Neuigkeiten und informationen

Oil Firing of Steam Locomotive "Heidi" improved

11 September 2019

When the Na-class steam locomotive 14A of the Australian Puffing Billy Railway had been converted to oil firing, much progress has been made regarding the elimination of the occasional "rumbling" noises. These findings have now been applied to the oill firing of "Heidi". Before this little conversion it was possible but rather tricky to avoid the rambling. The picture taken by Georg Trüb shows the test train on September 11, 2019 between Zernez and Samedan.

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Neues Buch zur Baureihe 52

2 September 2019

Das kürzlich erschienene Buch zur Geschichte der Baureihe 52: https://eisenbahnfachbuch.de/buecher-vorbild/bildbaende/207/kriegslokomotive-k52 enthält auch drei Kapitel von Dipl. Masch.-Ing. ETH Roger Waller zu den 52-ern mit Wellrohrkessel, über den Rollenlagerumbau der auf Fahrwerken der Baureihe 52 basierenden Klimaschneepflügen und der Modernisierung der…

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SUCCESSFUL TEST OF THE NEW STEAM ENGINE FOR SS SPIEZ

28 August 2019

The all-new steam engine for the screw steam ship SS Spiez of Lake Thun nears completion and has recently been sucessfully tested on compressed air and steam, see: https://youtu.be/e1MtoExDfhQ

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VEHICLE RUNNING STABILITY OF DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE TYPE EM 831 GREATLY IMPROVED

26 July 2019

In 1989 the Swiss Federal Railway SBB ordered three prototypes of 0-6-0 shunting Diesel locomotives type Em 831. These locomotives had initually been designed for a speed of 80 km/h, but insufficient vehicle running stability enforced a reduced speed limit of 60 km/h. At that time seemingly no one found a solution to improve the running stability and consequently, no further locomotives of this type have been built. When the locomotives were phased out by SBB, the Swiss firm Stauffer bought the lot and asked DLM, if it were possible to modify the locomotives for higher speed. This was successfully done with a few moderate modifications. The tests showed a stable running stability up to at least 93 km/h and the Em 831 are now officially approved for 80 km/h.

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Engineering Contract for new Paddle Steamer on River Rhein

10 April 2019

A Swiss society named Pro Dampfer intends to build an all-new paddle steamer for service on the river Rhein between the Swiss town of Schaffhausen to the German town Konstanz on lake Constance. No doubt the new paddle steamer will be popular with tourists enjoying the beautiful landscape along the meandering river, free of motor noise and exhaust emissions, but the project is also interesting from a pure technical background. As a world first, so we think, the new paddle steamer will be fuelled with local wood pellets, resulting in a CO2-neutral operation. However, the calorific value of wooden pellets is much lower compared to fuel oil, requiring an optimized steam engine. DLM now has to do the engineering for the entire drive: fuel, firing, boiler, steam engine, auxilliaries and paddle wheels.

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SS SPIEZ: MACHINING OF THE MOTION OF THE NEW STEAM ENGINE NEARS COMPLETION

26 February 2019

The new V-shaped twin steam engine for the screw steamer "Spiez" is nearing completion. The two photos show the connecting rods and the parts of the Stephenson control system with machining status from 26. 2. 2019. Photos Roger Waller

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MODERNIZED SNOW PLOUGHS IN ACTION

21 January 2019

Between 2009 and 2015 Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) have modernized 23 snow ploughs to increase their reliability and improve the ecology. The old, oil-dripping plain bearings have all been replaced by new modern roller bearing wheelsets delivered by DLM. The special technology of these roller bearing wheelsets had been developed for the likewise modernization of the steam locomotive 52 8055. It allows the use of roller bearings without modification of the frame. The heavy snowfalls in large parts of Austria gave the snowploughs a lot of work. Clearing the track by means of a snow plough is very attractive to look at, as can be verified by the short video:

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New Boiler for Steam Ship SS Spiez

1 December 2018

On December 1, 2018 the new boiler has been lifted into the boiler room of the screw steamer SS Spiez, see pictures taken by Robert Horlacher. The all-new two-cylinder steam engine is unfortunately not yet ready, which is mainly due to the generally excellent workload of the Swiss manufacturing industry. Tailor-made never meant priority within manufacturing proceses, but this time it was simply impossible to get things done in an acceptable time frame.

