated This reservoir is partly filled with water and charged with steam from a stationary boiler. The locomotive can then work on the stored steam until the pressure has dropped to a minimum level, after which it must be recharged.

European fireless steam locomotives usually have the cylinders at the back, while American ones often have the cylinders at the front, as in a conventional locomotive. Major builders of fireless steam locomotives in the UK included Andrew Barclay and W.G. Bagnall. Andrew Barclay Sons & Co was a steam and later diesel Locomotive builder based in Kilmarnock, Scotland founded in 1840 W G Bagnall was a Locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England.

The last commercially-operated steam locomotive in UK industry was a fireless steam locomotive. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It operated at the Glaxo factory in Ulverston, Cumbria. GlaxoSmithKline plc () is a United Kingdom -based pharmaceutical, biological and Healthcare Company. Ulverston is a Market town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Boundaries and divisions Cumbria is neighboured by Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, and the Lieutenancy A few fireless steam locomotives are still at work in Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Compressed air locomotives

Preserved Porter Locomotive Company No. H K Porter Inc (Porter manufactured light-duty Railroad Locomotives in the USA starting in 1866 3290 of 1923. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Compressed air locomotive at Bankhead, Alberta, Canada, formerly used in coal mining. Bankhead Alberta was a small Coal mining town that existed in the early twentieth century in Banff National Park, near the town of Banff Alberta.

Compressed air locomotives are used mainly in mines, but have also been used on tramways. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body A tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a Train (See Mekarski system)

Hybrid locomotives

Several hybrid locomotives have been built that have either used a fire for part of the time, e. The Mekarski system was a compressed-air propulsion system for Trams invented by Louis Mékarski or Louis Mékarsky (the correct spelling is uncertain in the 1870s Hybrid Locomotive is a Locomotive or Multiple unit train that uses an on-board rechargeable energy storage system (RESS (battery or Ultracapacitors g. , Fowler's Ghost of the Metropolitan Railway, or have used a fire to superheat stored steam, such as the Receiver Locomotives built by Sentinel Waggon Works. Sir John Fowler 1st Baronet KCMG ( 15 July 1817 &ndash 10 November 1898) was a Railway Engineer in The Metropolitan Railway (MetR and the Metropolitan District Railway (District were the first two underground railways to be built in London, creating the world's See Superheating for the physics process A superheater is a device in a Steam engine that heats the steam generated by the Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam powered lorries ("road locomotives" None has been a success.

Wheel arrangements

Most fireless locomotives have been of 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 wheel arrangement but there have been some 0-8-0 and even a few 0-10-0. Some 600 mm gauge 0-10-0 fireless locomotives from the German company Henschel were used in the construction of the Baghdad Railway, probably to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning during the boring of tunnels. Henschel & Son (Henschel & Sohn is a German company situated in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment including In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Ottoman Empire planned to construct a Baghdad Railway under German control Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after the inhalation of Carbon monoxide gas ^[1]

Another German company, Hohenzollern, built some articulated fireless steam locomotives with a cab at each end. The Hohenzollern Locomotive Works (Aktiengesellschaft für Lokomotivbau Hohenzollern was a German Locomotive -building company which operated from 1872 to 1929 Articulated locomotive usually means a Steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move relative to the main frame Only one of the bogies was powered, making the wheel arrangement B-2. The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive (or unit Wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads.

Preservation

Although a large proportion of fireless locomotives have been preserved, very few have been operated. This is due to the low power of the locomotives, the long time needed to charge a locomotive from cold and the low steam pressures available for charging. Perhaps the only exception was "Lord Ashfield" (Andrew Barclay works no. Andrew Barclay Sons & Co was a steam and later diesel Locomotive builder based in Kilmarnock, Scotland founded in 1840 1989 of 1930) at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester that ran for a while in the 1990s sharing a steam supply with the stationary exhibits in their exhibition hall. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester (MOSI located in Manchester, England, is a large Museum devoted to the development of science technology ^[2]

The future

Fireless steam locomotives might, possibly, make a comeback because of their ability to use steam generated by rubbish incinerators or solar collectors. Incineration is a waste treatment technology that involves the Combustion of organic materials and/or substances A parabolic trough is a type of Solar thermal energy collector See "Solar Steam Train" link below. They could even use steam generated by nuclear reactors. This article is a subarticle of Nuclear power. A nuclear reactor is a device in which Nuclear chain reactions are initiated controlled

See also

• List of fireless steam locomotives preserved in Britain
• Bagnall fireless locomotives (preserved)
• Advanced steam technology

References

External links

• Fireless locomotives in the USA
• Fireless locomotives in Germany
• Kenavon Railway Society
• Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
• Solar Steam Train
• Researching The Ultimate Fireless Steam Locomotive