CONJUGATING

NSW D 57 Class Steam Loco -The Conjugating Gear for the centre valves may be seen below the Smokebox door.

"Conjugated" is not a word that we hear often. This is doubly so in these times, in this post-classical world, because it is a word heavy with Latin association. Literally," it means " joined together with". So, how does it relate to the massive, brooding, almost brutish image above? The clue is right in front of us, right at the front of the locomotive itself. Right there under the "chin" of the smokebox is  "Gresley's conjugating valve gear".

The locomotive shown above is one of the D57 Class freight locomotives of the New South Wales Government Railways. When they were introduced in 1927 they were the only three-cylinder steam locomotives on the N.S.W. Railways. They retained that exclusive status until 1957 when the nearly identical, but strangely less successful D 58 Class came into service. 

Three-cylinder steam locomotives were developed where the outside cylinders and valve gear on either side were complemented by a central third cylinder between the frames and driving a cranked axle, this was most commonly made practical using Gresley's conjugating valve gear. This valve gear drew its action from the outer valve gear via a rod moving on a pivot under the front of the smokebox.

Three-cylinder steam locomotives were already common in British railway practice and had been so for several decades. They were the result of the restrictions of the British loading gauges and the need for greater power to draw heavier and heavier trains at greater and greater speeds.This arose from the intense competition between the various railway companies prior to the disastrous railway nationalisation undertaken by the Socialist Labor government in 1948.

In New South Wales the need for additional power had historically been met by increasing the size of the locomotive - principally its boiler.This process can readily be traced through the development of the C32, C34, C35, C36 classes of passenger locomotives culminating in the C38 Class. In the C38 Class, we see the absolute limit in many respects, of what was possible. The locomotive and its tender filled the limits of the loading gauge much as a bodybuilder might cause his shirt to bulge and strain. They were as long as the principal turntables in place could handle. Freight locomotives were a different set of requirements, and the D57 Class was also built to the limits of the loading gauge. Moreover, its weight, especially the load on the driving axles, restricted its employment to certain main lines only.If extra power was to be gained, the third cylinder was the way to go.  It is interesting to note that in the USA there were very few three-cylinder locomotives. The reason was simple, the American loading gauges were so large that it was possible to easily envisage and build larger locomotives.

Three-cylinder locomotives had, by and large, been avoided in N,S,W, practice due to the desire to keep mechanical servicing simple since servicing facilities were relatively few and far between in N.S.W. as they are throughout Australia.

The D57 Class locomotives were colloquially known to railway staff as "the big engines".

This classic photo by the great Leon Oberg shows the Gresley conjugating valve gear

Anyone who has heard the triple-beat of the exhaust of a D57 or D58 Class locomotive, and felt the trembling of the earth as they passed at the head of a heavy freight train, will never forget the experience.

