Fairlie
Encyclopedia
A Fairlie is a type of articulated
steam locomotive
that has the driving wheel
s on bogie
s. The locomotive may be double-ended (a double Fairlie) or single ended (a single Fairlie). Fairlies are most associated with the Ffestiniog Railway
in Wales
.
While the Fairlie locomotive has all but disappeared, the vast majority of diesel
and electric locomotive
s in the world today follow a form not very different from the Fairlie — two power trucks with all axles driven, and many also follow the Fairlie's double-ended concept, being capable of driving equally well in both directions.
engineer Robert Francis Fairlie
in 1864. He had become convinced that the conventional pattern of locomotive was seriously deficient; they wasted weight on unpowered wheels (the maximum tractive effort
a locomotive can exert is a function of the weight on its driving wheel
s) and on a tender that did nothing but carry fuel and water without contributing to the locomotive's adhesive weight
. Furthermore, the standard locomotive had a front and back, and was not intended for prolonged driving in reverse, thus requiring a turntable
or wye
at every terminus.
, carrying all its fuel and water aboard the locomotive and with every axle driven. The double-ended part was accomplished by having one double-ended boiler
on the locomotive, with one firebox in the centre and a smokebox
at each end. The locomotive looked fairly conventional until the observer realised that the locomotive was two-faced, Janus
-like.
Firebox
The first loco was The Progress built for the Neath and Brecon Railway
. However, having the draught from both halves of the boiler through one firebox was unsuccessful. There was a tendency for most of the hot gases from the fire to go through one half of the boiler, so the other half made little contribution to steam-raising and was inefficient. The first Ffestiniog Railway
Fairlie - Little Wonder - had separate fireboxes and proved far more successful.
Controls
The locomotive driver (US: engineer
) worked on one side of the locomotive, and the fireman on the other; the fireboxes separated them. The regulators
for both power bogies were located above the centre of the fireboxes, with the steam brake
valve at one end.
Power bogies
Underneath, the locomotive was supported on two swivelling powered bogies (US: trucks), with all wheels driven; smaller locomotives had four-wheel bogies, while larger had six-wheel. The cylinder
s on each power bogie pointed outward, towards the locomotive ends. Couplers
and buffers
(where fitted) were mounted on the bogies, not on the locomotive frame, so that they swivelled with the curvature of the track.
Steam supply
Steam was delivered to the cylinders via flexible tubing. Initially, this was a coiled copper
tube but this would fracture after a period of use. Later locomotives had rigid connecting tubes with the necessary flexibility provided by metal ball-and-socket joints similar to those used in laboratory glassware.
Fuel and water
Fuel and water were carried on the locomotive, in side tanks beside each boiler for the water, and bunkers for the fuel above them.
, a slate
hauler in north Wales
, and this one proved to be an outstanding success. Particularly important for a narrow gauge line as small as the Ffestiniog, with a gauge of 1 foot, was the fact that the Fairlie design meant that the fireboxes and ashpans were not restricted by frame or track width, but only by the overall loading gauge
. Little Wonder was such a success that Fairlie gave the Festiniog Railway Company a perpetual license to use the Fairlie patent without restriction in return for using the line and the success of its Fairlie locomotives in his publicity. The Ffestiniog went on to own a total of six Fairlie locomotives, with three in service in 2011, and one on display at the National Railway Museum
.
Locomotives were built for many British colonies, for Imperial Russia
, and even one example for the United States
. In 1879 the first government railway line in Western Australia
from Geraldton
to Northampton
utilised a Fairlie for one of its first items of rolling stock. The only really successful uses of the Fairlie locomotive, other than on the Ffestiniog Railway, were in Mexico
, New Zealand
and Russia
on Transcaucasian Railway.
configuration. The railroad's experience with the locomotive was typical, and an indication of the fact that, though Fairlie had eliminated several problems of the conventional locomotive, he had introduced new ones of his own. At least one double Fairlie 0-6-6-0 (pictured above) was built by Mason in the USA.
