LMS 6399 Fury
Encyclopedia
The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) 6399 Fury was an unsuccessful British experimental express passenger locomotive. The intention was to save fuel by using high-pressure steam, which is thermodynamically more efficient than low-pressure steam.
in Glasgow
, it was based on the frames and a modified boiler from the LMS Royal Scot Class
. A 3-cylindered compound locomotive
, it had one small high-pressure cylinder between the frames and two larger low-pressure outside cylinders, and a water-tube boiler
of the Schmidt high-pressure system. This raised high-pressure steam at 900 psi (6.2 MPa) and low-pressure steam at 250 psi (1.7 MPa). There was a sealed ultra-high-pressure circuit working between 1400 and 1800 psi (9.7 to 12.4 MPa), filled with distilled water, that transferred heat from the firebox to the high-pressure boiler.
It was given the number 6399, but never taken into stock.
During a trial on 10 February 1930 one of the ultra-high-pressure tubes burst, killing Mr Schofield of the Superheater Company. The accident was thoroughly investigated and trials continued until 1933. Fury was then laid up until 1935 when it was rebuilt by William Stanier
with a 2A boiler becoming 6170 British Legion
, the first of the LMS 2 and 2A boilered 4-6-0 locomotives
.
Despite the accident, Fury was an economic rather than a technological failure. As many other experimental locomotives showed, the theoretical benefits of high steam pressure were hard to realise in practice. Fuel is only one part of the operating costs of a steam locomotive—maintenance is very significant, and introducing extra complications always increased this disproportionally.
Overview
Built in 1929 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...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, it was based on the frames and a modified boiler from the LMS Royal Scot Class
LMS Royal Scot Class
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.-Background:Until the mid-1920s, the LMS...
. A 3-cylindered compound locomotive
Compound locomotive
A compound engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages.A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure cylinder, then having given up heat and losing pressure, it exhausts directly into one or more larger...
, it had one small high-pressure cylinder between the frames and two larger low-pressure outside cylinders, and a water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
of the Schmidt high-pressure system. This raised high-pressure steam at 900 psi (6.2 MPa) and low-pressure steam at 250 psi (1.7 MPa). There was a sealed ultra-high-pressure circuit working between 1400 and 1800 psi (9.7 to 12.4 MPa), filled with distilled water, that transferred heat from the firebox to the high-pressure boiler.
It was given the number 6399, but never taken into stock.
During a trial on 10 February 1930 one of the ultra-high-pressure tubes burst, killing Mr Schofield of the Superheater Company. The accident was thoroughly investigated and trials continued until 1933. Fury was then laid up until 1935 when it was rebuilt by William Stanier
William Stanier
Sir William Arthur Stanier, FRS was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.- Biography :...
with a 2A boiler becoming 6170 British Legion
LMS Royal Scot Class 6170 British Legion
London Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot Class 6170 British Legion was a British steam locomotive.- Overview :...
, the first of the LMS 2 and 2A boilered 4-6-0 locomotives
LMS 2 and 2A boilered 4-6-0 locomotives
The London Midland and Scottish Railway 2 and 2A Boilered rebuilt 4-6-0 family was a family of express passenger 4-6-0 steam locomotives. They were reboilering of various earlier 4-6-0s. A total of 91 were built over a period of 20 years from/to four different classesThese had started in 1935,...
.
Despite the accident, Fury was an economic rather than a technological failure. As many other experimental locomotives showed, the theoretical benefits of high steam pressure were hard to realise in practice. Fuel is only one part of the operating costs of a steam locomotive—maintenance is very significant, and introducing extra complications always increased this disproportionally.
External links
- http://www.aqpl43.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/fury/fury.htm More details and pictures
- http://britishrailways.tripod.com/exfury.html
- Loco Locomotives A large amount of information on high-pressure steam locomotives, as well as many other rail oddities.