Tram engine
Encyclopedia
A tram engine is a locomotive
specially built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway.
era, tram engines had to comply with certain legal requirements, although these varied from country to country:
To avoid smoke, the fuel used was coke
, rather than coal
. To prevent visible emission of steam, two opposite systems were used:
Beyer, Peacock and Company
built some steam tram engines, including three for the Glyn Valley Tramway
in Wales
.
Henry Hughes
Henry Hughes
of the Falcon Works, Loughborough
started building tram engines in 1876. His engines were of the saddle-tank
type and exhaust steam was condensed in a tank under the footplate
by jets of cold water from the saddle-tank.
Kitson & Co
Kitson & Co.
started to build tram engines in 1878. They used a roof-mounted, air-cooled, condenser of thin copper tubes in which the exhaust steam was condensed. This is rather like the radiator
on a modern road vehicle. The air-cooled system eventually became standard for steam tram engines.
William Wilkinson
William Wilkinson of Wigan
patented the superheating
system about 1881. It now seems bizarre to superheat steam after, rather than before, use because it would involve considerable waste of fuel. Despite this, the Wilkinson system was popular for a time and engines of the Wilkinson type continued to be built up to about 1886.
Others
Other British builders of steam tram engines included:
The German firm Krauss
built steam tram engines, including one for the Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway
in England.
es.
, from The Railway Series
children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends, was based on the LNER Class J70 tram engines that were to be found on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
.
diesel locomotive
s were fitted with sideplates and cowcatchers
for working on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
.
These engines have not met with great success because of their limited range.
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
specially built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway.
Steam tram engines
In the steam locomotiveSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
era, tram engines had to comply with certain legal requirements, although these varied from country to country:
- The engine must be governed to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (8 mph in the UK)
- No steam or smoke may be emitted
- It must be free from noise produced by blast or clatter
- The machinery must be concealed from view at all points above 4 inches from rail level
To avoid smoke, the fuel used was coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
, rather than coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. To prevent visible emission of steam, two opposite systems were used:
- condensingSteam locomotive condensing apparatusA steam locomotive condensing apparatus differs in purpose from the usual closed cycle steam engine condenser, in that its function is primarily either to recover water, or to avoid excessive emissions to the atmosphere, rather than maintaining a vacuum to improve both efficiency and power...
the exhaust steam and returning the condensate to the water tank - superheatingSuperheaterA superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...
the exhaust steam to make it invisible
United Kingdom
Beyer, PeacockBeyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...
built some steam tram engines, including three for the Glyn Valley Tramway
Glyn Valley Tramway
The Glyn Valley Tramway was a narrow gauge railway that connected Chirk with Glyn Ceiriog in Denbighshire , Wales. The gauge of the line was...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Henry Hughes
Henry Hughes
Brush Traction
This article is about a British rail-locomotive maker. For the Detroit auto-maker, see Brush Motor Car CompanyBrush Traction is a manufacturer and maintainer of railway locomotives, part of the FKI group , based at Loughborough in Leicestershire, England situated alongside the Midland Main Line.-...
of the Falcon Works, Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
started building tram engines in 1876. His engines were of the saddle-tank
Tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...
type and exhaust steam was condensed in a tank under the footplate
Footplate
The footplate of a steam locomotive is a large metal plate that rests on top of the frames and is normally covered with wooden floorboards. It is usually the full width of the locomotive and extends from the front of the cab to the rear of cab or coal bunker just above the buffer beam. The...
by jets of cold water from the saddle-tank.
Kitson & Co
Kitson & Co.
Kitson & Co.
Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Early history:The company started as James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet in 1835 with Charles Todd as a partner...
started to build tram engines in 1878. They used a roof-mounted, air-cooled, condenser of thin copper tubes in which the exhaust steam was condensed. This is rather like the radiator
Radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in automobiles, buildings, and electronics...
on a modern road vehicle. The air-cooled system eventually became standard for steam tram engines.
William Wilkinson
William Wilkinson of Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
patented the superheating
Superheating
In physics, superheating is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its boiling point, without boiling...
system about 1881. It now seems bizarre to superheat steam after, rather than before, use because it would involve considerable waste of fuel. Despite this, the Wilkinson system was popular for a time and engines of the Wilkinson type continued to be built up to about 1886.
Others
Other British builders of steam tram engines included:
- Aveling and PorterAveling and PorterAveling and Porter was a British agricultural engine and steam roller manufacturer. Thomas Aveling and Richard Thomas Porter entered into partnership in 1862, developed a steam engine three years later in 1865 and produced more steam rollers than all the other British manufacturers combined.-The...
