In this article I present to your attention the rarest archival photographs of PKB TsT, which depict steam locomotives of the USSR. Unfortunately, I was unable to identify some of the locomotives. If you have information on steam locomotives I have not identified, please share it and I will edit the article.
Archival photo of PKB CT23-001 (axle load 23 tf, No. 001), often referred to in the literature as UU (Ulan-Ude Plant) - an experimental Soviet freight locomotive of type 1-5-2 ("Texas"), developed and built in 1949 by the Ulan-Ude Locomotive Building Plant factory.
The design was carried out under the leadership of the chief designer of the plant - P. M. Sharoiko. Characteristic feature The locomotive had a high axle load, which reached 23 tons.
In 1950, after completion of traction and thermal testing at the Butovo ring of the Central Research Institute of Railways, steam locomotive 23-001 entered for trial operation at the Krasny Liman-Sever depot, where, in parallel with the FD series locomotives, it successfully worked on the Krasny Liman traction section - Basis", until 1960.
Archival photo of PKB CT P36(type 36 locomotive, often referred to in literature as type 2-4-2; nickname - General (for the characteristic colored stripes ("stripes") on the sides), sometimes erroneously - Pobeda) - Soviet mainline passenger locomotive, produced by the Kolomna plant from 1950 to 1956. In terms of power, it was equivalent to a steam locomotive of the IS series, but had a load from the axles on the rails of no more than 18 t, thanks to which it could be operated on the vast majority of Soviet railways, replacing the Su series locomotives and significantly increasing the weight passenger trains. The last steam locomotive of the series (P36-0251) became the last steam locomotive built for the Kolomna plant and the last passenger steam locomotive produced in the USSR.
Archival photo of PKB CT Su(from Russian Sormovo reinforced; nicknames - “drying”, “Soviet Prairie”; the Sumy modification had the nickname “bag”) - a Soviet passenger steam locomotive of the 1-3-1 type, produced from 1924 to 1951.
Designed by the design bureau of the Kolomna Plant (KMZ), based on the best courier locomotive of the same type Russian Empire-series St). In comparison with the prototype (Св), as a result of design changes, it became a universal passenger locomotive of a qualitatively new design and the first steam locomotive created in the USSR, equally suitable for work in fast and heavy (many carriages) passenger trains (long-distance and suburban). In mass production since 1925, Su entered production at a time when the USSR, quickly recovering from the severe consequences of imperialist and civil war, strengthened and entered the broad path of technical reconstruction of industry and Agriculture. In technical terms, the Su turned out to be a significant step forward compared to previous steam locomotives and opened up a further series of achievements in Soviet steam locomotive technology. Since the early 1930s. - the most common standard passenger locomotive on the USSR road network. .
Archival photo of PKB CT
Archival photo of PKB CT
Archival photo of PKB CT In 1916, the question arose about a new large order of steam locomotives. Since the tests of Ef-3 showed the correctness of the choice of parameters of the steam engine, a steam locomotive of type 1-5-0 with parameters similar to the E series locomotive was chosen for the new order to American factories: driving wheel diameter 1320 mm, cylinder diameter 635 mm, piston stroke 711 mm, evaporating surface of the steam boiler 240.2 m², superheater heating area 61.5 m², grate area 6 m², steam pressure 12.7 kgf/cm², operating weight 85 t, adhesive weight 75.1 t and structural speed 55 km/h (later raised to 70 km/h). Also, by that time, material had been accumulated about the shortcomings of the E-series locomotives, therefore, along with the order for new locomotives, a list of required design changes was sent to American locomotive-building plants.
Archival photo of PKB CT In November of the same year, the American plants ALCO and Baldwin were ordered 80, and in December another 220 E-series steam locomotives of a modified design. It is worth noting that the factories began designing the steam locomotive even before receiving the characteristics approved by the Ministry of Railways, therefore, when agreeing on the drawings with representatives of the ministry, they included a large number of changes in order to bring the design of a number of parts closer to that accepted in Russia, as well as to improve parts that worked unsatisfactorily on steam locomotives of American railways. Thus, the production of E-series locomotives was carried out according to designs and technical specifications, which were developed by Russian engineers, while these engineers also improved the design and provided technical guidance for the manufacture of steam locomotives. .
Archival photo of PKB CT E(nicknames - Russian Decapod [, Efim, Elena) - a series of freight locomotives of type 1-5-0, supplied to the railways of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union during the First and Second World Wars for quick replenishment locomotive park. They were built in North American factories according to drawings developed by Russian engineers. Since 1917, steam locomotives have been supplied as military aid, and since 1943 - under Lend-Lease. In addition, for various reasons, including political ones, these locomotives were operated in the USA (“Russian Decapod”), Finland (Tr2 “Truman”) and the Republic of China (ST-1). The most famous variety is EA, which accounted for about a third of all locomotives in the series. Steam locomotives E are also known for the fact that in 1920, in the firebox of one of them (El-629), three Bolshevik revolutionaries were burned by the White Guards: Lazo, Lutsky and Sibirtsev. .
Archival photo of PKB CT CO(Sergo Ordzhonikidze) - Soviet mainline freight locomotive of type 1-5-0.
