British Rail HS4000

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox locomotive HS4000 Kestrel was a prototype high-powered mainline diesel locomotive that was built in 1967 by Brush Traction, Loughborough, as a technology demonstrator for potential future British Rail and export orders.<ref name="rc">Template:Usurped therailwaycentre.com</ref> The locomotive number is a combination of the initials of Hawker Siddeley (the owners of Brush Traction) and the power rating of its Sulzer diesel engine (4,000 hp), making it the most powerful locomotive built by the company.<ref name="rc"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

It was of Co-Co wheel arrangement and was fitted with a Sulzer 16LVA24 engine rated at Template:Convert providing a maximum speed of Template:ConvertTemplate:Refn and weighed 133 tonnes. It was painted in a livery of yellow ochre with a broad chocolate-brown band around the lower bodyside separated by a thin white line running around the body.

Background and design

In the mid-1960s British rail produced specifications for type 5 locomotives weighing less than 126 tonnes with more than Template:Convert of power for both passenger and freight working.<ref name="glos">THE RAILWAY RAPTORS section HS4000 KESTREL glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk</ref> Brush Electric Engineering Ltd. (Brush Traction) in association with Sulzer Brothers Ltd. responded with a Template:Convert locomotive for British Rail's appraisal. The body, exterior details, control console, and colours were designed by E.G. M. Wilkes of "Wilkes & Ward"<ref>As per hand written annotation on the rear of a photograph of the HS4000 which was written by E.G.M. Wilkes himself. Photo among Wilkes' own archive of photos sold at auction on 14/02/2019: https://www.henryadamsfineart.co.uk/lot/47685</ref> (later Wilkes & Ashmore, industrial design firm based on Horsham, West Sussex). The design principle was that a single engine would require less maintenance than twin-engined vehicles, and that the very high power would mean that double heading for freight trains would be unnecessary.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs" >{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Diesel engine

Brush employed Sulzer's 16-cylinder Vee 16LVA24 engine made in Winterthur. Previous experience with Sulzer's 12-cylinder twin parallel-bank dual-crank 12LDA28 engine had gone well, but the highest power available from Sulzer in this form was the 12LDA31 of Template:Convert.<ref name="dsul">The Sulzer engine in diesel traction : A potted and incomplete history 1912 - 1990 www.derbysulzers.com</ref> Not only did the V engines provide over Template:Convert, but being single-crank with the consequently lighter engine block (over the dual-bank design) gave a better power-to-weight ratio.<ref name="dsul"/>

The engine is a four-stroke turbocharged oil-cooled design, with the oil being cooled by water in a heat exchanger, and the water cooled in radiators. The piston was Template:Cvt.<ref name="i"/> A smaller auxiliary generator (~Template:Cvt<ref name="i"/>) was used to charge the batteries or start the engine etc.<ref name="glos"/>

Electrical transmission and auxiliary electrical system

To transmit this power to the rail Brush utilised a brushless salient pole<ref group="note">Salient-Pole Machines General description of salient pole machines as both motors and generators mysite.du.edu</ref> three phase alternator connected to a rectifying circuit of 84 silicon diodes producing ~Template:Cvt of power for electric traction from the diesel engine.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/> An auxiliary alternator, also brushless and producing three phase electrical power gave ~Template:Cvt for electrical train heating, and also supplied power to electrical fans etc. in the locomotive.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/> The armatures/rotors for both alternators were electrically energised<ref group="note">i.e. not permanent magnet type</ref> by DC produced by the rectified output of brushless alternators.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/><ref group="note">Thus the excitor alternators, and the main alternator's rotor were coaxial and connected, with the rectifying diodes also undergoing rotary motion</ref>

Each of the 6 axles was powered by an individual traction motor which was a four pole force ventilated type. Connection of the axle to the motor was via a reduction gear (giving Template:Convert top speed), then through a flexible hollow shaft drive to the axle.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

The fans (blowers) to cool the traction motors and engine radiators were of the three phase asynchronous type, the motors driving the compressors, pumps, fans for the dynamic (resistive) brake etc. were DC motors.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

Braking system

Locomotive braking was by vacuum, air (high pressure) or dynamic (electrical regenerative resistive braking), the dynamic brakes were preferentially used at high speeds, with the air brake being activated at lower speeds where dynamic braking was less effective; speed sensors automatically determined the braking type to be used. Additionally a hydraulically activated parking brake was fitted.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

Electronic devices

Plug-in solid state modules were used for voltage and power control including monitoring wheelslip and monitoring engine temperature.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

Superstructure construction

A Warren truss body construction with welded, stressed steel skin was used on the sides of the locomotive which supported the transverse load of the main engine entirely.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

Bogies

The bogie side frames were of one piece cast construction with coil spring suspension,<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/> connected by 4 transverse members; two internal and two at either end<ref name="i"/>

After the Hither Green rail crash, British Rail issued a directive that all locomotives should have an axle weight of no-more than Template:Cvt. In an attempt to comply with this, Brush fitted the locomotive with modified British Rail Class 47 bogies. The lighter construction and traction motors helped but the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful leaving Kestrel at Template:Cvt per axle. Kestrel continued to be used but the axle-weight problem contributed to the decision to sell the locomotive and prior to this, in March 1971, the original bogies were refitted.

