The weather had been hot for the last few days, but when we
arrived at the track for the event, it was overcast with rain
threatening. However it remained dry almost to the end when a
shower turned into a thunder storm. I thought the idea was to start
this kind of event with the loco in fine fettle, but 3 of those
competing had had major work done to them and were unknown
quantities. We had to wait for enough members to arrive so we
could have proper loads, consequently the first run did not start
until 1-45pm. There were 6 entrants and I will give a short
description of each of the runs as I saw them.
Run no. 1. Pat Beesley, 5 inch GWR Hall 4-6-0
Pat had the dubious pleasure of being first on. This was because
Simon Mulford was going to have a go with this loco and to be fair,
I wanted Simon to start with a cold engine. Pat reported that he
had had problems with one of the cylinders the previous weekend,
apparently almost seizing. The cylinder had been off during the
week with new rings being fitted. Pat started with 8 adults on 2
passenger cars but was very soon in trouble and dropped 2
passengers. After a slow first circuit Pat soldiered on never really
getting the train under control until the last few minutes and called
it a day after 27 minutes having completed 5 laps, and used 2lbs
7ozs of coal.
Run no. 2. Tony Vereker, 5 inch Simplex 0-6-0
Tony also reported that he had done a lot of work on his Simplex,
washed out the boiler, broken a screw in the dome and played
around with the cylinders I believe. He had doubts that it might not
be ready in time. Tony started with 2 passenger cars loaded with
a total of 6 adults and very soon had things well under control,
circulating quite steadily. This was a non stop run completing 12
circuits in 30 minutes and looked to be very good, but he had used
a lot of coal, 2lbs 6½ozs which was rather a lot for a little engine.
Run no. 3. Chris Kelland, 5 inch Simplex 0-6-0
Chris had become very interested in this competition and had also
done some work on his loco, descaling the boiler and giving it a
real once over. He had also asked me about steaming up on
charcoal, at what point to put the coal on and had done a couple of
practise runs.
Chris started with, again, a total of 6 adults on 2
passenger cars and from the start had things well under control.
He started to circulate steadily but stopped for a couple of minutes
on his 4th lap for a blow up. This I think was the dreaded quarter
of an hour syndrome which can easily catch new comers out who
are being a little mean with the shovel. Chris soon restarted and
carried on for the remainder of the time completing 10 circuits in 31
minutes and used 1Ib 12ozs of coal. The first and as it turned out
only, competitor, to use less than 2lbs of coal. A very good and
well controlled run.
Run no. 4. Alan Sollis, 5 inch GWR County 4-6-0
As far as I am aware Alan was the only competitor to start with an
engine that had not received major work and was not an unknown
quantity. He started with what by now had seemed to become the
standard load of 6 adults on 2 passenger cars. Alan started and
soon had the train under control and settled down to circulate
steadily for most of the run. Unfortunately he had quite a long stop
a little past 2/3 distance, I assume for a blow up, and ended his run
completing 10 circuits of the track in a little over 33 minutes. The
disappointing part of this run, was that Alan used 3lbs 1oz of coal,
rather a lot for a big engine pulling what was really a light load.
Run no. 5. Derek Sherwood, 5 inch Speedy 0-6-0
Derek had brought his Speedy along as a completely untried loco.
I had spent a lot of time during the winter overhauling all the
moving parts below the boiler, axle boxes, connecting and
coupling rods and valve gear. The cylinder and steam chests had
been honed and new pistons and valve bobbins fitted. Derek had
tried to steam it at running days but had a couple of little problems
and had entered it not knowing what to expect or how it would run.
He elected to reduce the standard load to a total of 5 adults on 2
passenger cars and started at a very steady pace. After a little
past half time he stopped for a blow up (the dreaded syndrome
again I think). On restarting he must have sorted the fire out for he
started to really fly, putting in the fastest laps of the afternoon.