Since 1933, in the new workshops of the reconstructed Lugansk Locomotive Plant, the construction of powerful steam locomotives of the 1-5-1 FD series began, but the rest of the locomotive factories and the old workshops of the Lugansk Locomotive Plant continued to produce E-series steam locomotives, the design of which was already outdated by that time. However, the old, unreconstructed factories could not build more powerful locomotives. In an effort to create a type of locomotive that could be built at all factories, operated without rebuilding depots, turntables and the superstructure of the track, and be more powerful than E-series steam locomotives, the Research Institute for Traction Reconstruction of the NKPS developed a preliminary design for a steam locomotive type 1-5 -0 based on the E series steam locomotive. The transition from type 0-5-0 to type 1-5-0 made it possible, while maintaining the same load from the wheel pairs on the rails, to significantly increase the boiler, and therefore increase the traction force on the boiler, in order to ensure the possibility of increasing the technical speed of driving freight trains. .
Archival photo of PKB CT
Archival photo of PKB CT LW(L Voroshilovgradsky; original factory designation - OR18- October Revolution Plant, 18 - axle load on rails, in tf) - Soviet mainline freight steam locomotive, produced from 1952 to 1956. It was created at the Voroshilovgrad Locomotive Plant, taking into account the experience of designing, building and operating the L series steam locomotive, for which it received the nicknames Lebedyanka and Lebed from the railway workers (like the L steam locomotive). One of the most advanced Soviet steam locomotives (“a steam locomotive of the highest design class”), on its basis an experimental steam locomotive of the same type OR21 was created. The experience of designing the LV steam locomotive was largely used in the creation of one of the best Chinese steam locomotives - the QJ. The last steam locomotive of the series (LV-0522) became the last mainline steam locomotive built for the Soviet locomotive industry. .
Archival photo of PKB CT Steam locomotive OR23(October Revolution Plant, axle load 23 tf) - an experienced Soviet freight locomotive with an adhesion weight of 115 tons. The world's first steam locomotive, which had a steam engine with diverging pistons and a driving mechanism with transfer swing arms, which had previously been used only on thermal locomotives (a hybrid of a steam locomotive and a diesel locomotive).
After the end of the Great Patriotic War in connection with the restoration National economy Freight traffic began to increase on the railways of the Soviet Union. By that time, steam locomotive factories had already launched the production of steam locomotives of the 1-5-0 type with an adhesion weight of 85-90 tons (SO and L series). However, many railway transport experts understood that the growth of train masses would continue, and this would require stronger steam locomotives. The resumption of production of FD series steam locomotives was considered irrational, since this steam locomotive had a number of design flaws (weak crew, low boiler efficiency). .
Archival photo of PKB CT According to the designers, the experimental steam locomotive of type 1-3-0+0-3-1 P34-0001 was supposed to have the same traction force as locomotives of type 1-5-2, but operate on sections with a weaker track structure with rails like P43. The project provided for a load from the driving wheel pairs on the rails of 19 tf with a total adhesion weight of 114 t. In fact, the load from the first wheel pair reached 20 tf, from the third - 20.1 tf, and the total weight was 117.5 t. Due to the limitation In terms of weight, the locomotive's boiler had to be made less powerful than that of experienced steam locomotives of the 1-5-2 type. The locomotive is equipped with coal feeder No. 37 and a mixing-type water heater manufactured at the Bryansk plant. As a result of installing four cylinders on the locomotive (of which two are on a turning frame), the forces on the pistons were reduced, the operating conditions of the driving mechanisms were made easier, their weight was reduced and the dynamic qualities of the locomotive were improved compared to conventional non-articulated locomotives. On a steam locomotive of type 1-3-0+0-3-1 it turned out to be possible to use driving wheel pairs, axle boxes, coupling drawbars, floating bushings, running wheel sets, springs and a significant part of the brake lever system the same as on the L series locomotive. Disadvantages articulated locomotive type 1-3-0+0-3-1 (like all articulated locomotives in general) was a 2-fold greater number of driving and steam distribution mechanisms, as well as the use of long steam lines with three telescopic and four ball joints, which significantly complicated maintenance behind the locomotive and increased the cost of its repair.
Archival photo of PKB CT P38 (steam locomotive of the 38th project - factory designation of the project) - an experimental series of 4 freight locomotives produced in the USSR in 1954-1955. The heaviest steam locomotive in the history of Soviet locomotive building (and taking into account the weight of the tender, in the history of all Soviet locomotives).
“P38” is the factory designation of the Soviet experimental freight articulated steam locomotive of type 1-4+4-2, the Mallet system with a single-acting machine (single expansion of steam). It is a lightweight version of the same type of the most powerful in the world, the American steam locomotive “Yellowstone”. An experimental batch of four freight steam locomotives "P-38" was built by the Kolomna Plant in 1954-1955. .
Archival photo of PKB CT P36 (locomotive of the 36th type, often referred to in the literature as type 2-4-2; nickname - General (for the characteristic colored stripes ("stripes") on the sides), sometimes erroneously - Pobeda) - Soviet mainline passenger steam locomotive, produced by Kolomensky plant from 1950 to 1956. In terms of power, it was equivalent to the IS series steam locomotive, but had an axle load on the rails of no more than 18 t, thanks to which it could be operated on the vast majority of Soviet railways, replacing the Su series locomotives and significantly increasing the weight of passenger trains. The last steam locomotive of the series (P36-0251) became the last steam locomotive built for the Kolomna plant and the last passenger steam locomotive produced in the USSR.