The Toronto and Nipissing Railway
used a single gauge Fairlie from 1871 until the line was converted to standard gauge in 1883.
and Veracruz, where 49 enormous 0-6-6-0
Fairlies weighing about 125 ton
s apiece were imported from England. The largest and most powerful locomotives built there up to then, they were used until the line was electrified in the 1920s. The tractive effort
figures (see table below) are impressive compared to a relatively modern locomotive, e.g. the BR Standard Class 9F
.
Rolt
wrote:
Durrant took a more sceptical view:
This table shows brief details of the locomotives. Detailed specifications can be found at steamlocomotive.com
Key:
Durrant shows a photograph (credited to English Electric
) of FCM number 184, built by Vulcan Foundry (VF) in 1911. This is of typically British appearance apart from the sanding dome
which, curiously, is provided at one end only. This photograph of FCM number 183
http://www.estaciontorreon.galeon.com/productos627821.html
shows a locomotive of distinctly American appearance. If it is one of the VF engines, it has certainly been heavily re-built.
The VF engines were almost certainly built as oil-fired
. The photograph in Durrant's book looks like a works photograph showing the engine in new condition and there are rectangular tanks on top of the boilers, which was the usual arrangement on oil-fired Fairlies. Heat from the boilers kept the oil warm and prevented it from becoming too viscous in cold weather.
and S class
single Fairlies and the B class
and E class
double Fairlies were ordered in the 1870s for use on the narrow gauge
(3' 6") system
built under Julius Vogel
's 1870 "Great Public Works" programme to open up the country. Three of the S class Fairlies were sold to Western Australia Railways in 1891.
and Saratov
(1871–1887) and on Surami Pass
of the Transcaucasian Railway (since 1872). These locomotives, like the ones used in Mexico were an 0-6-6-0 configuration. The first of them were built in England (Avonside Engine Company
, Yorkshire Engine Company
and Sharp Stewart and Company), the second tranche were made by German factories (1879), the last – by Kolomna
factory (1884) under licence. The largest locomotives weighed 90 tons and were oil-fired
. In 1912 all Fairlies in Russia were included in series F and used until 1934, when the line through Surami pass was electrified.
, which at least has a space behind the driver's cab to fill. Moreover, the central position of the cab meant that it was hard to add a tender later. As was later the case with Bulleid's Leader class
locomotives, limited fuel supplies would not have been a problem if fuel oil
had been used instead of coal. Some of the large Fairlies for Mexico (see above) were oil-fired and oil-firing has, in recent times, been used on the Ffestiniog Railway (see below).
locomotive were solved by Beyer-Peacock
's designers after studying a description of the spherical steam joints used on a Fairlie locomotive built for the Ffestiniog Railway followed by a visit to the FR to observe these locomotives at work.
built 0-4-0 engines.
A variation of the Fairlie that enjoyed some popularity, especially in the United States, was the single Fairlie, essentially half a double Fairlie, with one boiler, a cab at one end, and a single articulated power bogie combined with an unpowered bogie under the cab, maintaining the ability to negotiate sharp turns. This design abandoned the bidirectional nature of the double Fairlie but gained back the ability to have a large bunker and water tank behind the cab, and the possibility of using a trailing tender if necessary. The single conventional boiler made maintenance cheaper and did away with the crew's separation. A fair number were built, especially by Fairlie's licensee in the United States
, William Mason
, who built 146 or so Mason Bogie
s. In the UK, a single Fairlie 0-4-4T was used by the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
and three 0-6-4T by the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
.
Interestingly, in both the UK and the USA, these single Fairlies were the first locomotives in each country to use the European Walschaerts valve gear. The Stephenson link gear
, which was usual at the time, used multiple eccentrics between the frames but the Walschaerts gear was mounted outboard of the frames and connecting rods. This was advantageous because the Fairlie system required this space between the frames for the bogie pivot.
The Péchot-Bourdon locomotive was the final development of the Fairlie type. The Péchot-Bourdon was developed by Captain Péchot of the French
artillery
to operate on gauge railways associated with field artillery
and fortresses. The design was chosen with the belief that if one boiler
or set of valve gear
was damaged by enemy fire, the loco could continue to operate. The primary difference between a Fairlie and the Péchot-Bourdon is that the latter only had one steam dome
. Only one design was constructed, a 0-4-4-0. About fifty examples were constructed in 1906, and a further 280 were constructed during World War I
, some by the American Baldwin Locomotive Works
.