When he finished he had used a commendable 2lbs 2ozs of coal
to complete 9 circuits in 31 minutes 30 seconds; his first words
were" that was the longest half hour of my life". The number of
times I have heard that when somebody has finished a run in a
competition. I have said it myself. The other thing about the finish
of Derek's run was the look on his face, a bit of a smile that
seemed to be saying "I cannot believe I have just done that".
Every body agreed that it was a very good run.
Run no. 6. Simon Mulford, 5 inch GWR Hall 4-6-0
The last run of the event was Simon driving granddad’s Hall and
started with the well tried load of total 6 adults on 2 passenger
cars. Simon started steadily and circulated sedately with a couple
of short stops. The problem Pat was having on his run must have
been sorted out as Simon managed to do a couple more laps than
Pat.
He finished having completed 8 circuits in 30 minutes using
3lbs 7ozs of coal, 1Ib more than Pat. This may be why Simon put
in the extra distance, but again it was rather a lot for a large engine
pulling a light load. Halfway through Simon's run it started to rain,
light at first but slowly started to get heavier and every one was
pleased that the proceedings were now over.
Having been competing in loco competitions for quite a few years
now with some success I would like to make a few observations
about the above run reports. The first thing that struck me, nobody
was adventurous over the load they took, it seemed as if they were
keeping to a running day load. The calculations for the results
included the weight of the passenger cars, so why not take 3 for a
start. If 2 passengers were put on each I am convinced that the
rolling resistance would be less than one with 3 or 4 passengers
on it and would be extra weight going into the calculations. With at
least 3 cars, 8 or 9 passengers could be taken, if it was to much
they could always be kicked off. Our track is very flat with no real
climbs so quite a good load could be taken. I regularly see
Simplex's at ILMEC with 10 or 12 bodies behind them. I was
surprised that the two big locos did not do better and used a lot of
coal. Why this should be I do not know, they have big fire boxes
and should start with a good load of charcoal packed in there and
with the light loads taken should have used far less coal than they
did. However they are the mainstay of motive power on running
days so perhaps they need a little TLC. I noticed several times
that during a run the safety valves were lifting, this is a definite no-
no. If this happens it is wasting steam that has taken valuable coal
to produce. Before the valve lifts the by-pass should be closed or
the injector put on to prevent any waste of steam. If the track is
easy and the load light then maybe the loco will run quite nicely on
reduced boiler pressure and consequently reduced coal
consumption. I hope that this has been of some help for next time.
After the event when the results were double checked 3 errors
were found which fortunately did not alter the finishing order. I
found that I had not included the passenger car weight in Tony's
total weight figure and I also diddled Alan and Chris out of a lap.
As can be seen this made Chris the winner by 10 points, how
close can you get, one shovel full of coal. A little trophy as a
memento of his win was presented to Chris at the end.
. An
amended result sheet was given to all competitors.
This was the first time I had done anything like organising a
competition and I have learnt a lot. Most importantly, get the result
independently checked as soon as it has been calculated. As the
first one, it was really nothing more than a bit of fun not to be taken
seriously. If we make it an annual event, then a few changes will, I
think, need to be made, and a little notice taken of the rules. I did
virtually ignore the rules on the day, especially the one about
stoppage time.
I will finish by thanking all those who entered, for a competition
does not happen without competitors, and those that turned up to
act as passengers. I must also thank John Bayliss for so ably
assisting me with time keeping etc. I will congratulate Chris for
winning and I believe most of you want one again next year. If this
is the case and Chris enters, in best IMLEC tradition Chris as
defending champion will be the last run. I am sure that apart from
Chris, Derek for his run, was the happiest man to leave the track at
the end. I thoroughly enjoyed organising and running the event
(apart from the result cock-ups), loco competitions are tremendous
fun. I hope all who were there agree. Has this inspired someone
to enter IMLEC I wonder?
Notes. These are the final amended results after errors were found in the
provisional results of runs nos. 2, 3 and 4.
*Run no 1 dropped one passenger at the start and another at
approximately ¼ distance of the first lap, a fiddle factor of 40lbs has been
added to the total train weight in the calculation to allow for this.
The coal used figure is shown as the number of ¼lb units used.
