JUXF 1922.

735

ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES.
-
BY SIRVINCENT L. RAVEN, K.B.E., Vice-President.
_I_

The subject of electric locomotives is attracting a good deal of

attention a t present in railway circles and a number of Papers have
been written, mainly in the United States and on the Continent,
describing various designs which have been worked out for
different purposes. Little has been published, however, in England
during the last few years, in spite of the fact that a good many new
locomotives have been built and put into service for various countries.
This is the more to be regretted as England about 100 years ago
was the birthplace of the steam locomotive. It is only fitting,
theref ore, that English railway engineers should take an active
interest in the design of locomotives which, while not superseding
the older machine, may now, a t all events, be regarded as a definite
factor in the future development of British as well as foreign railways.
The complete design of an electric locomotive is a combination
of mechanical and electrical engineering. The mechanical portions
of the locomotive definitely affect the design of the electrical portions
and vice versa, and each portion has to be worked out in detail,
quite apart from the determination of the general scheme. It is not
proposed in this Paper to go into the many detail points of mechanical
and electrical design which are, of course, of great interest to many
[[Link].E.]

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736 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. J U N E 1921.

engineers, but rabher t o deal with the more general questions of

(1) the requirements which any locomotive iiiust be designed for ;
(2) the various designs which have been worked out t o meet these
requirements ; (3) the advantages and disadvantages of the various
designs which have been completed.
There are broadly three classes into which loconiotives on most
railways may be divided according to the nature of the work to
be performed or the class of train to be hauled, namely :-
1. Shunting.
2. Freight or goods.
3. Passenger.
It is not, of course, practicable to confine any class of locomotive
strictly to the duties for which i t is primarily designed. For instance,
it is very desirable that a passenger locomotive should be able on
occasion to haul goods trains, and freight locomotives frequently
have to carry out a certain amount of shunting a t intermediate
stations. I n fact one of the most important points to be attended
to in considering any design is the question whether the locomotive
is well adapted to deal economically and conveniently with two or
more different classes of traffic. Naturally, beyond a certain point,
such adaptability may cost more than it is worth. How far it is
advisable t o go in this direction is a matter for individual judgment.
This is referred t o later.

Shunting Locomotives.-Locomotives of this class are required

principally for marshalling trains in goods-yards. There is no need
for them to be capable of running a t high speed. A maximum of
25 miles per hour will be ample. They should, however, be suitable
for moving the heaviest trains in use. The tractive power must,
of course, be limited by the strength of the standard drawgear, and
on the British railways, a t all events, this consideration will determine
the weight on the drivers.
On British railways it is not possible t o go much higher than
30,000 Ib. drawbar pull and an adhesive weight of 60 to 65 tons should
be sufficient. Compared with steam locomotives usually employed in
goods-yards this is a substantial increase. It is, however, a great
advantage to have ample weight on the drivers in order t o start
trains rapidly and thus speed up shunting operations. On other
railways, such as those in the United States, where the drawbars
can stand much greater pulls, rather more weight on the drivers can
be usefully employed. For example, the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad uses a number of electric shunting locomotives
in their Oak Point, Westchester, Stamford and Harlem River yards.

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JUXE1923. ELECTRIC LoconIorIvEs. 737

These [Link] a weight. of 714 t,ons all on the drivers. On

tho other hand, the Cllioago, Milwaukee and Mt. Paul Railroad has
four electric shunting locomotives, weighing 64 tons.
For this class of locomotive there is no question of complicating
the design by considerations of steady running, adaptability to other
classes of traffic, etc. The design should be as simple as possible
and, if practicable, the whole weight of the locomotive should be
on the driving-wheels. For anything in the neighbourhood of 60 tons
it is necessary to divide the weight between four axles, in order
not t o exceed the permissible axle loading.
The simplest arrangement is undoubtedly the doubIe bogie
design, each bogie carrying a pair of geared motors. This is from
several points of view the most satisfactory ; the construction is
cheap, and the maintenance easy, due to the facility with which a
bogie can be removed for overhaul or repair of the motors and a
spare bogie substituted. The Author sees no reason why this general
design should not be regarded as standard for this class of locomotive.
The buffers and drawgear may be mounted on the body, and
the tractive effort transmitted from the driving-wheels through
the bogie centres ; or the drawgear may be fixed to the outer end-
frames of the bogies and the inner end-frames connected together
by an articulating joint, thus removing all buffing stresses from the
body.
The North Eastern Railway have had in use on their Quayside
line at Newcastle for seventeen years, two shunting locomotives
which have given extraordinarily good results. They are of the
double bogie type with buffers and drawgear mounted on the body.
The following are a few particulars :-
Total weight . . . . . . 55 tons.
Length . . . . . . . 38ft.
Wheel diameter . . . . . 36in.
Bogie wheel base . . . . . G ft. 6 in.
Distance between bogie centres . . 20 ft. 6 in.
Number of motors . . . . . 4.
H.P. per motor . . . . . 160.
Duty.-The locomotive is capable of hauling a load
of 335 tons on the level at 14 m.p.h., and of starting up a
gradient of 1in 25 with a trailing load of 166tons, and of
hauling this load up the same gradient at 9.5 m.p.h.

These locomotives, of which an outline drawing is shown in

Fig. 1, have been in service since 1905, and they have only been in
the shops three times for thorough overhaul,

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738 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. J c m 1922.

FIG.1.-North Eastern Railway. Electric Freight Locomotive.

Newcastle Quayside Branch. 0-4 + 4--0 Typc.

- N.Y., N.H., and C., M. and St. P.

H. R.R.

Articulated Double bogie

rype of locomotive . . bogie not articulated
Single phase
System of electrification . .{ 25 cycles D.C.

Voltage . . . . . 11,ooo 3,CjQcJ

Drive . . . . . . Geared quill Straight gear
One hour rating :-
Tractive effort . . . lb. 23,200 21,400

Speed . . . m.p.h. 12.2 11.5

Maximum safe speed - m.p.h. 25 35

Diameter of driving wbeels . . G3 in. 40 in.
Total weight . . . tons 714 64
Bogie wheel base . . . 7 ft. 0 in. 8 ft. 0 in.
Distance between bogie centres . 16 ft. 6 in. 21 ft. 4 in.
Number of motors . . . 4 4

H.P. per motor, one hour rating . 150 165

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JUVR 1922. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 739

Their daily duty consists of about fourteen and a half hours

shunting work and two hours running wit,h t-rains. Including
thc time for preparing, stabling, running to uiid from the shed,
their daily service occupies about eighteen hours, and, if required,
they could do more. For the whole of the year 1921 the average
cost per engine for repairs, inspection, preparing, cleaning, etc.,
was E103. This figure is rather high, as it included some special
repairs to one of the locomotives which would not be required
in an ordinary year. It may be compared with the corresponding
figure for the steam locomotives doing the same class of work,
which, for the year 1921, would be about €610.
The particulars of the shunting locomotives on the N.Y., N.H.
and H. Railroad and the C., M. and St. P. Railroad mentioned above,
are as given a t the bottom of page 738.
Some particulars of the duty performed by the N.Y., N.H. and
H. RR. shunting locomotives have been published recently, from
which it would appear that the average daily tonnage dealt with
per locomotive a t the Oak Point Yard is about 16,000 and the
monthly miIeage about 4,500. The locomotives are kept in service
twenty-four hours a day and are normally given a light inspection,
requiring half a day, after 2,500 miles. A number of these locomotives
have worked twenty-four hours a day for t,hirty days without
interruption.

3’[Link] or Goods Locomotit~es.--The conditions which govern the

design of freight locomotives vary in different countries, mainIy
in respect of the strength of the standard drawgear and the use of
power brakes on the goods wagons.
On British railways, as already mentioned, it is useless to design
a locomotive for more than about 30,000 Ib. tractive effort, whereas
in the United States there is no objection to 120,000 Ib. pull. In
other countries the drawgear strength may be intermediate between
these figures; for example, in South Africa a pull of 60,000 is
considered practicable.
The question of what speed to provide for is a point for careful
consideration. One of the great advantages of electrification on a
railway is the possibility it affords of speeding up the slow-moving
traffic. Apart from special conditions, only those lines will be
electrified on which there is a fairly dense traffic. On many of our
railways, the traffic is not only dense, but is congested. This is
mainly due t o the precedence which has t o be allowed to express
passenger trains, while goods trains have to take such opportunities
as offer of working through from station to station in the intervals

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 740 4 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVEB. JUNE 1922.

between passenger trains. By increasing the average speed of the

goods trains the length of lie-over a t stations can in general be greatly
reduced, as shorter intervals can be utilized. When a line reaches
the point of congestion, the capacity can be increased by quadrupling
or by electrification. The former is a very costly matter, and even
if the congestion is relieved in this way the many advantages
obtainable by electrification are not secured.
It is important, therefore, that the speed of goods trains should
be raised as much as is practicable, On tho British railways, due t o
the absence of power-brakes on the wagons, the speed on the level
must not exceed about 35 miles per hour and must be less than this
on falling gradients, in order that the train may be sufficiently under
control t o stop when required by signal. The only practicable way,
therefore, t o effect any substantial increase in the average speed is
to increase the speed up the gradients. This can easily be done by
providing a sufficiently powerful locomotive and designing i t for
the speed required.
The Author considers that the standard freight locomotive
should be capable of taking a normal train up the ruling gradient
on any ordinary line in Great Britain at about 25 miles per hour.
This should enable an average speed of 30 miles per hour to be
maintained, which approximates $0 the speed of the local passenger
trains. All trains, except the few passenger expresses, would then
travel a t approximately the same speed and the traffic delays would
thereby be cut down to the minimum.
Where conditions are different, as in the United States, i t is
economical to have much heavier trains than in Great Britain. For
example, the Pennsylvania Railroad have built an experimental
locomotive of 4,800 h.p. capacity, which is intended, with the
assistance of a similar locomotive pushing a t the rear, t o take a
train of 3,500 tons up a 1 in 50 gradient 12 miles long a t about
20 miles per hour, or a train of 5,600 tons up a 1 in 100 gradient
24 miles long a t about the same speed. Further particulars of this
experimental locomotive are given below.
A good many designs have been worked out in different countries,
and brief descriptions of the most important are given as follows :-
1. The North Eastern Railway in 1914 built ten freight engines
for working the mineral traffic on the Shildon-Newport branch line.
These are of the double bogie type, as shown in Fig. 2, the two
bogies being articulated, carry the buffers and drawgear on their
outer ends. The following are some of the particulars of these
engines :-

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JUNE 1922. ELECTHIC LOCOMOTIVES. 741

Gauge . . . . . . . 4 ft. 8& in.

