71000 as preserved. Note the Caprotti valve gear.

British Railways (BR) standard class 8 number 71000 and named Duke of Gloucester is a preserved British steam locomotive. It was built in Crewe Works in 1954 as the prototype for an intended class of high-performance express passenger locomotives. As with the other BR Standard locomotive types, it was designed by the Railway Executive's design committee headed by Robert Riddles. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 427 KB) (c) rwaceyw aka D. Martin File links The following pages link to this file: BR standard class 8 71000 Duke of Gloucester ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1632x1232, 427 KB) (c) rwaceyw aka D. Martin File links The following pages link to this file: BR standard class 8 71000 Duke of Gloucester ... The Caprotti valve gear is a type of valve gear invented by the Italian Arturo Caprotti. ... British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... Great Western Railway No. ... Crewe railway works was set up, beginning in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire, in the north west of England. ... Robert Arthur Robin Riddles (23 May 1892 — 18 June 1983) was a British locomotive engineer. ...

Although an impressive-looking machine, the locomotive (as originally built) was not a success, and this - along with the later decision to 'dieselise' BR - meant that no more of the type were ever built, so 'The Duke' remained the sole member of its class.

Mechanically, 71000 was a 3-cylinder development of the visually-similar 'Britannia' class locomotives. Its construction was authorized as a replacement for the short-lived 46202 'Princess Anne' (itself a rebuild of 'The Turbomotive') which was destroyed in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster of 1952. Princess Anne may refer to more than one person: Anne, Princess Royal (born 15 August 1950), daughter of Elizabeth II of the UK Anne, Princess of Orange (1709‑1759), daughter of George II of Great Britain Anne (1637‑1759), daughter of Charles I of England Princess Anne may refer to... The Turbomotive was a modified Princess Royal Class steam locomotive built by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1935. ... The Harrow & Wealdstone railway accident of 8 October 1952 was a crash. ...

71000 was built with the novel, shaft-driven British Caprotti valve gear. This allowed precise control of steam admission to the cylinders, and gave improved exhaust flows and boiler draughting characteristics compared to the more usual Walschaert or Stephenson valve gear. The Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented by the Italian Arturo Caprotti. ... Categories: Rail stubs | Rail technologies ... Stephenson valve gear is the oldest and simplest standard design of steam locomotive valve gear. ...

However, undetected deviations from the drawings were made during construction, which combined to prevent 'The Duke' from ever achieving its expected performance in BR days. It was very unpopular with crews, who regarded it as something of a liability due to its poor steam production. This contributed to the locomotive having a short service life (1954 to 1962), spending much of its life hauling boat trains on the undemanding North Wales Coast Line between Crewe and Holyhead. The North Wales Coast Line is the railway line from Crewe to Holyhead. ... A panoramic view of Holyhead taken from atop Holyhead Mountain, showing the harbours breakwater on the left Holyhead (Welsh: Caergybi, the fort of St. ...

The sad hulk of this unloved locomotive then languished for many years in Woodhams' Scrapyard in South Wales, before an ambitious restoration effort began in 1973. With so many major components missing, it took 13 years of effort and much help from industry to return the locomotive to working order. A line of tank engines on right at Woodhams. ...

Two significant construction errors were discovered during restoration:

• The chimney had been incorrectly designed, resulting in poor steaming at high speed.

• The ash tray had not been built to the drawings, resulting in uneven and inefficient firing.

These were corrected, and the opportunity taken to incorporate some other improvements (such as a 'Kylchap' exhaust system) which unlocked the locomotive's true potential. When 71000 was first allowed its head with a full load on the main line, it became immediately obvious that the boiler was now producing steam at a furious rate, and that the re-born 'Duke' was a very different engine to the 'flop' of BR days. The Kylchap steam locomotive exhaust system was designed and patented by the famous French steam engineer André Chapelon, using a second-stage nozzle designed by the Finnish engineer Kylälä and known as the Kylälä spreader; thus the name KylChap for this design. ...

With these modifications, 71000 is now the most powerful steam locomotive ever to run on UK railways past or present, a short head in front of its close ancestor the LMS Princess Coronation Class. Ironically, 'The Duke' is now more powerful than the English Electric Type 4 diesel locomotives which replaced it in service. As the locomotive is no longer 'authentic', it has also been used as something of a 'test bed', and now incorporates several other modifications and innovations intended to investigate just how much enhanced performance the locomotive would have been capable of, had history been different. The Princess Coronation Class is a class of a express passenger steam locomotive built by the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and designed by William Stanier. ... Class 40, no. ...

71000 returned to the UK main lines in 2004 after a major overhaul, and can now be regularly seen hauling enthusiasts' special trains around the country.

Sound

• 71000 passing St Andrew's Junction

Image File history File links 71000_passing_St_Andrews_Junction. ...

References

• A Detailed History Of BR Standard Steam Locomotives. Volume 1. Background to Standardisation and Pacific Classes Railway Correspondence & Travel Society (RCTS). Author? (1994) ISBN 0901115819

External links

• The Duke of Gloucester website - more detail and pictures