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R.A. Riddles
Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE (23 May 1892 – 18 June 1983) was a British locomotive design engineer. Biography LNWR and LMS Riddles was born in 1892 in East Preston in Worthing, Sussex. His father was a contractors' manager. He attended St Andrew's High School, Worthing. Riddles entered the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway as a premium apprentice in 1909, completing his apprenticeship in 1913. While attending the Mechanics Institute classes he took a course in electrical engineering, feeling there would be a future for electric traction. During the 1914–18 Great War he served with the Royal Engineers mainly in France, during which time he was badly wounded. He returned to the LNWR at Crewe and, in 1920, became the "bricks and mortar assistant", with responsibility for the new erecting shop. When work on that was stopped, Riddles was placed in charge of a small production progress department and was sent to Horwich to study the metho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institution Of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 members in 140 countries, working across industries such as railways, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, energy, biomedical and construction, the Institution is licensed by the Engineering Council to assess candidates for inclusion on its Register of Chartered Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians. The Institution was founded at the Queen's Hotel, Birmingham, by George Stephenson in 1847. It received a Royal Charter in 1930. The Institution's headquarters, purpose-built for the Institution in 1899, is situated at No. 1 Birdcage Walk in central London. Origins Informal meetings are said to have taken place in 1846, at locomotive designer Charles Beyer's house in Cecil Street, Manchester, or alternatively at Bromsgro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WD Austerity 2-10-0
The War Department (United Kingdom), War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced during the Second World War in 1943. Background The Austerity 2-10-0 was based on the WD Austerity 2-8-0, Austerity 2-8-0, and was designed to have interchangeable parts by R.A. Riddles. It had the same power output as the 2-8-0 but a lighter axle load, making it suitable for secondary lines. Design It had a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. While the 2-8-0 had a narrow firebox, the 2-10-0 had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels. This was common in the United States (e.g. the USRA 0-8-0) but unusual in Britain, where wide fireboxes usually used required trailing wheels, as with 4-4-2 (locomotive), 4-4-2 and 4-6-2 types. These were the first 2-10-0 locomotives used in Great Britain, and the first major class of ten-coupled engines — they had been preceded by two 0-10-0 locomotives; the Great Eastern Railway's GER Class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Class 5
The British Railways Standard Class 5MT is one of the 12 BR standard classes of steam locomotive built by British Railways in the 1950s. It was essentially a development of the LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 ("Black Five"). A total of 172 were built between 1951 and 1957. Background William Stanier's LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, Black Five had been the most successful mixed-traffic type in Great Britain. Construction of the Black Fives had started in 1934 and continued past nationalisation to 1951. A new set of 'standard' locomotives was to be built by British Railways, based on LMS designs and incorporating modern ideas. In particular, the Standard design incorporated features designed to make disposal of the engine after a working "turn" easier: a self-cleaning smokebox and a rocking grate removed the necessity for crews to undertake dirty and strenuous duties at the end of a long shift. This was a necessary investment with the ever-increasing costs of labour following the World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Class 6
The BR Standard Class 6, otherwise known as the ''Clan'' Class, was a class of 4-6-2, 4-6-2 ''Pacific'' Tender (railroad car), tender steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways. Ten locomotives were constructed between 1951 and 1952, with a further 15 planned for construction. However, due to acute steel shortages in Britain, the order was continually postponed until it was finally cancelled on the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan for the re-equipment of British Railways. All of the original locomotives were scrapped, but a new one is being built. The ''Clan'' Class was based upon the BR Standard Class 7, BR Standard Class 7 ''Britannia'' Class design, incorporating a smaller boiler and various weight-saving measures to increase the route availability of a ''Pacific''-type locomotive for its intended area of operations, the west of Scotland. The ''Clan'' Class received a mixed reception from crews, with those regularly operating the locom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Class 7
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the ''Britannia'' Class, is a class of 4-6-2 ''Pacific'' steam locomotive designed under Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed-traffic duties. 55 were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design employed results from the 1948 locomotive exchanges undertaken in advance of further locomotive classes being constructed. Three batches were constructed at Crewe Works, before the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan. The ''Britannia'' Class design was based on best practice from the pre-nationalisation railway companies in terms of operating efficiency and lower maintenance costs;Loco Profile 12, BR Britannias. Brian Haresnape. Profile Publications. 1971 various weight-saving measures also increased the route availability of a ''Pacific''-type locomotive on the British Railways network. The ''Britannias'' received a positive reception from their crews, with those regularly operating the locomotives giving them fav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Class 8
