HUNSLETS, first batch progress

Hi, it has been a few weeks since the last workshop report.  I have not been sitting doing nothing. Three weeks have gone by on a trip abroad, to France to see some friends; last Monday we were sitting having lunch at the Brasserie de la Gare in Agen 29' in the sun,  tidying up a garden with three days of bonfires, draining down the water before winter and seeing family on the way out.  Now back in Aboyne, we walked into a howling gale and horizontal rain. So it was unpack and get into the chill of the workshop. 
The Hunslets, the first batch of eleven locos, are taking shape with all the frames erected.

Two of the eleven frame sets of the first batch.

 I decided to review how I was going to detail the frames which led me to revise the etch.  I produced a nicely detailed overlay for the steel frames that avoids the time and money wasted on fitting 32 small rivets  and 16 very expensive hex headed bolts. Heavy cylinder flanges were added to the design.

The part completed frame showing the new detailed overlay and the cylinder bolting flange.

The other platework parts in place.  The additional etch parts are the detailed buffer beam overlays.

The last photos show where most of the time has gone, making the couple of hundred parts that eleven locos need for their valve gear, cranks and wheels.

Some of the machined parts needed for the valve gear and chassis (15 parts x 12 locos!)

The final push before the chassis will run on air is to machine the cylinder covers, pistons, rods and spindles, oh yes and machine up the slide valves. (The wheels, axles and bearings are already made)
There is, though, a good chance this might get done next month.  The most recent annoyance is that 1 1/2" by 20 gauge copper pipe is no longer made.  Since all my small locos use this for their boiler shells I have just had to pay out £1600 to have some drawn for me.   As a friend said "at least if you die before you use it all the price of copper is always going up......" Seriously it is getting harder to source a lot of materials. I suppose this is the consequence of two trends, one being a further contraction of manufacturing in the UK and so many folk purchasing their models from China, the other the trend towards metrication.

About the book and other babies

After twenty years, many travels together and much care, our baby is ready to leave home!

My Book ready to print.

It is easy to explain how our interest started. To people interested in trains anyway, the Great Little trains of Wales appealed greatly. Long before it was rebuilt, we paced the line of the Welsh Highland Line.We had happy afternoons at Leighton Buzzard and sneaked into old quarries. In France, we visited the 'petit train de la Haute Somme' All of these, and many others already closed had chosen 60cm/two foot for their gauge. All of them exuded atmosphere, quaintness and just a touch of melancholy, a hint of ghosts flitting left-of field.

When we investigated, we found that every one of these lines was indeed haunted. Moelwyn in Wales, Lion in Leighton Buzzard, and a host of relics at the Somme railway were left over form the First World War.

Some of the relics found at Froissy, Haute Somme.

They were survivors - people, animals, machines had all perished during fifty months of carnage. Much has been written about soldiers and horses, tanks and aeroplanes but nothing much about the railways.

To explain why we kept on with our research, you have to understand that we are born contrarians. Once we suspected that something was buried, we had to start digging. More than once, we have been called terriers - with some justice! We found out that there was a forgotten network of 60cm railways, used by both the Allies and the Central Powers during 1914-18. If laid end-to-end it would have stretched nearly ten thousand kilometres. Unlike the usual prewar agricultural or industrial railway, this network could manage tonnages normally associated  with properly laid and engineered standard gauge lines.

Yet all was forgotten.

Only last night on television, a respected historian trod the familiar dodgy ground. We all know that in Europe in 1914, there was a network of railways, standard gauge and metre gauge, serving the towns and villages of the time. Suddenly, the Western Front was constructed in this landscape, with very little regard for the railway network; each side was obsessed with denying as much territory as possible to the other. This meant that the Front was, on average, a good 5 miles (8 kms) from the nearest railhead. 

BEF troops entrai in France. It was march or take the narrow gauge to the Front.

