Miniature Railway Development in Great Britain

by Henry Greenly

''Assoc. Inst. Loco. Engineers, England''

From "Everyday Engineering Magazine", October 1920

Some Interesting Details of Narrow Gauge Railways Used for Pleasure and Profit and Descriptions of Typical Locomotives Employed on Them The past year has seen a considerable development in 15 inch gauge Miniature Railway work in Great Britain. The only public railway, i.e., one which runs to time-table all the year round and that carries goods and G.P.O. mails, is that at Eskdale in the lake district of Cumberland, and to cope with increased traffic a new Pacific engine, made from the writer's designs has just been completed and put into service. This engine weighs in working order 5,000 pounds, of which 2,500 pounds is carried on the coupled wheels. The cylinders are 4-1/8 inch bore and 6-3/4 inch stroke and have the valve chests on top. The reversing gear is standard Stephenson's link motion operating from the inside to the outside through a rocking shaft. The driving wheels are 20 inch diameter, with tires 1-7/8 inch wide spaced 14 inches apart. The axles are 2-1/16 inch diameter, the driving axle having the eccentrics forged on solid with the shaft. The boiler is 20 inch diameter at the firebox end and has a barrel 5 feet 11-14 inches long. The heating surface of the generator is as follows:


 * Tube - 11,672.7 square inches
 * Firebox - 1,412.6 square inches
 * Total - 13,085.3 square inches

The locomotive at present used at Margate is one of the "Atlantic" type of the writer's 1904 design, built in 1909. This engine weighs 3,400 pounds and has cylinders 3-3/8 inch bore by 6 inch stroke. Direct link motion is fitted, the valve chests being inside the frames. The coupled wheels are 18 inch diameter and have an adhesive weight of 1,200 pounds resting on them. This engine has something like 50,000 miles to its credit, but is still in good working order. The new engine with doulbe the tractive effort, i.e. 700 pounds instead of 300 pounds, promised from the Rhyl batch will, however, take over the bulk of the work, the old engine, "Pricess Edward of Wales", being classed as a spare.

The capacity of the Margate line is at present 750 passengers per hour, 24-1/2 trains per hour, (including loading and unloading) which is a measure of the traffic of an average busy day. With the new engine this could increased to over 1,200 per hour.