DRESSING FOR SPEED IN DEUTSCHLAND

Dressing for Speed

In May 1936 a crossing gate guard on the important Berlin � Hamburg line was alerted by an almost unearthly but rapidly approaching howling. He likened it to a steam-powered siren. Before he could collect his thoughts, his humble crossing was host to the thunder and enormous speed of the streamlined locomotive 05 002 pulling four express coaches. With observers from the Reichsbahn on board, the thundering burgundy-colored machine recorded a speed of 200.4 km/h (124.52 mph). Paul Roth, from the Reichsbahn�s Berlin-Grunewald test facility, who was on board during the test run, likened the unearthly howl emanating from the smokestack of the BR 05 to its boiler working probably dangerously close to the edge of the envelope, as we like to say in today�s techno jargon.
Some time after Errol Kubicki and I had completed our article on tenders, I asked him if he had any ideas for other articles. After several e-mail exchanges, he asked what I knew about streamlined Dampfloks, specifically streamlined tank engines. Well, I never really paid much attention to them � tank or otherwise but that I�d be willing to do a little investigating. To urge me on, Errol lent me a copy of Modell Eisen Bahner featuring a fairly detailed article on the topic. So, here goes.
Much as we admire the sight of a steam locomotive with its jungle of pipes, valves, connecting rods, and much more of the external necessities that propel the machine, this beloved mechanical jungle does little to improve the efficiency of what is already a rather inefficient machine. By the 1930s, the major locomotive builders in Europe, specifically Germany, realized that, if they were to compete with lighter, more aerodynamic railcars such as "Der Fliegende Hamburg" and the up and coming electric locomotives like the E 18, they would have to take a closer look at clothing their Dampfloks in an aerodynamic shell.
While this well-known run set a record, Wolfgang Messerschmidt, the famous German railroad historian, thinks it is (was) not a record. Being quite familiar with American steam locomotive technology, he feels that some streamlined Alco steam locomotives achieved speeds as high as 230 km/h (142.9 mph). This, of course, also eclipses the run made by "Mallard" in England at 202.7 km/h (125.9 mph) but this latter figure is disputed since it was allegedly done on a slight down grade. Actually, some minor attempts to impart some windcheating form to locomotives go back to the early part of the 20^th century when cabs began to be enclosed and the front of the boiler was fabricated in a more conical shape. Take a look at the Bavarian S 3/6 locomotives.
The Beginning
Still, in Germany the effort to develop a more efficient streamlined steam locomotive was on and became more earnest in 1932. William Beil, the director of engineering at Borsig in Berlin (Hennigsdorf), recalls that they were looking at speeds in the 150 km/h (93 mph) range since that was already possible with lighter self-propelled railcars. Borsig conducted some windtunnel testing at its own expense and the Reichsbahn did similar work at the University of G�ttingen. The result was that Lok 03 154 was fitted with a more aerodynamic cab and a parabola shaped boiler door. The running gear and boiler were also enclosed with the enclosures featuring suitable access panels for maintenance. Steaming at 150 km/h (93 mph) it quickly became evident that the engine was able to pull more cars with less effort. This was attributed not only to the streamlining but also to the increased thermodynamic efficiency realized by the streamlining. At the time, William Beil calculated that the streamlining contributed an extra 290 hp at 120 km/h (75 mph). Further calculations for speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph) showed that additional tractive effort would result which would translate directly into hauling more passenger cars.
All of this success led directly to incorporating this technology into the BR 05. As this new project began to, pardon the pun, take shape, the DRG also asked Borsig to streamline
03 193. By then the DRG had also mandated that passenger locomotives capable of speeds exceeding 140 km/h (87 mph) would be equipped with streamlining. Affected were BR 01¹⁰, 03¹⁰, 05 and 06. While this speed demarcation was in effect at the Reichsbahn, this concept was basically ignored in other countries. In the mid-1930s it had become fashionable, especially in the United States, to streamline locomotives whether or not any performance benefit would be realized or not. Fashionable or not, the German locomotive builders also had to be increasingly concerned with the competition offered by the already mentioned lighter and more aerodynamic railcars and electric locomotives. Not only were these quite efficient but they were also very attractive from a marketing viewpoint.
The ubiquitous BR 01 and BR 03
At first sight the famous BR 01¹⁰ and BR 03¹⁰ look almost identical but the difference was more skin deep with the BR 01 being the heavier duty machine with greater axle loading. The lighter duty BR 03 and its BR 01 counterpart were both destined to be clothed with streamlining. Altogether, these types were the most widely built and used streamliners. Initially, the DRG wanted to order 205 of the BR 01¹⁰ but the war reduced this by nearly 75 percent. Most survived those years and in 1949 they were overhauled but their streamlining was removed. Similarly, the original order for 140 of the BR 03¹⁰ streamliners was reduced to 60 at the start of the war. After the conflict, the DB and DR overhauled them but also had their streamlining removed.