Later in the War, the average distance from railhead to front increased to around ten miles (16 km) to keep loading stations out of the range of enemy artillery. Every five miles of three hundred plus miles of Front needed per day, in quiet times, at least 800 tonnes of supplies (including fresh water) and in the period leading up to an offensive about 3,600 tonnes. It was exactly as if a great belt of new towns, with all their requirements, had been suddenly dumped on open country. The respected historian explained that some horses were imported from America to provide transport from standard gauge railway line to front line.

Let us do the arithmetic. The very best equine transport, the mule, can carry up to 72kg with any sort of endurance. The ponies etc drafted in were simply not capable of that. Four mules hitched to a General Service Wagon can transport up to 2 tonnes. Remember, the unmetalled roads of the time were less than optimum. Transport had to be at night, because they were tempting targets. Looking at my grand father’s war letters, we see that, what with the dark, the mud and other obstacles, they could only manage 1000 yards an hour. In other words, a 10 mile round trip would, without mishap take all night. 11,500 mules plus muleteers were required to transport the supplies needed for every 5 miles of Front on quiet days.  Productivity would rise if wagons were used, but one’s imagination would be rather stretched; 2000 wagons coming and going daily on a few unmade country roads. On the other side of No-Man’s Land was the equally ponderous German front, the equivalent of another string of new towns whose industry was destruction and whose needs were equally great. The Germans of course could not import American horses and mules.

Ah! other respected historians interpose. The technology of the lorry was just coming into its own. A Thorneycroft J-type lorry, for instance, could transport 3.5 tonnes of supplies and move rather faster than a mule. The Voie Sacrée, supplying Verdun, is then cited. Every night, a procession of French lorries made its way from the station of Bar-le-duc up to the beleaguered citadel. What has been forgotten is that, parallel to the road ran a military-built multiple track narrow gauge rail way.

Given these problems, you may now be wondering why the war of 1914-18 went on for so long. There had been wars before. Since the American Civil War half way through the 19^th century, conflict was either resolved in a few months, as in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, or took the form of asymmetrical warfare, as in the Boer War 1899-1902. What the respected historians don’t seem to ask is how millions of combatants over hundreds of miles managed to exist in their trenches for four long years.

The difference was due to the life and work of Colonel Péchot. For years, without modern trucks, tanks and aircraft, supply in the field was limited. The standard gauge railway network was useful – up to a point. Vast armies could slug it out for a few weeks or a guerrilla force could harry a larger force for years. It was not possible for grand action on a long timescale, not until Péchot devised an efficient system of military 

A British built loco for the French Army.  A Kerr Stuart Joffre Class engine (Apedale- Tracks to the Trenches 2014)

transport. His superiors in the French Army grudgingly adopted it. The Germans copied his technology and made effective adaptations. By 1914, the Germans had almost perfected their system and the Allies, particularly the British, spent long years trying to catch up. More than one contemporary French general felt that victory needed a good narrow gauge network.

Our 'baby' tells you the story of this quiet man who had such a profound influence .

Forget War Horse meet Charlie

We must not forget that the Pechot military railway system did not only affect human beings. He designed it from the first to do away with animal haulage. This was humane. Horses and other beasts of burden were usually issued with one-way tickets into war zones.  There are stories of dead horses used as blankets during Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. A horse expiring in the siege of Stalingrad hardly touched the frozen earth before a dozen hungry citizens were carving off horse-meat. To these sad stories have to be added the tales of the Western Front. The British and French kept cavalry behind the lines, awaiting the moment of the break-through. At the beginning of the war, especially behind British lines, horse power was used to lug supplies to the newly dug trenches. Poor horses!
In November 1915, my grand father went to the Front near Le Touret with the 222nd Field Company RE . It was very wet and he was not comfortable. In a letter to my grandmother, 12th December, he described his cheerless morning. 'A Bosche sniper heard me splashing along in 3ft of water in the front trenches. Every time I fell into a hole and got extra wet, I cursed and he fired, and made very good shooting too. But I was quite safe as I was in a trench' A couple of days later he added 'None of us are very bright at present. I have my fourth cold since I came outy, Cassells has a West Coast liver, Stevens is seedy and the Little Man (their Major) sits and mopes all day long'

