Modern Steam
AN ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ALTERNATIVE TO DIESEL TRACTION
BENEFITS OF MODERN STEAM
One man operation for steam locomotives
Remote-controlled steam engines for ships
Light-oil firing with clean and spark free combustion
High thermal efficiency of engine and boiler
Modular concept
Modern manufacturing allows for exchangeable parts
Latest bearing technology reduces maintenance and protects the environment
Electric preheating device enables unattended heating up of steam boilers
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news and information
Oil Firing of Steam Locomotive "Heidi" improved
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
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
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
More...VEHICLE RUNNING STABILITY OF DIESEL LOCOMOTIVE TYPE EM 831 GREATLY IMPROVED
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
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
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
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
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
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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