Re: Steam heating and low voltage hep

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

Bob wrote:

> David Bromage wrote:
>
> > Does anybody have details of the low voltage (DC?) head end power used in
> > NSW? I'm pretty sure the low voltage hep was used only on the Cooma Mail,
> > and only a few Goulburn locomotives were equipped for it. From memory it
> > was 4820-4829.
> >
> > Also, details of steam heating.
> >
>
> I'll have to find my notes on this but from memory there were also some 44
> class fitted with this feature for the Cooma Mail. It was not considered a
> great success however they persevered with it for many years. It probably
> would not be considered as head end power as the source of the power was the
> locomotives main generator unlike a proper head end powered loco that has a
> separate MG set. The cars were ones with an X prefix to the code. These being
> XAM (TAM), XCM (MCE), XFS (FS) and XBS (BS). The other electric heated cars
> were the E prefix cars that had power supplied by a power van. Although I
> never saw it myself I believe there was a train of these cars ran to Cooma
> during the snow season. As a matter of interest the electric heaters in the X
> and E cars were identical except for the way they were connected ie series or
> parallel.          As for the steam heated cars they did not change their
> code and were not easy to identify especially in latter years when the steam
> equipment was still there but not in use. The only clue was to find the steam
> unit under the seats and a control knob on the side wall below the window at
> floor lever. There was an even earlier form of  ' head end power' on the
> NSWGR as used on the Yass Tramway where the 13 class supplied power to the
> CCA car via a jumper cable. The 13s power came from the steam driven
> generator that supplies power to locomotive headlights. On the Yass line
> because the speed was so slow and the cars batteries were not able to be
> charged by a stone under slung generator this method of power supply had to
> be used.
> Bob

I forgot to mention that the reason this system was not considered a sucess was
that it relied on the loco to be powering in notch 4 or greater to provide enough
power for the heaters to work. There was an instruction to drivers that when
going down a hill they were to throw the reverser to the centre position and
throtle up to notch 4. Like wise when sitting at a station they had to do the
same. Imagine how cold it was at Golbourn when the train stopped on the down
journey and they forgot to "throtle up".
Bob