Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies: Road Locomotive

1896.

Note: This is a sub-section of Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies

Extract from Steam Locomotion on Common Roads by William Fletcher. Published 1891.

The manufacture of Thompson's road steamers was undertaken by Messrs. Ransomes, Sims, and Jefferies in 1871. This renowned firm was established in 1789. The year before last was the centenary year of the Orwell Works. In passing, we may here briefly note the origin of the farm locomotive.

The agricultural locomotive was born in the Eastern Counties. Messrs. Ransome, in Suffolk, and Messrs. Burrell, in Norfolk, were the first two firms to commence the regular manufacture of road locomotives in England. Several other firms in the early days made a great display, but their lights were soon extinguished and their names are now well nigh forgotten; but the above-mentioned well-known firms have maintained a position in the front rank in this industry, and to-day are classed amongst the successful makers of locomotives for traversing common roads.

At the Royal Agricultural Show at Bristol in 1842, Messrs. Ransome exhibited their first farmers' road locomotive, the engine and boiler were placed on a four-wheel carriage arranged to be self-moving, the power of the engine being transmitted to one of the driving wheels by means of a pitch chain. The Judges of the Show among other remarks said: — "The engine travelled along the road at the rate of four to six miles an hour, and was guided and manoeuvred so as to fix it in any particular spot with ease, it turned also in a small compass." The above was the first traction engine ever seen at an agricultural show.

Again at the Royal Show at Norwich, in 1849, Messrs. Ransome exhibited a neat little traction engine mounted upon springs with the two cylinders placed beneath the smoke-box. This engine was capable of running at the rate of five to six miles an hour, but the farmers were prejudiced against self-moving engines in those days. Not only were Ransomes the pioneers of steam locomotion on common roads; but they likewise made the first self-moving ploughing engine for Messrs. Fowler, which was shown at the Royal Show at Salisbury in 1857. This patriarchal engine was exhibited in the museum of old and new machinery, which constituted an interesting feature of the ever-to-be-remembered and disastrous show of the Royal Agricultural Society, at Kilburn, in 1879.

From the foregoing remarks giving the barest sketch of the origin of the agricultural locomotive, it will be admitted that Messrs. Ransomes' firm was a most likely one to be entrusted with the manufacture of the high-speed engines for Mr. Thompson. These road steamers "had scarcely been tried and found successful when the Indian Government, with praiseworthy alacrity, purchased a small one of Mr. Thompson, with a view of testing its adaptability to passenger and goods traffic in that country." This engine was placed under the superintendence of Mr. Crompton, M.Inst.M.E., and although this engine was not a success, yet it proved that the rubber tyres were not affected by the climate, and on the whole Mr. Crompton's experiments were so satisfactory to the Director-General of the P. O. in India, that at his recommendation in August, 1870, Mr. Crompton was sent to England to superintend the construction of four larger engines. These were built by Messrs. Ransomes, Sims and Head, of Ipswich.

One of the stipulations of the contract between Mr. Thompson and the Indian Government, when the former tendered for the supply of four high-speed road steamers, was that one engine at least should, as a test, travel a distance of several hundred miles, drawing behind it a load. The object of this was to learn as much as possible of their behaviour when put to severe continuous work. With this view, the first completed engine, the "Chenab," was sent by road from Ipswich to the Royal Show at Wolverhampton, 1871. The results of the trial, though satisfactory as far as the engine proper and the rubber tyres were concerned, were vitiated by the failure of the boiler, which could not be kept steam tight and otherwise gave endless trouble.

At the Royal Show at Wolverhampton, after the various traction engines had been tested by running over a hilly course marked out on the Barnhurst farm, it was decided to further test the capabilities of the engines by a run of considerable length upon the high road. Instructions were given on 6th July to the exhibitors to make the journey from the show yard to Stafford, a distance of 16 miles.

In addition to the five engines, the property of the exhibitors, which made this journey to Stafford, there was another Thompson engine, manufactured by Messrs. Ransome, which also performed the journey. This was the "Chenab," which towed behind it an omnibus of a very unusual appearance : it was carried on a single pair of indiarubber tyred wheels placed in the centre. Its horizontal position was preserved by means of a long neck, containing at its outer end a nut, through which passed the vertical draft- pin of the engine. This pin was a screw, and by turning it the nut could be raised or lowered, so as to level the omnibus. The draw bar of the omnibus was elastic. Not only was there accommodation within the omnibus for passengers, but on its roof, there were four rows of seats for passengers, protected by a canopy. The sensation afforded by riding in the omnibus, although very peculiar, was by no means unpleasant.

The "Chenab" was in charge of Mr. Crompton, who very kindly placed it at the disposal of the judges to accompany the competition engines on the run to Stafford. As much as eight miles an hour was accomplished by the "Chenab" on some parts of the road; but the engine was suffering the whole time from a deficiency of steam.

There is an amusing report of this run to Stafford and back in The Engineer 14th July, 1871; from which we gather that the boiler was dosed occasionally by Mr. Crompton with red lead and oatmeal to stop the leaks, the engine had to be continually stopped to raise steam, and the Thompson's patent "pot" boiler was in many respects a failure. During the return journey from Stafford the copper blast nozzle was melted off, totally disabling the engine, which had to be put up for the night about five miles from Wolverhampton. Mr. Crompton retired for the night in the omnibus, and the men on the omnibus. The Engineer's correspondent decided to walk to Wolverhampton, and as he tramped along his dark journey he filled up his time in composing complimentary sentences respecting the ill-behaved 'pot' boiler.