Here is Charlie, looking wary, which is perhaps not surprising. Behind him, a bit out of focus, are the wagons used by the British Army up until mid 1916 to transport supplies up to the trenches, often under the most miserable conditions. Courtesy Jackson family

 At least they were alive! His letter continued by describing their latest return to the Front. ' We had a very funny march back up here. We found three inches (7.5cm) of water over the road, and as all these roads have deep six foot (180 cm wide) ditches on either side, they are pretty difficult. If you drive a little out of the straight, you disappear, wagon and all. We dropped two wagons and a corporal into a ditch but pulled them all out again without mishap. Tomlinson's company which went through in the dark left half their wagons there all night. We have not drowned anybody yet, but a lot of drowned horses are lying about the roads. I don't suppose you can conceive what this countryside is like in parts. Where we were, 1000 yards an hour was jolly good going. and one had probably been down on one's nose three times before the hour was up. Of course that is by night. Walking 1000 yards by day is not encouraged. The Bosche is great believer in flares and sends one up every five minutes to keep his spirits up. At first one hates them but after a bit ones one comes to regard them as a blessing as one can get one's bearings by them'

Here are Charlie and my grandpa.

That winter, he met Charlie the horse. By March they had got to know each other quite well. He wrote to my grandmother. 'March 9th 1916. A beautiful frosty morning, and I am feeling quite jovial which is a new thing for me. I was very late up for the last two nights and am in late tonight as I had to go up to the 212th (the sister Company) to arrange about a working party. I had a slight disagreement with Charlie on the way. Charlie said that "by the rules of his Trade Union an eight hour day was long enough" Our argument lasted some considerable time but in the end I persuaded him.
You wouldn't know him these days. He has had his hair cut and is awfully pleased with himself'

This is an Artillerie 88 wagon as used by the French. It runs on bogies, so that the long overall length of the wagon does not matter. It has a well to keep the centre of gravity low and for ease of loading and unloading, the stanchions can be removed. Its capacity is 5.5 tonnes of compressed hay; animal forage was an important item of freight. Courtesy Raymond PECHOT

 Fortunately for all the Charlies, the British Front were about to learn what the French and Germans already knew. Even as man and horse were having their disagreement about the proper length for a working day, some of the British took over a section of front-line from the French 10th Army. This had three 60cm gauge railway lines which included Artillerie 88 rolling stock and the new lighter Decauville 1915 wagons. Even the 'top brass' realised that what the French had was useful. A railway line doesn't stray into a ditch, even in the dark or wet. A train requires a fraction of the man-power needed by a wagon train. From Charlie's point of view, such trains were of interest because a serious quota of all wagons carried forage. Best of all, for the few, the fortunate few, some mechanical tractors scrounged, stolen or improvised, and the horses could wait peacefully at the rear of the lines..

Tracks to the Trenches

We attended the Apedale 'Tracks to the Trenches' (12th-14th Seprtember) commemoration of transport to the front line of World War One.(organised with the Moseley Trust) It was a vibrant event. Everyone from primary school-children to venerable grand-parents were there, both enjoying a day out and trying to get to grips with the experiences of the foot soldiers. You can visit the event's own website.  www.ww1-event.org

Raising steam for the big day ahead

 The guidebook to the weekend was beautifully produced. The introduction 'The narrow gauge railway at war' explained the point of the event and all the locomotives and wagons assembled there. Briefly, logistics - the trail ensuring that timely supplies reach the battlefront - are not glamorous but they are vital. The front-line, especially on the Western side, depended on 60cm gauge railways, quickly laid and relaid to provide soldiers with weapons, ammunition, food and forage. 
Unfortunately, the article had relied overmuch on an article written elsewhere. Mistakes had crept in. For example, the Paris Exposition (Exhibition) for which the Eiffel Tower was built was in 1889 not 1878. The Germans adopted 600 mm gauge in 1888, not 1889 when their first locomotives were built. The story about Arthur Koppel visiting the Paris exhibition and having an epiphany under the Eiffel Tower is charming, but just a story. For many months, hard-nosed Prussian 'observers' had been watching the French Army. The future enemy was the source of their ideas!