Voltage and system . . . . 1,500 d.o.
Drive . . . . . . . Straight twin gear
One hour 1,100 h.p.
Total motor rating . . . Continuous 635 h.p.
One hour 19,600 lb.
Tractiveeffort . . . . . Continuous 10,400 lb.
Speed . . . . . . One hour 20.5 m.p.h.
Continuous 22.8 m.p.h.
Length over buffers . . . . 39 ft. 4 in.
Total wheel-base . . . . . 27 ft. 0 in.
Rigid wheel-base . . . . . 8 ft. 9 in.
Width overall . . . . . 8 ft. 4 in.
Height (pantograph down) . . . 13 ft. l& in.
Diameter of driving wheels . . . 4 ft. 0 in.
Total weight of locomotive . . . 74 tons 8 cwt.
Weight per driving axle . . . 18 tons 12 cwt.
Weight of electrical equipment . . 24 tons 5 curt.
Weight of mechanical equipment . . 50 tons 3 cart.
Approx. height of centre of gravity . 4 ft. 6 in.

FIG.2.-iVorth Eastern Railway. Electric Freight Locomotive.

Geared Drive. Total H.P., 1,100.
Total Weight, 74 tons 8 cwt. 0-4 + 4-0 Type.

0 2 4 6 8 10 I2 14 I6 18 LO 22 24
FEET
0 I ~~~.'~.-!!~~!-!-~. METRES

These engines deal with the mineral traffic Iwtween the gathering
centre a t Hhilclon and the sidings at Newport, five electric engines
being capable of doing the work forinerly done by thirteen steam-
engines. It may be of interest to mention the cost of repairs, shed

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743 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. JUNK 1922.

charges, etc., for these electric locomotives. Last year was exceptional
as the traffic on this branch was abnormallylow, due t o the coal
strike. It is better, therefore, to take the year 1920 which may
be considered a fairly normal year. The total cost for repairs
inspection, preparation, cleaning, etc., for the electric locomotives
for the year 1920 came to l i d . per engine-mile, of which repairs
amounted t o a little more than Id. and shed charges a little less
than i d . These figures may be compared with corresponding figures
for the same year for steam-engines doing similar work, namely,
about l l i d . per engine-mile total, of which the repairs alone would
cost about 8d., and the shed charges about 39d. The present-day
cost, of course, is considerably below those ruling in 1920, and the
Author estimates that a t the present time the corresponding figures
for repairs, shed charges, etc., would be about 30 per cent lower.
Locomotives of similar general design are in use on several
railways in the United States, namely :-
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The Great Northern Railroad.
The Michigan Central Railroad.
The Butte Anaconda and Pacific Railroad.

The Midi Company is building fifty electric locomotives, thirty

of which are for omnibus passenger trains and twenty for goods
traffic, and in addition it is building two experimental locomotives
for high speed work. The thirty passenger-train locomotives only
differ from the twenty locomotives for freight work in respect of
the gear ratio. The locomotives are of the type BB, that is to say,
they are mounted on two bogies each of which has two motor-
driven axles. The total weight of the locomotive is 72 tons, and
the capacity of the motors is 1,000 h.p. continuous and 1,400 h.p. on
the one-hour rating. The passenger locomotive can attain a speed
of 80 km. (49.7 miles) per hour, and the goods locomotive 60 km.
(37.2 miles) per hour.
The mechanical construction of these locomotives contains
certain new features. The draw-hook and the buffers are mounted
direct on the bogies and these bogies are articulated in order to
avoid using the structure of the locomotive body for the transmission
of tractive effort or buffing stresses. The pivot of one bogie is
fixed on the body, while the pivot of the other bogie js mounted on a
longitudinal slide in such a way as t o allow for a slight variation
in thc distance between two bogies on Curves or in consequence
of wear, withont the underframe of the body being subjected t o
any stresses. Further, in order to obtain a better entry into a, curve

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JUNK ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 743

and t o reduce as far as possible the play on the rail due to dead
weight, the period of oscillation of the body on the bogies has been
increased as far as possible. The bogie pivots have been lowered and
inverted in such a way as to put the axis of rotation as low as possible.
The body is therefore de-stabilized and is re-stabilized by means of
two IateraI spring supports on each bogie. These spring supports, by
reason of their flexibility, allow the bogies to turn about their axis
without any appreciable effort which eases the entry of the loconiotive
on the curve.
Finally, the lowering of the bogie pivot facilitates the balancing
due to the running of the locomotive over irregularities of the track.
Each axle-motor is connected to its axle by twin single reduction
gearing. The gear wheels are fixed directly on the centres of the
driving wheels in order to avoid any abnormal fatigue of the axles.
The pinions are mounted on the two ends of the armature shafts
of the motors.
In regard to the electrical equipment, the bogie motors are
supplied direct with continuous current a t a pressure of 1,500 volts.
Their capacity is 250 h.p. continuous and 350 h.p. on the one-hour
rating. They are arranged for forced draught. The passenger
locomotives can exert the power corresponding t o their continuous
rating by shunting the field windings between 50 and 74 km. (31 and
46 miles) per hour. For the goods locomotives the continuous
rating, namely, 1,000 h.p., is available in the same way between the
limits of speed of 30 and 40 km. (18.6 and 24.8 miles) per hour.
The locomotives BB, both the passenger and freight locomotives,
are designed for regenerative braking, and on any given gradient
are able to haul a train of the same tonnage as can be hauled u p the
same gradient by the motors a t their one-hour rating. All the
locomotives are fitted with multiple-unit control. The control
apparatus consists of two cam-shaft controllers worked by auxiliary
motors. Each motor possesses its own cam-shaft and constitutes,
therefore, a n independent unit. These cam-shafts control the
working of the motors in all series and parallel positions, but do
not regulate the working when the fields are shunted.
The auxiliary motor is controlled from each of the drivers’
compartments, one a t each end of the locomotive. The power fof
the control circuits and for the auxiliary motor is supplied at 120
volts from a niator generator. This motor generator comprises it
direct-current 1,500-volt motor which drives the generator for
providing power for auxiliary purposes a t 120 volts, and a variable
voltage generator for excitation while regenerating, also two fans
for the forced cooling of the main motors. The auxiliary generator

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ru BLECTIlIC LOCOMOTIVES. J U N E 1922.

is used also for the supply of the necessary current for lighting the
train and for heating the locomotive alone.
Each locomotive is fitted with a mercury watt-hour meter which
records during the periods of regeneration. This meter is used not
only to record the energy consumption of each machine, but also
to interest the driver in economizing the power consumption.
In addition to the regenerative braking each locomotive is fitted
with a Westinghouse brake, also with a separate brake for the
locomotive alone and a hand brake.
The express locomotives will be of the type 2 G 2, that is to say,
will possess three driving axles and two bogies. The one-hour
rating of each locomotive is 2,250 h.p. The Midi Company is only
building two of these locomotives, but these contain certain specially
interesting features for experimental purposes.
Each locomotive will be equipped with three double vertical
motors, each one being geared to a driving axle by means of double
gearing, a hollow shaft and spring coupling. The two armatures
of each double motor rotate in opposite directions so a4 to neutralize
their 'gyroscopic effect. The diameter of the driving wheels will be
1,750 mm. (5 ft. 9 in).
Each bogie motor will take power at 500 volts, and in normal
working with the motors in parallel three arinatures will be connected
in series. For series working all the six armatures will be connected
in series. These locomotives will be capable of giving their full
output a t a speed of 90 km. (58.8 miles) per hour and will be able
to maintain the same output up to 120 km. (74.5 miles) per hour by
means of shunting the motor fields. The limiting speed of the
locomotives will be 130 km. (SO. 7 miles) per hour.
The motors will be controlled by cani-shaft controllers just as in
the BB locomotives, and will be fitted for multiple-unit control.
A motor generator reducing from 1,500 to 120 volts will suppIy the
direct current necessary €or the different auxiliary services. The
high-speed locomotives will not be arrangcd for regenerative control,
as they have only to run on lines where there arc no severe gradients.
2. A very similar design is employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul Railway for their freight engines. The method of
transmitting the power from the motors t o the driving-wheels is
precisely the same, namely, by single reduction twin-gearing, but
the mechanical arrangement of the trucks is different, one of the
iliain trrieks containing :t guiding bogie as well as the two driving
axles. A general view of a pair of t h v v [Link]:s is qllown in
outline in Fig. 3, L L I the
~ following are soiiit' of the principal
partic;ulm of [Link] (page 746) :---

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 FIG.3.-Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. Electric Locomotive. Geared Type.

4
i 4

FIG.4.-Paulista Ruilzray. Electric Freight Locomotive. 0-6-0 + 0-6-0 Type.

w
_I
U

ET
ETRES
746 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. Just., 1922.