Contrary to popular belief, the Pobeda locomotive is an L and not a P36. Locomotives of the L series were produced since 1945 and officially bore the designation of the P series - “Victory” - until January 1947. .
History of invention. LocomotiveThe idea of using steam for transport needs arose back in the 17th century. At first they tried to adapt steam engines to ordinary carts or carts. Steam carriages were designed to travel on a straight road without rails. In 1763, the French engineer Cogneau built the first steam carriage. This machine only worked for 12-15 minutes. In 1769 (or 1770) Cognot built a more advanced carriage, but when it was launched through the streets of Paris, it turned out to be impossible to drive.
In 1787, the American Evans invented another steam carriage, but it was so imperfect that it could not be used in practice.
At the end of the 80s of the XVIII century. William Murdoch, a student and assistant of James Watt, created a steam carriage with an engine designed by his teacher. He built a number of interesting models of steam carriages, but he also failed to make a practically usable transport machine.
William Murdoch. Portrait by John Graham Gilbert
In general, until the end of the 18th century. attempts to harness steam power for propulsion purposes were unsuccessful. And the point was not only that at that time it was technically impossible to solve this problem. The introduction of steam to transport was greatly hampered by the inert, biased attitude of most of the society that had barely emerged from the depths of feudalism towards the very idea of artificially increasing the speed of human movement. From the point of view of church morality, this seemed “sinful.” Inventors tried to make some “improvements” and “corrections” in the “divine providence”, which determined that a person should walk on two legs or, in extreme cases, resort to the services of horses. Any other method of transportation was considered by the clergy as “an unholy attempt to improve the creation of the creator.” People who engaged in such reprehensible activities were declared accomplices of the devil. Considering that the church enjoyed enormous influence in England and to a certain extent shaped public opinion, then it will become clear that the technicians and mechanics who, together with the “enemy of the human race” encroached on the “divine institution,” had a very hard time in the “pious” English society of the late 18th century.
William Murdoch suffered a lot of persecution from his fellow citizens. He built a small three-wheeled cart and tested it one night on one of the less traveled roads near the city.
When the water in the boiler of the steam engine began to boil, the cart, unexpectedly for the inventor, rushed along the road alone, and developed such a speed that the inventor was unable to catch up with it. At this time, a local priest was passing along the street. Seeing a luminous and whistling object rushing towards him, the priest imagined that he was seeing the devil himself in front of him. He raised a cry, to which people came running. The inventor approached and tried to explain the secret of his “devil,” but no one listened to him. The cart was immediately broken, and its creator barely escaped from the angry crowd. From then on, Murdoch's reputation as a man acquainted with evil spirits was firmly established. Every God-fearing ignorant considered it his duty to harm Murdoch with all his might. More than once his fellow citizens broke his car models, interfered with his experiments, turned his friends against him, and scared almost all his acquaintances away from the inventor. A similar fate befell other inventors.
However, developing capitalist production persistently demanded the reconstruction of vehicles. IN early XIX V. In many countries, work was carried out to improve the so-called steam cart, in other words, to create a steam car.
Interesting experiments were carried out by the Czech mechanic Joseph Bozek (1782-1832). In 1815, He built a steam cart, which was successfully tested. But attempts to repeat the experiments in 1817 with a more powerful machine did not give satisfactory results. It should be noted that in general the problem of creating a steam car was never solved. The car was created only on the basis of an internal combustion engine.
Many inventors during this era tried to build a locomotive that moved on rails. Especially great importance To create railway transport, the work of the Scottish engineer and mechanic Richard Trevithick (1771 - 1833) was the first to come up with the idea of using steam locomotives on specially constructed rail tracks.
Portrait of Richard Trevithick
In 1803 Trevithick designed a steam locomotive for the rail track, and in February 1804 he carried out its first test.
This important event in the history of transport technology was described in one English newspaper: “The day before yesterday the long-awaited test of Mr. Trevithick’s newly invented steam engine took place... The test exceeded, to everyone’s amazement, everything that its most ardent supporters expected from it. IN in this case... the vehicle was used to transport up to 10 tons of strip iron over a distance of over 9 miles; It should be noted that the weight of the load quickly increased from 10 to 15 tons thanks to no less than 70 people who climbed onto the carts. Pushed by an invincible curiosity, they were eager to take a ride, taking advantage of the first success of the inventor's talents... The car made its journey without replenishing the boiler with water and moved freely at a speed of 5 miles per hour... "
Trevithick steam locomotive
Subsequently, Trevithick managed to achieve even greater speed, and the locomotive pulled an entire train of five trolleys, with a total weight of about 25 tons. Trevithick's steam locomotive was the first rail locomotive in the world. It had one horizontally located steam cylinder. The movement of the piston was transmitted by the driving wheel of the locomotive using a connecting rod, crank and a system of gear wheels. To facilitate the passage of the connecting rod through the dead spots, Trevithick used a flywheel. The locomotive weighed 6 tons. Its boiler had a cylindrical shape and a reverse flame tube, and the firebox was located in the front part of the locomotive.
A big difficulty during experiments with the first steam locomotive was that the track, which consisted of fragile cast-iron rails, was not suitable for the movement of such a heavy locomotive. Therefore, there were frequent delays due to broken rails. The locomotive was eventually taken off the rails and used as a stationary machine.
