Data from "Londonerry Port & Harbour Commissioners 0-6-0ST No.3 'R.H. Smyth'" on the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) website at [], last accessed 4 January 2020. Profiled in a long article posted at website.lineone.net/~prsi2/5ft3/5ft3_14.html#locomotive. Works number was 2021 in 1928.
This little saddle tank was described at the time of entry as generally similar to the B6 classs, but rolling on a longer 9-foot wheelbase and straddling the wider 5' 3" gauge. The RH Smyth was the subject of a series of communications during its design and after it entered service in the late 1920s. When the builder reviewed the request for quotation, they replied with suggestions to use steel tubes and firebox in place of the specified brass and copper respectively. The railway's engineer WE Huston rejected the steel firebox idea as well as a suggestion that the builder use German-made boiler plating.
Service entry went relatively smoothly with the engine showing the ability to pull 36 loaded cars on wet track and to handle any curve. It had a dual set of buffers that allowed it to couple to both 3' and 5'3" gauge wagons.
But problems with the lubricator, the regulator, and air leakage around pipes in the smokebox. Also, springs tended to break until Avonside fitted more flexible springs in 1934.
The engine served until withdrawn in 1959 and set aside. In 1968 the Reverend L H Campbell averted her scrapping by buying the engine. On 1 May 1972, he donated the engine to the RPSI for restoration. First put into museum service in 1977.
Unusually for a preserved locomotive, the 3 reentered revenue service on 18 June 2000 to haul ballast hopper cars for contractors Henry Boot as they relayed the NIR's Bleach Green - Antrim line. Over a five-month period ending November, the 3 hauled 50,000 tons of stone.
RPSI's willingness to lend the engine redounded to its benefit in 2004. Faced with an overhaul, the society acceded to the request of the Bleach Green-Whitehead contractors, whose request led to a "double quick time" overhaul. Entering service at Greenisland in August 2005, the R H Smyth performed ballast hauling duties for five more months.
Soon afterward, the RPSI loaned the 3 to the Downpatrick and County Down Railway from 2006 to the end of November 2012 needing boiler repairs. A 2019 cosmetic restoration suggested that the society didn't then plan to perform the needed overhaul.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
---|---|
Class | R H Smyth |
Locobase ID | 4869 |
Railroad | Port & Harbour Commissioners |
Country | Ireland |
Whyte | 0-6-0ST |
Number in Class | 1 |
Road Numbers | 3 |
Gauge | 5'3" |
Number Built | 1 |
Builder | Avonside |
Year | 1928 |
Valve Gear | Stephenson |
Locomotive Length and Weight | |
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 9 / 2.74 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 9 / 2.74 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 1 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 9 / 2.74 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 67,200 / 30,481 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 67,200 / 30,481 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 960 / 3.64 |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 1.10 / 1 |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 37 / 18.50 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 42 / 1067 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 160 / 1100 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 14" x 22" / 356x559 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 13,963 / 6333.52 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.81 |
Heating Ability | |
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | 126 - 1.75" / 44 |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | 8.25 / 2.51 |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 54 / 5.02 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 9.50 / 0.88 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 530 / 49.24 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 530 / 49.24 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 135.21 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 1520 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 1520 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 8640 |
Power L1 | 2286 |
Power MT | 224.99 |