Gauge . . . . . . 4 ft. 8 t i n .
Maximum tractive effort . . 132,500 Ib.
Voltage . . . . . . 3,000 volts d.c.
Continuous tractive effort . . 71,000 lb.
Length overall . . . . 112 ft. 0 in.
Total wheel-base . . . . 102 ft. 8 in.
Width overall . . . . 10 ft. 0 in.
Height, pantograph Ioclted down . 16 ft. 8 in.
Rigid driving wheel base . . 10 ft. 6 in.
Rigid guiding wheel base . . 6 ft. 0 in.
Diameter driving-wheels . . 52in.
Diameter guiding truck wheels . 36 in.
Total weight . . . . . 257 tons.
Weight on drivers . . . . 200 tons.
Weight per driving axle . . . 25 tons.
Dead weight on driving axle . . 7p tons.
Weight per guiding axle . . 14 tons.

3. A recent design of freight locomotive for the Paulista Railway

in Brazil is based on tlie use of two articulated bogies, but differs
from the ordinary double bogie locomotive in that each bogie
contains three driving axles a n d three motors. This arrangement,
which is of interest in several ways, may be regarded as a development
of tho older design for the purpose of obtaining a greater tractive
effort than is possible with four driving axles without any substantial
departure from the simple method of drive by individual motors
geared to the axles. The use of six motors cnables the speed to be
controlled over a wide range. The motors can be grouped-+) all
in series, ( 2 ) three in series, two in parallel, ( 3 ) two in series, tlirec
in parallel. With each grouping, two speeds can be obtained by
suitable alteration t o the strength of the motor fields. Thus six
different speeds, ranging from about 6 to 2lg miles per hour, can be
obtained with the same tractive effort of about 30,000 lb. Provision
is also made'for the use of regenerative braking by converting thc
motors into generators when the train is descending a gradient.
Thc niechanical parts and electrical equipment of thc locomotive
are designed so that ultiniately, that is, when all tlie rolling-stock
has been equipped with M.C.B. couplers, two locomotives may bt:
c,oupled up and operated as a single locomotive. The general
arrangement is shown in Fig. 4, and the principal particulars are
as follows :-
Type . . . . . . 0-G--0 +
0-6-0.
Klcctricol sy-stelii . . . . Tlirect curront.
Voltage . . . . . . 3,000.
Total weight . , , , . 104'Ci tons.

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J U N El!J??, ELEC'PRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 747

One hour Continuous

rating. rating.
Capacity of Locomotive . . 1,680 h.p. 1,350 h.p.
Tractive effort . . . . 29,400 lb. 21,600 lb.
Speed . . . . . . 21.4 m.p.h. 23.4 m.p.h.
Maximum safe speed . . . . . . 42 m.p.h.
Maximum tractive effort . . . 58,500 lb.
Track gauge . . . . . . 5 ft. 3 in.
Fixed wheel base . . . . . 14 ft.
Total wheel base . . . . . . . 37 ft.
Lengthover buffers . . . . . . 50 ft. 2in.
Wheel diameter . . . . . . . 3 ft. 4 in.

4. The locomotives employed by the Norfolk and Western

Railroad for heavy mineral traffic through the Elkhorn tunnel are
also of the double bogie design. The method of transmitting the
power from the motors t o the driving-wheels is, however, quite
different from the arrangement adopted in the examples referred
to above. The transmission is effected by connecting the two
driving axles on each bogie t o a jack-shaft between them through
cranks and coupling-rods. This jack-shaft is driven by a pair of
motors mounted on the bogie frame through single reduction
gearing, the two pinions meshing with a single gear-wheel mounted
on the jack-shaft. The arrangement is shown in outline in Fig. 5 ,
and the following are a few of the principal details of the design :-
System . . . . . . . Single Phase 25 cycles.
Voltage . . . . . . . 11,000 volts.
Gross weight per engine . . . . 245 tons.
Weight on drivers . . . . . 59,000 lb.
Capacity of motors (1hour) . . . 3,000.
Capacity of motors (continuous) . . 2,600.
Tractive effort corresponding t o the one
hour rating . . . . . ] 87,000 lb.
Speed a t this tractive effort . . . 14 m.p.h.
Total length of doub!e locomotlve . . 105 ft. 8 in.
Rigid wheel base . . . . . 11ft.
Number of motors per double locomotive 8.

5 . The same method of power transniission has been adopted,

but with a somewhat different wheel arrangement, for thc
experimental freight locomotive built by the Pennsylvania Railroad
referred to above. This design is shown in outline in Fig. 6 and the
particulars are as follows :-
System . . . . . . Single Phase 25 cycles.
VoltoXe . , . , . . 11,000 volts.
3D?,

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 FIG.5.-Norfolk alzd Western RailionJ. Electric Locoiizotire. 2-4-0 + 0-4-2 Type.

FIG.6.-Penmylaania Railroad. Latest Type Electric Locomotive. 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 Type.

~
*[Link]. 19"". ELECTRIC LOCIOMOTI VXS. 749

Overall length . . . . . 76 ft. 64 in.

Total wheel base. . . . . 63 ft. 11 in.
Driving wheel base . . . . 38 ft. 8 in.
Rigid wheel base . . . . 13 ft. 4 in.
Height from rail to top of cab . . 14 ft. 8 in.
Overall width . . . . . 10 ft. 1in.
Diameter of driving-wheels . . . 72 in.
Diameter of pony wheels . . . 36 in.
Totalweight . . . . . 223 tons.
Weight per driving axle . . . 30 tons.
Starting tractive effort . . . 140,000 lb.
Normal working speed . . . 20.6 m.p.h.
Many different designs of electric freight locoinotives have been
worked out on the Continent, and it is not possible to refer to all
of them. Some have proved mechanically successful, others have
been found unsatisfactory in one way or another. Many of the
designs have been applied t o one or two locomotives only, built
mainly by way of experiment, and those which have been built,
in considerable numbers have been selectedfor mention only. There
seems to be no signs, however, that any standard design of electric
freight engine is being evolved on the Continent as representing
the general consensus of opinion of Continental engineers.
6. The freight locomotives employed by the Swiss Federal
Railways for the electrified line from Chiasso to Lucerne through
the St. Gothard tunnel resemble in some respects the experimental
locomotive built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. There are two
pairs of motors, each pair being geared to a single jack-shaft by
twin gearing. This jack-shaft is connected by cranks and side-rods
arranged on a special system to three driving axles. The complete
locomotive consists of two trucks, each having a guiding axle and
three driving axles and a low superstructure containing the motors
and some of the control apparatus, together with a central body
carried on pivots by the two trucks, which contains the main
transformer and the principal part of the electrical equipment. The
general arrangement is shown in outline in Fig. 7 . The particulars
of the locomotive are as follows :-
Type . . . . . . . 2-6+6-2.
Single phase
Electrical system . . . . . (16%2 frequency.

Voltage . . . . . . 15,000.
Lengthover buffer:: . . . . 63 ft. 8 in.
Total wheel base . . . . . 54 ft. 2 in.
Fixed wheel base . . . . . 15 f t. 5 in.
Diameter of driving wheels . . . 4 ft. 5 in.
Number of motors . . . . 4.

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 750 ELECTRIC LOCUMOTIVES. .I I’Nlr. I!PE.

Continuous 14 hr.
rating. rating.
H.P. of locomotive . . . 1,700 2,200
Tractive effort of locomotive lbs. . 28,800 38,400
Speed of locomotive . . . 28m.p.h. 21.5 m p.h.
&faximumspeedof locomotive . . . . 40 m.p.h.
Total weight of locomotive . . . . . 128 tons.
Weight on drivers . . . . . . . 104 tons.

The latest development of the electric locomotive in Switzerland

is on the principle of the Quill Type Drive. Five of these have been
built and running since September last, and four more are under
construction in the Swiss locomotive works a t Wjnterthur. These
rngines, of course, have no side-rods, and it will be interesting to
see how they comparc with the design which np to now has been
universally adopted in Switzerland.
7 . The Italian State Railways employ a ten-coupled electric
locomotive for their freight traffic.
A considerable number of these have been built and put into
service on the electrified lines in the North of Italy. The general
arrangement of these locomotives is shown in outline drawing in
Fig. 8. There are only two motors and these are coupled direct, that
is, without any gearing, to the five driving axles by means of Scotch
yokes and coupling-rods. The following are the principal particulars
of these locomotives :-

Type . . . . . . . 0-104.
Electrical system . . . . ’ (15 to’hlgE&.%cy.
Voltage . . . . . . 3,000 to 3,300.
Total weight . . . . . 60 to 75 tons.
Number of motors . . . . 2.
Total power of motors . . . . 1,850 h.p.
Normal speeds . . . . . 14 and 28 m.p.h.
Wheel diameter . . . . . 424 in.
Total wheel base . . . . . 20 ft.

In addition t o those mentioned above, other designs have been

worked out in which the central feature is a single large motor, or
a pair of large motors, mounted in the body of the locomotive, the
drive being transmitted to several coupled axles by vertical or
inclined connecting-rods and one or two jack-shafts. These
locomotives are not built on the bogie principle, the body being
carried direct by the framework, which rests on the axle-boxes of
the driving axles.

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JUNEIW?. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 751
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762 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. .ll xr4 1922.