After three years of hard work on improving the locomotive and track, Trevithick built the world's first experimental ring road in London. By building it, the inventor set out to popularize his invention in order to gain financial support.
Trevithick steam locomotive and ring road attraction for its demonstration
Contemporary newspapers for Trevithick described the railway as follows: “The most amazing machine that has ever been invented is a steam engine on four wheels, so constructed that it can move freely and without any outside help will gallop in circles at 15-20 mph. She weighs 8 tons and at the next races in New Market she will compete with three horses in a race within 24 hours, starting at the same time as them...”
Somewhat later, Trevithick opened up to everyone common use a small ring railway near one of London's squares. Anyone could inspect the locomotive and the trailers attached to it. The ring road operated for several weeks, then the rails burst and the locomotive overturned. Trevithick, who spent all his money on building the road, was unable to repair the track and put the locomotive on the rails. Eventually Trevithick was forced to stop work on creating new locomotives.
However, other inventors continued to work on the creation of new locomotives. During the period from 1803 to 1814, many very diverse models of rail locomotives appeared. During this period, the inventors Blenkinson, Murray, the Champey brothers, Brenton, Hadley and others worked in the field of steam locomotive construction in England.
In 1814, George Stephenson (1781-1848) designed and tested his first steam locomotive, which basically solved the problem of creating steam railway transport.
Stephenson left working environment. His father and grandfather worked in the coal mines near Newcastle, the center of the English coal industry. Stephenson spent his youth working in coal mines. Self-taught, with great persistence, he studied mechanics, physics and many other sciences. In parallel with his studies, he worked on the invention of various machines and mechanisms.
Stephenson named his first steam locomotive "Blücher", in honor of Napoleon's winner at Waterloo. "Blücher" repeated in its design many features of the steam locomotives of previous inventors.
Steam locomotive "Blücher", 1814
Stephenson's first locomotive was very heavy, moved slowly, worked with little productivity, but continuously (in other locomotives there were constant stoppages in work). Subsequently, Stephenson continued to work on improving the design of his locomotive.
Stephenson steam locomotive built for the Hetton Mines in 1822 and operated until 1903.
Until 1825, he built about 16 different locomotives, persistently seeking the most acceptable design. Stephenson paid a lot of attention to improving the rail track.
Before 1825, steam locomotives were used primarily on small private roads, usually serving the needs of mines or factories. The emergence of more advanced designs of steam locomotives stimulated the construction of new railway lines. In 1818, a 61 km railway line was built between the cities of Stockton and Darlingt, designed to transport coal. In 1825 the Stockton-Darlington line was opened to the public. This made a tremendous impression on his contemporaries.
“The scene that took place on the morning of September 27, 1825 defies any description,” one of the directors of this road later wrote. - Many who took part in this historical event, did not close their eyes all night and were on their feet. General cheerfulness and cheerfulness, the happy faces of many, amazement and fear on the faces of others diversified the picture.
At the appointed hour the procession set off. At the head of the train was a steam locomotive, driven by its builder, Stephenson; The locomotive was followed by 6 wagons with coal and flour; after them - a carriage with directors and owners of the road; then 20 coal cars, adapted for passengers and filled with them, and, finally, 6 cars loaded with coal... A large crowd of people stood on both sides of the track; many ran after the train; others on horseback followed him along the sides of the path. The latter had a slight slope towards Darlington, and at this point Stephenson decided to test the speed of the train... He increased the speed to 15 miles per hour. When the train arrived at Darlington it was found that there were 450 passengers in the carriages and that the weight of the train was 90 tons."
The new railway quickly showed the advantages of the new type of transport over the old methods of transportation. The popularity of rail transport in England was growing. Numerous inventors worked to create and improve new types of locomotives. In 1829, a competition was announced to create the best steam locomotive. Stephenson presented his new locomotive, the famous “Rocket,” to the competition. "Rocket" had a machine with a power of 13 hp. With. All types of locomotives were tested at the competition. “The Battle of Steam Locomotives,” as this competition was called, ended with the victory of “Rocket,” which freely pulled a train weighing 17 tons at a speed of up to 21 km per hour. Speed of a steam locomotive with one passenger carriage and 36 passengers was 38 km per hour.
Diagram of the steam locomotive D. Stephenson "Rocket"
"Rocket" was the most advanced locomotive of that time. The inventor adapted a tubular boiler that had just appeared at that time to the steam locomotive, which made it possible to significantly increase the speed of the locomotive. “Rocket” was built taking into account all the achievements of locomotive engineering of its time. She appeared as if the result initial period development of the locomotive.
In 1830, a 45 km long railway between Liverpool and Manchester was opened for passenger traffic in England. In the same year, the first Charleston-Augusta railway line, 64 in length, was built in the United States; km. The first railway was built in France in 1832, in Belgium and Germany in 1835, and in Russia and Austria in 1837.
The first steam locomotive in Russia was built at the Nizhny Tagil plant in the Urals in August 1834 by remarkable Russian mechanics, serfs Efim Alekseevich Cherepanov (1774-1842) and his son Miron Efimovich Cherepanov (1803-1849).
