New Power

General Motors EMD ad

featuring Milwaukee road diesel-electric loco

1945

via x-ray delta one @ Flickr

Across the Channel

The almost annual guide, one of a series issued by the Southern Railway of England covering many continental destinations, to Normandy & Brittany in France. This rather abstract cover is by P Irwin Brown - Pieter Irwin Brown, the Dutch artist.

Image and text: mikeyashworth @ Flickr

Streamlined and Diesel-Powered

Burlington Zephyr luggage label

The Zephyr was a diesel-powered articulated train, built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The train featured extensive use of stainless steel, and was meant as a promotional tool to advertise passenger rail service in the United States. The construction included innovations such as shotwelding (a specialized type of spot welding) to join the stainless steel, and articulation to reduce its weight.

On May 26, 1934, it set a speed record for travel between Denver, Colorado, and Chicago, Illinois, when it made a 1,015-mile (1,633 km) non-stop "Dawn-to-Dusk" dash in 13 hours 5 minutes at an average speed of 77 mph (124 km/h). For one section of the run it reached a speed of 112.5 mph (181 km/h), just short of the then US land speed record of 115 mph (185 km/h). The historic dash inspired a 1934 film and the train's nickname, "The Silver Streak".

Info: Wikipedia

Diesel-Pneumatic

This 4-6-4 diesel-pneumatic loco was designed to solve the problem of power transmission between a diesel engine and the wheels. Time has shown that diesel-electric is the way to go, but in earlier years it was by no means obvious that dragging around a heavy generator and lots of electric motors and associated control equipment was a good idea.

The diesel-pneumatic locomotive was planned in 1924, an order being placed on the 18th September 1924 in response to a quotation made on the 11th April 1924. Construction took five years rather than the planned single year, which indicates some pretty serious technical difficulties had to be overcome.

Completed in 1929, V3201 was the first high-performance Diesel loco on the Deutsch ReichsBahn. It used the MAN Lo6 Vu 45/42 engine, originally developed for use in U-boats. (surprise, surprise) It was a six-cylinder 1000/1200hp engine direct-coupled to a MAN 2-cylinder double-acting single-stage air compressor. Air was delivered at 7 Bar. (102 psi) The design speed was 70 km/hr and the weight in operating condition 70 tons; the maximum axle loading was 18 tons.

Source: LOCOLOCO

Belgian Banana

The Autorail Type 608 was a diesel railcar of the Belgian State Railway (SNCB/NMBS). Six units were built in 1930s by Forges et Fonderies d'Haine-Saint-Pierre, powered by a license-built 370 kW Ganz engine coupled to a mechanical transmission. The railcar took 10 second-class and 54 or 50 third-class passengers. Its maximum speed was 126 km/h, commercial speed - 85 km/h.
The streamline design bears a remarkable resemblance to GWR 'Flying Banana' and ČSD 'Slovenská strela'.

Images: Wikimedia Commons, Delcampe, Diesel4407

Moving the Mail

A WPA mural by Harry Sternberg

1937

via x-ray delta one @ Flickr

Munich Transport Exhibition

1925

Via alanp_photo @ Flickr

Centenary Trains

Liverpool & Manchester Centenary - Celebrations 1830-1930',

LR and MR poster

1930

Poster produced for the Liverpool Railway (LR) and Manchester Railway (MR) to promote their centenary celebrations. The centenary celebrations were heavily promoted, and held in Liverpool between 13th and 20th September 1930. The very latest locomotives were on show, along with miniature railway systems and a paegent of transport every evening. Artwork by P Irwin Brown. Dimensions: 40" x 50". Printed by S C Allen & Co, London.

Image & info: Flatbadger @ Flickr

Bavarian Mountain Railway

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn

May 1931

(Bundesarchiv)

Diesel Powered B & A

In July 1938 the SNCF put into service a 225 ton twin unit diesel locomotive powered by a pair of Sulzer 12 cylinder twin bank engines.

At the time of construction they were the most powerful engines ever installed in railway traction. The 12 cylinder twin bank engines were each rated at 2,200hp at 700 rpm on the one hour rating. Cylinder size was 310mm by 390mm (12.2in by 15.4in).

Electrical equipment was supplied by les Forges et Ateliers de Constructions electriques de Jeumont, each half unit having a main generator, three traction motors, an axle driven exciter, an auxiliary generator and other subsidiary equipment. The total of six tractions motors are of the four pole series, with forced ventilation, permanently coupled in parallel.

The Sulzer powered 262BD1 was one of a pair of twin units ordered by the PLM, the second twin unit, 262AD1 is shown below, this machine was powered by four MAN 1,050hp engines.

Fittings on the locomotives were standardised where possible to keep spares to a minimum, likewise the bodyshells reveal much similarity.

Both twin units were retired from service during 1955.

Info: derbysulzers.com

Special thanks to transpressnz

Springtime for Diesel

Diesel shunter locomotive at the Leipzig Spring Fair

1930

(Bundesarchiv)

The Empire Port

A pamphlet issued for the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Glasgow to extol the values of the Docks at Southampton - the Southern Railway were mighty proud of these important port installations and made the claim that they were the Empire port. The image show the 'new' Western Docks, the massive quays that substantially extended the port's facilities and that opened in 1934.

via mickeyashworth @ Flickr

Bus Link

Pierre Fix-Masseau for the Northern Railway (France)

1929

Scanned & retouched by Paul Malon @ Flickr

Sleeping Cars

"Night Travel in Wagons Lits" - poster issued by Wagons Lits, Italia

Designed by A M Cassandre

1931

A very 'typical' Cassandre railway poster of a style that is so of its period! The bold and simple design is for night services run by Wagons Lit and the Italian State Railways.

Via mickeyashworth @ Flickr

Talgo Train

TALGO is the Spanish acronym for "Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol" (Goicoechea-Oriol light articulated train), invented by Alejandro Goicoechea and José Luis Oriol.

Built in 1942, at the "Hijos de Juan Garay" Factory in Oñate (Gipuzcoa), Spain, it broke numerous speed records.

Read about the post-war Talgo II on Dieselpunks.org

He Knows...

 

Yes he's aware of his responsibility. Be responsible!

Scanned and retouched by Paul Malon, on Flickr

More Monorails!

1923

via x-ray delta one @ Flickr

Gateway to Africa

Roger Broders for PLM railway

1931

via transpressnz

Crocoloco

DRG E93 was a class of powerful (3355hp) heavy electric locomotives built by AEG for the German State Railways in 1933-1938.

 Inspired by electric locos of the Swiss and Austrian Federal Railways, it was also dubbed Krokodil (crocodile).

18 units were built.

Source: Deutsche Krokodil website

Subway Tram

This colourful illustration was issued by the then municipal London County Council Tramways to publicise the re-opening of the subterranean Kinsway tram subway in 1931. It had been reconstructed to take double-deck trams. The subway ran from Theobolds Road to the Embankment, under Waterloo Bridge, and there were two tram 'stations' - at Holborn and Aldwych. It was an essential link between the vast tram network north and south of the Thames that would otherwise have been, effectively, severed due to the refusal of the inner London Councils at the time to countenance street running of tramways.
The poster shows both tram stations, the street above and the trams - 'Pullman' rather cheekily referred to the refurbishment of trams the LCC carried out - with upholstered seats - to make them less basic in comparison with the rapidly developing motor bus!
The artwork was also used as the cover for a booklet at the time.

Text, image: mickeyashworth @ Flickr