A
Brief History of the Lynton and Barnstaple outline,
500 mm gauge, 2–6–2T Locomotive - Camila
Note: Many thanks to Shaun McMahon for providing this excellent description of FCAF No.3 Camila as it was in 1999. This article was originally written for the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Society in Britain and was published in an edited form in their Winter 1999 magazine. Any mistakes contained below are mine.
As many
readers will already know, locomotive Camila was designed and manufactured
for the Argentine company Tranex Turismo by the British company Winson Engineering
during 1995.
The outline of the locomotive is essentially to the same style as that of
the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (LBR) 2–6–2T fleet with some
slight differences, for example it is pretty difficult to scale down a locomotive
cab successfully and maintain an atmosphere of comfort for the locomotive
crew !
The order was placed with the manufacturers in October 1994 and at the request of E. Diaz, President of Tranex Turismo S.A., the locomotive was completed in only 12 weeks. The project manager at Tranex at the time was D. Thomas who chose the LBR style as he was a Lynton and Barnstaple fan, though he had never been to the UK in his life!! The locomotive cost £85,000 (around $136,000 at 1999 exchange rates) and upon reflection the cheap price paid allied with haste in order to complete the locomotive in this short time scale have not paid off. For the first season the locomotive performed to predicted standards however as the service became more intense, the performance became worse until it reached the point where the locomotive could barely haul a 4 carriage train and produce any steam at the same time! A standard ZB chassis (as Winson Engineering had supplied for the Bure Valley Railway locomotives) was used for the manufacture of this locomotive. Allied with this fact, routine maintenance of the locomotive during the time that it has been at Ushuaia has been poor (indeed if any was carried out at all!) and at present the locomotive is undergoing stage 1 of overhaul and modification in order to bring it up to an acceptable level of performance.
Work during stage 1 includes:
1.
Replacement of all 3 driving axles to correct design, attention was brought
to this matter following an in service failure of the main driving axle on
March 7th 1999.
2. Replacement of all motion bushes due to wear in service.
3. Replacement of valve gear pins and bushes as for 2.
4. Alterations to the combustion system inclusive of new
burner, altered primary free air intake, fitting of stainless steel arch so
as to form a combustion chamber. Present arrangements of the combustion system
are poor to say the least. Application of superheated steam for atomisation.
5. Alterations to cab interior (layout of cab controls) in
order to raise ergonomic efficiency.
6. Returning of main driving wheel tyres to restore profile
and inclusive of high adhesion profile rather than standard profile.
7. Application of proportional mechanical lubrication to
cylinders and valves.
8. Improved boiler insulation.
9. Repairs to boiler flue tubes in order to prevent leakage
at firebox tubeplate.
10. Redesign and manufacture of sanding gear.
11. Steam operated flange lubricator – design and manufacture.
12. Alterations to the steam circuit so as to improve the
breathing capacity of the locomotive.
13. Overhaul of all boiler fittings.
14. Design and manufacture of new exhaust system to Lempor
type, this to include Kordina, exhaust manifold, mixing chamber and chimney.
Present draughting arrangements are very poor and (apart from the design and
manufacture faults associated with the main driving axles) constitute the
worse area of this locomotive.
15. Renewal of piston and valve rings.
16. Redesign of bogie side control gear, manufacture and
fitting of new components to corrected design.
17. Full overhaul of air pump, the type fitted to this locomotive
have been notorious for failing in traffic. The company is looking into the
possibilities of an improved design of air pump that will stand up to everyday
service, the present Winson design unfortunately does not.
18. Air pump exhaust to be moved so as to discharge at a
point outside the smokebox i.e. this in turn does not have a bad influence
on the draughting of the locomotive as is often the case with British locomotives
that have vacuum exhausts and air pump exhausts piped so as to expel through
the chimney!
