THE RED DEVIL AND OTHER TALES FROM THE AGE OF STEAM

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Book Condition: - This book is in very good condition. T are no tears, dogears, or writing in this book. The binding is tight. The book cover has a small tear near the binding. About Us: - We are selling this for a widow in our church whose husband left her with hundreds of Railroad books. We are a trusted seller who will ship your book as soon as payment is received. Shipping is $4.85 for the first book Media Mail or $9.85 for priority. We offer combined shipping. If you buy more than 1 book from us in the next three days shipping is only $2.00 per additional book. If you have any questions feel free to email us. Book Description: This book has dozens of charts and diagrams and pictures. It is for the serious steam engine collector. It goes into theory of steam production read more below. The Red Devil and Other Tales of the Age of Steam by David Wardale has become something a "classic" since its first publication in 1998. It is currently in its third edition. Published by the author, its 500 pages document Wardale's career in steam from early 1974, when as a young engineer he first set foot in South Africa, until the time of his departure from Datong Locomotive Works in China, disillusioned, in early 1989. The book is both a technical and a personal diary. It abounds with detailed technical records of every aspect of Wardale' s work, most particularly relating to the developmental work that he undertook in South Africa w almost single-handedly (and sometimes in defiance of the railway authorities) he produced two major rebuilds from the existing locomotive fleet, starting with some modest improvements to 19D 4-8-2 No. 2644 which turned the worst performing locomotive in the depot to the star performer, and concluding with his masterpiece, Class 26 4-8-4 No. 3450 "The Red Devil". For anyone interested in gaining or expanding a technical understanding of the steam locomotive (both its limitations and potentialities), this book is amongst the most comprehensive that has ever been written on the subject. Those with a less technical bent may feel daunted by the wealth of tables, graphs and diagrams, however even if they skip over the details, they will still find the book full of delightful anecdotes as well as interesting operating statistics and cost/performance comparisons between different forms of traction. Wardale may have devoted his career to the development of steam traction and in the pursuit of its continued operation, but he is not blind to the advantages that diesel and electric traction offer. He does however clearly demonstrate that steam was prematurely axed and that it had (and might still have) an ongoing role to play in situations w its strengths prevailed - for instance on some of South Africa's freight lines in proximity to that country's vast coal mining areas. The Red Devil was no more than a cost-limited rebuild of a 1950s "old steam" design, carried out with limited resources. Yet the improvement in its performance might in another context have been described as "electrifying". The book tabulates and graphically represents every aspect of the improvements that were achieved, however one doesn't need to understand all the figures to appreciate the raw facts: On test: Reduction in specific coal consumption ranging from about 30% at the lowest speed and drawbar pull, to about 60% at higher speeds and pulls, corresponding to increases in drawbar thermal efficiency of 43% and 150% respectively; Reductions in specific water consumption ranging from about 20% at the lower speeds and drawbar pulls, to about 45% at higher speeds and pulls Highest mean equivalent drawbar powers increased from 1,118 kW at 42.9km/h for 22.10 km for a standard Class 25, to 1,565 kW at 46.1km/h for 42.45 km for Class 26 N0 3450. In normal service: Coal saving per gross tonne-km: average 15% (max 24%) Water saving per gross tonne-km: average 21.5% (max 25%) Lubrication oil saving per km: 26% In addition th... read more

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