Meyer locomotive
Encyclopedia
A Meyer locomotive
is a type of articulated locomotive
. The design was never as popular as the Garratt
or Mallet
locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie
articulated designs.
(1804-1877), who took out a patent on the design in 1861. The first locomotive, named "L'Avenir", was built by M.M.Cail in 1868 with the support of a state subsidy.
No wheels are rigidly affixed to the boiler; all are mounted on bogies placed directly under the boiler/cab unit (comparable with a modern diesel
or electric locomotive
). This compares with a Mallet, where the rear set of wheels are attached to the frame, and only the front set swivels as a bogie. Therefore, boiler overhang is less than that of the Mallet locomotive on a curve of the same radius. Meyers are usually set up as a tank engine, with the boiler/cab unit carrying the water and fuel supplies.
A disadvantage of the design is that the firebox is directly above the rear power unit, which limits its size. With two power bogies, flexible steam pipes must be provided to all cylinders. This was difficult to achieve with 19th Century technology. Early Mallet locomotives had compound cylinders, so high pressure steam was provided to the rigid power unit, while the front cylinders (requiring flexible steam pipes) received low pressure steam.
Meyer locomotives were most common in continental Europe, particularly Germany. A number of Meyer locos can still be found on the narrow gauge railways in Saxony
.
The Switzerland Bernina Railway
had two rotary snowplow
s built by Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik in 1910 and 1912. To work on the tight curves of the metergauge mountain railway they had to be selfpropelled, the two snow blower
s were thus built with a Meyer drive system. Both have been preserved, Xrot d 9213 is still in working condition on the Rhaetian Railway, based in Pontresina
, as of 2010.
of Leeds
, but was also built by other locomotive builders. The design originated from an idea by Robert Stirling, Locomotive Superintendent of the Anglo-Chilian Nitrate & Railway Company. After placing an order with Kitsons for some conventional locos, he approached them with his ideas for an articulated loco. Kitsons further developed the idea, the first loco being constructed in 1894.
The Meyer design was modified by moving the rear power unit further back and allowed the firebox to be between the two power units (as in a Garratt
), thus allowing a larger firebox. The length of engine was increased, with the extra length behind the cab being used for additional water tanks. Some designs had an auxiliary chimney at the rear to avoid the need for an exhaust steam pipe running the length of the engine.
Kitson Meyers were widely used in South America, particularly on the Colombia
n and Chile
an railways. It was regarded as the best performing of all articulated designs for railway lines that constantly curved. However fewer than 100 Kitson Meyers were ever built, and it was generally thought that the design suffered from competition with the Garratt
.
One Kitson-Meyer locomotive
known to survive sits in a rather poor state of preservation in Taltal, an old nitrate
port town in the Antofagasta Region
of Chile
. It is parked in front of two old passenger coaches from the nitrate railway at coordinates 25°24′17.6"S 70°28′57.6"W. Three Kitson Meyers of the Transandine Railways also have survived, one in Argentina (Tafi Viejo) and two in Chile (Los Andes and Santiago de Chile).
locomotives built by W. G. Bagnall. Generally 0-4-4-0Ts as a Meyer but with a circular firebox that did not project below the footplate. A number were built for sugarcane
railways in South Africa
. The last example, builders number WB3024, "Monarch", was built in 1953 for Bowater's Railway in Kent
and now resides on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
.
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
is a type of articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive usually means a steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move independent of the main frame. This is done to allow a longer locomotive to negotiate tighter curves...
. The design was never as popular as the Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
or Mallet
Mallet locomotive
The Mallet Locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, invented by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet ....
locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
articulated designs.
Development and Design
The Meyer was the brainchild of Frenchman Jean Jacques MeyerJean Jacques Meyer
Jean-Jacques Meyer was a French engineer, originator of articulated locomotives which bear his name.Meyer registered his first patent describing the system in 1861...
(1804-1877), who took out a patent on the design in 1861. The first locomotive, named "L'Avenir", was built by M.M.Cail in 1868 with the support of a state subsidy.
No wheels are rigidly affixed to the boiler; all are mounted on bogies placed directly under the boiler/cab unit (comparable with a modern diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
or electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
). This compares with a Mallet, where the rear set of wheels are attached to the frame, and only the front set swivels as a bogie. Therefore, boiler overhang is less than that of the Mallet locomotive on a curve of the same radius. Meyers are usually set up as a tank engine, with the boiler/cab unit carrying the water and fuel supplies.
