Data from Titre Exposition universelle internationale de 1878 a Paris. Rapports du jury internationale..Volume Groupe VI - Classe 64. Rapport sur le materiel des chemins de fer. p. 50 (cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?8XAE277-11.1/54/100/312/0/0 (accessed 1 September 2005) table and page 91.
One can only describe this teakettle as "teeny". The Hunslet locomotive known as "Louisa" (Locobase 5986) is one of the few that was smaller. As it was a quarry locomotive, Locobase suspects that this was the intended service for the 3bis. ("bis" means 2nd, as in 2nd version).
Data from [], last accessed 21 October 2011.
Named the Wren, this was one of the standard designs for industrial locomotives. This one could be built for any railroad gauge from 18" to 36" and rail 12-14 lb per yard (The Pennsylvania put down 160-lb rail.)
See [] and Kerr, Stuart & Company's own web page at [] . Both pages explain that the company stressed standardization of parts for rapid construction on demand and ready replacement of worn or damaged gear.
Also, as the former site notes: "...they were designed to be used where skilled labor and extensive maintenance facilities were scarce. Most contractors just bought a locomotive and expected it to run as long as water was in the boiler and fire in the grate. An occasional squirt from an oil can was what passed for maintenance ...they were mechanically simple and robust, and the works were easily accessible." The author adds that 167 Wrens were shipped.
See also Geoffrey Horsman's article in Industrial Locomotive society's archives -- [] (viewed June 2004). Horsman explains that the Wrens derived from an earlier design known as the Buya, which originally worked on 75-cm gauge (2' 6") some ironstone mines near Bilbao, Spain. Wanting to keep the frame inside despite the very narrow span of a 2' (610 mm) gauge, the designers created a boiler of the same diameter, but pinched the lower half of the firebox shell down to 1' 7 1/8" (486 mm). Although the grate area was commensurately reduced, what remained was ample.
Up through 1915, Wrens had Stephenson link valve motion between the frames; later ones used outside, Hackworth gear which was much less expensive to manufacture.
The locomotive proved very successful. The website of South Africa's Sandstone Steam Railroad Company ([], accessed 23 December 2006) says "Wrens were in demand all over the world and appeared in such countries as Spain, Peru, Brazil, Gold Coast, Borneo, Malaya, British Guiana, Aden, Portugal, Siam, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and even the Falkland Islands."
The Falkland Islands engines were works numbers 2388 and 2392, delivered in 1915 to the Camber Railway that connected Port Stanley with the Moody Brook radio transmitting station three miles away. See Section 11 - Out in the Atlantic of the Railways of the Far South website found at [] (last accessed 25 September 2009).
Some remained in tourist service well past the turn of the 21st century
Data from "Four-Coupled Tank Engine", Locomotive Magazine, Vol VI (November 1901), p. 183.
Seems clearly to be a catalogue item - there's no mention of the user.
Data from "Tank Locomotive Engine," The Practical Engineer, Volume IX [9] (23 September 1887), p.416. See also "Contractors' Locomotive for the Yorkshire Iron & Coal Co", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIV [24] (15 November 1918), p. 174.
Although the effusion may seem excessive in the following, it's typical of comments on Peckett's quality throughout its production life. Noting that this small saddle tank had been "specially designed" to serve ironworks, collieries, and other such industries, the report noted that this design was "an exceedingly neat and strong type, and fitted up in their usual excellent style."
After noting the particulars, the report commented extensively on Peckett's approach:
"Messrs. Peckett's works, we may mention, are exceedingly well laid out for the construction of locomotives; every department is worked in a thoroughly systematic manner. All drawings are stored in a fireproof building, and as the index to these is made in duplicate, the two copies being kept in separate safes, one at least is likely to be preserved in case of fire. Tracings only of the drawings are allowed to go in the shops: An iron and a brass foundry are included in these works, so that a locomotive can be turned out complete from the raw material."
These precautions were typical of Peckett's meticulousness:
"Very large use is made of dies in the smiths' shop, most of the important forgings being thus produced. All the other departments are fitted up in a most complete manner, and amongst other features the large showroom is very noticeable."
And perhaps most tellingly: "No piecework is allowed in the factory, as Mr. Peckett considers that system likely to lead to scamped work; the output does not, however, appear to have suffered in consequence, as the average production for several years past has been forty-nine locomotives per annum."
Thirty years later, a very similar saddle tanker whose boiler held 124 tubes (vs the 111 of this engine) was described in equally glowing terms.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Class | 3bis | Wren | unknown | unknown |
Locobase ID | 7388 | 4873 | 10207 | 20085 |
Railroad | ||||
Country | Great Britain | Great Britain | Great Britain | Great Britain |
Whyte | 0-4-0ST | 0-4-0T | 0-4-0T | 0-4-0ST |
Number in Class | 1 | 1 | ||
Road Numbers | ||||
Gauge | 3' | 3' | Std | Std |
Number Built | 1 | 167 | 1 | |
Builder | Black, Hawthorn | Kerr, Stuart & Co | Andrew Barclay | Peckett & Sons |
Year | 1877 | 1901 | 1887 | |
Valve Gear | Stephenson | various | Stephenson | |
Locomotive Length and Weight | ||||
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 3 / 0.91 | 3 / 0.91 | 5.50 / 1.68 | |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 3 / 0.91 | 3 / 0.91 | 15 / 4.57 | 5.50 / 1.68 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 3 / 0.91 | 3 / 0.91 | 15 / 4.57 | 5.50 / 1.68 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | ||||
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 7165 / 3250 | 9296 / 4217 | 49,280 / 22,353 | |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 7165 / 3250 | 9296 / 4217 | 50,960 / 23,115 | 49,280 / 22,353 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | ||||
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | 7165 / 3250 | 9296 / 4217 | 50,960 / 23,115 | 49,280 / 22,353 |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 61 / 0.23 | 104 / 0.39 | 600 / 2.27 | 792 / 3 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 0.10 | 1.10 / 1 | 0.45 | |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 6 / 3 | 8 / 4 | 41 / 20.50 | |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | ||||
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 22 / 559 | 20 / 508 | 49 / 1245 | 38 / 965 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 145 / 1000 | 140 / 970 | 120 / 830 | 140 / 970 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 5" x 10" / 127x254 | 6" x 9" / 152x229 | 12" x 18" / 305x457 | 14" x 20" / 356x508 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 1401 / 635.48 | 1928 / 874.53 | 5396 / 2447.59 | 12,276 / 5568.31 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 5.11 | 4.82 | 4.01 | |
Heating Ability | ||||
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 31 - 1.496" / 38 | 35 - 1.75" / 44 | 102 - 1.75" / 44 | 111 - 1.75" / 44 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | ||||
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 4.72 / 1.44 | 8.67 / 2.64 | ||
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 10.98 / 1.02 | 13.90 / 1.29 | 54.25 / 5.04 | |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 2.04 / 0.19 | 2.19 / 0.20 | 10 / 0.93 | |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 69 / 6.41 | 86 / 7.99 | 454 / 42.19 | |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | ||||
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 69 / 6.41 | 86 / 7.99 | 454 / 42.19 | |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 303.62 | 292.00 | 192.68 | |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | ||||
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 296 | 307 | 1200 | |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 296 | 307 | 1200 | |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 1592 | 1946 | 6510 | |
Power L1 | 2899 | 2464 | 3016 | |
Power MT | 1784.00 | 1168.71 |