The BR 05 in two versions
"In the BR 05 German steam engine development had reached its highest point." Those were the words of the editors of "M+F Journal" 25 years ago. That this is unarguable was proven in May 1936 when 05 002 broke the 200 km/h (124 mph) barrier. Three streamlined BR 05s were built by Borsig under the direction of Richard Paul Wagner at the DRG - two conventional (05 001 and 05 002) and one cab forward (05 003). All were 2�C2� (4-6-4) three-cylinder machines with five axle tenders. (Author�s note: This is the Wagner whose name is applied to the large smoke deflectors)
The conventional BR 05s were delivered in March and May 1935. Both entered revenue service in 1936 on the Berlin � Hamburg line. During the May 1936 record run, 05 002 developed over 3,400 hp (2,535 kW). With advent of the war, both were sidelined since high speed passenger service was deemed superfluous. They survived the war and in 1950, Krauss-Maffei dismantled the streamlining and reduced the boiler pressure to 16 bar. They then entered regular service in 1951 and were retired in July 1958. Engine 05 001 was installed in the N�rnberg Transportation Museum complete with its original streamlining. Together with 05 001, the two Loks regularly reached speeds of 150 km/h (93 mph) and 175 km/h (108 mph) on some stretches.
The cab forward design was radical by any measure. The engine was delivered in the fall of 1937. Unlike the Southern Pacific cab forward engines, the design of the 05 003 was intended primarily to provide better visibility for the crew at the anticipated high speeds. The obvious impossibility of trying to shovel coal into the boiler resulted in use of a stoker system that moved coal dust through a 14 m (46-ft) long pipeline. Even the use of coal dust proved difficult. Test results with two types of coal (brown and hard) were less than satisfactory. In 1944, 05 003 was rebuilt into a conventional locomotive but without streamlining. Its livery was wartime camouflage paint complete with strategically located armor plate to protect vital parts. After surviving the war, Krauss-Maffei overhauled this engine in 1950 and it joined the other 05s in revenue service. The ideal fuel would have been oil but this was not considered since it would have meant use of a very strategic material. Besides, the DRG had only very limited experience with oil-firing.
The Mammoth BR 06
The BR 06 was developed in 1933. It was necessary to have a high-performance locomotive for more mountainous areas and the all-important Berlin � Frankfurt/Main and Berlin � Munich lines. The new prototype engine had to be able to pull 650 ton trains at 120 km/h (75 mph) and on more severe grades at 60 km/h (37 mph). But, it was not until April 1939 that Krupp delivered the prototype three-cylinder BR 06 (06 001), a 2�D2� (4-8-4) design. It and its mate 06 002 were then the largest steam locomotives built in Germany. Their impressive size was further enhanced by their huge partially exposed drivers. Alas, the machines disappointed. There were boiler problems but perhaps potentially more serious was their inability to negotiate radii of 140 m (460 feet) without the possibility of derailing. Some railroaders also cast doubt on the machines� inability to safely negotiate some of the very complex turnout systems in place at that time. One of the driven axles was even flangeless. These limitations and the advent of more efficient electric locomotives on the Berlin � Frankfurt and Berlin � Munich lines doomed the BR 06. It never entered series production. Engine 06 001 was taken out of service in 1951 and 06 002 was hit by a bomb and destroyed during the war.
BR 61 and Henschel - Wegmann
Enter the locomotive builder Henschel & Sohn and the car builder Wegmann & Co. This team designed and developed a streamlined locomotive and suitable passenger cars to compete with the railcars. It was to be a relatively light train based on a 2�B1� (4-4-2) tank engine and passenger cars featuring Jacobs trucks. The DRG, however, wanted the design to make greater use of existing standard designs for both the locomotive and cars. What emerged was a streamlined BR 61 (61 001) and matching passenger cars painted in attractive aluminum and violet colors.
The train made its debut in May 1935 on the Berlin � Dresden route. In acceleration and top speed it matched "Der Fliegende Hamburg." Top speed was 185 km/h (115 mph), but at 150 km/h (93 mph), the locomotive�s running characteristics were not nearly as stable as those of other streamliners, notably the BR 05. Nevertheless, the new train did the 176 km (109 mile) Berlin to Dresden route in 100 minutes, a speed of 64 mph (103.5 km/h). The limited water capacity of the BR 61 was also an issue. Still, the train entered service. At war�s end, it was stationed in Braunschweig. It was then outfitted for service between Hannover and Bielefeld. An accident in 1952 led to its retirement.