At the time of writing the above work is being rounded off in preparation for the locomotive to re-enter traffic in October before the beginning of the peak traffic season. Passenger figures at FCAF are steadily rising each year and the new year celebrations are predicted to bring many tourists to the city at the end of the world! A rigorous testing session will follow all this work so as to evaluate performance prior to beginning of stage 2 of the work which is scheduled for next winter here at Ushuaia (remember that our seasons are opposite to yours in the UK!).
Stage 2 will, in general, will comprise of the following:
1. Removal
of boiler for a full examination.
2. Superheating of boiler, application of a high degree of
superheat and the inclusion of a superheater booster.
3. Further improvements to the steam circuit that were not
possible during stage 1 due to time and financial restrictions.
4. Further improvements to exhaust system, redesign of the
nozzle exit areas so as to allow for the conditions of superheated steam which
readers will appreciate are much nearer that of a perfect gas and draughting
properties are much improved. Chimney position to be altered so as the exhaust
manifold clears the new superheater header.
5. Modifications deemed necessary as a result of monitoring,
in traffic, the results of work carried out during stage 1.
So, as readers will see from the what has been written, there is a great deal to be done in order to bring this little locomotive up to performance levels that are expected from a steam locomotive operating an intensive passenger service. It should be noted that having given a run down of all that is imperfect with the design of this locomotive and all that required to correct such, the aesthetic appeal of Camila is very high indeed and I would go as far as saying that it looks as a narrow gauge locomotive should look in the tourist industry, beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course and that is a personal opinion. However Camila will be an example of applying good, reliable, modern design features in order to raise efficiency to a very high standard whilst not spoiling the appearance of the locomotive, which is a very important factor for any tourist railway to take into consideration ! In fact Camila will be a demonstrator for the rest of the world as far as the needs of this particular industry go, readers please bear in mind that with the ever increasing demands upon the health and safety executive steam locomotive operators must continue to develop in order to prevent pollution in the form of smoke and spark emission, use of safe materials for the repair and maintenance of locomotives – the forthcoming ban on the use of mudhole door seals that contain asbestos is a classic example of new constraints put upon us by governing bodies. As a point of interest development is going ahead as to a safe alternative that does not cost the earth here in Argentina, readers that care about the continuation of steam operation in any form keep your eyes out for such developments.
Other news from the Railway at the End of the World is as follows. Garratt locomotive Nora (three locomotives on FCAF are named after members of the Company Presidents – Enrique Diaz – family ! Nora being Mr. Diaz's wife whilst Camila and Rodrigo are his children! A very nice personal touch to what is a very friendly family orientated railway) is in daily service and will undergo a short period of routine maintenance during October, the major work to this locomotive (which follows the same pattern as locomotive Camila) will be undertaken next Winter here at Ushuaia under the direction of the writer. ) O and K diesel locomotive Rodrigo is also in daily service (one cannot say that FCAF is really seasonal as the Winter sees a relatively high number of tourists in the area thus quite busy daily trains!) but will be shortly given an easier life with the forthcoming arrival of our new diesel locomotive Tierra del Fuego. This locomotive is being manufactured by Girdlestone Rail of South Africa and is far larger and more powerful than anything that is at present in use on FCAF. Readers will recognise its outline as being similar to that of the fleet of Baguley–Drewery 0–6–0 diesel locomotives in service on Ffestiniog, Vale of Rheidol and Brecon Mountain Railways in Wales. The second Garratt locomotive (a name has yet to be decided) is at present going through the design stage prior to manufacture. This locomotive in its present form comprises of a kit of spare parts that were intended to form the basis for a second locomotive of the same design as that of K1 outline Garratt Nora. However following the experience to date in service of Nora it was decided to take this opportunity to redesign the locomotive so as to provide a far more powerful, efficient and user friendly machine. Again, as for diesel loco Tierra del Fuego, Girdlestone Rail of South Africa will manufacture this.
It is hoped that this article brings readers of this journal up to date with events here down under, it is hoped that in a few months time I will be able to update you, especially as to the performance of your cousin locomotive Camila!
S.
McMahon
Technical Manager
Tranex Turismo S.A.
24th
July 1999.
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