In coniparirig thcsc various tlcsigns, the first p i n t to be considered

is whether the motors drive direct or through gearing. It must
be remembered that the cost of the motors alonc is something like
30 to 40 per cent of the total cost of the locomotive. Any design,
therefore, which leads to an unnecessarily large and costly motor
is clearly at a disadvantage. For a given horse-power the lightest
and cheapest motor is in general the motor which runs at the
highest speed. For a freight locomotive a suitable motor speed can
only be obtained by the use of gearing, unless the motor armature
has a diameter about twice that of the driving-wheel. The latter
alternative leads to a very unwieldy and expensive design. The
majority of recent designs for freight locomotives make use of
geared motors, whether they are geared direct to the driving axles
or transmit their power through jack-shafts and coupling-rods. In
the Author’s opinion, the employment of gearing which is now
highly efficient and has a long life, is an essential feature of a
satisfactory design.
The use of cranks and side-rods for a freight loconiotive is clearly
not a necessity, either for British railways where comparatively
light trains have to be hauled, or in other countries, such as the
United States, where the stronger drawgear niakes it possible to
deal with much heavier trains. The design of the Paulista locomotive
referred to above, in which three-axle bogies are employed, each
axle driven by its own motor, is one example of what can be done
in the way of high-powcred locomotives without having recourse
to cranks and coupling-rods. Another example is the design adopted
for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad.
The advocates of transmission by some form of coupling-rod
contend that it reduces the proportion of dead weight on the track,
as the whole weight of the motor is carried by springs, and that
by grouping two, three or more axles together [Link] connecting them
to one or two motors, it enables larger and therefore, pro rata,
cheaper motors to be employed than would be possible with
individual drive.
The importance of keeping down the dead weight has been
overestimated. It is obvious, of course, that the less the dead
weight the easier is the locomotive on the track a t the joints and
crossings. It should be remembered, however, that the track has
to withstand the shocks due to the passage of the whole train, not
only of the locomotive. A full-sized train (on the British railways)
will contain upwards of 100 axles without counting those of the
locomotive, and it is difficult to believe that a little extra dead
weight on the four axles of the locomotive alone will make any

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appreciable diffcreiiuc t o tht: \ v c ~ ranti tcar of the track. It is much
more likely that the life of the rails will be determined by the
gradual wearing away of the head of the rail and in places by the
reduction in area due to flange friction.
It must be remembered that on stcarn locomotives designed
for freight service the dead weight on a pair of driving-wheels is
as much as 4 tons, with a wheel diameter of about 4 ft. 6 in.
(For steam passenger loconiotives having 6 ft. 8 in. driving-wheels
the dead weight may be as much as 6 tons.) For an electric freight
locomotive, such as that built by the North Eastern Railway for
the Shildon-Newport line, the dead weight with 48-in. wheels is
not more than 4& tons.
As to the advantage obtainable by the use of one or two large
motors, instead of two or four smaller motors, while it is quite true
that, other things being equal, the cost per horse-power falls as the
size increascs, the difference in favour of the larger motor is more
than offset by the extra cost of the incchanical parts, due to the
provision of the jack-shaft with its cranks and bearings, and the
various coupling-rods with their bearings. In addition to this the
framework of the bogie or truck carrying the axle and jack-shaft
bearings must be fnade specially strong and massive to stand up
to the reciprocating stresses inherent in this system of drive.
The experience with the locomotives on the Norfolk and Western
Railroad, where, in consequence of fractures, the bogie frames had
practically to be redesigned and rebuilt, is a practical proof of this.
Trouble of a similar nature has been experienced on other locomotives
in which Scotch yokes are employed.
Quite apart from the increase in first cost of thelocomotive,
arising from the introduction of cranks, jack-shafts, Scotch yokes
and coupling-rods, the question of maintenance cost is a matter of
great importance. For satisfactory operation, it is essential that
the jack-shaft bearings should be kept in proper adjustment and
good condition, and the permissible wear of the brasses is small.
If the locomotives have to coiiie in frequently for adjustment of
these bearings and for relining the brasses, etc., the cost of
maintenance is considerably increased. Electric locomotives should
be regarded as being fit for the road a t all times, subject to proper
arrangements being made for lubrication, attention to the brakes
and periodical cleaning, inspection and turning of tyres.
Taking all the foregoing points into account, the Author is
definitely of opinion that for the conditions which apply to British
railways, the most suitable and satisfactory arrangement for an
electric freight locomotive is the double bogie design with two four-

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754 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. ,ll~xi,:l!W

wheel bogies articulated together, each bogie containing two niotors

geared to the two axles without any form of coupling-rod transmission.
Where conditions differ from those on the British railways, that
is, where the strength of the drawgear permits a greater drawbar
pull, a similar arrangement, but with three axle-bogies, would seem
to be the best, provided there is no objection to a rigid wheel-base
of about 14 ft. As an alternative, if this wheel-base is considered
too long by reason of the curves on the track, the same general
scheme of articulated bogies and individual geared motors can be
adopted by designing the locomotive in one way or another with
a sufficient number of four-wheel bogies. For example, if a short
wheel-base is essential and the desired tractive effort makes it
necessary to have 180 tons on the drivcrs, three double-bogie
locomotives can be coupled together and operated as one.

Passe,i,qer Locomotives.-While it may be possible to go sonir

way in the direction of standardizing the design of locomotives
intended for freight-work, it is hardly possible to arrive at any
definite conclusion in regard to the best design of locomotive for
all sorts of passenger traffic. There are several reasons for this. In
the first place, the weights of trains vary considerably, as also the
speed and the nature of the line, the gradients, etc. For example, on
the Chicago, Illilwankee and St. Paul Railroad, the daily trains
generally consist of twelve coaches, weighing on the average 70 to
76 tons each, and these have to be hauled up gradients as steep as
1 in 45. Partly on account of these gradients and partly because
of the curvature of the line, the speed of these trains seldom rises
much above 45 miles per hour, although where circumstances permit
higher speeds can be and are reached. On the British railways
much lighter coaches are in use, and the average number of coaches
in a train is probably not more than eight or nine. Speeds also
vary, some expresses maintaining a speed of over 60 miles per hour
for considerable distances, while local trains average about 30 miles
per hour with frequent stops.
Secondly, many discussions have taken place as to the behaviour
of locomotives of different designs when running a t high speeds,
such as those frequently attained on British railways. A
locomotive of unsuitable design map start oscillating or “ nosing,”
and the oscillations may reach such a degree as to injure the track
or the locomotive. A number of special designs have been evolved
with a view to the avoidance of these oscillations, but it cannot
be said that there is yet any complete understanding as to the
origin of the trouble, or agreement as to the best way of guarding
aqainst it. This point is discussed in more detail below.

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 Dealing first with the requirements for a standard passenger
locomotive for the British railways, there are the following points
to take into account :-
1. Is i t necessary that there should be more than one class of
locomotive for all kinds of passenger traffic ?
2. If on0 class is sufficient, for what tractive effort and speed
should the locomotive be designed, and can it be economically used
for goods traffic when necessary ?
I n regard to t h e first question, it may seem at first sight obviously
wrong to have only one class of locomotive for heavy fast expresses,
and for light local trains. A locomotive for heavy express work is
necessarily somewhat expensive, and it is clearly not economical
to use it regularly for light duty. On the other hand, there is a good
deal of advantage in keeping down as much as possible the number
of classes of locomotive.
The answer t o this question, a t all events, for the conditions on
British railways, is to use the same engine for all expresses and fast
trains running considerable distances without stopping, including
all passenger trains which run beyond the limits of any electrified
section, and to equip a sufficient number of trains as multiple unit
trains without locomotives for the local passenger service. If this
is done, the advantages of electrification can be obtained for both
classes of passenger traffic economically and conveniently.
As a, reply t o the second question, some particulars may be
given of the capacity of the passenger locomotive which has just
been completed by the North Eastern Railway for experimental
purposes. Full particulars of this engine are given below, and the
general design may be seen from the outline drawing in Fig. 13.
(page 761). The conditions specified for the electrical equipment
are as follows :-
1. The adhesion weight of the locomotive will be not less than
17 tons per driving axle, and the complete electrical equipment
shall be such that the motors can exert sufficient torque t o skid
the wheels without injury to themselves or to any part of the
equipment.
2. The motors shall be able to exert a total average tractive
effort of 16,000 lb. at the tread of the driving-wheels when starting
under normal conditions on level track.
3. The capacity of the complete equipment shall be sufficient
to enable the locomotive when coupled to a train weighing 450 tons
to start from rest on a rising gradient of 1 in 78 and accelerate up
to the first economical running speed without injury t o any part of
the equipment.

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 4. The speed of the niotors and gcaring shall not exceed the
limits of safety when the locomotive is travelling at 90 miles per
hour.
5. The locomotive shall be capable of hauling a train of fourtren
main line coaches weighing, with load, 450 tons, at not less than
65 miles per hour on straight level track.
As will be seen from the schedule of particulars below, the
electrical equipment consists of three pairs of motors, each motor
having a capacity of 300 h.p., so that the total capacity of the
locomotive (one hour rating) is 1,800 h.p., measured a t the tread of
the wheels.
The use of three pairs of motors enables a wide range of speed
to be obtained, as in the freight locomotive for the Paulista Railway
mentioned above, by grouping the six motors-(1) all in series ;
(2) three in series, two in parallel ; (3) two in series, three in parallel.
With each grouping provision is niade in the control equipment for
regulating the speed by reducing the excitation of the motor fields.
Thus there are for each grouping four different degrees of excitation,
namely, full field, 18 per cent reduction, 31 per cent reduction, and
40 per cent reduction, 'With this arrangement twelve different
speeds are available for any particular value of the tractive effort.
The performance curves, showing the relation between speed and
tractive effort, as determined by workshop tests, are given in Fig. 9.
From these curves it will be seen that the maximum tractive
effort corresponding to a speed of 65 miles par hour is 8,400 lb. or
32 tons. The tractive resistance of the locomotive alone at this
speed; including that due to windage, should not be more than about
1,600 Ib. The drawbar pidl would therefore be about 6,800 lb.,
equivalent to about 15 lb. per ton for a 450-ton train. This should
be ample to maintain a speed of 65 miles per hour on the level under
any ordinary conditions of weather.
Referring again to the performance curves in Fig. 9, it will be
seen that a tractiveeffort of 8,000 to 10,000 lb. can be obtained a t
a speed of 31 to 34 miles per hour. Allowing, say, 900 lb. for the
tractive resistance of the locomotive alone, the drawbar pull
avaiIable at a speed suitable for goods train working is about
7,000 to 9,000 lb. This should be quite sufficient for a train of 600
tons. The speed of such a train np a 1 in 100 gradient would be
about 24 miles per hour, which corresponds closely to the conditions
of operation already advocated above in connexion with the design
of a standard freight locomotive. A goods train of 600 tons is a
reasonable load for a return trip of a passenger engine on a section
in which the ruling gradient is about 1 in 100. It would be hardly

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 J U N E 192. ELECTRIC LoCOMO?'~VES. 757

worth while, from a traffic point of view, to occupy the line with a
smaller train than this, a t all events if the line is working anywhere
near its full capacity, and it would be better to let the passenger
locomotive lie-over until required t o work a return trip with a
passenger train.
The following brief reference may be made to locomotives that
have been designed and built for express passenger traffic. Those
which are not intended for high-speed running are not included,
as no special problem is raised in the design of engines for hauling

rR&CTI"E FIG.9.-Tructive Effort-Speed Curves

, +FORT.
for 4-6-4 Electric Passenger Locomotive, North Eastern Ruilwa?J.
LW.