To overcome these objections, in 1939 Henschel delivered a larger three-cylinder BR 61 (61 002) with the unusual axle configuration of 2�C3� (4-6-6). To accommodate the increased coal and water capacity, Henschel chose the three-axle trailing truck and too keep axle loading at the 18.5 tons dictated by the Reichsbahn. The new machine performed very well but scheduled service between Berlin and Dresden did not materialize and by 1943 both 61 001 and 61 002 gave up their attractive paint scheme and reverted to dreary wartime gray. But, the story of 61 002 did not end here, and as the immortal Monty Python gang often said, "and, now for something completely different."
After World War 2, 61 002 remained in the Soviet occupied zone of Germany. The servicing facility in Dresden had little use for the one-off locomotive other than to use it for various general purpose tasks. For a while, the engine was used for the personal train of the transportation minister but even while serving this dutiful bureaucrat, the machine exhibited all sorts of ills. As it turned out, the railway development center in Halle needed locomotives capable of at least 160 km/h (100 mph) to test high speed passenger cars then under development. The overhaul facility in Meiningen was given the job to convert 61 002 to a conventional tender locomotive of 2�C1� (4-6-2) configuration capable of 180 km/h (112 mph). The tender was from a BR 44 (44 468). The outside cylinders were from H 45 024, an experimental coal dust fired Lok with a condensing tender. (The less than elegant H 45 024, in turn, was derived from a conventional BR 45.) The reborn engine, now oil-fired, was designated 18 201 and in honor of the first German Pacific, a Badische IVf in 1907. This Lok used the 18 201 number in 1925. To some extent the new, green 18 201 looked like the Bundesbahn�s BR 10 of 1956.
The little BR 60
Though not intended to break or even approach high speeds, the private L�beck � B�chener Eisenbahn (LBE) ordered two streamlined BR 60s from Henschel. The two modest two-cylinder locomotives (60 001 and 60 002) were delivered in 1936. The LBE combined these with two-level coaches. The two trains were used in pull-push service on the Hamburg � L�beck � Travem�nde line. The little tank engines were capable of 120 km/h (75 mph). The LBE ordered a third slightly more powerful BR 60 streamliner (60 003) in 1937.
With the start of the war, the DRG de-emphasized high speed passenger traffic and relegated the BR 60s to heater service but eventually only 60 001 was used for that. In 1945, 60 002 and 60 003 went to the East German DR. Engine 60 002 was in service in the Berlin suburbs until 1958 and the third machine served until 1962 near Stralsund.
The Unconventional BR 19
Yet another but the last attempt to build another aerodynamic steam engine was Henschel�s design for the BR 19. In its outward appearance, the 19 1001 was very similar to the BR 01 and BR 03 streamliners. It was a decidedly unconventional machine of 1�Do1� (2-8-2) configuration. Four two-cylinder steam engines were used. On the right side, two engines powered the first and third driven axle and on the left side a similar arrangement powered the second and fourth driven axles. It was delivered to the DRG on June 13, 1941 and after solving some teething problems, the BR 19 showed stable and quiet running characteristics. Trials on a dynamometer at the DRG�s Grunewald (Berlin) test facility showed that speeds of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) should be easily possible. A promising start, indeed.
In tests on the Berlin � Hamburg line the machine reached 186 km/h (115 mph), a speed that was not only attributed to its unconventional propulsion system but also to the well designed streamlining. While the potential was clearly there, the times did not permit further development. In May 1943, the engine was transferred to Bw Altona (near Hamburg) and used in revenue service. A bomb hit in early in 1944 damaged 19 1001 but she was repaired only to be hit again in August 1944, but this time more severely that was followed by sidelining. In April 1945, the unusual machine was discovered by the advancing American troops, taken into custody and then shipped to Fort Monroe in Virginia in October of that year. Industry engineers and others examined the Lok but did not run it. As a matter of fact, the machine never ran again under its own power. The advent of dieselization by the American railroads quickly obsoleted steam power. By 1952, the engine was scrapped.
The BR 10
No doubt the last gasp in search of a more streamlined steam engine was the BR 10. It was a very advanced three-cylinder 2�C1� (4-6-2) and, according to Wolfgang Messerschmidt, it was really a pseudo-streamliner. Krupp built the only two of these prototypes in 1956, which were intended to replace the BR 01¹⁰ and BR 03¹⁰. The first, 10 001, was coal-fired and its mate, 10 002, was oil fired. The machine�s axle loading of 22 tons imposed restrictions on many lines and, in addition, not all lines permitted its service speed of 140 km/h (87 mph). With times and technology changing rapidly, the end of steam was clearly in sight. Both were retired in 1967.
The End of an Era
As we saw, those streamliners that survived the war were stripped of their elegant windcheating exteriors. Soon the groundbreaking V200 came on the scene as did the E18 before the war. Both were clearly more efficient and faster but even they are retired now. Today�s passengers on the ICE will probably never have heard of the mighty 05 002�s record run. The longest lived streamliner was no doubt 01 1102 delivered in the summer of 1940 and served until 1974. It is now restored and still operating much to the delight of Europe�s steam enthusiasts.
Streamliner Summary

