The Lemaître exhaust is a type of

steam locomotive exhaust system The steam locomotive exhaust system consists of those parts of a steam locomotive which together discharge exhaust steam from the cylinders in order to increase the draught through the fire. It usually consists of the blastpipe (or first stage n ...

developed by the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

engineer

Maurice Lemaître Maurice Lemaître (aka Moïse Maurice Bismuth) (23 April 1926, Paris - 2 July 2018) was a French Lettrist painter (known for his use of Hypergraphy), filmmaker, writer and poet. Lemaître was Isidore Isou's right-hand man for nearly half a century ...

Construction

The Lemaître exhaust featured a

blastpipe The blastpipe is part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the fire. History The primacy of discovery of the ...

with 5 nozzles in a circular pattern exhausting up a large-diameter chimney stack, with a variable area nozzle exhausting up the centre, and improved efficiency by about 10%.Continental engineers
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Uses

The Lemaître exhaust was used extensively in Great Britain by OVS Bulleid on his new locomotive designs for the Southern Railway, namely the Merchant Navy, Light Pacific and Q1 classes. Bulleid also retro-fitted Lemaître exhausts on some older classes, such as the

SR Lord Nelson class The SR class LN or ''Lord Nelson'' class is a type of 4-cylinder 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed for the Southern Railway by Richard Maunsell in 1926. They were intended for Continental boat trains between London (Victoria) and Dover harbour, ...

and some of the

SR V Schools class The SR V class, more commonly known as the ''Schools'' class, is a class of steam locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Railway. The class was a cut down version of his ''Lord Nelson'' class but also incorporated components ...

Further Development

The design was later improved by

Livio Dante Porta Livio Dante Porta (21 March 1922 – 10 June 2003) was an Argentine steam locomotive engineer. He is particularly remembered for his innovative modifications to existing locomotive systems in order to obtain better performance and energy effici ...

, who created the

Lempor The Lempor ejector is a steam locomotive exhaust system developed by noted Argentina, Argentine locomotive engineer Livio Dante Porta. The ejector's name is a portmanteau of the names of Porta and Belgian locomotive engineer Maurice Lemaître (mecha ...

and Lemprex, named after a combination of their two names.

References

External links

The ultimate steam page - Steam Locomotive Exhaust Drawings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemaitre exhaust Steam locomotive exhaust systems Steam locomotive technologies