- Charles Burrell & SonsCharles Burrell & SonsCharles Burrell & Sons were builders of steam traction engines, agricultural machinery, steam trucks and steam tram engines. The company were based in Thetford, Norfolk and operated from the St Nicholas works on Minstergate and St Nicholas Street some of which survives today.At their height they...
- Dick, Kerr & Co.Dick, Kerr & Co.Dick, Kerr and Company was a locomotive and tramcar manufacturer based in Kilmarnock, Scotland and Preston, England.-Early history:Having previously been known as W.B.Dick and Company the company had built all kinds of tramway equipment and rolling stock. From 1883 the company joined with John Kerr...
- Thomas Green & SonThomas Green & SonThomas Green & Son, Ltd. were engineers who manufactured a wide range of products at the Smithfield Foundry, Leeds, United Kingdom.- Introduction :Thomas Green came to Leeds from Carlton-on-Trent near Newark and founded the company in 1835...
- Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd.Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd.Manlove, Alliott & Co. Ltd. was an engineering company based in Nottingham, England. It was also for a time known as Manlove, Alliott, Fryer & Co. Ltd.-History:...
- Manning WardleManning WardleManning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,...
- Merryweather & SonsMerryweather & SonsMerryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines.The founder was Moses Merryweather of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses .-Fire appliances:...
Germany
KraussThe German firm Krauss
George Krauss
George, Baron von Krauss was a German industrialist and the founder of the Krauss Locomotive Works in Munich, Germany and Linz, Upper Austria...
built steam tram engines, including one for the Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway
Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway
The Wolverton and Stony Stratford Tramway was a narrow gauge street tramway between the London and North Western Railway's Wolverton railway works and Wolverton railway station and Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire, two miles to the east, and onwards to Deanshanger, Northamptonshire.- History...
in England.
Decline
Steam tram engines faded out around 1900, being replaced by electric trams or busBus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es.
Preservation
- Kitson 0-4-00-4-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
steam tram engine (Portstewart Tramway No,1) at Streetlife Museum of TransportStreetlife museum of transportThe Streetlife Museum of Transport is a transport museum located in Kingston upon Hull, England. The roots of the collection date back to the early 20th century, however the purpose-built museum the collection is housed in was opened in 1989 by the then Hull East MP, John Prescott...
, Kingston upon Hull - Kitson 0-4-00-4-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
steam tram engine (Portstewart Tramway No.2) at the Ulster Folk and Transport MuseumUlster Folk and Transport MuseumThe Ulster Folk and Transport Museum is situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. It comprises two separate museums, the Folk Museum and the Transport Museum...
, Cultra, County Down. - Beyer Peacock 0-4-0 steam tram engine at National Tramway MuseumNational Tramway MuseumThe National Tramway Museum, at Crich, in Derbyshire, England, is situated within Crich Tramway Village, a period village containing a pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop, including the tram depots. The village is also home to the Eagle Press, a small museum dedicated to Letterpress Printing including...
, CrichCrichCrich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...
, DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx... - Krauss 0-4-0 Gamba de Legn tram engine at the "Leonardo da Vinci" National Museum for Science and Technology in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In popular culture
The character Toby the Tram EngineToby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tram engine in The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends...
, from The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends, was based on the LNER Class J70 tram engines that were to be found on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tram, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway...
.
Other types of propulsion
Diesel tram engines
Four of the British Rail Class 04British Rail Class 04
The British Rail Class 04 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class was built between 1952 and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops. The Class 04 locomotives were supplied by the Drewry Car Co., which at the time had no manufacturing...
diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s were fitted with sideplates and cowcatchers
Pilot (locomotive)
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. In some countries it is also called cowcatcher or cattle catcher....
for working on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tram, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway...
.
Electric tram engines
There are a few examples of electric tram locomotives designed to pull traditional railway carriages through streets.Stored energy types
Tram engines have been built to run on stored energy in various forms, including:- Fireless steamFireless locomotiveA fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive designed for use under conditions restricted by either the presence of flammable material or the need for cleanliness...
- Compressed airFireless locomotiveA fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive designed for use under conditions restricted by either the presence of flammable material or the need for cleanliness...
, (see also Mekarski systemMekarski systemThe Mekarski system was a compressed-air propulsion system for trams invented by Louis Mékarski or Louis Mékarsky in the 1870s. He worked in France, was born in 1843 in Clermont-Ferrand of Polish origin...
) - Electric storage batteriesRechargeable batteryA rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...
These engines have not met with great success because of their limited range.
Further reading
- History of the Steam Tram by H. A. Whitcombe, published by the Oakwood Press in 1961
- The British Steam Tram by J.S. Webb
- A History of the British Steam Tram, volume 1, by David Gladwin, 2004