Re: Re "Super" R class R711

[Graham Fry <fryg@sydpcug.org.au>]

Roger Lloyd wrote:
> 
> I have just ridden behind R711 and R766 to Ballarat on 20/12/99. Well done
> WCR.
> The exhaust blast of R711 is certainly much louder than R766's.
> Can anyone tell me if the new draughting setup would also work with coal
> fired locos. Has anyone written any technical stuff on the changes to the
> loco - on the internet?

I read about the changes that WCR had made to R711 on their website,
sorry I can't give the URL at present. If you want to read more about
the concept behind the changes to R711 read "The Red Devil and Other
Tales from the Age of Steam" by David Wardale. A great read but very
technical.
> It was interesting that R766 arrived at Ballarat with an empty tender. How
> does the range between refuelling of the oily R compare with the coal fired
> R? Of course the extra water capacity of R711 would also help give extra
> range between stops.
> Lastly, the coal fired R's with automatic stoker emit large quantities of
> cinders which must be a little wasteful of fuel. Is this a characteristic of
> all mechanical stokered lococs or is it specific to the R's. I don;t
> remember any complaints about the NSWGR's 57 class (not that I had the
> pleasure of ever riding behind one!)
> Roger Lloyd
One of the major challenges that Wardale was attempting to improve was
the very poor efficiency of steam. Much of this poor efficiency is due
to the large proportion of unburnt coal going out the funnel. The most
efficient combustion occurs when the exhaust is a light brown haze.
Black smoke is much more a characteristic of a stoker fired loco where
overfiring is the norm. It is less common to see hand fired locos
billowing black smoke except at photo stops. Also be aware that a smoky
exhaust always looks better in a photo and so often heavy smoke is put
on just for the photo stop.

Incidently, are there any performance figures on R711's fuel and water
consumption during its regular workings?

Graham Fry