The BR Standard Class 8 is a one-off 4-6-2 ''Pacific'' steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways. Only a single locomotive, the prototype, was constructed, which was named ''Duke of Gloucester''. Constructed at Crewe Works in 1954, the ''Duke'', as it is popularly known, was a replacement for the destroyed LMS Princess Royal Class locomotive 46202 ''Princess Anne'', which was involved in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash of 1952. The ''Duke'' was based on the BR Standard Class 7 ''Britannia'' design. It incorporated three sets of modified Caprotti valve gear, new to British locomotive engineering and more efficient than Walschaerts or Stephenson valve gear. Due to errors made during the original construction of The ''Duke'', it was regarded as a failure by locomotive crews due to its poor steaming characteristics and its heavy fuel consumption. Trials undertaken by British Railways also proved disappointing, revealing problems with the draug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Class 9F
The British Railways Standard Class 9F is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever built for British Railways, and successfully performed its intended duties. The 9F class was given the nickname of 'Spaceship', due to its size and shape. At various times during the 1950s, the 9Fs worked passenger trains with great success, indicating the versatility of the design, sometimes considered to represent the ultimate in British steam development. Several experimental variants were constructed in an effort to reduce costs and maintenance, although these met with varying degrees of success. They were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h). The total number built wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Correspondence And Travel Society
The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) is a national society founded in Cheltenham, England in 1928 to bring together those interested in rail transport and locomotives. Since 1929 the Society has published a regular journal ''The Railway Observer'' which records the current railway scene. It also has regional branches which organise meetings and trips to places of interest and an archive & library. It has published definitive multi-volume locomotive histories of the Great Western, Southern and London & North Eastern Railways, and has in progress similar works on the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and British Railways standard steam locomotives. It also has published many other historical railway books since the mid-1950s. On 2 November 2016, the RCTS become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), registered number 1169995. Its new Archive and Library (located within the former station-master's house at Leatherhead station) was opened on 6 October 2018 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BR Standard Classes
The BR Standard steam locomotives were an effort to standardise locomotives from the motley collection of older pre-grouping locos. Construction started in 1951. Due to the controversial British Railways Modernisation Plan of 1955, where steam traction was abandoned in favour of diesel and electric traction, many of the locomotives' working lives were very short: between 7 and 17 years. Many have been preserved, mainly due to being sent to Barry Scrapyard. Ex-WD Austerity engines The first BR standards were the BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0 and BR ex-WD Austerity 2-10-0s. They were given the numbers 90000-732 and 90750-774 respectively. They were assigned the boiler types BR10 and BR11, and both had the tender type BR5. Background Robert Riddles put his case for continuing to build steam locomotives in his presidential address to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in November 1950. He compared capital costs to show that steam was cheaper than the alternatives, though h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947, which nationalisation, nationalised the Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994#The Modernisation Plan, 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrification ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earnest Stewart Cox
Ernest Stewart Cox (1900 – 14 September 1992) was a British steam locomotive engineer and author. He had a career with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, London, Midland and Scottish Railway and British Rail, where he finished as Assistant Chief mechanical engineer. When British Railways was created at the start of 1948, Cox was appointed to the Railway Executive The British Railways Board (BRB) was a nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in Great Britain, trading under the brand name British Railways and, fr ... (RE) in the post of "Executive Officer (Design)", one of several members of staff who reported to R. A. Riddles. As a member of the RE staff, he had an office in the RE headquarters at 222 Marylebone Road, London. Bibliography * ''British Railways standard steam locomotives'' * ''Chronicles of steam'' * ''Locomotive panorama'' * ''Speaking of steam'' * ''World stea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Bond
Roland Curling Bond (5 May 1903 – 20 December 1980) was a British locomotive engineer. Biography Bond was born in Ipswich in 1903, and became interested in railways when staying in Yarmouth during the Great War. He was educated at Tonbridge School. Bond joined the Midland Railway in 1920, from 1923 part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) until 1925. He was an apprentice under Henry Fowler. He then became assistant works manager at the Vulcan Foundry. In 1931 Bond returned to the LMS, becoming an "assistant works superintendent" at Horwich. In 1933, moved to assistant works superintendent at Crewe. On the outbreak of the World War II in 1939, Bond was sent to Scotland as acting mechanical and electrical engineer, acting for R.A. Riddles. In 1941, he moved back to Crewe to become "works superintendent" and helped drive efficient locomotive and munitions work there. In 1948, on the formation of the Railway Executive The British Railways Board (BRB) wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
