The Great Central Railway 8H (LNER S1) was a class of 0-8-4T tank locomotives designed by J.G. Robinson for hump shunting in Wath-upon-Dearne marshalling yard in South Yorkshire. Four locomotives were built in 1907/1908 for the GCR. They were fitted with 3-cylinders to improve the smoothness of power delivery and reduced wheelslip for powerful uphill shunting. Power reversing gear was installed due to the constant reversing experienced in the marshalling yard. They passed into LNER ownership at the 1923 grouping.
Whilst a powerful locomotive with a tractive effort of 34,525 lbf they were generally successful, although sometimes two had to operate together due to the length and weight of freight trains passing through Wath yard, particularly in wet weather.
So in 1930 a conversion was made and two new locomotives, three in total had superheaters fitted and a 2-cylinder 'booster engine' fitted to the rear bogie which was replaced with a new bogie with external frames. The older S1 locomotives without the boosters moved to the newly opened Whitemoor marshalling yard in March, Cambridgeshire, and moved again once the DES1 0-6-0 diesels arrived and they went to Frodingham Steelworks.
From 1950 all six S1's as they were now known were at Wath until 1953 when BR tested the standard 350hp diesel-shunter and quickly replaced them. Five locos were stored at Doncaster Works and one toi Immingham Docks where constant slipping meant that after four months on the job, that one too went to Doncaster in storage and all six locomotives were scrapped between 1956 and 1957.
GCR 8H 0-8-4T Technical Details:
The 'Wath Daisies' as they were nicknamed had three main cylinders of 18" x 26" and a 2-cylinder booster power unit providing an additional 12,373 lbf.
A total length of 45ft 2.25" and a wheelbase of 31ft 2" with coupled driving wheels of 4ft 8" and Trailing bogie wheels of 3ft 2". And a weight of 103t 12cwt.
This project was identified in research for The Woodhead Line key equipment and infrastructure. It was felt that the diverse nature of having 3 main cylinders and 2 booster cylinders would be an ideal testbed for a new 'CD spec' digital sampler card for providing digital sound.
In combining the sound card with some control logic, this allows various interfaces to be built, and in my case using a Crest (Aristo-Craft) Revolution controller and receiver.
The receiver has the ability to power the motor used in the locomotive and control elements of sounds by user buttons on the controller, and by interfacing with a logic board can control external items such as a smoke generator and the various soundbanks of exhaust beats etc.
The sound card has 16 external inputs and I intend using most of them (as per the enclosed channel usage chart), it could be said that I only need two FET trigger inputs like most OO gauge magnetic disc triggers, but I wanted to test the 8H with five individual triggers just to show that I can and find out what the aural changes are compared to using only two. (I.e. one for the main 3 cylinders and one for the booster).
Having recorded sounds for the exhaust beats from a GWR Hall which uses the same size cylinders as the 8H I am on the lookout to find a real locomotive with the same size cylinders as the booster engine so that they can recorded for use as the booster engine sounds.
Sounds of Whistles, steam chest leaks, safety valves, blower etc, are all to be included, many of which rather than taking sparse resources of programmable buttons on the controller will be automated and just a couple of buttons left for the user to control like the Whistle, Blow Down Drain Cocks, Brakes etc.
There will be automatic mechanical needle valve gates used in synchronisation with the sounds to allow the smoke from a pulsed smoke generator to emit from various parts of the model, controlled by the logic board.
To be cont'd . . .
Very cool Do0ddy - look forward to seeing (and hearing) it run.
Regards,
IanT
Interesting Keep going..
I have the sound card and have loaded files onto it. Now working out the flow of samples for the 8H. And the interfacing to a 'to be designed' logic board.
BTW: One thing of interest to yourself maybe? - I recorded one of the ACTS Class 58's in Rotterdam some time ago.
Oil and Fuel pump sequence (star/run/stop)
Engine Start
Engine Idle
Engine under power (light)
Engine under power (heavy)
Engine turbo spooldown
Engine Shutdown
Brake application and release
Brake Squeal
Flange Screem
Air Horns Hi and Lo (various)
Drivers desk alarms
PS: Was it you who offered G3 members, detailed drawings of HAA Wagons, if so these are of immediate interest.
Rumours on t'web suggest that the rights to CREST's Revolution radio controller were taken over the day Navin closed shop in New Jersey.
The 8H electronics and my Class 45 Peak's electronics are currently based upon integration with this controller.
So IF anybody has any news of the new manufacturer - please post it!
Precision RC now own the Revolution Controller, previously designed and manufactured by Aristo-Craft, then CREST and now the Newark NJ based outfit.
They are a new start-up company who are marketing the old Revolution Controller and expect to have both transmitters and receivers to be in stock from Jan 1st 2017.
www.revoelectronics.com/