71000 Duke Of Gloucester, The Devonian

[officem01]

Came on this by change. Great to see that UK rail is using steam engines again on some of its express trains. Looks like that engine is going mighty fast up those hills sorta like a high speed train. I'd hardly call that chuffing along. Sounds powerful.

[tokzichemical]

my half grandad (derek) and his team restored this isnt it good it took em 5 years

[MorrisManDanceMan]

brilliant video thanks for putting in on

[John900C]

Nice filming. Great smell at the end!

[HughFromAlice]

Not being from the UK, I have never seen 71000run but this video is an awesome testament to its power. The sound of its crisp incisive exhaust climbing those banks is just something special. Magnificent work by the owning group.

A parallel run against a diesel - like a class 47 - would not only be great fun but could be a real paying proposition!!

Hope the 71000 is not out for too long. I'd love to ride behind it one day.

Great video. *****

[threelooper]

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I have

learnt that a cam shaft has split on this loco

so god knows how long it will be out of action for (it's meant to coming through huddersfield on 1st august with the scarborough flyer but I doubt it will be running)

[threelooper]

What did it fail for?

[broomboi]

it was on route between Exeter and Newton Abbot a serious problem with the locos reversing gear was identified =[ and im scared they might have to cancle it again on saturday :(

[robmasterman]

Excellent work...what's happened to this loco since last year?

[threelooper]

This fine loco was retubed at the East Lancs railway in bury over last winter after a filure over shap sometime in summer.

The loco has run several specials since a successful return to steam in january this year.

Full marks to the team at bury, who have made many modifications to this splendid locomotive, Having gone back to Riddles' drawings

[robmasterman]

Thanks for the very informative answer.

[broomboi]

well it was not sucsessful on saturday she failed down at newton abbot

[broomboi]

just incase anyone wanted to know

on 4th of may she's makeing a stop at n/abbot takeing on water and staying there for half an hour and shes exspected there at 11:40

[viceroytennis]

This is definitely a Griffon not a Merlin.

[Steam1989]

There is no doubt in my mind that Duke of Gloucester is the most powerful Steam Engine ever built in Britain.

[dspf85]

no it wasnt

[Steam1989]

what is then?

[dspf85]

beyer peacock garratt ad60 class built for nswgr in australia, built in manchester, the lms also had garratts, they were at prolly the most powerful engines in br service, the duchess class were also one of the most powerful, as were the a4, all had more power output and higher tractive effort than the duke, north british built several hudsons for the victorian railways in australia the 'r' class. duke of gloucester is powerful but she was not the most powerful engine ever built in uk

[hiyadroogs]

dspf85, I believe you may be confusing tractive effort with power output. There are several classes of steam locomotive that exceed the Duke's tractive effort, but no other steam loco in Britain has ever equalled its drawbar horsepower. A 9F once achieved 2400 DBHP @ full regulator & 55% cut off at 40mph. Duchess of Abercorn recorded a transitory output of 3333 indicated HP (about 2600 DBHP) on test. The Duke's maximum DBHP has been quoted at 2800 DBHP between 40 & 60 mph.

[moochykins]

what is the max speed that this loco has achieved?

[hiyadroogs]

This is difficult to assess. In BR service, the Duke was plaiged with flawed construction problems which caused very poor steaming. She never remotely approached her true potential in BR paaenger service. Many modifications to her original specifications have been made to her boiler, firebox, exhaust, & valve gear. Recently, a modification was made to one of the cylinders which has liberated even more power! Her free steaming valve gear & boiler should see her exceed 115 mph comfortably.

[moochykins]

wow!!! what drew me towards this loco was reading about tornado's construction and that someone had plans for the a1 to achieve 120mph but it was snubbed due to this loco's failure during br service. you know alot about steam dude!! the technicalities you speek of baffle me!! will keep an eye out for any other comments you post.

[hiyadroogs]

Thank you Moochy! Glad to be of some help to you. It's great that you have taken an interest in these magnificent machines. They are only kept running by the dedicated hard work of new generations of enthusiasts. There are plenty of preserved steam railway lines around the country, why not take a trip to one, & ask the drivers or firemen to explain their workings. They'll be only too happy to invite you into the cab & show you around! : )

[hiyadroogs]

D of G has smaller driving wheels than a Duchess or an A4. The speed limit for steam engines is largely determined by how quickly steam can get in & out of the cylinders with the minimum of resistance to flow. British Caprotti valve gear is the best way to achieve this, but her smaller diameter driving wheels (6'2") limit the advantage slightly as far as ultimate speed is concerned. I believe the Duchess & A4 are 6'9" in diameter.

[CoeurDeLoin]

@hiyadroogs Power=TE*Speed. With TE in pounds, speed in mph, divide by 375 to get HP. Your 9F would be pulling 22500lb at the drawbar.

TE is usually quoted based on pressure + cylinder and crank geometry, and tends to over-estimate. Locos are usually designed to 25% friction, so this is achieved with only 40 tons on driving wheels. At 22.5 tons per axle, a King could only deliver 37800lb at the drawbar, yet was rated at 40300. GWR engines were never beaten on efficiency (HP/ton coal) though.

[hiyadroogs]

@CoeurDeLoin Thank you for that information. I would think that coefficient of friction would also be a necessary parameter in the calculation, & would vary widely between wet rail, dry rail, & with the sanding gear on.

[CoeurDeLoin]

@hiyadroogs Indeed. Typical values are from 0.35-0.5 (Wikipedia). 0.25 is a rule of thumb used for design. Assume a higher value and you may have problems in poor conditions. Another factor is weight distribution. Churchward built only one Pacific before settling on 4-6-0 as best on inclines. But if weight is not limiting, you can just pile it on, like a Big Boy 2-8-8-2, which needed 135000lb TE for coal and ore trains over the Rockies.

[dspf85]

duke of gloucester, was prolly one of the most efficent steam engines compared to the a4s and the duchess, the 9f class were the most powerful out of british rail's standard locos of the 1950s, mind the duke is prolly one of the best looking loco ever built in britain

[Maddogsteve2002]

in service the duke of gloucester was apparently nothing special and wasn't especially efficient. it was only since it was taken in to restoration that several faults were noticed and rectified that it's become such a great engine! i'd dispute the claim that it's the best looking too.

i wonder how it would of compared to the pacific that hawksworth wanted to build for this line. but then the duke is a great testament to steam power. so many 'ifs' when it comes to steam power in britain.

[AndreiTupolev]

Was it a conspiracy, I wonder? Riddles had designed something a bit special, but the BR hierarchy, realising that with a bit of tweaking she could outclass any of the diesels that were in the pipeline, deliberately let her be hamstrung so that she wouldn't show up the new order.

Conspiracy theories are always fun.

[Maddogsteve2002]

i do seem to recall prince phillip driving a white fiat uno did have something to do with its construction.......

[redcarmodels]

Fantastic! What a Loco...............

[SteffanLlwyd]

What a beast! Where might steam have gone next. How about a 3-cyl poppet valve 2-8-2 with a gas-producer firebox and a turbine booster up to 30mph? All of the chat plus the sound of a jet take-off. No chance I know, but a nice thought anyway...

[Steam1989]

I still think they should have put 10 on for this run, 6233 took 10 over the Devon Banks twice in 2001 and 2002!!!

[CGT867]

Great photography and what a machine!!!

[Owentheguitarist666]

Great Vid yet again =) thanks, and bloody hell it like S*** off a stick during 0.45, pritty quick, love the sound during 1.09

[g4vvz]

Views of a record breaking day. thanks for sharing.