Preservation
Two examples are preserved, one in Dresden
Transport Museum, Germany
, and one in Serbia
at Pozega
Railway Museum.
Models
A 1:32 scale model of the Péchot-Bourdon locomotive is produced by Scalelink.
to South African Railways
in 1924. It was similar in appearance to a Garratt
but the boiler, fuel and water tanks were all mounted on a single frame which was pivoted on the power bogies. This arrangement differs from the Garratt in which the fuel and water tanks are mounted directly on the power bogies.
works. The veteran Merddin Emrys of 1879 was the first engine to be built at Boston Lodge. The Ffestiniog also owned and operated Taliesin, a single Fairlie, from 1876 to 1927. It was scrapped in 1935 but a replica was built at Boston Lodge in 1999.
The Fairlies on the Ffestiniog Railway were designed to burn coal. Following trials in 1971, in common with most other Ffestiniog engines, they were modified to burn oil. In 2005, Earl of Merioneth was converted to coal having been built as an oil burner. The success of this conversion resulted in Merddin Emrys, the oldest of the FR Fairlies, being converted back to coal burning in 2007.
The oldest Fairlie still in operation is a Mason Bogie preserved at the Henry Ford Museum
in Dearborn, Michigan
. The 0-6-4 locomotive was built in 1873 and still hauls passengers on a tourist train during the summer season.
, and R 28
, a single Fairlie, at Reefton. A double Fairlie tramway type engine is also preserved in Eastern Germany
, and one of the original Ffestiniog locomotives, Livingston Thompson of 1885, is in the National Railway Museum
in York
.
The Railway Series
, Mighty Mac is a double-ended Fairlie on the narrow-gauge Skarloey Railway
.
Articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive usually means a steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move independent of the main frame. This is done to allow a longer locomotive to negotiate tighter curves...
steam locomotive
Steam 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...
that has the driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s on bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s. The locomotive may be double-ended (a double Fairlie) or single ended (a single Fairlie). Fairlies are most associated with the Ffestiniog Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
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...
.
While the Fairlie locomotive has all but disappeared, the vast majority of diesel
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...
and electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
s in the world today follow a form not very different from the Fairlie — two power trucks with all axles driven, and many also follow the Fairlie's double-ended concept, being capable of driving equally well in both directions.
Conventional locomotive
The Fairlie was invented and patented by the ScottishScottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
engineer Robert Francis Fairlie
Robert Francis Fairlie
Robert Francis Fairlie was a Scottish railway engineer.- Early life :Fairlie was the son of T. Archibald Fairlie and Margaret Fairlie...
in 1864. He had become convinced that the conventional pattern of locomotive was seriously deficient; they wasted weight on unpowered wheels (the maximum tractive effort
Tractive effort
As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force is the pulling or pushing force exerted by a vehicle on another vehicle or object. The term tractive effort is synonymous with tractive force, and is often used in railway engineering to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a...
a locomotive can exert is a function of the weight on its driving wheel
Driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons...
s) and on a tender that did nothing but carry fuel and water without contributing to the locomotive's adhesive weight
Adhesive weight
Adhesive weight is the amount of a locomotive's weight that is applied to the driving wheels and so capable of delivering traction. The more weight applied to the driving wheels, the greater the locomotive's ability to haul a load. But if the weight on the driving wheels exceeds the axle load of...
. Furthermore, the standard locomotive had a front and back, and was not intended for prolonged driving in reverse, thus requiring a turntable
Turntable (railroad)
A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock. When steam locomotives were still in wide use, many railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many...
or wye
Wye (railroad)
A wye or triangular junction, in rail terminology, is a triangular shaped arrangement of rail tracks with a switch or set of points at each corner. In mainline railroads, this can be used at a rail junction, where three rail lines join, in order to allow trains to pass from any line to any other...
at every terminus.