On the completion of the second Indian Government engine, the 'Ravee' the Field boiler of which gave excellent results when put through a series of trials with wood fuel on the Ipswich race-course, Mr. Thompson, before giving his final consent to the adoption of the Field-type of boiler in the remaining three engines, desired Mr. Crompton to put it through as exhaustive a trial as that undergone by the "Chenab," in order that the weak points might be found out (if any) of the Field system, and furthermore note the effect of a continuous high speed on the engine and the rubber tyres, this high speed having been unattainable with the defective boiler of the "Chenab." Three of the engines, according to the order, were to have been fitted with the "pot" boiler and one with the Field boiler; but all the four were fitted with the Field boiler.

The "Ravee" made the celebrated double journey between Ipswich and Edinburgh in October, 1871. The following particulars are recorded of the trip. The total weight of the engine and omnibus was about 19 tons.

Figures are Ipswich to Edinburgh / Edinburgh to Ipswich.

• Total fuel consumed in lbs . . . 29,148 / 25,312
• Total water evaporated in lbs . . . 137,850 / 144,300
• Total distance in miles . . . 422.5 / 424
• Time actually travelling . . . 77 h. 26 m. / 61 h. 13 m.
• Engine standing under steam . . . 72 h. 23 m. / 42 h. 3 m.
• Average speed in miles per hour . . . 5.45 / 6.9
• Gross load in tons . . . 19 / 20
• Mile tons . . . 8027.5 / 8480
• Lbs. of coal per ton per mile . . . 3.631 / 2.98
• Lbs of water per ton per mile . . . 17.17 / 17.01
• Lbs of water evaporated per lb. of coal . . . 4.729 / 5.7

"By the return journey the men had ample experience in working the engine, and the 425 miles took nine days, giving 47 miles as the average distance per day, and a speed of about seven miles per hour for the time actually running; but on the last day the average speed was about ten miles an hour, whilst occasionally a speed of from 15 to 20 miles per hour was maintained for short distances."

Fig. 75 gives a drawing of the "Ravee," which shows its construction clearly. The cylinders were 8 in. diameter, and 10 in. stroke; geared either three and three-quarters to one, or twelve to one, on to driving wheels 6 ft. diameter. The engine made 150 revolutions per minute, which gave about ten miles per hour for the fast speed, and three miles per hour for the slow speed. The boiler was of the vertical Field system as shewn in section, the grate area was 11 sq. ft, and the heating surface was 177 sq ft. The blast nozzle had an adjustable cone, that the opening might be varied to suit either wood or coal. All the rbad wheels had Thompson's indiarubber tyres, with linked shoes; the leading wheels had supplementary elliptical springs, so that the front end adapted itself easily to the inequality of the road.

The two-wheeled omnibus for carrying 65 passengers we have already described. These Indian Government locomotives had a large tank and stowage for wood so that they might run 15 miles without stopping. They were built for carrying mails and passengers between two stations in the Punjab, about 70 miles apart.

In 1879, Mr. Crompton read a most valuable paper before the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, on the working of these traction engines in India. Mr. Crompton says: — "several experiments with trains of wagons drawn by traction engines have been made in India, but the writer only describes the one which was carried out under his superintendence. The conditions of carriage which rule in our great Indian Empire are difficult and peculiar. Owing to the fact that agricultural produce forms the greater part of the freight carried, it follows that all channels of communication are fully worked for a brief period following harvest time, while for the rest of the year the capital employed lies idle and unremunerative. There is no legal limitation to speed in India. The Grand Trunk road is laid out with easy and regular gradients, its metalled surface is smooth and well formed and consolidated. Hence it was not unreasonable to expect that, if higher speed traction engines could be made successful anywhere, they would be so under such favourable conditions."

In many points these expectations were fully realized by Mr. Crompton. A high speed was obtained without excessive wear and tear; very regular running and timing were observed ; a large number of passengers were conveyed cheaply and safely, and goods were carried at a cheaper rate than by any land carriage other than rail. We are unable to give any particulars of the trials carried out in India as our space is limited. Those who wish to follow the subject further should procure Mr. Crompton's valuable paper.

In concluding this notice of Messrs. Ransomes' Road Steamers, we ought to mention the fact that Mr. Crompton was obliged to reduce the weight of the engines from 14 tons to 9 tons, because the former weight was too much for the timber bridges of the Trunk Road; and, moreover, the excessive weight of the engines ruined the rubber tyres. In India, the separate tenders on four wheels carried 500 gallons of water and the wood fuel, thus reducing the total weight of the engines by 5 tons. Fig. 75 shows the road steamer and separate tender. Mr. Crompton, in speaking of the "Chenab," said: — "Once a driving wheel came off, twice her train became uncoupled, and finally her British driver got drunk and drove the engine off the road, with the result of turning her nearly upside down. It was a tedious job to repair her after this last accident, but after the repair, she worked for nine weeks, running night and day, covering nearly 2,000 miles without coming into the repair shop!"

Just a line about the native drivers of whom Mr. Muirhead spoke so favourably. Mr. Crompton says: — "Some would say that natives could not be trusted with an engine that had to be steered, and with the lives of passengers. All he could say was (and we wish English traction engine drivers to note his remarks) that when he had European drivers he had narrowly escaped having two terrible accidents, the engines being very nearly driven over the parapets of a bridge; that was entirely owing to the great curse of drink. The native Mohammedan drivers do not drink; they drove well and steadily and could be thoroughly depended upon.

Messrs. Ransome made several road steamers of the same type as the one tested at the Wolverhampton Show, 1871, called the "Sutherland," but as these engines were constructed entirely for farm purposes we need not describe them. Messrs. Ransomes, Sims, and Jefferies manufacture traction engines and road locomotives, both simple and compound, in which are embodied all recent improvements.

Fig. 76 shews Messrs. Ransomes' agricultural locomotive a large number have been supplied to customers in England and abroad, which are giving the greatest satisfaction. They are very simple in construction, and easy to manage.

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