E. F. Cherepanov
M. E. Cherepanov
The Cherepanovs' steam locomotive carried a train weighing 3.3 tons at a speed of 13 to 16 km per hour. To increase steam generation, the Cherepanovs installed a combustion boiler on the locomotive with big amount tubes than in Stephenson's locomotive, and also used a special reverse mechanism. Following the first steam locomotive, the Cherepanovs built a second, more powerful steam locomotive in 1835. “Mining Journal” wrote in July 1835 that the second Cherepanov locomotive “can carry up to 1000 pounds of cargo.”
Model of the first steam locomotive by E. A. and M. E. Cherepanov
However, the wonderful machines of the Cherepanovs were not used for the development of railway transport in our country. Their fate was similar to the fate of Polzunov's steam engine.
Unfortunately, Russia's first steam engine turned out to be unreliable. She often broke down. In total, she worked for just over 42 days.
Model of Polzunov's steam engine
In 1834, i.e. just at the time when the Cherepanovs were building their locomotives, the Austrian professor Gerstner came to Russia. Gerstner managed to obtain from the Tsar the privilege to build a railway between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo with a length of 27 km. This railway was opened in 1837. Despite the domestic experience in steam locomotive building, the tsarist government preferred to order steam locomotives from England, refusing to use locomotives created by the Cherepanovs.
In 1851, the two-track St. Petersburg-Moscow railway was built in Russia.
By the middle of the 19th century. The pace of construction of public railways with steam traction is increasing more and more. From 1840 to 1870, i.e. in 30 years, the length of railways around the world increased 14 times.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, railroads stimulated growth the most important industries production. A new branch of mechanical engineering has emerged - transport engineering. Under the influence of the ever-increasing demand of the railways, the metallurgical and coal industries began to develop rapidly.
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe is associated with the invention of the steam engine, initially used in the mining and weaving industries. The ingenious invention prompted many engineers to adapt it for transport needs. The topic of the article is the world's first steam locomotive and Interesting Facts associated with its appearance.
The water pump has been known to mankind since antiquity. Several centuries had to pass before it learned to use steam energy, oh practical application which was first spoken by the great Leonardo da Vinci. Single steam engines created at the end of the 17th century - the steam boiler of the Frenchman Denis Papin (1680), the pump of the Englishman Thomas Severi (1898) - were a real curiosity.
Creating a secure piston engine, into which water was injected, is associated with the name of an Englishman (1711). The improvement of these inventions brought the mechanic from Glasgow James Watt worldwide fame. It was he who received a patent for the creation of a steam engine (1769), suitable for wide application in production.
The world's first steam locomotive will be created after a fundamental invention: the separation of the main cylinder and the condenser, which made it possible not to waste energy on constant heating of the engine. The production of steam engines was put on stream in 1776 thanks to the advent of lathes, milling and planing machines.
By 1785, 66 engines had been built. However, to give rotational movement working shaft was necessary double acting. Watt patented it in 1784, and by 1800 it was already used in all branches of production, powering other machines.
Who invented the first steam locomotive in the world? One of the first to try to use a steam engine for transport needs was the Frenchman Nicolas Cugnot, who created a self-propelled carriage (1769). At this time, Richard Trevithick had not even been born.
A native of Cornwall (England), a famous mining region, the future inventor was born in large family in 1771. His father was a respected miner, and Richard, who loved mathematics since childhood, tried to make work underground easier by improving steam engines and miner pumps. In 1801, for the needs of the enterprise, he created a cart - the prototype of the first bus, which later became widespread as independent species transport. It was a trackless steam locomotive (patented in 1802) called the Puffing Devil.
If Watt's engines were bulky due to the use of steam low pressure, then R. Trevithick was not afraid to increase it several times (up to 8 atmospheres). The power remained the same, but the engine size was significantly reduced, which was important for the development of transport. Watt reacted extremely negatively to this, considering high blood pressure unsafe.
Cast iron rails were created in South Wales; the inventor himself lived in Cambourne at that time. Trevithick experimentally proved that when smooth wheels come into contact with smooth rails, a frictional force will arise sufficient to move a steam locomotive, even if wagons loaded with coal are attached to it. This was very important given the practical goals of the enterprises.
For industrial needs, the first steam locomotive in the world was built in the year preceding its testing (1803). They were written about in February 1804, reporting the use of the invented machine to transport 10 tons of iron. The self-propelled carriage on rails covered a distance of 9 miles, and as it moved, the weight of the load increased to 15 tons - about 70 people risked climbing up to ride to the approving roar of the crowd. The speed was 5 miles per hour, and there was no need to add water to the boiler. But the too bulky locomotive could not be widespread, so Trevithick continued to improve the design.
For the new model, called Catch Me Who Can, Trevithick is building a ring road out of rails on the outskirts of London. He believes that manufacturers will be interested in the new machine. Having surrounded the test site with a high fence, he even begins to sell to those who want to ride entry tickets, hoping to cover costs and make a profit. The new engine allowed it to reach speeds of up to 30 km/h.
But the idea was not successful. The world's first steam locomotive for passengers, created for entertainment, did not attract the attention of industrialists. Due to a burst cast iron rail, it overturned, receiving serious damage. Trevithick did not even bother to restore it, focusing on other inventions. In 1816, he left for Peru to install his engines in local mines.
Until 1827, the outstanding inventor remained in South America. Returning to the country, he discovered that his achievements had been successfully used and developed by other engineers. He died in 1833, almost penniless. The main problem What prevented his ideas from being realized at the turn of the century was the lack of roads. He spent his fortune clearing special routes for steam carriages, freeing them from trees and stones.
