Fell mountain railway system

History

The Fell system was designed, developed and patented by British engineer John Barraclough Fell.{{efn|Charles Blacker Vignoles and John Ericsson patented a similar system in 1830, but Fell may not have known of it.

These tests attracted the attention of the French Government, which conducted its own tests on the slopes of Mont Cenis in 1865. As a result, the Mont Cenis Pass Railway was built by a British company as a temporary connection between France and Italy whilst the tunnel under the Alpine pass was being built; shortening the transit time for mail from Britain and France to Italy and beyond.

In 1913 Fell's son George Noble Fell published variations of his father's apparatus using either electric traction or "gaseous fuel". For electric traction the centre rail would also act as the current conductor rail; the horizontal drive wheels would adhere by magnetism, and the brakes would be applied by electromagnets. For the internal combustion version the horizontal guide wheels would be coated with carborundum for improved grip.

List of Fell railways

The following railways have used the Fell system. Of these, the only one still in operation is the electrified Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man, which occasionally uses the centre rail for braking only; the cars are all now equipped with rheostatic braking, which meets all normal braking needs. The only surviving Fell locomotive, New Zealand Railways H 199, is preserved at the Fell Locomotive Museum, Featherston, New Zealand, near the site of the Rimutaka Incline.

France / Italy

• The Mont Cenis Pass Railway over the border to Italy was 77 km long and ran from 1868 until superseded by a tunnel under the pass in 1871. Some characteristics of the Mont Cenis Pass Railway include:
  • gauge – the gauge in English speaking world is sometimes quoted as 3 ft in
  • Steepest gradient 1 in 12 (8.3%)
  • Gradient where Fell grip system was deemed to be needed 1 in 25 (4.0%)
  • Climb 3000 ft
  • Centre rail 8 in above running rails and about 14 in above sleeper.
  • Sharpest curve 130 ft
  • Since there were breaks-of-gauge at each end of the Fell railway, it is not known if ordinary standard gauge rolling stock were needed.
  • Length of line 48 mi.
  • Length of Fell section 9 mi

Brazil

• The Estrada de Ferro Cantagalo from Niterói to Nova Friburgo opened in 1873. Brazil's first mountain railway, of gauge, re-used some of the equipment from the Mont Cenis Pass Railway, and continued in operation until the 1960s. The Fell centre rail was used only for braking after 1884.

Isle of Man

• The Snaefell Mountain Railway opened in 1895. It uses electric railcars, with a Fell rail for braking.

New Zealand

• • The Rewanui Incline on the West Coast of the South Island used a Fell rail for braking from its opening in 1914 to 1966. It closed in 1985.
  • The Rimutaka Incline on the Wairarapa Line near Featherston in the North Island opened in 1878 and closed in 1955. It was replaced by the Rimutaka tunnel. Unlike the other lines noted, it used the Fell system for propulsion as well as braking throughout its active life. The Fell Engine Museum in Featherston houses the sole preserved Fell locomotive (NZR H class). .
  • The Roa Incline on the West Coast of the South Island used a Fell rail for braking from its opening in 1909. It closed in 1960.
  • The Kaikorai Cable Car which ran from Dunedin to the Kaikorai Valley used an off-centre Fell rail for braking.
• • The Wellington Cable Car used a Fell rail for emergency braking from its opening in 1902 until 1978, when it was upgraded.
• unknown gauges
  • Price's Bush Tramway near Akatarawa.
  • Charming Creek Tramway near Ngakawau.
  • Several bush tramways used Fell rails for braking. Fell MW 1872.jpg|Fell system locomotive built 1876 by Manning Wardle for Estrada de Ferro Cantagalo Snaefell Mountain Railway car no 4 on mountain.jpg|Fell system on the Snaefell Mountain Railway Fell Engine Museum - 2002-03-20.jpg|Fell locomotive H199 preserved in the Fell Engine Museum, New Zealand Fell rail engine - 2002-03-20.jpg|Underside of H199, showing details of the Fell railway system

Notes

References

• (this book has sections on the Fell mountain railway system, Mont Cenis Pass Railway and Cantagallo Railway).

References

1. (1867). "La Locomotive et Les Chemins de Fer". Furne, Jouvet et Cie.
2. (1871). "Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860-69". [[John Murray (publishing house).
3. (17 November 1865). "The Adhesion of Locomotive Engines and Certain Expedients for Increasing or Supplementing That Function". [[The Engineer (UK magazine).
4. (1957). "Unusual Railways". [[Frederick Muller Ltd]].
5. (12 November 1914). "Improvements in Engines for Traction on Centre Rail Railways and in Means for Working same".
6. (9 July 1869). "THE LATEST METHODS OF RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION IN ENGLAND.". [[South Australian Register]].