M ~ L EPIR~ HOUR.

passenger trains up steep gradients a t comparatively low speed.

Three distinct types may be mentioned differing in the method of
drive, namely :-
(a) Geared locomotives with twin motors and quills.
(b) Gearless locomotives with the motor armatures built on the driving
axles.
(c) Gearless locomotives with transmission by connecting rods.
(a) Of the first type there are three examples, namely, the
passenger locomotives of the New York, New Haven and Hartford

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755 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. Jusv lD'L?.

Railroad, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, and the
North Eastern Railway respectively. In each case the motors are
grouped in sets of three pairs, in the first two there being two such
groups and in the third only one. Each pair of motors is mounted
in the locomotive framework immediately above the corresponding
driving axle. Concentric with this axle is a hollow shaft or quill,
carrying at each end a spider. The arms of this spider mesh with
the spokes of the driving-wheels and are connected to them by
springs called " the quill springs." The quill carries a gear-wheel
which engages with the two pinions of the pair of motors. The quill
runs in " suspension bearings which form part of theniotor frame,
)'

and the distance between the gear centres is thus definitely

maintained. This arrangement allows a pair of motors t o be geared
to a singlc driving axle through a flexible connexion, allowing the
axle to move up and down on the axle-box guides without
transmitting the movement t o the motors. The dead weiglit on the
track is therefore reduced to the minimum. The general arrangement
of each of these threc locomotives will be seen from the outline
drawings in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, and the principal particulars are
given in the Table on page 759.
Each of these locomotives is equipped with a small boiler specially
provided for producing the steam necessary for the heating of the
passenger coaches. On the first two locomotives this boiler is fired
by oil-fuel. On the locomotive built by the North Eastern Railway
a specially designed boiler has been installed in which steam is
produced electrically. So far as is known, this is the first electric
boiler used for this purpose in which the heating elements are
designed for direct current a t a pressure of 1,500 volts. Electric
boilers have been in service for some years on lines electrified on
the alternating current system, where, of course, it is a simple matter
t o provide a small step-down transformer so that the necessary
electrical energy niay be supplied to the boiler a t a suitable low
pressure. To do the same thing on a 1,500 volt d.c. circuit would
require the provision in the locomotive of a motor generator of
about 300 kilowatts capacity. Such a motor generator would, of
course, be an unwelcome addition t o the electrical equipment of
the locomotive. For this reason there is a definite advantage in the
use of a boiler which is suitable for the line pressure of 1,500 volts.
The boiler is of the fire-tube type, each tube containing a heating
element consisting of a tube of quartz in the interior of which there
is a spiral of high resistance wire. The boiler contains in all 144 of
these elements, and switchgear is provided so that the nurnber of
elements in circuit can he reduced as desired when the full output

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Jrrss l!l22. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 759

is not required from the boiler. The maximum output is about

1,000 lb. of steam per hour a t a pressure of 120 lb. per sq. in.
( b ) Of the second type there are two well-known examples,

N.Y., N.H. C., hf. and N.E.R.

and H. St. P.

Wheel arrangemelit . . 2-6-2t-2-6-2 1-6-2+2-6-4 4-6-4

Electrical system

Voltage . . .
'

.
I T>. C. and
(Single F'h.)
600 and 11,00(
)irect Current

3,000
rect Curren

1,500
Length overall . . . 69 ft. 0 iii. SY ft. 7 in. 53 ft. 6 in.

Width overall . . . 10 ft. 2 in. 11 ft. Ojin. 3 ft. 10 in.

Height, pantograph locked

down .
. . . il 14 ft. 2 in. 17 ft. 0 in. 3 ft. 0g in.

Driving wheel diameter . 63 in. 68 in. SO in.

Pony wheel diameter . 36 in. 36 in. 432 in.

Rigid wheel base . . 14 ft. 3 in. 16 ft. 9 in. 16 ft. 0 in.

Weight of locomotive . 161 tons. 245 tons. 102 tons.

Weight per driving axle . 18 tons. 25 tons. tons 10 cwtr

One hour rating-
Tractive effort . . 21,000 lb. 66,000 lb. 15,900 lb.

Speed . . . . 45.6 n1.p.h. 23.8 m.p.11. 43 m.p.h.

Horse-power . . . 2,550 4,200 1,800

Continuous rating-
Tractive effort . . 14,500 lb. 40,800 lb. 9,480 lb.

Speed . . . . 52.5 m.p.11. 30.4 m.p.h. 1.5 m.p.h.

Horse-poner . . . 2,025 3,400 1,300

namely, the passenger locomotives on the New York Central

Railroad, and t h e Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad.
The special feature of both these locomotives is the design and
arrangenient of the motors. Each armature is built direct on its
driving axle, thus elirninahg altogether all gearing, armature

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3
C
D
t-
 4

-
53-.6

FIG.13.--New York Central Railroad. Gearless Drive Electric Locomotive. 4-4-4-4 Type.

W
M
763 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. JL.11.: l!,?L'.

bearings, armature shafts, etc., incidental to other designs. The

rest of the motor, that is, the magnetic circuit with the fieId coils,
is built into the structure of the bogie or truck frame, and the poles,
of which there are only two, arranged on the horizontal axis, are
specially shaped to allow the armature to move up and down with
the driving axle without fouling the pole-tips.
The general arrangement of each of these locomotives is shown
in Figs. 13 and 14. The New York Central locomotive, which has
replaced an earlier type of gearless locomotive now used for shunting
operations, has eight axles, all driven. The body is carried by pivots
on two trucks, articulated a t their inner ends. Each truck has two
fixed driving axles and a four-wheeled bogie. The Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul Railroad locomotive consists also of two trucks, but
in this case each truck has four axles and a three-axle bogie, the
latter containing two driving axles and one guiding axle. Each
of the two trucks carries a superstructure containing the electrical
control apparatus, and between these two superstructures is
suspended a central body containing the boiler required for heating
the passenger coaches by steam.
The principal particulars of these two locomotives are given
in the Table on page 763.
(c) Of the third type, namely, that in which the torque is
transmitted to the driving-axles by means of cranks and coupling-
rods, only three will be mentioned, namely, the Pennsylvania
Railroad locomotives, built in 1910, the passenger locomotive built
for the Dessau-Bitterfeld section of the Prussian State Railways
in 1912, and the locomotives recently built by the Paris-Orleans
Railway for the line Paris-Quai d'0rsay to Juvisy. A good many
other locomotives have been built in the last ten or twelve years
of this general type, which are used for hauling passenger trains,
such as those on the Italian State Railways, the Loetschberg
Railway, the Swiss Federal Railways, and elsewhere, but in no
case is the average speed over considerable distances above or equal
to 60 miles per hour.
The general arrangement of each of the three locomotives
mentioned above is shown in the outline drawings, Figs. 15, 16,
and 17. The Pennsylvania locomotive consists of two 4 4 0 engines
short-coupled back to back, each engine containing a single motor
driving by means of inclined coupling-rods, a jack-shaft and
horizontal rods.
The Dessau-Bitterfeld locomotive has a wheel arrangement
4-4-2, and contains a single motor driving by means of vertical rods,
a jack-shaii and horizontal rods.

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JI'NE 19??. ELECTRtC LOCOMOTIVES. 763

The Paris-Orleans loconiotive has a wheel arrangement 2-8-2,

and contains two motors which drive through inclined and
horizontal coupling-rods.

New Tork Central C.,M. and St. P.

Railroad. Railroad.

Wheel arrangement . . . 4-4-4-4 2- 4-8-8-4-2

Electrical system . . . Direct current Direct current
Voltage . . . . . 600 3,000
Length overall . . . . 57 ft. 0 in. 76 ft. 0 in.
Width overall . . . . 10 ft. 14 in. 10 ft. 0 in.,

Height, pantograph locked down . 14 ft. G in. 16 ft. 8 in.

Driving wheel diameter . . 3 G in. 44 in.

Pony wheel diameter . . . None 36 in.

Rigid wheel base . . . 6 ft. G in. 13 ft. 9 in.
Total wheel base . . . . 46 ft. Sin. 67 ft. 0 in.
Weight of locomotive . . . 118 tons 236 tons

Weight per driving axle . . 14.75 tons 17 tons

One hour rating-
Tractive effort . . . . 20,000 11). 46,000 Ib.
Speed . . . . . 49 n1.p.h. 27'5 m.p.11.
Horse-power . . . . 2,000 3,480
Continuous rating-
Tractive effort . , . . 14,000 I b. 32,000 lb.
Speed . . . . . 58.3 m.p.h. 37'8 m.p.h.
Horse-power . . . . a , 000 3,200

The principaI particulars of the locomotives of this type are

given in the Table on page 765.
It may he of interest t o compare the performance curves of the
locomotives described above. For this purpose the Author has put
together in one diagram, Fig. 18, the curves of tractive effort against
3 3 2

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764 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. JUNE 1922.
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JUNE1922. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 765

speed for the maximum condition of output for all the locomotives
of which particulars have been given above, with the exception
of the quill drive locomotive for the New York, New Haven and
Hartford Railroad, of which the Author has been unable t o
obtain the performance curves.
This comparison will bring out the fact that these engines differ
considerably in their capabilities in respect of both the load to be
hauled and the speed a t which the trains will travel.
~

'ennsylvania. Dessau- 'aris-Orleani

Bitterfeld.