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Puffing Billy: Oil-fired 14A officially inaugurated

29 October 2018

On the occasion of the 20-year anniversary of the reopening of Puffing Billy's Gembrook section on October 18, 2018, oil-firedNA-class steam locomotive 14A was officially presented to the public. The picture shows Puffing Billy's technical managers David Clowes (left) and Tim Heeks in front of decorated 14A.

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Steamship SS Spiez: Boiler approved

20 September 2018

The new three-pass boiler for SS Spiez has been built by the German manufacturer Bay Boilers BBS and approved by TUEV. The boiler produces 1000 kg of superheated steam at 16 bar and 420°C. The modern steam plant with the automatic boiler and the new remote-controlled steam engine replaces the old Diesel motor. The pictures (BBS) show the boiler without the insulation.

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PUFFING BILLY: OIL-FIRED NA-CLASS LOCOMOTIVE 14A IN REGULAR TRAFFIC

30 June 2018

On  Mai 24, 2018 the oil-fired NA-class locomotive hauled the first official time-tabled passenger train and is since regularly used, mainly on the entire section to Gembrook. At the same time, firemen and driver training has been  extended. The main reason for the conversion to light oil firing was the elimination of fire danger and many a steam railway in Europe and the USA may now wish to have had the same foresight. Climate change results in more frequent and longer dry periods, even in countries once famous for rain. So the question to be asked more and more often is: would you rather have an oil-fired steam locmotive or a  replacement diesel in front of your train?

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SUCCESSFUL STEAM EVENT, ALL STEAM TRAINS ON TIME

31 May 2018

The Steam Centre of Winterthur recorded a high number of visitors and all steam trains run exactly on time. The picture shows the arrival of coal-fired 52 2988 (052 988-3) with the feeder train from Rottweil, before 52 8055 took over. Photo Roger Waller

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Puffing Billy: Oil-fired NA-class locomotive 14A in regular traffic

16 April 2018

On Mai 24, 2018 the oil-fired NA-class locomotive hauled the first official time-tabled passenger train and is since regularly used, mainly on the entire section to Gembrook. At the same time, firemen and driver training has been extended. The main reason for the conversion to light oil firing was the elimination of fire danger and many a steam railway in Europe and the USA may now wish to have had the same foresight. Climate change results in more frequent and longer dry periods, even in countries once famous for rain. So the question to be asked more and more often is: would you rather have an oil-fired steam locmotive or a replacement diesel in front of your train? /puffing billy_oil-fired na-class 14a near gembrook_photo tony ashcat marsden.jpg

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Combined Heat, Power and Mobility CHPM - An Alternative to diesel and battery-powered Vehicles

10 December 2017

In combined heat and power processes, waste heat is often partly recovered for domestic heating and is therefore useful only in the cold season. Furthermore, as a result of climate change and better building technologies, the demand for heating energy is gradually declining. Combining power and mobility opens up a range of new possiblities for waste heat recovery with no seasonal limitations. For instance waste heat from a gas power station can be used to produce hot water under pressure in a waste heat recovery boiler and the high pressure steam uesd to drive modern steam powered vehicles.

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Light Oil Firing for Puffing Billy Railway in Australia

29 September 2017

The Australian tourist railway "Puffing Billy" is worldfamous. DLM received an order to convert one of their coal-fired NA-class locomotives to oil firing. This will eliminate sparks that prevent the use of steam locomotives in case of fire danger. The diesel locomotives that substituted the steam locomotives in fire hazard conditions have not been popular. The modernization has already begun. The outer appearance of the locomotive will not be changed. This method has already been successfully done with the conversion of the steam locomotive "Heidi".

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