Cabs

Template:Expand section The driver's cab is attached to the frame below by rubber fittings.<ref name="i"/> Driver controls were similar to that of Class 47.<ref name="b"/>

Career

British Rail

File:HS4000 Clipstone Colliery.jpg

HS4000 at Clipstone Colliery

Construction of the locomotive (Brush works No. 711 of 1967) started in 1966 and was complete by 1967.<ref name="glos"/> However the locomotive was considerably over the Template:Cvt axle-load limit specified by British Rail for its procurement requirements. The locomotive was officially handed over to BR on 29 January 1968 at Marylebone Station. Test runs were performed with both passenger and freight stock; the locomotive was primarily used to haul heavy freight trains - including a coal train of over Template:Cvt weight<ref name="hs"/> - the locomotive achieved an 88% availability figure after Template:Convert.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="hs"/>

Following the fitting of its new bogies the locomotive was used on express passenger trains. On a London King's Cross to Newcastle service diagrammed for British Rail Class 55 ('Deltic') operation the unit was 14 minutes faster than required even though the new traction motors meant reduced power at the rail.<ref name="b">A Sulzer Engineer's Memories 1965-1979 On British Railways & Elsewhere section HS4000 "Kestrel" www.derbysulzers.com</ref>

In March 1971 it was withdrawn from service in the UK and sent back to Brush for refitting.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Sale to Soviet Union

The locomotive was sold to the Soviet Union in 1971 for £127,000,<ref name="hs"/> being shipped from Cardiff Docks to Leningrad docks by the MV Krasnokamsk<ref name="b"/> in July 1971.<ref name="glos"/> On arrival in Russia, Kestrel was exhibited at the Moscow Rolling Stock Exhibition and then was moved to the All-Union Rail Transport Scientific Research Institute at Shcherbinka<ref name=Toms82>Template:Harvnb</ref> where it was re-gauged to Template:Track gauge, and tested on a circular test railway<ref group="note">See ru:Экспериментальная кольцевая железная дорога ВНИИЖТ : Experimental test railway VNIIZhT in the Yuzhnoye Butovo District. VNIIZhT (ВНИИЖТ) is the Russian railway research institute of railway transport (Всероссийский научно-исследовательский институт железнодорожного транспорта)
See Экспериментальное кольцо ВНИИЖТа Template:Webarchive 'Experimental ring VNIIZhT' www.vniizht.ru</ref> as well as being used on some parts of the Russian rail network.<ref name="i"/>

After testing of the locomotive the engine was removed for static testing, and the locomotive body ballasted for use in high load tests of other vehicles.<ref name="co"/>

The remains of the vehicle are believed to have been scrapped in 1993.<ref name="glos"/>

Conclusions

United Kingdom

The locomotive did not result in any further orders.<ref name="spec">The Railway magazine. August 2008, via www.zinio.com</ref>

Russia

Some of the observations of Russian railway engineers relate to different practices between Russian and British locomotive design, specifically:

• Due to the smaller loading gauges in Great Britain, the cab windows were set too low for signals to be seen if the driver is standing.
• The passages were too narrow.
• The bogies were considered overly large.
• The requirement to sling the engine and compressor below the main frame was considered unusual.
• The stressed skin construction was noted as being not suitable due to corrosion increasing the susceptibility to structural weakening, as the load-bearing skin is thin and point welded.<ref name="co">Тепловоз HS400 (Кестрелл) Diesel HS4000 Kestrel ivan1950.tripod.com Author: Oleg Izmerov, Bryansk</ref>

The axle bearings, traction transmission<ref>Измеров О.В. : ЛАССИФИКАЦИИ ТЯГОВЫХ ПРИВОДОВ ПО ДИНАМИЧЕСКИМ СВОЙСТВАМ ДЛЯ ЗАДАЧ ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЯ РЕЛЬСОВЫХ ЭКИПАЖЕЙ Classification of vehicle traction drives by dynamic properties, Author:O V Izmerov, it is noted that the axial drive found in the 'Kestrel' locomotive gives lower horizontal and vertical track forces than an axle hung motor on a TEP75 locomotive at 160 km/h. www.zimerov.narod.ru</ref> and spherical rubber metal joints in the suspension<ref>ТЯГОВЫЕ ПРИВОДЫ ПЕРИОДА МАССОВОЙ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИИ ТЯГИ Traction drive suspension systems www.zimerov.narod.ru</ref> were considered of interest.<ref name="co"/>

Developments

Some of the HS4000's technology was used to form the basis of, or improvements in, subsequent locomotives built in the Soviet Union.<ref name="glos"/><ref name="spec"/>

Models

HS4000 "Kestrel" is made as a kit and ready-to-run in OO gauge by Silver Fox Models.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Heljan of Denmark have produced a highly detailed OO scale model of the Kestrel, as part of a limited run of 4000 units.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Swanley New Barn Railway, in Swanley, Kent, operates a 7 1/4 inch gauge overscale version of the 'kestrel' which was built by Mardyke Miniature Railways. Unlike the full size, this model is a diesel-hydraulic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References and notes

Notes

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Sources

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Further reading

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External links

• {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Photograph of HS4000 in Russia in a bad state of repair, still in Hawker Siddeley livery.

{{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Rolling stock of Russia