pH Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I wasn't sure whether to put this in 'UK Prototype' or 'Overseas Prototype'. I decided on 'Overseas Prototype' because, even though the picture is taken in the UK, I don't think the locomotive was built for service there. What locomotive is this, and where was it built for? http://www.mitchelllibrary.org/virtualmitchell/image.php?i=13514&r=2&t=4&x=1 It's a double-ended diesel-mechanical (or, at least, the driving wheels are coupled), with two 6-wheel powered units. I can't see any carrying wheels at the ends, but I'm not sure if there are non-powered wheels in the middle of the locomotive. It has what seem to be NB Loco diamond worksplates. The photo was taken with the locomotive standing in platform 2 at Glasgow Central. Going by the colourscheme on the coaches, it was taken in BR days. I've looked online in all the places I can think of, and can't find anything that looks like this, but I'm sure someone on here will be able to provide the answer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham R Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Fascinating photo pH... "Occasionally, foreign locomotives ran trials on home metals. One occasion that stands out were two diesel-hydraulic 0-6-0's for Mauritius. They ran on various duties for one week in 1953. Tests of starting heavy coal trains were made on steep gradients both as single units and together in multiple. For the last two days, they ran on passenger trains between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Princes Street. For 0-6-0s with coupling rods and small wheels, they ran beautifully steadily at 75mph." - Locomotive Apprentice at the NBL Co, Nigel SC Macmillan, Plateway Press 1992 The photo is in the book, a less cropped view. Jane's World Railways for 1954 has a photo of one unit in shop grey, power is given as 625hp. 75 mph !!! regards Graham (edited for typo) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 Thank you, Graham. I'll make an appointment with the optician tomorrow! I was sure that was a single footplate - it's quite obvious that there's two locomotives now that you point it out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian777999 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Ha...I thought it was one locomotive too and I am wearing my new glasses ! You do not often see locos running nose to nose like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Just imagine the paper work required if you wanted to run a trial like that today. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted December 20, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 20, 2011 IIRC similar locomotives operated in Trafford Park. (Now there's a subject for a layout.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieB Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Trials of standard gauge locomotives and units on British Rail metals were rare, but far from unknown. Among others, a Wickham railcar set built for the Central of Peru was trialled on the St Margarets - Buntingford branch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMJ Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 There are numerous comments in many of the histories of the manufacturers talking about transfer of locos from works to port ready for shipping abroad by working a service train. I suspect that as it's Mitchell Library image that we are looking at a pair of locos from either NBL or AB. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We have a picture up-coming in Steam World (Feb 2012, I think) of two locomotives built for China, being moved to the docks in Manchester. Apparently the largest locomotives ever moved on their own wheels in the UK, the LMS lowered track under bridges and cut back a platform to allow them to pass. CHRIS LEIGH There are numerous comments in many of the histories of the manufacturers talking about transfer of locos from works to port ready for shipping abroad by working a service train. I suspect that as it's Mitchell Library image that we are looking at a pair of locos from either NBL or AB. The diamond works plate makes it NBL. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
25901 Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Having gone through my old paperwork from when I worked on a few of them in preservation, both are Mauritius Railway Locos weighing in at 50 tons. Fitted with 625 HP Paxman 12RPHXL engines and pictured at Glasgow Central but dated 1951? As for a top speed the Voith transmission in shunters are normally 15/17mph rated but at 625 hp they could be fitted with a early class 14 type transmission What I find interesting is that they were ordered mainly for sugar industry services and I will be corrected if needed but I thought the island railway was a mix of 600-760mm gauge Robin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted January 2, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2012 Ha...I thought it was one locomotive too and I am wearing my new glasses ! You do not often see locos running nose to nose like that. Except for the Class 20's! So not that uncommon. Kevin Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham R Posted January 2, 2012 Share Posted January 2, 2012 Having gone through my old paperwork from when I worked on a few of them in preservation, both are Mauritius Railway Locos weighing in at 50 tons. Fitted with 625 HP Paxman 12RPHXL engines and pictured at Glasgow Central but dated 1951? As for a top speed the Voith transmission in shunters are normally 15/17mph rated but at 625 hp they could be fitted with a early class 14 type transmission What I find interesting is that they were ordered mainly for sugar industry services and I will be corrected if needed but I thought the island railway was a mix of 600-760mm gauge Robin Hi Robin, Mauritius had a Stephenson gauge system from 1863 to 1964...four branches with total 91 route miles in 1953, half a million tons of freight and two million passengers carried annually: 47 steam locos (including six 2-8-0+0-8-2 Beyer-Garratts), 22mph max speed and 17 tons axle load. All according to Jane's World Railways 1953-4... As you rightly say there were also a number of sugar plantation systems, according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia....rt_in_Mauritius - some are pictured here: http://www.internati...a.htm#Mauritius They seem to have had at least four gauges, all narrower than Stephenson. The Nigel Macmillan book I mentioned in an earlier post has a second photo of the two diesel locos outside NBL Queens Park erecting shop in 1953, numbered A1 and A2. The caption to the photo in Jane's World Railways confirms they had Voith-North British transmissions. From what you say, the 75mph test speed referred to by Macmillan must be a misprint or a mistake? (It also seems an unlikely speed for the Glasgow-Edinburgh via Shotts line at the time). NBL supplied three classes of DH 0-8-0s to East Africa in the 1950s, two of them around the time of the Mauritius 0-6-0s, with the Paxman engines you refer to, though lower rated. Their top speed was 35mph in high range (and in any case they spent their life shunting at Mombasa). The final class, four years later, had a more powerful MAN engine and had top speed 40mph... again academic since they were used on a steeply-graded mineral line, and the system-wide speed limit was in any case 40mph ! So 75mph is surely out. ( Edit: more details of the EAR&H locos, and another photo of the Mauritius class, here: http://www.paxmanhis...uk/worldrly.htm Seems like they coped with 1 in 27 gradients on greasy rails.) The Government Railway stopped carrying passengers in 1956 and was closed altogether in 1964, with some stock disposal to South Africa (hard to know what they would do with it there, wrong gauge) and Israel... the NBL DHs would only be ten years old by then. I wonder if they found their way to Israel? ( Another edit! It seems they went to New Jersey! http://www.steamindex.com/backtrak/bt25.htm#637-ss This is from Backtrack, October 2011... i don't have access to a copy... can anyone give more details? Plus, it seems these locos have already been covered in RMWeb: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/9131-british-built-locos-abroad/page__view__findpost__p__79956 ) regards Graham Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 A note here from a friend who has family connections with Mauritius:- "Thank you for the link to the picture, These two were the only diesels supplied to the Mauritius Government Railways and were built by North British Loco Works and because the MGR was standard gauge trials were carried out around Glasgow prior to export, as shown here. The narrow gauge sugar cane lines used diesels extensively but no more were supplied to the standard gauge. It has been suggested that the trials in Scotland which were supervised by BR officials, were instrumental in the BTC considering hydraulic transmission, and North British were certainly in the forefront of Diesel Hydraulic design. One interesting piece of history affecting these two locomotive. When Customs in Mauritius examined them they found the innards stuffed full of contraband goods, the two were subsequently impounded until the Customs had concluded their enquiries." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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