THE SINGLE FAIRLIE ENGINES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 91, 15 July 1879, Page 2

THE SINGLE FAIRLIE ENGINES.

A few days ago wo announcjd that tho s Government infcendod to place four single i boiler Fairlio engines upon tho Wanganui- t Foxton line. In Saturday's Kvoning Post, -, we notice a lengthy account of a series of . very important experiments which took *' plaae the previous day on the Wellington t

railway, with the v?ow of tokinji the capabilities of tho now s.-iigJo-li^'er iTairlie engines recently imported bylbc Government, in ragai-5 (1, to drawing he*.- goods trains on lines abounding in sevei \ gvn&fejjL&and sharp curves, and (2j to fo-j travelling with lig.it passenger trains. Advantage was was taken of the presence i Wellington of boHi Mr .jawsDis and Mr C iyers, tlie Railway Commissioners for the orth and South Islands respectively, -tu. lO f pfclier engmeois, Jo make a thorough and : !muslivo trial. The following mo the s?!v points of the single FaiWic engines .—■;'', .>iler is v large awd powerful one; the o aders arc 12in diameter, with a 16in 'stroke; the six coupled wheels are 3ft ir. dinmeter. and placed so close together ', that the rigid wheal base 13 only 6ffr 6toj less than that of many four coupled engines; there is a small tender, borne on a focr- wheeled bogie of improved construction, Ithe wheels 3ft diameter ; the engine itself is carried on a FuirJie's patent steam-bogie, and there is a roomy " cab " for the drivjjr and fireman. The engine is a heavy one, ■ eighing 28 tons. Ihe chimney is furnished 1 ith a spark-ar-rester, but at the prelimir iry trial which took place a fortnight ago, Ms was found to impede the draught md prevent the engine making steam j it was therefore removed to be reconstructed on a different principle, .-in ordiuary funnel being temporarily substituted. The I" special "- train with which the trial Was cfede, consisted of 8 heavily- loaded waggoiii./a first-class passenger carriage and a bi^ko van— ten vehicles in all. weighiug 80«ons. Thu'test of the engine so fir &i hauliog.power vva9 concerned took place upon the 15-mile bank between the Upper Hutt and Kaitoke. For a time sh? pulled splendidly, but unluckily a thick drizzling rain came on, and rendered the rails .so " greasy " that although tt-o engine made "abundance of steam, and could have drawn the load easily in dry weather, the loss of power by the " slipping " of the wheels made it impos&ible for her to surmount the gradient of 1 in 35 with snch a heavy load, and four trucks had to be taken off, leaving the weight nearly 60 tons, which the engine ' pulled with ease, running the eight miles from Kaitoke to the summit in 17 minutes, although the grades were often 1 in 40, This feat afforded a convincing proof -of the engine's power, and when a suitable kandbjx and side tanks are fitted, there is no doubt that her " adhesion " will be ample. The homeward run, which was made with only a carriage and a brake-yan, so as to test the engine at high speed r with]a light load, was certainly by far the fastest- ever done in this island, and probably has ' never been surpassed on the 3ft Gin gauge.' The distance of 35 miles from the feimutaka Summit to Wellington was accomplished in exactly one hour, travelling time; "The 8 miles from Kaitoke to Upper Hutt only took 13 minutes from start to stop, a speed of 45 miles an hour being maintained over the douule - reserve curves of five chainß radius and down the steepest grades with wonderful steadiness and absence of oscilla tion. The final start from Upper Hutt was at 2.8 p.m., and the 29 miles from thence to Wellington were run through without any stoppage in 32 minutes. The speed was slackened only round the sharpest curves and over places where the line was under repair. All the stations were run through at nearly full speed, that at Lower Hutt being passed at 40 miles an hour, to the evident astonishment of all spectators, who indoed watched the passing of the train along its flying journey with amazement, some almost with horror, clearly supposing it to be a '• runaway.' From Lower Hutt to Wellington was done in 13 minutes, and from Petoui in lOf minutes. The best work was on the 521 b rails between Upper Hutt and silver Stream, a speed of OU to 5i miles an hour being attained with perfect smoothness. The experiments altogether were a complete Buecess,and will lead to vast improvements in our railway system. In view of the above facts, it is gratifying to know that four out of the eighteen engines ordered are to be placed on our own line. At present, the trains crawl along at io miles an hour, which is an absurdly slow rate of speed upou so good and level a line, as that between ilulcornbe aud Foxtou. The recent experiments 011 the Wellington line, which abounds in curves, show that it is quito possible to attain a much higher speed ou thu heavy rails. We iiuagiue that so soou as the "heavy rails are laid/ al} alopg the lino, and the single Fuirlies erected, Mr Uotheram will, remove the. standing order which prevents the trains running faster thau 15 miles au hour.