The very first steam locomotive in the world led to an appeal to the English Parliament for legislators to ban engines using steam. high pressure. The law was not passed, but it still stopped Trevithick's development.
Watt brought charges against his student for stealing ideas for creating a steam engine from the Botton and Watt company. This caused a huge scandal, forcing Trevithick to defend his good name.
Only in the 20s were conditions created for steam transport. This is associated with the name of George Stephenson.
During Trevithick's lifetime, in 1825, a railway was opened connecting Stockton and Darlington. Self-taught engineer George Stephenson came up with a convenient design that allowed a locomotive to pull a heavy train along smooth rails. In his invention, the rails themselves played an important role, the gauge of which is still generally accepted in Western Europe (1435 mm). The locomotive was driven by Stephenson himself during the opening of the railway, followed by a cavalcade of horsemen who fell behind during the descent. The crowd's amazement knew no bounds. The speed was 24 km/h.
Stephenson created the world's first steam locomotive for public needs in 1814. He covered a distance of 30 km, and by the middle of the century, all of Europe was covered with a network of railways. Steam locomotives began to transport not only goods, but also people.
In the Soviet Union, it was claimed for a long time that the steam locomotive was invented by Stephenson and the Russian Cherepanovs. The father and son allegedly did this regardless Western Europe. In fact, Miron Cherepanov visited England, where he saw the structure on rails. Returning to the Vyisky plant, he tried to copy what he saw, but it still took two years to develop his idea. The world's first steam locomotive on rails was tested in 1804 (many consider this date to be the birthday of the steam locomotive), and the “land steamship” appeared in Russia in 1833.
It was used to transport ore until the entire forest in the surrounding area was destroyed. Locomotives were replaced by horse-drawn ones, remembering the invention two years later.
There is a statue in Cambourne of Richard Trevithick holding his first trackless cart, called the Sniffling Devil. The model can be seen in many museums dedicated to the history of steam locomotive construction. Where is the world's first steam locomotive located?
One day the inventor stopped at the tavern, forgetting to reduce the fire that maintained the temperature of the boiler. When the water boiled away, the cart caught fire. A few minutes were enough for her to disappear. However, this did not upset the resilient Trevithick, who continued to work on new inventions.
His burial place, unfortunately, has been lost, but the name of the talented engineer is inscribed in golden letters in world history.
In 1804, a locomotive powered by steam rolled out of a steel mill in Wales, dragging an iron load behind it. This event ushered in the era of rail transportation. And twenty-five years later, British engineer George Stephenson built the Rocket, a steam locomotive that, thanks to its design excellence, revolutionized railway transport.
When the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company held a competition for the title of "The World's Best Locomotive", the Rocket won, and its creator received £500 as a prize. The Manchester-Liverpool railway line became a success and ushered in a period of railway construction throughout Europe and the United States.
The Raketa steam locomotive (the design diagram and drawing of this locomotive are given above) consisted of three main parts: the locomotive, the firebox and the tender. The locomotive consisted of a steam boiler and engine cylinders, coal burned in the firebox, and the tender contained a supply of fuel, that is, coal, and cooling water. Steam from a steam boiler drove two large cylinders. Moreover, each cylinder was connected to both front wheels (picture below). The locomotive's design, containing a firebox and steam boiler, made the Rocket the first truly useful locomotive and led to the boom in railroad construction!
Steam entering the cylinder from above forces the piston to move downward. This movement is transmitted through the piston and main rod to the crank, which causes the wheel to turn. Then the steam enters the cylinder from below and pushes the piston up, turning the wheel further through two rods.
English engineer Richard Trevisick built the first steam locomotive. In 1804, his brainchild dragged 10 tons over a distance of 10 miles.
In 1825, the Loco Machine was built in England. This was the first steam locomotive to run on the state railway. It was unreliable and had few advantages over a horse-drawn train, a train pulled by a real horse.
The idea of using steam for transport needs arose back in the 17th century. At first they tried to adapt steam engines to ordinary carts or carts.
Steam carts were designed to travel on a straight road without rails.In 1763, the French engineer Cogneau built the first steam carriage. This machine only worked for 12-15 minutes. In 1769 (or 1770) Cognot built a more advanced carriage, but when it was launched through the streets of Paris, it turned out to be impossible to drive.
In 1787, the American Evans invented another steam carriage, but it was so imperfect that it could not be used in practice.
At the end of the 80s of the XVIII century. William Murdoch, a student and assistant of James Watt, created a steam carriage with an engine designed by his teacher. He built a number of interesting models of steam carriages, but he also failed to make a practically usable transport machine.
William Murdoch. Portrait by John Graham Gilbert
In general, until the end of the 18th century. attempts to harness steam power for propulsion purposes were unsuccessful. And the point was not only that at that time it was technically impossible to solve this problem. The introduction of steam to transport was greatly hampered by the inert, biased attitude of most of the society that had barely emerged from the depths of feudalism towards the very idea of artificially increasing the speed of human movement. From the point of view of church morality, this seemed “sinful.” Inventors tried to make some “improvements” and “corrections” in the “divine providence”, which determined that a person should walk on two legs or, in extreme cases, resort to the services of horses. Any other method of transportation was considered by the clergy as “an unholy attempt to improve the creation of the creator.” People who engaged in such reprehensible activities were declared accomplices of the devil. If we consider that the church enjoyed enormous influence in England and to a certain extent shaped public opinion, it becomes clear that technicians and mechanics, who, together with the “enemy of the human race” encroached on the “divine institution,” had a very difficult time in the “pious” English society end of the 18th century
William Murdoch suffered a lot of persecution from his fellow citizens. He built a small three-wheeled cart and tested it one night on one of the less traveled roads near the city.
