CYLINDERS UNDER SCRUTINY ON STEAM-SHY ‘MOGUL’
Plans by the RPSI to work out why former Dublin & South Eastern Railway ‘Mogul’ No. 461 is so steamshy were thwarted on August 31 when the engine failed on shed. The society had been planning to test the locomotive during a late-night trip from Whitehead to Belfast Central and back.
But while it was at Whitehead being prepared for the outing,
No. 461 developed a knock which turned out to be a loose piston head. RPSI locomotive running officer James Friel ruefully declared the engine a failure and ‘Q’ class No. 131 operated the final leg of the ‘Steam & Jazz’ special. Mr Friel said it was hoped to make another attempt to take the engine out onto the main line in a bid to solve the riddle, but so far no firm arrangements have been made. The ‘K2’ class 2-6-0 has been on display at Whitehead Railway Museum since July last year, having last been in service on the main line in June 2017, when it ran from Dublin to Rosslare.
The 1922-built inside-cylinder ‘Mogul’ is due to come out of ticket this autumn, but if the steaming issue can be resolved then a reprieve could be on the cards. Different coal has been tried and firing techniques refined, but the locomotive has still proved lacklustre.
In advance of the aborted August run, Mr Friel fitted pressure sensors on both cylinders.
“The intention is to collect cylinder indicator diagrams to try and diagnose the reasons for No. 461’s poor performance in recent years,” he said. “Hopefully, taking indicator diagrams – a first for the RPSI in our 54 years – will help diagnose something we can fix.”
No. 461 is the only surviving inside-cylinder ‘Mogul’ in the British Isles.