Wheel arrangement . . L-4-O+O-4-4 4-4-2 2-6-2

Electrical system . - birect Current

Single Ph.
15 cycles
'
,
)ired Curren

Voltage . . . . 600 10,000 600

Length overall . . . 64 ft. 11 in. 41 ft. 0 in. 40 ft. 0 in.

Width overall . . . 10 ft. 6 in. 9 ft. 11in. 10 ft. 2 in.

Driving-wheel diameter . 72 in. 63 in. 59 in.
Pony wheel diameter . 36 in. 303 in. 33$8 in.
Rigid wheel base . . 7 ft. 2 in. - 5 ft. 9 in.
Weight of locomotive . 140 tons 72-25 tons 85.6 tons
Weight per driving axle . 21-75 tons 15'125 tons 16.8 tons
One hour rating- . .
Tractive effort . . 20,150 12,000 -
Speed . . . . 32.6 31.3 -
Horse-power . . . 1,750 1,000 2,000

For example, the quill-drive locomotive employed for passenger

work on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad has a tractive
effort of only 7,200 lb. a t a speed of 65 miles per hour as compared
with 8,400 lb. a t the same speed for the North Eastern Railway
locomotive, in spite of the fact that the latter has only six 300-h.p.
motors, whereas the former has twelve motors each of 350 h.p. On
the other hand, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul locomotive,

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having approxiniately three times as much wcight on the driving-
wheels as the North Eastern Railway locomotive, is able to exert
a far greater tractive effort a t low speeds, and in fact is intended
principally for hauling trains of about 800 tons u p gradients as
steep as 1in 45.
A comparison of these various curves shows that the North
Eastern Railway locomotive is well adapted t o deal with the loads
for which it is intrndcd, and a t the specds a t which it is desired to
run, without being heavier or morc powerful tlian is necessary for
this duty.

Wliile it is clcar, tliereforc, that all these locoiuotivos are not

equally w d l suitctl t o meet the requirciricnts of exprms passwg?r
trafbc on tlic British railways, i t does not iollow that a suit,ablc
1 ocoriiotivc cannot bc designed eirlbodying any one of the systems
of drive peculiar t o the three general types mentioned above.
’Whatever the incrits or denierits of type ( a ) tjlie particulars already
given of the locomotive just completed by the North E a s t e h
Railway show that the tractive effort and speed characteristics
desired can be obtained without difficulty. .Equally with type ( b )
the same characteristics can be obtained by proper design of the
motors and the dianieter of the driving-wheels. The arrangement
of drive lends itself well to high-speed running. The higher the speed

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the greatcr the peripheral velocity of the motor armature mounted
direct on the driving-axle, and consequently better use is made
of the active material of the motor. As an illustration of this point
it may be mentioned that about the time when the order for the
electrical equipment for the North Eastern Railway passenger
locomotive was placed with the Metropolitan-Vickers Co., a proposal
was submitted by the General Electric Co., U.S.A., for a locomotive
with direct drive gearless motors to conform to the same specification.
For various reasons it was decided t o postpone the building of this
second engine, but the following particulars of the design may be

FIG.17.-Paris and Orlcans Railwag. Electric Locomotivc. 2-8-2 Typo.

Q L 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 be 22 24 26
I / ! , I I I I I I J I I I I I I I I I I I I IlFEEr
I METRES
0 I 2 3 4 6 0 7

of interest, the general arrangement being sliown in the outline

drawing, Rig. 19.
So far as type ( c ) is concerned, naincly, the design in which
coupled \ v l d s arc driven by cranks and rods, it is obviously a
simple matter to provide for any desired tractive cffort-speed
characteristic by a proper selection of the diameter of the driving-
wheels and a suitable design of the driving motor or motors. There
need be no gearing, and there is therefore no limitation in respect
of gear-velocity 6 be taken into account. If a high speed is desired
it is a simple matter to increase the wheel-diameter, keeping the
crank radius the same.
It is clear, therefore, that so far as the system of driveis concerned
any one of the three general schcmes referred t o above can be selected.

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768 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. ,JUXE 1924.

FIG.18.--Tractive-Effort Speed-Curves of Electric Passenger Locomotives.

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 FIG.19.-PToposed North E a s t e m Railzcay. Gearless Electric Locomofive. 4-6-6-4 Type.

Wheel arrangement . . . . . . 4-6-6-4. Total wheel base . . . . . . 52 ft. 8 in.

Electrical system . . . . . . Direct current. Weight of Locomotive (approximately) . . 105 tons.
Voltage . . . . . . . . 1,500. Weight on driving wheels (approximately) . . 67 tons.
Length overall . . . . . . . 62 ft. 8 in. Number of motors . . . . . . 5.
Driving wheel diameter . . . . . 42 in. Horse-power per motor (one hour rating) . . 300.
Bogie wheel diameter . . . . . . 42 in. Tractive effort (onehour rating) . . . . 14,000 lb.
Rigid wheel base . . . . . . 8 ft. 4 in. Speed (one hour rating) . . . . . 47 m.p.h. 4
eD .
Q
770 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. Jt:xa 1922.

Apart from this, however, there are two questions to consider,

namely-
1. Is there any outstanding advantage in any one of the three
types over the others ?
2. What should be the general mechanic,al arrangenient of an
express passenger locomotive to suit the requirements of British
railways Z
In view of the small experience which has so far been acquired
of working express passenger traffic by electric locomotives, it is
hardly possible yet to come to any conclusion as to whether one or
other of tlic three types mcntioned above is definitely to be prcferrcd
t o the others. One can safely say that as regards the first two typcs,
namely, the quill drive and the gearless motor, each has its own
good points.
The advantages of the quill drive may be stated as follows :-
The dead weight on the track is rcduced to the miniInnni as the
motor is entirely spring-borne, the motors arc: geared and therefore
can be designed for a satisfactory peripheral speed, thus enabling
the fullest use to be made of the active maherial, and finally the
centre of gravity of the complete loconiotive is reasonably high,
owing to the use of driving-wheels of large dianietcr and the mounting
of the niotors above the centres of the driving axles.
For example, on the 4-6-4 locomotive, built by the North
Eastern Railway, tlie dead weight per axle consists only of the two
driving-wheels and the axle, which weigh 4 tons 15 cwt., and as the
diameter of thc driving-wheels is 6 ft. 8 in. the effect of this dead
weight on the track will be much less than in another case, where
the weizht might be tlie same and the diameter of the driving-wheels,
say, 4 ft. On t h e same locomotive the peripheral velocity of the
arniatures corresponding to a locomotive specd of 75 miles per hour
is 5,560 ft. per minute, and the centre of gravity of the coniplete
locomotive is about 4 ft. 10 in. above rail level.
On the other hand, the advantages of the gearless locornotive
are as follows :-
The elect,rical equipment is extrenlely sinqrle, there being no
gearing, no special armature shafts, armature bearings, susl3cnsion
bearings, etc. There is also no necessity for the expensive quill with
the spiders and quill-springs. These points tend t,o compensate for
the higher cost of the motor itself which, by reason of its low
peripheral speed, is coniparatively expensive. It is also claimed tliat
the simplicity of the electrical arrangements leads t o a lower cost
of maintenance than is possible with any form of geared motor,
combined with quill drive.

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rllwlr:I?;?. ELECTftlC LOCOMOTIVES. 771

For example, in the gearless locomotive, which t,he General

Electric Co. proposed to supply to the North Eastern Railway, the
dead weight per axle with driving-wheels of only 42 in. would
be 3 tons, and the peripheral velocity of the arniature at a
locomotive speed of 75 miles l)er hour would be only 3,540 f t . per
minute.
In regard t o the third type, namely, that in which the power is
transmitted t o the driving-wheels by means of cranks and coupling-
rods, the view has already been cxpressed in reference to the freight
loconiotives that there arc inhcrent disadvantages in the use of
coupling-rods from which other forms of transniission are free. For
express passenger locomotives it may be claimed that owing t o the
higher speed i t is easier t o run the armatures a t the desired high
peripheral velocity without the use of gearing. This, however, can
only be done by the use of comparatively small driving-wheels which,
with t,heir cranks, must revolve a t a speed considerably above that
in common practice with steam locomotives.
As the revolving masses of the cranks, coupling-rods, etc., cannot
be exactly counter-balanced, this high-speed is liable to give rise
to considerable vertical oscillations. It may be that by careful
design a suitable locomotive could be constructed on this principle
which would run a t the speeds required for express passenger traffic
on British railways, but even if this were successful there is still the
drawback that the maintenance cost of the various crank-pin
bearings, jack-shaft bearings, etc., would be unduly high. In the
Author’s opinion, therefore, the choice a t present lies between the
first two types, namely, the quill-drive and the gearless locomotive,
and further experience is necessary before any decisive opinion
can be expressed as to which of these two types is t o be
preferred.
The question as to tshemost satisfactory mcchanical arrangement
of an exprcss passenger loconiotive for the British railways niust
be considered in reference t o the discussion, which has bcen
occupying the attention of railway engineers for some time now,
in regard to the possibility of oscillations or nosing of the locomotive
when running a t high speeds. Experience in the United States with
various designs of locomotives, we are assured, has proved that an
electric locomotive cannot be expected t o travel satisfactorily a t
such speeds as we are considering, say, 70 t o 75 miles per hour, if
the wheel arrangement is symmetrical. Por exaniple, a 4-6-2
locomotive might perhaps be satisfactory, whereas a 4-64
locomotive would be unsatisfactory. This, of course, is an important
point if one bears in mind that one of the advantages of electric