Double Fairlie locomotive
Fairlie's answer was a double-ended 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...
, carrying all its fuel and water aboard the locomotive and with every axle driven. The double-ended part was accomplished by having one double-ended boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
on the locomotive, with one firebox in the centre and a smokebox
Smokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a Steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney .To assist...
at each end. The locomotive looked fairly conventional until the observer realised that the locomotive was two-faced, Janus
Janus (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past...
-like.
Firebox
The first loco was The Progress built for the Neath and Brecon Railway
Neath and Brecon Railway
The Neath and Brecon Railway linked the Vale of Neath Railway at Neath with the Brecon and Merthyr Railway at Brecon and also via a connection from Colbren Junction, it linked to the Swansea Vale Railway at Ynysygeinon Junction ....
. However, having the draught from both halves of the boiler through one firebox was unsuccessful. There was a tendency for most of the hot gases from the fire to go through one half of the boiler, so the other half made little contribution to steam-raising and was inefficient. The first Ffestiniog Railway
Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
Fairlie - Little Wonder - had separate fireboxes and proved far more successful.
Controls
The locomotive driver (US: engineer
Railroad engineer
A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...
) worked on one side of the locomotive, and the fireman on the other; the fireboxes separated them. The regulators
Throttle
A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...
for both power bogies were located above the centre of the fireboxes, with the steam brake
Steam brake
A steam brake is a type of brake for steam locomotives and their tenders, whereby a steam cylinder works directly on the brake linkages.Steam brakes were primarily used on railways where vacuum brakes were used to brake the train, but where there was no vacuum brake on the steam locomotive itself,...
valve at one end.
Power bogies
Underneath, the locomotive was supported on two swivelling powered bogies (US: trucks), with all wheels driven; smaller locomotives had four-wheel bogies, while larger had six-wheel. The cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
s on each power bogie pointed outward, towards the locomotive ends. Couplers
Coupling (railway)
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...
and buffers
Buffer (rail transport)
A buffer is a part of the buffers-and-chain coupling system used on the railway systems of many countries, among them most of those in Europe, for attaching railway vehicles to one another....
(where fitted) were mounted on the bogies, not on the locomotive frame, so that they swivelled with the curvature of the track.
Steam supply
Steam was delivered to the cylinders via flexible tubing. Initially, this was a coiled copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
tube but this would fracture after a period of use. Later locomotives had rigid connecting tubes with the necessary flexibility provided by metal ball-and-socket joints similar to those used in laboratory glassware.
Fuel and water
Fuel and water were carried on the locomotive, in side tanks beside each boiler for the water, and bunkers for the fuel above them.
Examples in use
Wales
In 1869 Fairlie's company built a locomotive, named Little Wonder (Fairlie was not an individual given to modesty) for the Ffestiniog RailwayFfestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park....
, a slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
hauler in north 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...
, and this one proved to be an outstanding success. Particularly important for a narrow gauge line as small as the Ffestiniog, with a gauge of 1 foot, was the fact that the Fairlie design meant that the fireboxes and ashpans were not restricted by frame or track width, but only by the overall loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
. Little Wonder was such a success that Fairlie gave the Festiniog Railway Company a perpetual license to use the Fairlie patent without restriction in return for using the line and the success of its Fairlie locomotives in his publicity. The Ffestiniog went on to own a total of six Fairlie locomotives, with three in service in 2011, and one on display at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
.
Various countries
Armed with the success of Little Wonder on the Ffestiniog, Fairlie staged a series of very successful demonstrations on the Ffestiniog line in February 1870 to high-powered delegations from the many parts of the world. This sold his invention (and the concept of the narrow gauge railway on which it was based) around the world.Locomotives were built for many British colonies, for Imperial Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and even one example for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1879 the first government railway line in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
from Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
to Northampton
Northampton, Western Australia
Northampton is a town north of Geraldton, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 813. It is historic, with an outstanding National Trust building. The town lies on the North West Coastal Highway. Formerly named Gwalla after the location's...
utilised a Fairlie for one of its first items of rolling stock. The only really successful uses of the Fairlie locomotive, other than on the Ffestiniog Railway, were in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on Transcaucasian Railway.
