Brunel’s Fan: His Locomotive Draught Experiments of 1840/41^*

* First read at the Science Museum, London on 11 November 2015.

Abstract

A characteristic of I.K. Brunel’s approach to engineering was to challenge established practice to see if a better understanding of scientific principles would offer improved specifications. This approach led to failures as well as successes. This paper discusses his programme of trials using steam turbine driven fans to provide a continuous draft of air through locomotive fire-grates to encourage the burning of coke in lieu of the normal blast-pipes. This arose after 1839 trials with a constricted blast-pipe on the Stephenson-built North Star locomotive gave poor fuel use results. The narrower the blast-pipe the more back-pressure problems were experienced, whilst partially-burnt coke was pulled from the fire and ejected. Brunel pursued the notion that either an exhaust or boiler-pressure steam fan creating a vacuum would provide continuity of air flow giving sufficient draft for adequate steam generation with reduced fuel consumption. Initial trials were held using a previously unknown small locomotive, the Brothers, built by Henry Stothert & Co. of Bristol. Following success with these trials, Brunel sought the advice of John Farey regarding an application for a patent, but was dissuaded. Brunel never took out any other patents. The trials were scaled up in 1841 using Thunderer, the unconventional locomotive built to T.E. Harrison’s patent design, which had been withdrawn from service due to high costs of maintenance. After limited success with these scaled-up vacuum trials, Brunel then worked closely with John Ruthven, the Edinburgh-based engineer, to trial a rotary steam engine coupled to a fan to supply compressed air through the fire-grate via the ash-pan. In spite of considerable personal expenditure on the trials, Brunel discontinued his pursuit of fans following the introduction of improvements to valve-gears which offered more fuel-efficient applications to locomotives.

Keywords:

• steam locomotive
• draughting
• fan
• turbine
• rotary engine
• valve gear
• fuel efficiency
• science in engineering
• innovation
• trials
• scaling up

Notes

* First read at the Science Museum, London on 11 November 2015.

1. Isambard Brunel, The Life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Civil Engineer (London, 1870), p. 103, note 9.

2. Letter I.K. Brunel to the Directors of the Great Western Railway Company, 53, Parliament Street, London, 15 September 1835, in E. T. MacDermot, History of the Great Western Railway (London, 1927), Volume I, Part I, pp. 32–35.

3. MacDermot, pp. 47–50.

4. MacDermot, Vol. 1, Part II, pp. 711/2.

5. Ibid., p. 715.

6. Ibid., p. 748.

7. MacDermot, Vol. 1, Part I, pp. 58–62. See also Michael M.R. Bailey, ‘Briefing: I K Brunel: Engineer of the Great Western Railway’, in Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers — Transport, May 2006, pp. 57–61.

8. MacDermot, Part I, ‘The Fight for the Broad Gauge’, pp. 64–87.

9. Angus Buchanan, The Life and Times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Hambledon and London, 2002), pp. 58 & 118.

10. Report of Nicholas Wood, Killingworth to the Directors of the Great Western Railway, 10 December 1838, ‘Attainment of Speed’, pp. 15–38.

11. Report of I.K. Brunel, Esq. to the Directors of the Great Western Railway Company, London, 27 December 1838.

12. Copy letter John W. Hammond to I.K. Brunel, Brunel notebook, Volume of Facts 1838–1844, N.A., RAIL 1149/10, p. 38.

13. N.A., RAIL 1149/9, p. 116.

14. Brunel Report, 27 December 1838, p. 2.

15. Ibid., p. 13.

16. MacDermot, Part I, pp. 84–87.

17. Ibid., Part II, p. 750.

18. N.A. RAIL 1149/11.

19. Harold Bagust, The Greater Genius? (Hersham: Ian Allan, 2006), pp. 36–39 & 46.

20. Obituary, Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Vol. 37, 1874, pp. 296–306.

21. Copy letter Joel Spiller to I.K. Brunel, Battersea, 7 October 1839, in Bristol University Brunel Archive, Brunel Institute, Facts Book, Ref. DM 162/8/2/5, Folio 146.

22. C.P. Davis, Unpublished B.A. Dissertation to the University of Bristol, Department of History: Locomotive Building in Bristol, The Avonside Ironworks (1837–1882), 1979.

23. Circular invitation to tender, I.K. Brunel to 17 manufacturers, Duke Street, London, 4 March 1839, in Robert Stephenson & Co. collection, National Railway Museum, GB 0756 1970-473, Folder 15.

24. Bristol Mercury, 29 August 1840, p. 8, and 14 November 1840, p. 5.

25. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to Messrs. H. Stothert & Co., Bristol University Brunel Archive, Brunel Institute, DM 162/10/1, folio 425.

26. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to Messrs. Stothert & Co., Duke Street London, 27 May 1840, N.A. RAIL 1149/6, folios 85/6.

27. MacDermot, Vol. 1, Part II, p. 589.

28. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 38.

29. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to unknown correspondent, but probably Henry Stothert, 18 April 1840, Newcastle University Library, MS Apsuan 18, First reference in Reading Mercury, Saturday 29th February 1840.

30. Copy letter, J.W. Hammond to I.K. Brunel, Reading, 21 August 1840, N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 12.

31. Copy letter, J.W. Hammond to I.K. Brunel, (no origin), 21 November 1840, N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 38.

32. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 63/4.

33. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to Messrs. Stothert & Co., Bristol, 14 September 1840, N.A. RAIL 1149/6, folios 125/6.

34. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to John Farey, Duke Street London, 21 January 1841, Bristol University Brunel Archive, Brunel Institute, DM 162/10/2a, Folios 44/5.

35. Buchanan, p. 177.

36. Davis, p. 10.

37. First reference in Minutes of the GWR Board of Directors, N.A. RAIL 250/2, Entry for 20 April 1841.

38. MacDermot, Part II, pp. 741–6.

39. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to T.E. Harrison, Duke Street, London, 25 October 1838, Bristol University Brunel Archive, Brunel Institute, DM 162/10/1, Folio 340.

40. MacDermot, Part II, p. 744.

41. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 82/3.

42. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 84–87.

43. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 87–89.

44. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 89.

45. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 90/1.

46. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 49.

47. Patent No. LXXIII, New Series, enrolled 20 September 1839.

48. Fife Herald, Thursday, 28 July 1836.

49. ‘Craig's Patent Rotary Steam-Engine’, The Mechanics Magazine, Museum (Newcomen Society Transactions, Vol. 68 (1996–97), pp. 109–36), Register, Journal and Gazette, 34(919) 20 March 1841, pp. 225–9.

50. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 68/9.

51. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 70–73 & 92/3.

52. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 65.

53. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 67.

54. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 50.

55. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, pp. 92–97.

56. N.A. RAIL 1149/10, p. 98.

57. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to W.E. Staite Esq., (London), 23 September 1841, N.A. RAIL 1149/6.

58. Caledonian Mercury, 28 Monday November 1842, p. 3.

59. John Gray, Improvements in Steam Engines, Hull, 1841, quoted in R.T. Smith, ‘John Gray and His Expansion Valve Gear’, Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 50 (1978/9), 139–54.

60. Copy letter, I.K. Brunel to W.E. Staite Esq. of Peckham, no origin but probably London, 30 June 1846, Bristol University Brunel Archive, Brunel Institute, DM 162/10/4.