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772 ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. J U N B 1!l22.

working is that there is no necessity for turning the locomotive

a t the end of each journey. This is only possible if the locomotive
can run equally well in both directions. For such speeds as we are
considering it might be quite satisfactory t o run a 4-6-2 locomotive
with the bogie leading, but not with the bogie trailing, and therefore
it is desirable that in whichever direction the locomotive runs there
should be a bogie leading. Engineers in the United States who have
considered this matter, advocate a construct,ion which, while not
symmetrical, does provide for a bogie a t each end of the locomotive.
For this purpose they recommend one or other of the various
designs which are based on the articulation of two locomotives back
to back. Thus, for example, they have suggested a t one time and
another locomotives having wheel arrangements 4-6-0 0-6-4, +
with the idea that while the locomotive, considered as a whole, is
symmetrical, each part of the locomotive is unsymmetrical, and that
therefore each part will run satisfactorily without setting up violent
oscillations of the locomotive as a whole.
It is difficult to find any satisfactory explanation of the
difficulties which have been experienced in the United States in
this direction, especially in view of the fact that there are on the
British and Continental railways already a fair number of
symmetrical locomotives which are capable of running a t high
speeds. Before coming t o any decision to build the 4-6-4,electric
locomotive for the North Eastern Railway, the Author inquired aLq
to the behaviour of the steam locomotives possessed by the Chemins
de fcr du Nord of the 4-6-4 type, and Mr. Briville, the chief engineer
of the company, kindly wrote saying tha.t experience showed that
their locomotives of this design were capable of attaining a maximum
speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour) without
experiencing any difficulty in regard to oscillation.
On the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway they have for
some years run engines of the symmetrical type (4-6-4), and Mr.
Billinton states that he has made oscillation tests which have shown
satisfactory results.
The North Eastern Railway have a 4-4-4 symmetrical type
which has run up to 70 miles per hour without finding any ill
effects.
In view of this, it is evident that there must be some cause
which gives rise to violent oscillations on symmetrical electric
locomotives when running in the United States, which are absent
when symmetrical steam locomotives are run in Europe. It may
be argued that although the wheel arrangement of the steam
locomotives mentioned is strictly symmetrical, the distribution of

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JUNE192'3. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 773

the weight in the superstructure of the steam locomotive is

unsymmetrical. The Author does not consider, however, that this
can make any substantial difference in the behaviour of the
locomotive. It appears to him that the oscillations can only arise
from the fact that there is a periodic disturbance tending to set up
horizontal oscillations, the frequency of this disturbance being the
same as the natural frequency of the locomotive in oscillating in a
horizontal plane. As soon as these two frequencies coincide, the
oscillations tend to increase until they become dangerous. This
natural frequency of the locomotive, however, while it may possibly
bc slightly changed by an unsymmetrical distribution of the masses
on the locomotive superstructure, cannot certainly be eliminated,
so that any such distribution might possibly affect the speed a t which
these violent oscillations occur without in any way eliminating the
tendency to oscillate.
There is no doubt a good deal yet to be learned about the
behaviour of electric locomotives of a symmetrical arrangement
when running a t high speeds, but he ventures t o suggest that one
possible cause of the trouble experienced in the United States and
from which the European railways seen1 to be free, is that on
practically all the railwayq in the United States the rail joints are
staggered, whereas on the British railways, and he understands, on
the French railways also, the rail-joints are opposite to each other.
This staggering of the joints in the United Ststes must set up
a periodic disturbing force both horizontal and vertical. The
frequency of this disturbance will depend entirely upon the speed
a t which the locomotive travels. If the design of the locomotive
is such that its own natural frequency corresponds to the frequency
of this disturbance a t a fairly high speed, then the oscillations set
up will tend to become violent. With rail-joints opposite each other
as they are on the British and French railways, the same periodic
disturbing force cannot be set up, and any oscillation of the
locomotive which may arise from any local cause would tend t o
die out immediately after it has started. The whole question,
however, is one of considerable difficulty, but it is hoped that after
extended trials of the 4-6-4 locomotive on the North Eastern
Railway the Author will be able to express a more definite opinion.
Without going too much into details of design, the Author has
endeavoured to point out the principal features of the various
designs now in use, and t o show reasons for the conclusion he has
come to in recommending certain designs as being most suitable
for the work on British railways. It is important, however, that the
types should be as few as possible from an economic point of view,

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774 ELECTRIC LOCOXOTIYES. JII" IW.

and he considers that i t is possible t o confine these t o within five

separate designs.
In conclusion, the Author wishes t o take this opportunity of
thanking Mr. P. Lydall for the very valuable assistance he has given
him in connexion with this Paper.
The Paper is illustrated by 19 Pigs.

Discussion.
The PRESIDENT said that he (The Prcsidcnt) was, to a certain
estent, responsible for thc Paper having been written. It was
extrcmely kind of such a busy nian as Sir Vincent Raven to prepare
this admirable Paper, and the trouble he had taken woiild be
more fully rcalized when the diagrams, that were hanging upon the
walls of the Merting Room, were inspected. The subject of the
Paper was one of the greatest interest all over the world, particularly
in France.

Sir VINCENTRAVEN,K.B.E., after reading his Paper, said that

the question of the electric express passenger engine t o deal with
the speeds which mcre now undertaken by the steam-engine, was one
which was, to D certain extent, in a n experimental stage. No
electric engincs were running at thc present time, so far as he knew,
at the same high speccis as steam passenger locomotives in Great
Britain, but he did not see any reason why it should riot be possible
to build a n electric engine which could run a t speeds of from 35 miles
to 90 miles a n hour, which the express passenger engine on his line
had been designed to perform. The diagrams showed very clearly
the different combinations with the field motor control.
The engine to which he liad referred was now running, and a n
experimental trip had been madc with it over 1,he heavy mineral line
between Shildon-Newport on a gradient rising all t h e way. A train
which weighed sonic 460 tons and in which there were sevcnteen
vehicles without the locomotive was talrcn up the gradient of 1 in
103 a t a n average speed of 42 miles a n hour, the average draw-bar
pull a t that speed b(4ng 6.6 tons. On a gradient of 1 in 300, a speed
of 58 miles a n hour was attained, the draw-bar pull heing about
5 tons. The average draw-bax pull on the locomotive over the whole
gradient, which was a very heavy rise froin Shildon t o Nrwport of
about 400 feet in a distance of 18 m h , wag ncarly 56 tons. IIe

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.rTlVE 1 ~ 2 . DISCUSSION ON ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 775

had never been able to produce results like that with a steam
locomotive, and it led him to lue1it:ve from the experimental work
that had been carried out in a comparatively short time, that when
the main line was equipped electrically, the electric engine would
accomplish everything that it had been hoped it would do.
C'onditioiis in England, a t the prtxsent moment, did not :illow
of railway companies spending a large amount of capital, and for that
reason, the electrification of the main line of the North Eastern
Railway, which the Directors of tht. Company had decided t o carry
out, had been postponed. It was his misfortune t h a t he had got t h e
locomotive built before thta line was equipped for it. The engine
was designed for 1,500 volts, and the electric lines round Newcastle
were only installed for 600 volts, and he was thervfore dependent
upon this short line upon which to make liis trials. He had every
reason t o believe that when the main line was equipped, the engine
would do what it had been designed t o accomplish, and it would be
something that the steam-locomotive had nwer been able to attain.

The PRESIDENT said he was sure the Metnbers would agree with
him that it was itnpossible that justice could be done to the discussion
of the Paper a t the present Neeting, and that it should be discussed
a t a Meeting in London. The Author would very much like to hear
the experience of some of his French confrkres on the subject of the
Paper, and he hoped they would take the opportunity of speaking,
as probably they would not be able to attend the London Meeting.

M. MAURIPE LACOIN(Paris-Orlbans Railway), said he had had

some experiencc with electric loroniotives, because the Paris-
Orl6ans Railway, of which he was tht. Chief Mechanical Engineer,
was now carrying out a big electrification scheme, and he was
therefore much interested in the tests that had been made by the
Author. During the last month his Conipany had ordered 200 dertric
locomotives of the B.B. type for their freight service, and they
thought the type suggested by the Author should be adopted as a
standard for freight engines. He had followed mith much interest
the work done by Sir Vincent Haven in regard to passenger engines,
particularly the very recent tests made on the Shildon-Newport
line. He regretted very much, however, that it had been impossible
to make the tests on a longer line.
The Paris-OrlBans Company had also been confronted with the
same problem as that which had to be faced by the Author of
providing fast and powerful passenger engines with direct current
at 1,500 volts. I n their opinion, three types were possible: the

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776 DISCUSS~ON ON J c m 19??.

gearless type ; the connecting-rod type ; and geared motors of the

quill type. It was not thought necessary to make tests on the last
type, because the Author was already carrying out tests on that
subject, and he (M. Lacoin) was quite prepared to make use of the
experience obtained thereby. He had therefore ordered ouly two
types of experimental locomotives, namely, one of the gearless, and
two of the connecting-rod type; in the latter, different types of
connecting-rods were used, namely, one on the “ Mikado ” type
recently put into service to the designs of M. Parodi, Chief Electrical
Engineer of the Paris-OrlBans Railway. Locomotives of 3,000 h.p.
were being built, and when trials of them had been made the results
would be compared with those of the Author’s.
He noticed that, for the freight type of locomotive, the Author
had adopted a type with two articulated bogies, the buffers being
on the bogies. Had the Author any reason for thinking that for
the powers used in Europe it was necessary to have the buffers
on the bogies ? I n his own Company the engineers were not quite
clear that it was necessary, and the buffers had been put on the
body of the locomotive because they thought it wa8 simpler.