United States
The locomotive sold in the US was ordered for the newly built Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1872, and was a smaller locomotive with four-wheel bogies, giving it a 0-4-4-00-4-4-0
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotive wheel arrangement, a 0-4-4-0 is a locomotive with no leading truck, two sets of four driving wheels, and no trailing truck. Examples of this type were constructed as Mallet, Meyer and Double Fairlie locomotives...
configuration. The railroad's experience with the locomotive was typical, and an indication of the fact that, though Fairlie had eliminated several problems of the conventional locomotive, he had introduced new ones of his own. At least one double Fairlie 0-6-6-0 (pictured above) was built by Mason in the USA.
Canada
Toronto and Nipissing Railway
The Toronto and Nipissing Railway was chartered in 1868 to build a narrow gauge railway in Ontario, Canada from Toronto to Lake Nipissing, via York, Ontario, and Victoria Counties. It opened in 1871, with service between Scarborough and Uxbridge. By December 1872 it was extended to Coboconk...
used a single gauge Fairlie from 1871 until the line was converted to standard gauge in 1883.
Mexico
In Mexico the Ferrocarril Mexicano (FCM) used Fairlies on a mountainous stretch of line between Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Veracruz, where 49 enormous 0-6-6-0
0-6-6-0
In Whyte notation, a 0-6-6-0 is a railroad steam locomotive that has two articulated sections, each with six coupled driving wheels, without any leading wheels or trailing wheels.-Equivalent classifications:Other equivalent classifications are:...
Fairlies weighing about 125 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s apiece were imported from England. The largest and most powerful locomotives built there up to then, they were used until the line was electrified in the 1920s. The tractive effort
Tractive effort
As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force is the pulling or pushing force exerted by a vehicle on another vehicle or object. The term tractive effort is synonymous with tractive force, and is often used in railway engineering to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a...
figures (see table below) are impressive compared to a relatively modern locomotive, e.g. the BR Standard Class 9F
BR standard class 9F
The British Railways BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight...
.
Rolt
L. T. C. Rolt
Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford...
wrote:
"...it was the Mexican Railway that became Fairlie's most devoted adherent. Three twelve-wheeled AvonsideAvonside Engine CompanyThe Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:...
Fairlies were built for this Company in 1871 to work traffic on the steeply graded section of the main line between CordobaCórdoba, VeracruzCórdoba, officially known as Heroica Córdoba, is a city and the seat of the municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It was founded in 1618....
and the 7923 ft (2,414.9 m). Bocca del Montre summit in the Orizaba mountainsPico de OrizabaThe Pico de Orizaba, or Citlaltépetl , is a stratovolcano, the highest mountain in Mexico and the third highest in North America. It rises above sea level in the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, on the border between the states of Veracruz and Puebla...
, a distance of 108 miles (173.8 km). So successful were they that they were the forerunners of no less than fifty Fairlies supplied to Mexico by Avonside and other British builders over a period of forty years."
Durrant took a more sceptical view:
"The largest Fairlies built were...102 ton examples for the Mexicano Railway...Despite their impressive proportions, these engines were devoid of superheaters or modern valve arrangements and were soon replaced by electrification."
This table shows brief details of the locomotives. Detailed specifications can be found at steamlocomotive.com
| Class | Road numbers | Date | Builder | T.E. (lb.) | Weight (lb.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/k | n/k | 1871 | Avonside Avonside Engine Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:... |
n/k | n/k | 3 locomotives |
| n/k | n/k | n/k | n/k | n/k | n/k | 19 locomotives |
| R-1 | 159-170 | 1889 | Neilson Neilson and Company Neilson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland.The company was started in 1836 at McAlpine Street by Walter Neilson and James Mitchell to manufacture marine and stationary engines... |
39,893 | 216,994 | - |
| R-1 | 171-180 | 1902 | North British North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were... |
37,614 | 222,656 | - |
| R-2 | 181-182 | 1907 | North British | 46,059 | 269,024 | - |
| R-3 | 183-185 | 1911 | Vulcan Foundry Vulcan Foundry Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway... |
59,133 | 309,120 | - |
Key:
- Date = building date of first locomotive in batch. Delivery may have been spread over several years
- n/k = not known
- T.E. = tractive effort
Durrant shows a photograph (credited to English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
) of FCM number 184, built by Vulcan Foundry (VF) in 1911. This is of typically British appearance apart from the sanding dome
Sandbox (railways)
A sandbox is a container on most locomotives and self propelled multiple units, or trams, that run on tramways and adhesion railways...