Henschel"Brigadelok" of 1918. One survivor of arround 2500 built. The attractive wine red frames are prototypical, the red buffing beams are not but are necessary for safety.

The father of portable railways was a French artillery officer, Prosper Pechot. From the time of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1) he had been agonising over the next war, and how to avoid another defeat for his country. Victory, he knew, would go to the side which was better supplied. The Decauville Company started marketing portable track, largely for agricultural purposes, from 1876. Pechot saw the potential for military applications. Genius is application as well as  inspiration. With much theorising and experimentation, he worked out that 60cm/600mm track with the right design of sleepers, bogies and mechanical haulage could carry supplies in the volume required by a serious assault.
Paul Decauville, Director of the Decauville Company was the first to encourage him, from 1880 onwards, building prototypes so that he could test his ideas. For various reasons, his superiors were suspicious. Early in 1886, the Navy realised the potential and Pechot helped them move 34 tonne guns up vertiginous slopes and remote beaches. The Press finally brought the Army round and Pechot's ideas were officially adopted in 1888.  Then the French Army took a long rest. By 1914, the initiative was with the Germans who had no less than 1000 kilometres of portable track, wagons and locomotives, all ready to support the Schlieffen Plan and invasion. France, then Britain and later the AEF had a lot of catching up to do.

Built for the French Army, a "Joffre" class 0-6-0 built by Kerr Stuart in Stoke

 

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Recent progress on the Hunslet

The start of the month saw the arrival of the laser cut steel frames, buffer beams and rods.  The design work for the etches was completed and sent to the etch company.  Two weeks later this arrived and was assembled.  It went together quite well and exactly fitted the laser cut frames.

The laser cut frames assembled and the test etch made up

At this stage I could have gone ahead but there were some problems.  The first was the tank wrapper had been etched at full thickness to allow for a riveted tank version to be built at some point.  However this was a mistake since it took too long to form the thick metal to conform to the tank frame even after annealing.  The other problem was the detailing of the steel frames was time consuming and expensive.  So, like the buffer beams I decided I would use an etched overlay for the frames that had all the detail on to exact scale.  I also took the opportunity to tweak the etches to simplify their assembly.
The last photo shows this revised etch. I will probably assemble the parts again just to check that everything fits before I go into serious production . If there is a market later on for an etched tank version the overlay can be a separate small etch.

The new etch showing the frame sides and half-thickness tank wrapper.

Time is not being wasted while waiting for these parts.  The Britan lathe is hard at work making bearings, steam fittings, and all the turned parts each engine will need.

He had no truck with these

Why do some folk like rail-mounted guns so much? They pop up in films such as Doctor Zhivago - the best version, the one with Julie Christie, Tom Courtenay and Omar Sharif in which the armoured train bristling with guns is positively a character in its own right. The guns were effective fund-raisers, appearing on war-time campaign postcards, bought by the thousand by the public. They pop up in novels - the sort I wouldn't admit reading! They were loved by newspapers. Pictures from the Boer War show rail-mounted machine guns heading up a train. They are depicted on the front of serious histories. You can't get a more serious historian than Christian Wolmar and his 'Engines of War - how wars were won and lost on the railways' On the book jacket there is a picture of the massive gun the Germans used on the Russian front.
Even my 'other half', normally a reasonable person, is keen. He longs to build a model of such a gun. Oh well, go on, let's have a picture!