Professor F. C. LEA, O.B.E., [Link]., said he desired to ask a

question relative to the very interesting costs given on page 739.
It was stated there that the cost per annum of the electric locomotive
was 2103, compared with 2610 for the steam-locomotive. He
would like to ask whether it was fair to put the figures in that rather
bald way because, after all, the figure for the electric locomotive
only included the actual driving parts comparable with the cylinder
and the motion of the steam-locomotive, and did not include the
costs of any boiler or transmission line. Consequently, for a fair
comparison, he thought the cost of the electric locomotive ought
to include certain costs of the station and of the transmission linp.
He had been very interested in the fact that the Author had
emphasized so much the use of electric locomotives for freight traffic.
So much was heard about the electrification of railways from the
point of view of passenger traffic, that one was liable to overlook
the greater importance of freight traffic on railways.
The question of the height of the centre of gravity of the
locomotive was rather an important one, and he would like to know
whether the locomotive with a connecting-rod had been designed
with that point in view. It was well-known that if a ship had a
rather high centre of gravity it would have a bad pitching motion,
and a locomotive with a low centre of gravity apparently had
rather a bad pitching motion. He presumed there was no difficulty

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Jtm 1922. El.l?CTRIC’ I.OCOJIOTIVR9. 777

with respect to a very high-speed pabbenger locomotive in getting

a sufficiently high centre of gravity from that point of view.
The Author referred (page 752) to the question of the dead-weight
on the wheels. He presumed that the equivalent tractive force
was meant.

Sir VINCENTL. RAVENsaid he meant the absolute dead-weight

on %hewheels ; the weight of the wheels and the crank a x l e e t h e
weight on the rails, and it did not mean the total weight on the rail.

Professor LXA,continuing, said that from the point of view of

any possible changes in the running of the locomotive systenis
on railways, the question of the dead-weight on the wheels must
be a very important one. Civil engineers were all the time demanding
that the weights on the driving wheels should not be more than a
certain amount, which meant that the cross girders of the bridges
should not be overloaded, neither did they want more than a certain
equivalent load on their bridges, that is, within a certain length of
wheel-base more than a certain total load. It seemed very possible
that all that was really necessary for the greater tractive power that
was required for greater acceleration, for bigger speeds up inclines
and for greater ultimate speeds could be obtained from the electric
locomotive ; whereas there was no possibility of that with the steam-
locomotive without meeting the serious difficulty of greater loads
on individual axles, which the civil engineers would not face with
any degree of confidence without considerable capital expenditure
on structures. It was an important point that the real hope for
development lay with the electric locomotive.

Mr. LOUGHNAN ST. L. PENDRED (Member of Council) said there

was a point he wished to refer to, which had very little to do with
the Paper, but only with the Author. A sort of impression had
gone abroad that the Author was entirely an electric locomotive man.
He therefore desired to take the opportunity of assuring those of
the Members who were more deeply interested in the old steam-
locomotive than its modern rival that they still had the Author with
them. He thought he was right in saying that Sir Vincent Raven
was a believer in the future of the steam-locomotive for certain
purposes, and, as many of the Members were aware, he was a t
the present moment engaged upon the construction of a steam-
locomotive of considerable power-and he would not say novelty,
because it had been anticipated to a certain extent-but it would
be a very remarkable locomotive in its way. If it were possible
3 F

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778 nlSCUSS1oN O N Jtim 1922.

to have a competition between that new steam-locomotive and

the new electric locomotive, means of comparison would be obtained
which would be of the greatest value. The real point he wished to
bring to the notice of the Members was that they had not yet lost
the Author as a steam-locomotive man.

Sir VINCENTL. RAVEN,in reply, first of all thanked M. Lacoin,

the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Paris-OrlBans Railway, for
the remarks he had made. It had been most interesting to him
to hear the extent to which M. Lacoin agreed with what had been
done on the North Eastern Railway. It had also been most gratifying
to him to know that, so far as the passenger engine was concerned,
he (Sir Vincent) was trying one of the three types to which M.
Lacoin had referred, and that M. Lacoin was going to try the other
two. He extended a very cordial invitation to M. Lacoin to visit
the North Eastern Railway as soon as the main line was equipped,
which he hoped would not be very long deferred ; and he trusted
that M. Lacoin would also invite him to France and give him an
opportunity of seeing what the French engines had accomplished
when they were built.

M. LACOINsaid he would be very glad indeed to extend an

invitation to Sir Vincent Raven to visit the works of his Company.

Sir VINCENT RAVEN,continuing, said he could only say, in

reply to the query M. Lacoin had raised in reference t o the advantage
of putting the buffers on the bogie-frames, that it appeared to he
a better place in view of the very heavy loads and very heavy
buffing shocks that they might have to deal with in connexion with
loose-coupled heavy goods trains. If it had only been passenger
trains, he did not know that it would have been necessary to put
the buffers there, but he thought that a stronger buffing support was
obtained by putting them on the bogie-frames than on the engine
body.
Professor Lea (page 776) criticized the cost of $103 in thecaseof the
electric locomotive as compared with $610 for the steam locomotive,
but it must not be forgotten that the Paper was on the design of
electric locomotives. He had the honour of reading a Paper before
the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders
towards the end of the previous year on the “Electrification of
Railways,” and in that Paper he dealt fully with the whole question
of costs. Professor Lea was perfectly right in the statement that
if the cost of maintaining electric locomotives was being compared

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JIJNH: 1922. RLECTRTC) LOCOMO'I'IVE!B. 779

with the cost of maintaining steam locomotives, it was necessary

to consider the cost of the generating station and substations, the cost
of which was represented in the Board of Trade unit which was
purchased from the supply company. If that unit was bought, all
the generating costs and the substation costs were represented in
it. He had always considered that it was necessary to set off the
cost of the coal against the cost of the electricity put upon the engine.
That cost would include the costs of generating it, in the same way
as the price of coal represented all the costs of taking coal out of the
mine ; and if it was possible to buy the electricity plus the cost of
the maintenance of the equipment of the permanent way a t the
same cost as the coal, then he advocated electrification every time.
The experience obtained on the North-Eastern Railway was that
the price a t which they had been able to arrange to buy their
electricity balanced the cost of the coal for the locomotives, plus
the maintenance of the permanent way. If those factors were
eliminated, they were left with the question of what it cost to maintain
the locomotive on the lines and what it cost to maintain the steam
locomotive on the line. A comparison would then be obtained such
as he had given in the Paper.
There was no doubt that the question of the centre of gravity
was a most important feature for consideration. If railway engineers
desired to get a steady running train, they must keep the centre of
gravity high or reasonably high. He did not know whether the
Members realized that the driving wheels of the passenger locomotive
were 6 feet 8 inches. They were just as big as any of the North
Eastern passenger steam locomotives. The motors were above the
driving wheels, with the result that the centre of gravity of
the locomotive was as high as that of his steam-locomotive,
The weight on the wheels could be distributed better than in
the steam-locomotive. There were 194 tons of weight on each
pair of wheels on this locomotive. AS Professor Lea well knew,
engineers worked the weight out per foot-run, and if the weight per
foot-run amounted to a figure allowed by the engineer it was possible
to get the power distributed over the electric locomotive and to
get the full power required out of the machine. The design for the
engine had been passed and signed by the permanent-way engineer
of the North Eastern Railway. Personally, he did not build
anything unless the engineer first approved the plan.
He desired to thank Mr. Pendred for the kind references
he had made to the position he occupied in regard to the steam
versus the electric locomotive, because the news had generally
got about that he (Sir Vincent) had transferred his affections from
3 F 2

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780 DISCUSSION ON JUNE 1922.

the steam to the electric locomotive. He had done nothing of

the kind. He hoped, however that he was broad-minded enough
to be able to consider seriously all the improvements which were
introduced from time to time. It was necessary for changes to be
made, and the man who did not realize that fact was somewhat out
of date. He had not put the steam-engine on one side as something
that was obsolete, but a t the same time he had not ignored the
electric engine as being something that, was less economical than
the steam-engine, and therefore should not be considered a t all.
It was quite true that he was building a powerful engine of the
" Pacific " type to run between Newcastle and Edinburgh, and he

expected that engine would be able to take the same loads as the
electric passenger engine. When the time arrived that the line
between York and Newcastle was electrified, an electric engine
would then be seen taking the trains from York to Newcastle, and
a '' Pacific " stearn-engine taking t,he same trains north of Newcastle.
He hoped the steani-engine would be quite as satisfactory in the
way of haulage, but the most interesting point of all would be to
find out the respective cost of running the two engines. I n an
engine it was necessary to have the power somewhere. If the
generating station was on wheels, it was necessary to put that power
in the form of coal inside the fire-box, and the question that had to
be solved was whether they would be able with a single human
individual to stoke that engine up to get the power required for big
heavy trains under steam conditions.

The PRESIDENT, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Sir

Vincent Raven for his valuable Paper, referred to the great benefit
that had resulted from the Paper being presented in Prance, due
to the fact that M. Lacoin, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of such
an important undertaking as the Paris- Or16ans Railway, had taken
part in the discussion, and the friendly manner in which both M.
Lacoin and the Author had promised to exchange information with
each other. That was a most satisfactory state of affairs, and he
hoped that in due course the result of that mutual exchange of
information would be presented to the Institution.
He desired to emphasize the fact that it was apparent that an
extremely important and valuabIe discussion on the subject would
take place in London a t the adjourned discussion. On behalf of
the Institution he cordially invited French engineers to attend that
Meeting, the date of which would be communicated to them. He
could not say a t the iiioment what form the discussion would take.
He was afraid that a comparison between steam and electricity

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JLWX
192:'. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES. 781

would be too wide a subject to embark upon, and that the time was
not yet ripe for it. I n that view he understood the Author agreed.
I n conclusion, he asked the Members to pass a most cordial vote of
thanks to Sir Vincent Raven for his interesting and valuable Paper.

The resolution of thanks was carried with acclamation.

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