Sweet jeebus that thing is huge. I hadn’t realized they made garratts that large.
Yes, the GL is a big bugger, especially considering it’s a 3’6" gauge engine! Dimensionally, the biggest Garratt built was the single Russian example, but there were many others that were equally as big as the GLs. For sheer power, the guernsey goes to the East African Railways 59 class, a metre gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4.
If you haven’t already seen this site, you might find one interesting.
http://users.powernet.co.uk/hamilton/source.html
I have a soft spot for Garratts - I’ve fired on our AD60s, and been fortunate enough to have had a play on some others here and there. They typically steam like a witch, and ride very well at speed.
Cheers,
Mark.
Jonathan, I did a bit of research and confirmed that the Indian 4-4-0 is an SPS class engine, as I thought. Great picture of the GL, thanks for sharing it! The next time I’m in Pomgolia I must make the trip up to Manchester, looks like a very interesting museum.
I remember a few years back there was a BBC documentary that recreated the Rainhill Trial of 1829, it featured the Sans Pareil. Now there’s an engine I’d LOVE to have a go on!
(For some reason the idea of running a loco wearing a big beard, a top hat and a frock coat really appeals to me!)
All the best,
Mark.
Thanks again to all of the great replies. Didn’t think this would generate so much interest.
I recently played the movie again and took particular note of the use of this questionable control. Perhaps one of the telling scenes is earlier in the movie in which the resistance is trying to delay the departure of the military train with the armored engine. One of the other conspirators is at the controls and before backing up his engine he again turns the wheel in question…this time though counter clockwise before backing the engine for some switching manuvers.
Again we watched the plane/engine chase scene and saw the very brief turn of the wheel which almost appeared to be performed by the fireman, allowing Lancaster to concentrate on the track ahead.
I"m satisfied knowing that this wheel is the reverser.
Several locomotives in the US had these wheels,particularily, the NYC Hudsons,Mohawks, and Niagras, C&O Hudsons built in 1942, C&O Greenbriars,C&O Kanawhas from #2700 thru# 2739, and C&O 2-10-4s. The wheels were part of the Franklin Precision Valve Gear control system. The Franklin System worked with both Baker valve gear and Walscherts valve gear.
I have been asked to post the following in response to the post above. The author is an acquaintance who is occasionally here to read, but is not a registered member of the forum.
"The “Franklin Precision Valve Gear control system” he mentions is nothing more than a power reverser, an air-operated cylinder that raised or lowered the die block in the expansion link on Walschaerts valve gear via the reach rod, or altered the position of the bell crank on Baker valve gear in the same manner. Franklin power reversers could be fitted with either a wheel or a small lever and quadrant, according to the railroad’s specifications. They could also be fitted to engines with any design of valve motion, Southern, Young, or the various forms of poppet valve gear used in the US.
Other makes of power reversers were Alco-Ragonnet, Baldwin and Hadfield, and again they could be operated by wheel or lever."
-Crandell
Edit
Burt Lancaster’s movie “Trains”.
There are several scenes of an engineer turning the wheel on the large left side. One is Papa Bull as he first started his train.
The scene I liked is where Burt pores the brass for the bearing, breaks the mold, handles it and files one side and pops in for use. Can we say “Superman”.
As for wheels in cab. A lot of funtions used valves to control.