A disadvantage of the design is that the firebox is directly above the rear power unit, which limits its size. With two power bogies, flexible steam pipes must be provided to all cylinders. This was difficult to achieve with 19th Century technology. Early Mallet locomotives had compound cylinders, so high pressure steam was provided to the rigid power unit, while the front cylinders (requiring flexible steam pipes) received low pressure steam.
Meyer locomotives were most common in continental Europe, particularly Germany. A number of Meyer locos can still be found on the narrow gauge railways in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
.
The Switzerland Bernina Railway
Bernina Railway
The Bernina Railway is a single track metre gauge railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway . It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the town of Tirano, in the Province of Sondrio, Italy, via the Bernina Pass...
had two rotary snowplow
Rotary snowplow
A rotary snowplow is a piece of railroad snowfighting equipment. It is characterized by the large circular set of blades on its front end that rotate as a unit to cut through the snow on the track ahead of it.-History:...
s built by Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik in 1910 and 1912. To work on the tight curves of the metergauge mountain railway they had to be selfpropelled, the two snow blower
Snow blower
A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is not wanted, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, rink, runway, or houses...
s were thus built with a Meyer drive system. Both have been preserved, Xrot d 9213 is still in working condition on the Rhaetian Railway, based in Pontresina
Pontresina
Pontresina is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-History and name:The city was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as pontem sarasinam in 1137. In 1237 it was mentioned as de Ponte Sarraceno and in 1303 as ponte sarracino...
, as of 2010.
Kitson Meyer
The Kitson Meyer is most closely associated with Kitson & Co.Kitson & Co.
Kitson and Company was a locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Early history:The company started as James Kitson at the Airedale Foundry, off Pearson Street, Hunslet in 1835 with Charles Todd as a partner...
of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, but was also built by other locomotive builders. The design originated from an idea by Robert Stirling, Locomotive Superintendent of the Anglo-Chilian Nitrate & Railway Company. After placing an order with Kitsons for some conventional locos, he approached them with his ideas for an articulated loco. Kitsons further developed the idea, the first loco being constructed in 1894.
The Meyer design was modified by moving the rear power unit further back and allowed the firebox to be between the two power units (as in a Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
), thus allowing a larger firebox. The length of engine was increased, with the extra length behind the cab being used for additional water tanks. Some designs had an auxiliary chimney at the rear to avoid the need for an exhaust steam pipe running the length of the engine.
Kitson Meyers were widely used in South America, particularly on the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an railways. It was regarded as the best performing of all articulated designs for railway lines that constantly curved. However fewer than 100 Kitson Meyers were ever built, and it was generally thought that the design suffered from competition with the Garratt
Garratt
A Garratt is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might...
.
One Kitson-Meyer locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
known to survive sits in a rather poor state of preservation in Taltal, an old nitrate
Nitrate
The nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO and a molecular mass of 62.0049 g/mol. It is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically-bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a...
port town in the Antofagasta Region
Antofagasta Region
The II Antofagasta Region is one of Chile's fifteen first-order administrative divisions. It comprises three provinces, Antofagasta, El Loa and Tocopilla...
of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. It is parked in front of two old passenger coaches from the nitrate railway at coordinates 25°24′17.6"S 70°28′57.6"W. Three Kitson Meyers of the Transandine Railways also have survived, one in Argentina (Tafi Viejo) and two in Chile (Los Andes and Santiago de Chile).
Modified Meyer
Large narrow gauge industrialIndustrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
locomotives built by W. G. Bagnall. Generally 0-4-4-0Ts as a Meyer but with a circular firebox that did not project below the footplate. A number were built for sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
railways in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The last example, builders number WB3024, "Monarch", was built in 1953 for Bowater's Railway in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and now resides on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Powys, Wales. The line is around long and runs westwards from the town of Welshpool via Castle Caereinion to the village of Llanfair Caereinion. The track gauge is ....
.
Sources
- Binns, Donald (2003) Kitson Meyer Articulated Locomotives Trackside Publications, Skipton, UK. ISBN 0907941370