which, curiously, is provided at one end only. This photograph of FCM number 183
http://www.estaciontorreon.galeon.com/productos627821.html
shows a locomotive of distinctly American appearance. If it is one of the VF engines, it has certainly been heavily re-built.
The VF engines were almost certainly built as oil-fired
Oil burner (engine)
An oil burner engine is a steam engine that uses oil as its fuel. The term is often used with reference to a locomotive or ship engine that burns oil, to heat water, to produce steam which drives the pistons, or turbines, from which the power is derived. Some engines of this form were originally...
. The photograph in Durrant's book looks like a works photograph showing the engine in new condition and there are rectangular tanks on top of the boilers, which was the usual arrangement on oil-fired Fairlies. Heat from the boilers kept the oil warm and prevented it from becoming too viscous in cold weather.
New Zealand
In New Zealand the R classNZR R class
The NZR R class was a class of early 0-6-4T single Fairlie steam locomotives operated by New Zealand's Railways Department between 1879 and 1936.-Introduction:...
and S class
NZR S class
The NZR S class was a class of seven 0-6-4T single Fairlie steam locomotives used in New Zealand.The locomotives were ordered by the New Zealand Railways Department in 1880, and delivered from the Avonside engine works in 1881–1882. They were considerably larger than the earlier R class, and all...
single Fairlies and the B class
NZR B class (1874)
The NZR B class of 1874 was the first of two steam locomotive classes to be designated as B by the Railways Department that then oversaw New Zealand's national rail network...
and E class
NZR E class (1872)
The NZR E class of Double Fairlie steam locomotives were two different types of Fairlie locomotive, and were the first classes to take that designation, followed by the E class Mallet compound locomotive of 1906 and then the E class battery electric locomotive of 1922...
double Fairlies were ordered in the 1870s for use on the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
(3' 6") system
Rail transport in New Zealand
Rail transport in New Zealand consists of a network of gauge railway lines in both the North and South Islands. Rail services are focused primarily on freight, particularly bulk freight, with limited passenger services on some lines...
built under Julius Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
's 1870 "Great Public Works" programme to open up the country. Three of the S class Fairlies were sold to Western Australia Railways in 1891.
Russia
In Russia, Fairlies were used on a line between TambovTambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
and Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
(1871–1887) and on Surami Pass
Surami Pass
The Surami Pass is a mountain pass in the Likhi Range of Georgia with an altitude of .The pass connects the western and eastern part of Georgia. A railroad runs through the pass, as well as the Zestaponi-Khashuri highway....
of the Transcaucasian Railway (since 1872). These locomotives, like the ones used in Mexico were an 0-6-6-0 configuration. The first of them were built in England (Avonside Engine Company
Avonside Engine Company
The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company.-Origins:...
, Yorkshire Engine Company
Yorkshire Engine Company
The Yorkshire Engine Company was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The Company was formed in 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965...
and Sharp Stewart and Company), the second tranche were made by German factories (1879), the last – by Kolomna
Kolomna
Kolomna is an ancient city and the administrative center of Kolomensky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, southeast of Moscow. The area of the city is about . The city was founded in 1177...
factory (1884) under licence. The largest locomotives weighed 90 tons and were oil-fired
Oil burner (engine)
An oil burner engine is a steam engine that uses oil as its fuel. The term is often used with reference to a locomotive or ship engine that burns oil, to heat water, to produce steam which drives the pistons, or turbines, from which the power is derived. Some engines of this form were originally...
. In 1912 all Fairlies in Russia were included in series F and used until 1934, when the line through Surami pass was electrified.
