The steam rail motors (SRM) were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.
The steam rail motors (SRM) were self-propelled carriages operated by the Great Western Railway in England and Wales from 1903 to 1935. They incorporated a steam locomotive within the body of the carriage.
In the first years of the twentieth century, railway managements turned their attention to the need to provide better local passenger services and to reduce costs, in the face of increasing demand for convenient travel and the competitive threat posed by urban tramways.
The original strengths of railways—a fixed track, multiple vehicle passenger trains, highly structured and staffed stations—had limitations in responding to changing needs. The London and South Western Railway had successfully operated a railmotor, consisting of a self-contained passenger vehicle with its own steam power unit, on its Southsea Railway, and the Great Western Railway arranged to borrow one unit for trials on its Golden Valley Line in Gloucestershire. On this rural route with a scattered population along the rail corridor, the new vehicles enabled a more frequent service to be operated at lower cost. Stops were made at new locations, and passengers joined and left the train at cheap and simple ground-level platforms using power operated steps on the vehicles. Six new stopping places were provided between Chalford and Gloucester for this service. The guard issued tickets on the train, avoiding the need for staffing at the halts. The vehicles could be driven from either end, so time was not lost in running round at terminals, as would be the case in locomotive hauled trains.
The trial proved successful and a steam rail motor was designed by the Chief Mechanical Engineer George Jackson Churchward. Two units were manufactured, and they entered service on the same route on 12 October 1903. A further 44 were built during 1904 and 1905, and by the time production finished in 1908 the fleet numbered 99 carriage units. There were 112 power units which could be changed between carriages to suit maintenance needs.
The rail motors were also deployed in cities such as Plymouth, where they operated frequent services calling at new stopping places, competing with the new electric tramways.
The relatively limited accommodation led to problems at busy periods, and driving trailers were constructed with a mechanical facility to control the main unit, so that the train could be driven from the driving trailer, maintaining the avoidance of running round at terminals. However, the available power in the small steam engine was a limitation, especially on routes with steep gradients. Maggs records that on the Wrington Vale Light Railway it was frequently necessary for the rail motor to stop on the 1 in 50 gradient to raise enough steam to continue. [1]
Steam engines need frequent servicing, and while this was being undertaken the coach unit was not available for use; steam engine maintenance is also exceptionally dirty, and keeping the passenger sections in an acceptable state of cleanliness was an issue.
Most rail motors were converted into driving trailers for push-and-pull trains (sometimes referred to as autocoaches) serving a separate steam locomotive, and the original power units were scrapped. Autotrains offered many of the benefits of rail motors but, because they were operated by separate locomotives, were much more flexible in operation and easier to maintain. The first of the original rail motors was withdrawn in 1914, but sixty-five survived until 1922. Three of the units were then sold to the London and Blackwall Railway [2] and the last was withdrawn in 1935.
Rail motors Nos. 42 and 49, along with ex-Port Talbot Railway No. 1 (which had been acquired by the GWR in 1908) were sold to the Port of London Authority.
All of the fleet were built with four-wheel vertical-boiler power units and a four-wheel trailing bogie under the carriage. Driving wheels were from 3 ft 5 in (1,041 mm) to 4 ft 0 in (1,219 mm); cylinders were from 9 in × 15 in (229 mm × 381 mm) to 12 in × 16 in (305 mm × 406 mm).
Some dimensions were 3⁄4 inch (19 mm) larger than shown in this table where figures have been rounded down to nearest one inch (25 mm). [3]
| Diagram(s) | Quantity | Numbers | Completed | Length | Width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A, A1 | 2 | 1-2 | 1903 | 57 feet (17.4 m) | 8.5 feet (2.59 m) |
| B, C, D | 12 | 3-14 | 1904 | 59.5 feet (18.1 m) | 8.5 feet (2.59 m) |
| E | 2 | 15-16 | 1905 | 56 feet (17.1 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| F, G, G1 | 12 | 17-28 | 1904 | 59.5 feet (18.1 m) | 8.5 feet (2.59 m) |
| H, J, J1 | 8 | 29-36 | 1905 | 59.5 feet (18.1 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| K, K1 | 4 | 37-40 | 1905 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| L | 2 | 41-42 | 1905 | 59.5 feet (18.1 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| M, M1, N | 10 | 43-52 | 1905 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| O | 18 | 53-58, 61-72 | 1906 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| P | 2 | 59-60 | 1905 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| Q | 8 | 73-80 | 1906 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| Q1 | 3 | 81-83 | 1907 | 59.5 feet (18.1 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
| R | 16 | 84-99 | 1908 | 70 feet (21.3 m) | 9 feet (2.74 m) |
The first sixteen rail motors did not provide luggage space and were designated "suburban", but from No. 17 on, a small luggage compartment was added. The later rail motors were designated "branch". [4] : 29
Most of the rail motors were built at Swindon Works, but 14 (GWR Nos. 15, 16, and 61–72) were built by Kerr, Stuart and Company, and 8 (GWR Nos. 73–80) were built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (GRC&W). [4] : 30 The GRC&W were primarily carriage builders and seem to have contracted out the construction of the engine to another Gloucester firm, Summers and Scott. [4] : 31 Kerr Stuart later sold an engine for a similar rail motor to Victorian Railways in Australia. [5]
