Re: German steam locos for coal traffic?

[Bob <gioia@fastlink.com.au>]

Aout Premier wrote:

> While using a search engine to search for key-words "steam" and "rail"
> recently, I found this stuff on the English version of a German
> Website (http://www.spitzen.lok.org.de/neuestuffe/engl/damnpf.html).
> Does anybody have further information on this?
>
> >>Henschel revives high-pressure steamlok concept for Down-under coal trains.
> >>
> >>Industry sources report that the German boiler manufacture Henschel Kessel has been
> >>contracted by an Australian coal company with commercial interests in transporting its
> >>product by rail to produce a prototype steam-powered locomotive based on "NASA
> >>technology"
> >>
> >>Henschel is tight-lipped about the project, which is reputed to be an extension and
> >>upgrading of the so-called Schmidt-Henschel experimental locomotives that were built in
> >>several countries between the wars.  The locomotives were generally regarded to be
> >>failures and had a life-span of no more than one or two years.  One, on the LMS railway in
> >>Great Britain, killed one of its design engineers in an explosion.
> >>
> >>Engineering reporter for the trade publication "Die Engineerblatt", Herr Erste Aout, who
> >>previously was a consultant to Henschel, insists that something is afoot.
> >>
> >>"It is my understanding that a coal company, which has recently tendered for access rights
> >>to the standard-gauge railway previously used by the State-controlled Authority, wants to
> >>use its own product to transport its output to tidewater, which is about 50 to 100 km from
> >>its mine.  I think this points to something in the Newcastle area of Neue South Wales,
> >>named after the famous British coal city.
> >>
> >>I have been shown some preliminary plans for a triple-pressure boiler operating at about
> >>220, 50 and 20 hectopiezes.  The two high pressure circuits would employ distilled water,
> >>which is recycled after expansion, but the low-pressure circuit would use "make-up" water
> >>from a local treated supply.  This sounds like a recipe to repeat the mistakes of the 1930's
> >>locomotives, but Henschel say these problems won't recur."
> >>
> >>Henschel insiders say that the mechanical aspects of the prototype have been contracted
> >>out to a firm it will not name, but confirms that a fairly classic design with "direct drive"
> >>will be used.  An engineer recently retired from Henschel said that he had heard that the
> >>locomotive would be a type of "super-Garratt" articulated locomotive, for which the
> >>original concept had originated in Australia itself about half a decade ago.  The engineer,
> >>who refused to be named until his retirement pay-outs have been settled, said that the
> >>whole thing was "silly".  "This is outmoded stuff- to use the old-fashioned 'choo-choo
> >>technology' emphasises that it is being done for high-jinx than sound engineering reasons."
> >>
> >>The Die Grunen (Green party) which holds 49 out of 672 seats in the Bundestag, have
> >>called the project "Greenhouse madness".  Member Mr Gunther Grasse, a delegate to the
> >>Greenhouse convention in Kyoto,  said that the German Greens would be cooperating with
> >>their counterparts in the Australian Senate to have the project put on hold, while the
> >>energy and carbon dioxide implications are investigated.   "The whole concept of
> >>Australia's coal exports is boosting up the Greenhouse gas emissions, yet here we have the
> >>madness of a coal exporter planning to once more increase them more so by using
> >>inefficient technology to burn yet further coal.  Most of Australia's export coals railways is
> >>electrified already", he said.  "There is no need to do such a stupid thing".  Henschel
> >>executives confirmed that the locomotive would be only 40% as thermally efficient as an
> >>electrified railway, but that the over all Greenhouse emissions would be lower when
> >>pollution caused by the capital phase of the project was taken into consideration.  They say
> >>that carbon dioxide will be the only significant emission, all other pollutants being
> >>eliminated through a combination of using coal slurry, high temperature combustion and
> >>exhaust scrubbing.  The boiler is apparently of a modified Velox flash-type with quick
> >>warm-up and high combustion efficiency.
> >>
>
> I did a bit of chasing around and found the Henschel website, which
> mentioned the so-called flash-boiler for the locomotives referred to
> in the above story. I sent an e-mail to the address given, but got no
> reply and, furthermore, about 6 hours later, the information was gone
> from the site. (http://www.kesselbau.de/engl/index.html)
>
> Aout Premier

  Sounds a bit like the "Powerhouse on Wheels" story of a few years ago. There was even a report in
Digest at the time that it would be built at Junee (where else!) and would be up and running in 12
months. We are still waiting. The brains behind the whole thing is a tech teacher from TAFE
Granville that thinks it can be drawn on a bit of paper one minute and made real in no time. Another
dreamer! Remember Ross Rolland in the US with his ACE 2000? We are also waiting for that one.
Bob