Fuel and water
Most critical was the absence of a tender, meaning that the capacity for fuel and water was very small. A locomotive is already a crowded place, and Fairlie's design gave even less room to place its supplies than a normal tank locomotiveTank 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...
, which at least has a space behind the driver's cab to fill. Moreover, the central position of the cab meant that it was hard to add a tender later. As was later the case with Bulleid's Leader class
SR Leader Class
The Leader was a class of experimental 0-6-6-0T articulated steam locomotive, produced in the United Kingdom to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. The Leader was an attempt to extend the life of steam traction by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with...
locomotives, limited fuel supplies would not have been a problem if fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
had been used instead of coal. Some of the large Fairlies for Mexico (see above) were oil-fired and oil-firing has, in recent times, been used on the Ffestiniog Railway (see below).
Steam pipes
Also problematic were the flexible steam pipes to and from the cylinders of each swivelling engine; they were prone to leakage and wasting of power. These problems were partially solved. It is recorded by Rolt that difficulties encountered in 1909 with the design and construction of steam-tight flexible steam connections for the GarrattGarratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
locomotive were solved by Beyer-Peacock
Beyer-Peacock
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...
's designers after studying a description of the spherical steam joints used on a Fairlie locomotive built for the Ffestiniog Railway followed by a visit to the FR to observe these locomotives at work.
Power bogies
A further problem lay in the power bogies; there was a good reason for unpowered wheels on a steam locomotive, in that they served a function of stabilising the locomotive, reducing its tendency to wander or 'hunt' when rolling on straight track, and leading the locomotive into curves and thereby reducing derailments. Early Fairlies had a tendency to be rough-riding, rough on the track they rode, and more prone to derailment than they should have been. This was certainly in part true of Little Wonder, which was worn out and replaced by the FR after less than twenty years intensive use. It has been said that it literally shook itself to pieces on the rough track. To a large extent the problem was not the use of power bogies but faults in their design and especially the absence of weights on the trailing ends of the bogies to counter-balance the cylinders. Subsequent FR engines were much easier on the track. All FR Fairlies have had a reputation for a smooth footplate ride when compared with the original George EnglandGeorge England
George England and Co. was an early English manufacturer of steam locomotives founded by the engineer George England of Newcastle upon Tyne...
built 0-4-0 engines.
Visibility
The driver is on one side of the firebox and the fireman on the other. As a result, the locomotive is left-hand drive going in one direction and right-hand drive in the other. This would not help with visibility of signals.Summary
Fairlie's vision was limited by the limitations of the steam locomotive — its thirst for water and the unbalancing forces of its directly driving pistons.Single Fairlie or Mason Bogie
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, William Mason
William Mason (locomotive builder)
William Mason was a master mechanical engineer and builder of textile machinery and railroad steam locomotives. He founded Mason Machine Works of Taunton, Massachusetts. His company was a significant supplier of locomotives and rifles for the Union Army during the American Civil War...
, who built 146 or so Mason Bogie
Mason Bogie
The Mason Bogie is a type of articulated steam locomotive suited for sharp curves and uneven track, once commonly used on narrow gauge lines in the United States...
s. In the UK, a single Fairlie 0-4-4T was used by the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway
The Swindon, Marlborough and Andover Railway was one of the constituents of the Midland and South Western Junction Railway. It received Parliamentary approval on 21 July 1873 and construction began in 1875 ....
and three 0-6-4T by the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways was a gauge railway running from Dinas to Bryngwyn, Wales, which was authorised by Act of Parliament 1872. The same act authorised a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon...
.
Interestingly, in both the UK and the USA, these single Fairlies were the first locomotives in each country to use the European Walschaerts valve gear. The Stephenson link gear
Stephenson valve gear
The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for all kinds of steam engine. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was actually invented by his employees....
, which was usual at the time, used multiple eccentrics between the frames but the Walschaerts gear was mounted outboard of the frames and connecting rods. This was advantageous because the Fairlie system required this space between the frames for the bogie pivot.