When the water in the boiler of the steam engine began to boil, the cart, unexpectedly for the inventor, rushed along the road alone, and developed such a speed that the inventor was unable to catch up with it. At this time, a local priest was passing along the street. Seeing a luminous and whistling object rushing towards him, the priest imagined that he was seeing the devil himself in front of him. He raised a cry, to which people came running. The inventor approached and tried to explain the secret of his “devil,” but no one listened to him. The cart was immediately broken, and its creator barely escaped from the angry crowd. From then on, Murdoch's reputation as a man acquainted with evil spirits was firmly established. Every God-fearing ignorant considered it his duty to harm Murdoch with all his might. More than once his fellow citizens broke his car models, interfered with his experiments, turned his friends against him, and scared almost all his acquaintances away from the inventor. A similar fate befell other inventors.
However, developing capitalist production persistently demanded the reconstruction of vehicles. At the beginning of the 19th century. In many countries, work was carried out to improve the so-called steam cart, in other words, to create a steam car.
Interesting experiments were carried out by the Czech mechanic Joseph Bozek (1782-1832). In 1815, He built a steam cart, which was successfully tested. But attempts to repeat the experiments in 1817 with a more powerful machine did not give satisfactory results. It should be noted that in general the problem of creating a steam car was never solved. The car was created only on the basis of an internal combustion engine.
Many inventors during this era tried to build a locomotive that moved on rails. The work of the Scottish engineer and mechanic Richard Trevithick (1771 - 1833), who was the first to come up with the idea of using steam locomotives on specially constructed rail tracks, was especially important for the creation of railway transport.
Portrait of Richard Trevithick
In 1803 Trevithick designed a steam locomotive for the rail track, and in February 1804 he carried out its first test.
This important event in the history of transport technology was described in one English newspaper: “The day before yesterday the long-awaited test of Mr. Trevithick’s newly invented steam engine took place... The test exceeded, to everyone’s amazement, everything that its most ardent supporters expected from it. In this case... the machine was used to transport up to 10 tons of strip iron over a distance of over 9 miles; It should be noted that the weight of the load quickly increased from 10 to 15 tons thanks to no less than 70 people who climbed onto the carts. Pushed by an invincible curiosity, they were eager to take a ride, taking advantage of the first success of the inventor's talents... The car made its journey without replenishing the boiler with water and moved freely at a speed of 5 miles per hour... "
Trevithick steam locomotive
Subsequently, Trevithick managed to achieve even greater speed, and the locomotive pulled an entire train of five trolleys, with a total weight of about 25 tons. Trevithick's steam locomotive was the first rail locomotive in the world. It had one horizontally located steam cylinder. The movement of the piston was transmitted by the driving wheel of the locomotive using a connecting rod, crank and a system of gear wheels. To facilitate the passage of the connecting rod through the dead spots, Trevithick used a flywheel. The locomotive weighed 6 tons. Its boiler had a cylindrical shape and a reverse flame tube, and the firebox was located in the front part of the locomotive.
A big difficulty during experiments with the first steam locomotive was that the track, which consisted of fragile cast-iron rails, was not suitable for the movement of such a heavy locomotive. Therefore, there were frequent delays due to broken rails. The locomotive was eventually taken off the rails and used as a stationary machine.
After three years of hard work on improving the locomotive and track, Trevithick built the world's first experimental ring road in London. By building it, the inventor set out to popularize his invention in order to gain financial support.
Trevithick steam locomotive and ring road attraction for its demonstration
Contemporary newspapers for Trevithick described the railway as follows: “The most amazing machine that has ever been invented is a steam engine on four wheels, designed in such a way that it will gallop freely and without any outside help in a circle at a speed of 15 20 miles per hour. She weighs 8 tons and at the next races in New Market she will compete with three horses in a race within 24 hours, starting at the same time as them...”
Somewhat later, Trevithick opened a small ring railway for public use near one of the London squares. Anyone could inspect the locomotive and the trailers attached to it. The ring road operated for several weeks, then the rails burst and the locomotive overturned. Trevithick, who spent all his money on building the road, was unable to repair the track and put the locomotive on the rails. Eventually Trevithick was forced to stop work on creating new locomotives.
However, other inventors continued to work on the creation of new locomotives. During the period from 1803 to 1814, many very diverse models of rail locomotives appeared. During this period, the inventors Blenkinson, Murray, the Champey brothers, Brenton, Hadley and others worked in the field of steam locomotive construction in England.
In 1814, George Stephenson (1781-1848) designed and tested his first steam locomotive, which basically solved the problem of creating steam railway transport.
Stephenson came from a working-class background. His father and grandfather worked in coal mines near Newcastle, the center of the English coal industry. Stephenson spent his youth working in coal mines. Self-taught, with great persistence, he studied mechanics, physics and many other sciences. In parallel with his studies, he worked on the invention of various machines and mechanisms.