In February 1908, a steam rail motor was turned out from Swindon railway works and given the number 93. It was one of sixteen built to Diagram R, the last batch of steam rail motors. These were 70 feet (21 m) long and 9 feet (2.7 m) wide. After running 479,006 miles (770,885 km) it was withdrawn in November 1934, the power unit was removed and the carriage portion converted into an auto trailer. Now renumbered 212, it operated in this form until May 1956. It was then put into use as a "Work Study Coach" and later as a static office in Birmingham. [6]
In 1970, it was sold to the Great Western Society and moved to their base at Didcot Railway Centre [6] but it was not until 1998 that they were able to make a start on returning it to original condition as a steam rail motor. The frame of the new power bogie was erected in November 2000 at the Tyseley Locomotive Works and was then mounted on wheels and fitted with a boiler. In March 2008 the power bogie was put on display at Didcot. In January 2009 it was moved to the Llangollen Railway where the carriage portion was restored and the two portions brought together. [7] Work was completed in March 2011 [8] and No. 93 returned to public service at Didcot in May later that year. [9]
In June 2012, No. 93 was approved for main line operation, even though the re-introduction of wooden bodied vehicles had not been allowed for many years, and was subject to restrictions to reduce the possibility of collisions and any subsequent damage. [10] Since then No. 93 has run on various railways including the Bodmin and Wenford, the South Devon, and the Looe branch (Network Rail). [11] [12]
In 2013, the restoration of auto trailer No. 92 was completed at Llangollen (as part of the same project). The railmotor and trailer ran together for the first time in preservation later in the year. [13]
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.
A railcar is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach, with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors".
The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge types for the growing railway, such as the Firefly and later Iron Duke Class 2-2-2s. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience to the workshops at Swindon. To replace some of the earlier locomotives, he put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge locomotives and from this time on all locomotives were given numbers, including the broad gauge ones that had previously carried just names.
In 1933, the Great Western Railway introduced the first of what was to become a successful series of diesel railcars, which survived in regular use into the 1960s, when they were replaced with the new British Rail "first generation" type diesel multiple units.
The British Rail Mark 3 is a type of passenger carriage developed in response to growing competition from airlines and the car in the 1970s. A variant of the Mark 3 became the rolling stock for the High Speed Train (HST).
The Great Western Railway 2900 Class or Saint Class, which was built by the Great Western Railway's Swindon Works, incorporated several series of 2-cylinder passenger steam locomotives designed by George Jackson Churchward and built between 1902 and 1913 with differences in the dimensions. The majority of these were built as 4-6-0 locomotives; but thirteen examples were built as 4-4-2. They proved to be a highly successful class which established the design principles for GWR 2-cylinder classes over the next fifty years, and influenced similar classes on other British railways.
The Great Western Railway Iron Duke Class 4-2-2 was a class of 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge steam locomotives for express passenger train work.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 2301 Class or Dean Goods Class is a class of British 0-6-0 steam locomotives.
Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not.
The GWR Autocoach is a type of coach that was used by the Great Western Railway for push-pull trains powered by a steam locomotive. The distinguishing design feature of an autocoach is the driving cab at one end, allowing the driver to control the train without needing to be located in the cab of the steam locomotive. This eliminates the need to run the engine round to the other end of the coach at the end of each journey.
The Bristol and Exeter Railway Fairfield was an experimental broad gauge self-propelled steam carriage. In later use the carriage portion was removed and it was used as a small shunting locomotive.
The Lambourn Valley Railway (LVR) was a branch railway line running from the town of Newbury, Berkshire north-west to the village of Lambourn. It was opened in 1898. Fulfilling a local need, it was in financial difficulties throughout its independent life and was sold to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1905.
Railmotor is a term used in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for a railway lightweight railcar, usually consisting of a railway carriage with a steam traction unit, or a diesel or petrol engine, integrated into it.
The Kerr Stuart steam railmotor, also known as Motor Car 3, was a steam railcar operated by the Victorian Railways from 1913 to 1924.
Creamy Kate is a former New South Wales Government Railways railmotor, numbered 38. It is an evolution of the CPH rail motor class.
Diesel multiple units and railcars are trains, usually with passenger accommodation, that do not require a locomotive. Railcars can be single cars, while in multiple units cars are marshalled together with a driving position either end. As of December 2010, 23 percent of the rail passenger cars used on Network Rail are part of a diesel multiple unit.
A steam railcar is a rail vehicle that does not require a locomotive as it contains its own steam engine. The first steam railcar was an experimental unit designed and built in 1847 by James Samuel and William Bridges Adams. In 1848, they made the Fairfield steam carriage that they sold to the Bristol and Exeter Railway, who used it for two years on a branch line.
The Cape Government Railways Railmotor of 1906 was a South African steam railmotor locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
The South African Railways Clayton Railmotor of 1929 was a steam railmotor.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0+4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and four trailing wheels on two axles mounted in a bogie.
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