Postcard of rail-mounted gun sold to as part of the War Bond Campaign during World War One. The landscape suggests that the gun is on trial in Scotland. The material was passed by the censor who may have demanded that details were omitted. Messrs A.M. David London

When we were planning illustrations for our book 'Colonel Pechot:  tracks to the trenches', Malcolm was very keen to include a picture of a rail-mounted gun.   He was overjoyed when Dr Christian Cenac gave us permission to include a drawing of an affut-truck, the version of the rail-mounted gun which was used on the Pechot system. That is why 'truck' is in the heading. There are some excellent drawings in Cenac's book '60 cm track used to supply the French fronts during the 1914-18 War'
Speaking personally, I am not so keen on the affut truck/rail mounted gun. Truck=bogie can easily be confused with truc=thingy/widget, another splendid French word and so I think of them as 'rail-mounted thingymebobs'. 
To be honest, they were not a great deal of use. If you ask me, a rail-mounted gun is great for selling books but a bit explosive - like sex really.
But as you are reading on, I assume that you want to know all about the affut-truck Peigne. As the name suggests, the idea came to General Peigne. He saw the Pechot system being installed around the frontier fortresses in the 1890s. Rather than trains loading and unloading guns, why not fire them from the train!  There was even the suitable Canet gun carriage. Nothing to his mind seemed more logical and simple. Why hadn't Pechot thought of it?
The 120mm and 155 Court (short-barrelled) guns were both tried on the affut truck. http://fortificationetmemoire.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AFT2.bmpTo prevent damage to the track, there were fold-out supports which the crew deployed before shooting. Trials were not a great success. The system was a bit flimsy and the operators tended to lose the keys provided for winding out the supports.  A second generation of affut-truck had more sturdy fold-out supports. The fiddly keys were replaced with solid bars with special cradles on the supports.
A photographs in Voie Etroite magazine no 81 shows  an affut-truck with 18 soldiers, plus an inspection squad.  Photographs taken around the place forte/frontier fortress of Epinal  circa 1900 suggest that each gun had a crew of five, not counting the crews bringing ammunition. http://www.fortiffsere.fr/artillerie/index_fichiers/Page1488.htm
Exercises showed that these guns were not actually much use. If they fired, they gave away their position to observers.They could move to shelter before enemy artillery were trained on them, but the rail could not and it suffered accordingly. No wonder Pechot did not approve!
The war service of the rail-mounted gun was short - on the Pechot lines at least. Rather surprisingly, the affut-truck Peigne emerged after the war. Voie Etroite no 79 shows a German 0-8-0 Brigadelok (ceded to France as part of war reparations) pushing a rake of them along the network at Toul. But no, none have been found decaying on a forgotten siding in postwar years.

Hunslet Quarry Tank- Work starts

Hi, I thought it was time to report what is happening in the Wrightscale workshop.  After designing a tool for the laser cutter to work from and taking the prototype to bits to measure all the component to be etched I have finally reached the start of the first batch to be built. The metal is in stock, the castings likewise, and the first batch of laser cut parts and the etch arrived last week.

The first sheet of laser cutting, the loco sides frames, are in the workshop for assembly.  The water tank has been assembled to test the design. Soon there should be an assembled chassis.

I think I am going to overlay the steel frames with etched overlays with the axlebox, rivet and bolt detail etched, rather than assemble the frames using actual scale bolts etc.  It is hard to believe but a single 3/64" brass rivet is now 6p, so I think soldering in 32 per loco pair of frames is a bit over the top.  I have made provision for riveted  running plates and also the water tank can be riveted too.
So now it is test assemble the frames, machine a batch of axleboxes, slip eccentric components, wheels, cranks, crankpins, cylinder covers, valve chests, valves, pistons......... and the chassis can be completed and air tested.
Soon be will be writing to the first few on the interest list to offer them an engine.  Hopefully this batch will be completed later this year. So watch the blog and follow the progress.
Sarah's book- Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches is getting near the end; she is doing the final proof reading.  So if you want a copy of the authorative book on the innovation of narrow gauge military transport with loads of good photos, lots of drawings, maps and 22 years of research watch out for her postings over the next couple of months.