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The Austrian Railway Group |
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In the years after World War 2, the shortage of coal
led to the then UK Government ordering the four main line
railway companies to seek alternative sources
of power. Whilst the LMS experimented with
diesel-electric locomotives, building both shunters
and two main line locos, the Great Western Railway ordered
two gas-turbine main line locos, 18000 and 18100.
To compare two different systems, the locos came from
different suppliers, with 18100 being ordered from
Metropolitan Cammell, and 18000 ordered from the
Swiss firm of Brown Bouveri.
Before 18000 and 18100 were delivered in 1950, the railway companies had been nationalised. 18000, works number BB4559, was nicknamed the "Kerosene Castle" on delivery. The loco was painted in black with silver relief, and was carried on two six-wheeled bogies, of which the centre wheels were unpowered. The gas turbine engine was rated at 2,500 hp, driving four independently-mounted electric motors, each with a spring drive, giving a maximum tractive effort of 60,000 at 21mph, and a top speed of 90 mph. At 115 tonnes, it was also much heavier than the steam locos it was supposed to replace. Neither 18000 nor 18100 were successful, since they used approximately 3 times the fuel of the LMS locomotives, were noisy, and in the case of 18000, very difficult to maintain. 18000 was withdrawn 1 January 1958, with 18100 following a month later. 18000 was returned by rail to Zurich and Brown Bouveri, who stored it hoping to lease it to a continental railway. When no offers were forthcoming, the company removed the gas turbine engine and associated electrical equipment, and rebuilt it as a mobile rail adhesion testing unit for UIC (the Union Internacionale de Chemins de Fer), checking on rail/wheel interactions in Germany and Austria. Based at the Wien Arsenal Testing Station, the loco was fitted with additional brackets on the bogies to facilitate the connection of testing gear. Named "Elisabetta" by the ÖBB staff at Wien, the name was painted on the loco, but otherwise the exterior was left, including the British Railways lion emblem, and the raised chrome numerals. 18000 was fitted with a former SNCF BB16500 electric motor to act on the wheels, whilst traction (and power for the motor) was provided by another former SNCF loco dragging it around the country/ After several years testing, the locomotive was plinthed in the front of the Wien Arsenal Testing Station, but in 1995 it was removed from the plinth and returned to Britain - this time by road because the extensions to the bogies made the loco out-of-gauge. It is now on display at the Railway Age, immediately north of Crewe station. | ||||