Type	Service Class	No. built	Service Years
BR 0110	S 36.20	55	1939 - 1953
BR 0310	S 36.18	60	1939 - 1959
BR 05	S 37.19	2	1935 - 58
BR 05*	S 37.19	1	1937 - 1939; 1950 - 1958
BR 06	S 48.18/20	2	1939 - 1945
BR 10	S 36.22	2	1956 - 1967
BR 19	S 46.18	1	1941 - 1944
BR 60	St 24.18/19	3	1936 - 1962
BR 61	St 38.18	2	1935 - 1956
18 201**	S 36.20	1	1961 - ??
* cab forward
** ex 61 002

Acknowledgements:
The author appreciates the assistance provided by Kevin Brady and Heinz Brockmann.
Sources:
"50 Jahre Einheitslokomotiven", Alfred B. Gottwaldt, ISBN 3-440-04253-7, 1975.
"Das Grosse Typenbuch Deutscher Lokomotiven", Weisbrod, B�zold,, Obermayer, ISBN 3-334-70751-5, 1995.
"Die Dampfmotor Lokomotive 19 1001", M�rklin Magazin, 2/74, pp. 28 � 30.
"Baureihe 05 � Die schnellsten deutschen Dampflokomotiven", M+F Journal, 1/1975, pp. 10 �12.
"Die Entwicklung der Stromlinien Lokomotiven der Deutschen Reichsbahn", M+F Journal,1/1977, pp. 47 � 49.
"Ganz in Schale", Franz Rittig, Modell Eisen Bahner, Nr. 12/1996, pp. 12 � 19.

"Jimmos starke Herren", Eisenbahn Magazin, 12/9

"HORSES FOR COURSES" EVEN APART FROM RACING !

BERNBOROUGH

When I was a child the great horse BERNBOROUGH was the darling of the Newspapers and the Newsreel Cameras. Out of 37 Starts the great horse had 26 Wins 2 Seconds and one Third. At one stage he had 15 consecutive wins carrying heavy weights and finished that streak carrying 10Stone 5 Pounds in the long Doomben 10,000. 

Not many horses have that sort of stamina. So we have the phrase "Horses for Courses" - some horses can perform better on certain racecourses than others.

"Hello!" You are thinking to yourself is Tony a secret racehorse fanatic? NO! This is just a diversionary way of introducing some information about......steam locomotives!

Most people looking at a steam locomotive will not think twice about any of its features. But to the initiated a great deal can be told about it's designer's and owner's intentions for it by even a brief glance. The main giveaway is the size of the larger wheels - the DRIVING WHEELS as they are called. If they are small, the main purpose of the locomotive is strength - it will usually be a Goods / Freight locomotive. If the wheels are very large , it's main purpose is speed - it will always be a passenger train locomotive.

NSWGR 36 Class Passenger Locomotive 4-6-0 5 Feet 9 Inches Driving Wheels

NSWGR 57 CLASS 4-8-2 Goods Locomotive of 1927 5 Feet Driving Wheels

But the "Horses for Courses" principle has still more far-reaching influence on the design of a steam locomotive.At  the most basic level, the "loading gauge" must be considered. This is the maximum height and width that the locomotive must conform to so that it will fit into tunnels, under signal frames and bridges and be able to pass trains on adjoining tracks without contact and also pass through Station platforms without contact. These last two requirements are not simple  because curves of varying intensity will cause the locomotive to protrude at a tangent to the curve as it goes around it. In fact when first brought into service (in the days before computers) the 57 Class was found to be unable to pass through some stations until the platforms were shaved back. Even beyond these basic measurements, comes the matter of weight, both absolute and distributed along the length of the locomotive. Absolute : the bridges and viaducts to be traversed must be able to support the dense weight of the locomotive.; distributed : the weight will be heaviest on the axles of the Driving Wheels - this is important to ensure the maximum adhesion of the wheels to the track, but still it must not be too great for those same bridges and viaducts.

Having got that basic requirement right, there is the question of  turning the locomotive at the end of its planned runs. In Australia especially most lines end in rural areas, in a dead-end. The locomotive needs to be turned on a turntable for its return trip. The size of that turntable will govern the size of the locomotive that can be employed. That is the size of the locomotive complete with its coal and water carrying tender.  Turntables in NSW were fairly commonly 50 Feet in diameter in major facilities they were even larger, but if the locomotive was to serve widely it must conform to the lowest diameter. Sometimes when there were problems, smaller 6 Wheel tenders were used to shorten overall length.