Péchot-Bourdon locomotive
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
to operate on gauge railways associated with field artillery
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
and fortresses. The design was chosen with the belief that if one boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
or set of valve gear
Valve gear
The valve gear of a steam engine is the mechanism that operates the inlet and exhaust valves to admit steam into the cylinder and allow exhaust steam to escape, respectively, at the correct points in the cycle...
was damaged by enemy fire, the loco could continue to operate. The primary difference between a Fairlie and the Péchot-Bourdon is that the latter only had one steam dome
Steam dome
A Steam dome is a vessel fitted to the top of the boiler of a steam locomotive. It contains the opening to the main steam pipe and its purpose is to allow this opening to be kept well above the water level in the boiler...
. Only one design was constructed, a 0-4-4-0. About fifty examples were constructed in 1906, and a further 280 were constructed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, some by the American Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
.
Preservation
Two examples are preserved, one in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
Transport Museum, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and one in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
at Pozega
Požega, Serbia
Požega is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of Serbia. In 2011, the population of the town is 12,957, while population of the municipality is 29,488.-Municipality:...
Railway Museum.
Models
A 1:32 scale model of the Péchot-Bourdon locomotive is produced by Scalelink.
Modified Fairlie
The Modified Fairlie was introduced by the North British Locomotive CompanyNorth British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
to South African Railways
Spoornet
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of 'South African Railways and Harbours', a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely...
in 1924. It was similar in appearance to a Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
but the boiler, fuel and water tanks were all mounted on a single frame which was pivoted on the power bogies. This arrangement differs from the Garratt in which the fuel and water tanks are mounted directly on the power bogies.
Fairlies today
Operational
The Ffestiniog Railway in Wales still uses Fairlie patent locomotives to this day; it has three double Fairlies and one single Fairlie in running condition. The most recent double Fairlie locomotives, Earl of Meirioneth and David Lloyd George, were built in 1979 and 1992 respectively in the Ffestiniog's own Boston LodgeBoston Lodge
This article is about the locomotive works. For the station see Boston Lodge Halt.Boston Lodge is situated at Penrhyn Isa, Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, on the A487 road about 1 mile SE across the Afon Glaslyn causeway from Porthmadog, Gwynedd in north-west Wales.It has a station on the Ffestiniog...
works. The veteran Merddin Emrys of 1879 was the first engine to be built at Boston Lodge. The Ffestiniog also owned and operated Taliesin, a single Fairlie, from 1876 to 1927. It was scrapped in 1935 but a replica was built at Boston Lodge in 1999.
The Fairlies on the Ffestiniog Railway were designed to burn coal. Following trials in 1971, in common with most other Ffestiniog engines, they were modified to burn oil. In 2005, Earl of Merioneth was converted to coal having been built as an oil burner. The success of this conversion resulted in Merddin Emrys, the oldest of the FR Fairlies, being converted back to coal burning in 2007.
The oldest Fairlie still in operation is a Mason Bogie preserved at the Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, , in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex...
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
. The 0-6-4 locomotive was built in 1873 and still hauls passengers on a tourist train during the summer season.
Non-operational
No other Fairlies operate today, though two are preserved in New Zealand's South Island: Josephine, a double Fairlie, at DunedinDunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
, and R 28
NZR R class
The NZR R class was a class of early 0-6-4T single Fairlie steam locomotives operated by New Zealand's Railways Department between 1879 and 1936.-Introduction:...
, a single Fairlie, at Reefton. A double Fairlie tramway type engine is also preserved in Eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and one of the original Ffestiniog locomotives, Livingston Thompson of 1885, is in the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
In fiction
In the Thomas and Friends children's television show, based on Rev. W. Awdry'sW.V. Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE , was an English clergyman, railway enthusiast and children's author, better known as the Reverend W. Awdry and creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who starred in Awdry's acclaimed Railway Series.-Life:Awdry was born at Ampfield vicarage near Romsey, Hampshire in 1911...
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...
, Mighty Mac is a double-ended Fairlie on the narrow-gauge Skarloey Railway
Skarloey Railway
On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, the Skarloey Railway is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the main line at Crovan's Gate to the passenger terminus at Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey the line continues to a slate quarry.In the stories, the railway is run by...
.