Port & Harbour Commissioners 0-6-0 Locomotives in Ireland


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class R H Smyth (Locobase 4869)

Data from "Londonerry Port & Harbour Commissioners 0-6-0ST No.3 'R.H. Smyth'" on the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) website at [link], 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The engine served until withdrawn in 1959 and set aside.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
ClassR H Smyth
Locobase ID4869
RailroadPort & Harbour Commissioners
CountryIreland
Whyte0-6-0ST
Number in Class1
Road Numbers3
Gauge5'3"
Number Built1
BuilderAvonside
Year1928
Valve GearStephenson
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 wheelbase1
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 Volume135.21
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation1520
Same as above plus superheater percentage1520
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area8640
Power L12286
Power MT224.99

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