So that covers the basic concerns that must be addressed. But more is demanded: the routes the locomotive is expected to cover and the gradients which will be encountered must be carefully studied in order to determine the steam generation that will be required. Regular heavy climbing up stiff gradients will require large amounts of steam to be generated. This in turn will govern the size of the boiler and the firebox , and it will also determine the amount of water and coal that the tender must carry having regard to the water replenishment opportunities along those route. The size of the boiler will also need to take into account the desired size of the Driving Wheels and the loading gauge once again. 

                                          "FLYING SCOTSMAN"  4-6-2 in Australia

                                                        NSWGR 38 Class 4-6-2

Here we see the "horses for courses" factor fully at work. The famous locomotive "Flying Scotsman" was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley specifically to haul the "Flying Scotsman" express between Kings Cross Station London 392 miles to Edinburgh Scotland   . It did this at sustained high speed and was able to draw water from pans set between the tracks without stopping.It was the most famous train in the pre-War Empire. YET  when the "Flying Scotsman" locomotive made a prolonged visit to Australia some years back and double-headed with 3801 over the Blue Mountains, it quickly became apparent that it did not have the steaming capacity for the prolonged strenuous climbing required . The result has been described as 3801 pulling "Flying Scotsman" and their train over the tough route.  

So when one looks at a steam locomotive one is seeing the complex solution to a wide variety of problems and challenges. Designing a steam locomotive is an  art  underpinned by much science.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

1954 CONFESSIONS OF STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ENTHUSIAST

"RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION" - WHILE OTHERS WERE READING FOOTBALL MAGAZINES

Just exactly when I became addicted to steam locomotives is a question I have never considered until now, as I write this. The 1952 school prize shows that I was already hooked then,and by that time I already had several books about "trains" as non-addicts would say. As a little boy at Christmas 1945 I believe it was, I was given a Hornby Train Set with a little four wheeled, clockwork, red  locomotive and two chocolate and cream passenger carriages. It was to last until the great railway disaster of about 1950, when the spring broke hurling the upper part some distance from the wheels!

It wasn't anything to do with my Grandad Beckmann having been a Signalman, because I don't recall any glimmer of the addiction in him. I think it must have been spontaneous. And there is just SOMETHING about a steam locomotive. It seems ALIVE.Its Brake Compressor 's panting seems like breathing, its Coupling Rods and Connecting Rods are like muscles flexing and its exhaust is a human like indication of effort and just like a human body it is warm and its whistle and Safety Valves are like human roars! At the beginning of the classic film documentary "A Steam Train Passes"made by the famous Australian Cinematographer Dean Semler, a retired Steam Locomotive Driver speaks about the feeling when the Regulator (Throttle) is opened up, the steam released into the cylinders and "life"is breathed into the locomotive which begins to move under the driver as all the complex forces come into play.

TRACKSIDE JUST EAST OF LIDCOMBE

The photo above is one I took one morning, having climbed through the fence to get right beside the track with my pathetic camera, to see what I could catch , when along came 3670 at a nice clip leaning slightly into the long gentle curve behind the rarely used Rookwood Station headed East. That was before the days of the Nanny State with its more serious fences , CCTV and heaven knows what else to prevent ANYTHING HAPPENING ANYWHERE,EVER! In those days the Railways contented themselves with printed Regulations displayed in every Waiting Room, making all sorts of things an Offence and threatening all manner of death and destruction if you disobeyed. But when you are young in the 1950's you know that it doesn't mean you....and if it could have, there was no-one to police it anyhow!

AND BY SHE RUSHES WITH MAGNIFICENT NOISE AND THE SMELL OF STEAM<OIL<SMOKE AND COAL- WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?

Coming and going it was a great sight and experience! I used to write off around the world to different railway companies when I was about 10 years old for photos and details of their Locomotives and quite often got very good replies. I would carefully monitor the Shipping Notices for ships arriving from the U.S.A . which would be carrying the mail - international Air Mail was too expensive. And often some days later a nice fat letter would arrive full of the right stuff - I particularly remember one from the Norfolk and Western Railway full of pictures and info. on their magnificent locomotives with a Business Card from "Ben Bane Delaney"- there was a name to conjure with! His reply was generous in the materials supplied - I still have a Blotter ( ok folks, one used it to blot up excess ink when writing with pen and ink....no, you can just find out about that yourselves!) with a colour photo of a sleek "J "Class 4-8-4 on the back.