Stephenson named his first steam locomotive "Blücher", in honor of Napoleon's winner at Waterloo. "Blücher" repeated in its design many features of the steam locomotives of previous inventors.
Steam locomotive "Blücher", 1814
Stephenson's first locomotive was very heavy, moved slowly, worked with little productivity, but continuously (in other locomotives there were constant stoppages in work). Subsequently, Stephenson continued to work on improving the design of his locomotive.
Stephenson steam locomotive built for the Hetton Mines in 1822 and operated until 1903.
Until 1825, he built about 16 different locomotives, persistently seeking the most acceptable design. Stephenson paid a lot of attention to improving the rail track.
Before 1825, steam locomotives were used primarily on small private roads, usually serving the needs of mines or factories. The emergence of more advanced designs of steam locomotives stimulated the construction of new railway lines. In 1818, a 61 km railway line was built between the cities of Stockton and Darlingt, designed to transport coal. In 1825 the Stockton-Darlington line was opened to the public. This made a tremendous impression on his contemporaries.
“The scene that took place on the morning of September 27, 1825 defies any description,” one of the directors of this road later wrote. - Many who took part in this historical event did not close their eyes and were on their feet all night. General cheerfulness and cheerfulness, the happy faces of many, amazement and fear on the faces of others diversified the picture.
At the appointed hour the procession set off. At the head of the train was a steam locomotive, driven by its builder, Stephenson; The locomotive was followed by 6 wagons with coal and flour; after them - a carriage with directors and owners of the road; then 20 coal cars, adapted for passengers and filled with them, and, finally, 6 cars loaded with coal... A large crowd of people stood on both sides of the track; many ran after the train; others on horseback followed him along the sides of the path. The latter had a slight slope towards Darlington, and at this point Stephenson decided to test the speed of the train... He increased the speed to 15 miles per hour. When the train arrived at Darlington it was found that there were 450 passengers in the carriages and that the weight of the train was 90 tons."
The new railway quickly showed the advantages of the new type of transport over the old methods of transportation. The popularity of rail transport in England was growing. Numerous inventors worked to create and improve new types of locomotives. In 1829, a competition was announced to create the best steam locomotive. Stephenson presented his new steam locomotive - the famous "Rocket" - to the competition. "Rocket" had a machine with a power of 13 hp. With. All types of locomotives were tested at the competition. “The Battle of Steam Locomotives,” as this competition was called, ended with the victory of “Rocket,” which freely pulled a train weighing 17 tons at a speed of up to 21 km per hour. The speed of a steam locomotive with one passenger carriage and 36 passengers was 38 km per hour.
Diagram of the steam locomotive D. Stephenson "Rocket"
"Rocket" was the most advanced locomotive of that time. The inventor adapted a tubular boiler that had just appeared at that time to the steam locomotive, which made it possible to significantly increase the speed of the locomotive. “Rocket” was built taking into account all the achievements of locomotive engineering of its time. It was, as it were, the result of the initial period of development of the locomotive.
In 1830, a 45 km long railway between Liverpool and Manchester was opened for passenger traffic in England. In the same year, the first Charleston-Augusta railway line, 64 in length, was built in the United States; km. The first railway was built in France in 1832, in Belgium and Germany in 1835, and in Russia and Austria in 1837.
The first steam locomotive in Russia was built at the Nizhny Tagil plant in the Urals in August 1834 by remarkable Russian mechanics, serfs Efim Alekseevich Cherepanov (1774-1842) and his son Miron Efimovich Cherepanov (1803-1849).
E. F. Cherepanov
M. E. Cherepanov
The Cherepanovs' steam locomotive carried a train weighing 3.3 tons at a speed of 13 to 16 km per hour. To increase steam generation, the Cherepanovs installed a smoke-fired boiler on the locomotive with a larger number of tubes than in the Stephenson locomotive, and also used a special reverse mechanism. Following the first steam locomotive, the Cherepanovs built a second, more powerful steam locomotive in 1835. “Mining Journal” wrote in July 1835 that the second Cherepanov locomotive “can carry up to 1000 pounds of cargo.”
Model of the first steam locomotive by E. A. and M. E. Cherepanov
However, the wonderful machines of the Cherepanovs were not used for the development of railway transport in our country. Their fate was similar to the fate of Polzunov's steam engine.
Unfortunately, Russia's first steam engine turned out to be unreliable. She often broke down. In total, she worked for just over 42 days.
Model of Polzunov's steam engine
In 1834, i.e. just at the time when the Cherepanovs were building their locomotives, the Austrian professor Gerstner came to Russia. Gerstner managed to obtain from the Tsar the privilege to build a railway between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo with a length of 27 km. This railway was opened in 1837. Despite the domestic experience in steam locomotive building, the tsarist government preferred to order steam locomotives from England, refusing to use locomotives created by the Cherepanovs.
In 1851, the two-track St. Petersburg-Moscow railway was built in Russia.
By the middle of the 19th century. The pace of construction of public railways with steam traction is increasing more and more. From 1840 to 1870, i.e. in 30 years, the length of railways around the world increased 14 times.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, railroads stimulated the growth of important industries. A new branch of mechanical engineering has emerged - transport engineering. Under the influence of the ever-increasing demand of the railways, the metallurgical and coal industries began to develop rapidly.
