PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
STEAM-DRIVEN COACHES FOR BRANCH-LINE SERVICE.
A Railway Company's Successful Experiments which May InEuence Future Developments.
THE RECENT operation of a Sentinel-Cammell steam rail-coach upon regular passenger-carrying duties, as distinct from purely experimental runs, over a branch line in the North of .England has marked a new era in passenger transport. It was the first occasion upon which sueh a vehicle had actually maintained a recognized service, and the extremely satisfactory results which have accrued have indicated that this type of vehicle will provide a practical and economical solution of a problem which has been faced by railway engineers for many years past, viz., that of finding a suitable machine to replace existing steam trains over local lines where traffic is of small dimensions.
The North-Eastern Railway Co. have recently been responsible for the experiments which have been conducted with the Sentinel-Cammell rail-coach. This vehicle, which is similar to that on view at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, is built more on the lines of the ordinary road bus and provides accommodation for seating 56 passengers, whilst sufficient space is available for 40 people to stand.
The portion of the rail-coach housing the power unit, which is constructed by the Sentinel Waggon Works (1920), Ltd., is self-contained and is readily detachable, whilst the passenger portion of the coach which embodies the essential features of railroad rolling stock is manufactured by Cammell, Laird and Co., Ltd., of Nottingham. The total weight of the vehicle with a full complement of passengers is under 20 tons, Since the steam vehicle, which this rail-coach temporarily replaced on the London and NorthEastern Railway line from Gosforth to Porteland and Darrashall in the Newcastle area, weighed between 70 and 80 tons, it will be readily understood that the operating costs of the lighter vehicle have proved much lower than on the machine hitherto used. As a matter of -fact, in Jersey (Channel Islands), where a similar vehicle has been in service for some time past, it is computed that there is a saving of '72 per cent, in fuel as compared with the ordinary train which it replaced. It is claimed that the average amount of coal used per mile is about 5 lb., and that three to four gallons of water are used over the same distance. During the period that the Sentinel. Cammell coach was in service it gave satisfaction from all points of view and adhered to the normal time-table without the slightest difficulty, and both Mr. E. F. Wilkinson, district passenger superintendent of the London and North-Eastern Railway, . and • Mr. Murray, of the chief mechanical engineers' department, expressed themselves as very satisfied with the performances of the vehicle.
A number of vehicles of this type has already been constructed for railroad duties in Jersey and on the Continent' and in certain of the Colonies, and a number of orders is in hand.
The rail-coach which we illustrate has been withdrawn from service in the North, but the pros and cons of this type Of vehicle for branch-line traffic are receiving earnest consideration following the company's experience, and it is anticipated that an order for a number of Sentinel-Cammell vehicles of this type may eventually be placed so that they can be used on various parts of the company's railway system.