Another thing about steam locomotives is that each Class made a distinctive noise. So from miles away I could tell just what Class of Locomotive was passing. The C36 had a quite distinctive noise especially when coasting or just regaining speed after coasting - it was a hollow clanking sound, which I think was called Piston Slap and came from small amounts of condensation in the cylinders caused when coasting.

The love of steam locomotives is "in the blood"somehow. I have known two brothers in Brisbane to be badly ( wrong word actually, its a virtuous thing!) addicted , and a third brother unaffected! Poor fellow!

*1954 CONFESSIONS OF A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ADDICT

"RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION" - WHILE OTHERS WERE READING FOOTBALL MAGAZINES

Just exactly when I became addicted to steam locomotives is a question I have never considered until now, as I write this. The 1952 school prize shows that I was already hooked then,and by that time I already had several books about "trains" as non-addicts would say. As a little boy at Christmas 1945 I believe it was, I was given a Hornby Train Set with a little four wheeled, clockwork, red  locomotive and two chocolate and cream passenger carriages. It was to last until the great railway disaster of about 1950, when the spring broke hurling the upper part some distance from the wheels!

It wasn't anything to do with my Grandad Beckmann having been a Signalman, because I don't recall any glimmer of the addiction in him. I think it must have been spontaneous. And there is just SOMETHING about a steam locomotive. It seems ALIVE.Its Brake Compressor 's panting seems like breathing, its Coupling Rods and Connecting Rods are like muscles flexing and its exhaust is a human like indication of effort and just like a human body it is warm and its whistle and Safety Valves are like human roars! At the beginning of the classic film documentary "A Steam Train Passes"made by the famous Australian Cinematographer Dean Semler, a retired Steam Locomotive Driver speaks about the feeling when the Regulator (Throttle) is opened up, the steam released into the cylinders and "life"is breathed into the locomotive which begins to move under the driver as all the complex forces come into play.

TRACKSIDE JUST EAST OF LIDCOMBE

The photo above is one I took one morning, having climbed through the fence to get right beside the track with my pathetic camera, to see what I could catch , when along came 3670 at a nice clip leaning slightly into the long gentle curve behind the rarely used Rookwood Station headed East. That was before the days of the Nanny State with its more serious fences , CCTV and heaven knows what else to prevent ANYTHING HAPPENING ANYWHERE,EVER! In those days the Railways contented themselves with printed Regulations displayed in every Waiting Room, making all sorts of things an Offence and threatening all manner of death and destruction if you disobeyed. But when you are young in the 1950's you know that it doesn't mean you....and if it could have, there was no-one to police it anyhow!

AND BY SHE RUSHES WITH MAGNIFICENT NOISE AND THE SMELL OF STEAM<OIL<SMOKE AND COAL- WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?

Coming and going it was a great sight and experience! I used to write off around the world to different railway companies when I was about 10 years old for photos and details of their Locomotives and quite often got very good replies. I would carefully monitor the Shipping Notices for ships arriving from the U.S.A . which would be carrying the mail - international Air Mail was too expensive. And often some days later a nice fat letter would arrive full of the right stuff - I particularly remember one from the Norfolk and Western Railway full of pictures and info. on their magnificent locomotives with a Business Card from "Ben Bane Delaney"- there was a name to conjure with! His reply was generous in the materials supplied - I still have a Blotter ( ok folks, one used it to blot up excess ink when writing with pen and ink....no, you can just find out about that yourselves!) with a colour photo of a sleek "J "Class 4-8-4 on the back.

Another thing about steam locomotives is that each Class made a distinctive noise. So from miles away I could tell just what Class of Locomotive was passing. The C36 had a quite distinctive noise especially when coasting or just regaining speed after coasting - it was a hollow clanking sound, which I think was called Piston Slap and came from small amounts of condensation in the cylinders caused when coasting.

The love of steam locomotives is "in the blood"somehow. I have known two brothers in Brisbane to be badly ( wrong word actually, its a virtuous thing!) addicted , and a third brother unaffected! Poor fellow!