[quote user="M636C"]
Last night I wandered on to the Japanese language Wikipedia site looking at steam locomotive data (largely courtesy of Google translation, which is a bit odd). Anyway, I wandered further on to the Chinese language Wikipedia and found a reference to a 2-8-0 number X 180.
This was found buried in sand along a river bank in northern China, (during excavation for a new bridge) complete except for the wooden cab. There wasn't any information that I saw about when it was buried or why but one imagines wars with the Japanese in 1904-5 and during the 1930s are good opportunities to lose something as big as a locomotive.
Anyway this locomotive is a 5 feet gauge Vauclain Compund built during the late 1890s and has been partially restored (in the Chinese manner) and put on display in Changchun.
A plate on the cylinders lists, in English, various patents of the 1890s and has the statement that the design was patented in Russia, just in case the owners (the Russian operated Chinese Eastern Railway) thought they might copy it. Interestingly, the plate reads "Baldwin Compound" and not Vauclain Compound.
Are there any other Vauclain Compounds preserved anywhere in the world?
I was surfing the net looking at some "Lazarus Locomotives", primarily in the UK, and came across this link: http://www.vicsteam.com/
It looks like the Aussies are planning to build a replica Baldwin 2-8-0 Vauclain compound. So perhaps in time it will be possible to see one in operation. I wish them well.
Technically speaking a "Balanced Compound" as described by Alfred Bruce and others is a different animal that a "Vauclain Compound" particularly in the manner in which the cylinders are harnessed to the drive axle.
A "Balanced Compound" used a crank axle in which the inner cylinders drove two cranks on the inside of the frame while the two outside cylinders drove the external wheel crank pins on the same axle - giving in effect a "crankshaft" front axle. This was a very smooth running design and built and sold by Baldwin in 1912 to 1916 era.
A Vauclain Compound used two cylinders, one over the other per engine side. An upper piston rod from the upper cylinder is attached to a boss on the top of the crosshead. The lower cylinder piston rod attaches to a lower boss on the same crosshead. The Vauclain uses only two drive rods attaching to the drive wheels only - the drive axle is straight.
The effect of these two designs was the "Balanced" was similar to a 4 cylinder car engine while the Vauclain was similar to a 2 cylinder car engine in respect to the overall layout.
The "Baldwin 4 cylinder Balanced Compound" the four connecting rods balanced each other nicely for very smooth running like any multi cylinder engine.
The Baldwin Vauclain Compound design while much cheaper to build, caused the crosshead with unequal forces on top and bottom to "cock" in the "guide ways" and drag. The balance issues were not resolvable like a regular SIMPLE 2 cylinder steam locomotive.
It would appear that the Chinese engine is a VAUCLAIN COMPOUND with a low pressure cylinder mounted over the high pressure cylinder and a VERY rigid set of guides for a center mounted crosshead. It seems that Baldwin Locomotive Works did make Vauclain type 2 cylinder engines also - possibly this is where the confusion is.
It is probably worth noting that Samual Vaulcain became President of Baldwin Locomotive Works. He was a general forman at Baldwin in 1883, a plant superintendent in 1886, went on the board of directors in 1896, vice president in 1911, senior vice president in 1917, and president from 1919 to 1929.
The "Vauclain Compound" was developed by Baldwin Locomotive Works and was popular around 1900 - it is described in the encyclopedia as "two cylinders of different pressure acting on one crosshead controlled by a complex piston valve." It is unclear that both cylinders must be located over each other.
At the 1904 Worlds Fair Pennsylvania Railroad Engineers describe the "Santa Fe #535 as a Vauclain 4 cylinder balanced compound with crank axle."
So there you have it "clear as mud."
Doc
Samuel Vauclain also had a well-documented aversion to diesels. Baldwin didn't really advertise its diesel locomotives until after Vauclain died.
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