| |
|
 |
| |
| Transportation
-> Rail
|
| |
|
-> Copper in Rail Transportation
|
| |
| Copper in Rail Transportation |
| |
The passing of the steam engine from the railways
of the world continues to evoke feelings of nostalgia among enthusiasts
from nine to ninety but, although the replacement of steam by diesel
traction is irrevocable, it has not meant an overall decline in the
use of copper in locomotive and permanent-way construction.
On the contrary, the modernization of British Railways which is now
in full swing is requiring very large amounts of copper and certain
copper alloys, including about 9,000 tonnes (10,000 tons) of copper
and cadmium copper conductors for the overhead electrification of
the two main lines from London to the North. There is also a considerable
use of copper in signalling systems, besides all the miscellaneous
needs for pantographs, switchgear, brake systems, motor windings,
commutator bars, large and small service stations, etc.
The principal use of copper in the old steam locomotives was for the
large firebox plates, although in certain later construction when
the boiler generated superheated steam the use of copper was restricted
because of the higher temperatures involved. Copper firebox plates
have been used for locomotives ever since Stephenson's Rocket was
built in 1829. The cylindrical boiler of the Rocket contained a firebox
with a double copper wrapper-plate forming a water-jacketed top and
sides, the front and back being dry plates; copper tubes connected
the water and steam spaces of the firebox with those of the barrel.
The heating surface of the Rocket's firebox was 1.8 sq. meters (20
sq. ft.); by contrast, that of the Royal Scot, a famous engine designed
by Sir Henry Fowler in 1927 for the London to Glasgow service, had
a heating surface of 17 sq. meters (189 sq. ft.). The notable old
Silver Link (1935), which was used to pull the Silver Jubilee train
between London and Newcastle, had an even larger copper firebox within
which the whole of the Rocket could have been packed quite easily.
The Stephensons chose copper for their fireboxes because of its successful
use in large brewing and boiling vessels. |
| |
|
|  |
|
