Author Archives: Chris Newman

ASTT’s 2019 Conference a success

For those who are unaware, ASTT’s 2019 Conference was a great success with 50 in attendance, most of whom can be seen in the above photo, lined up in front of Britannia in Crewe.  10 papers were presented, and an afternoon was spent visiting Locomotive Storage Ltd’s workshops in Crewe (where Britannia was on display). […]

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Porta Papers Volume 2 now on Sale

  ASTT’s publication of Porta Papers Volume 2 is now on sale.   The volume includes three papers by Porta: Adhesion in Advanced Steam Locomotive Engineering Facing the Oil Crisis, 1984 (revised 1986); Fundamentals of the Porta Compounding System for Steam Locomotives, 2000; A Proposal for the Tornado Project, 1992. As a corollary to the Tornado […]

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Porta Papers Volume 1 – now on Sale

Volume 1 of a collection of technical papers by Livio Dante Porta is now available for sale – see the book sales section. This first volume focuses on the tribology and lubrication of valves and pistons, and should be essential reading for everyone involved in new-build steam, and wise reading for anyone who is interested […]

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CO2 Powered “Steam” Locos in China

Last May we passed on news from our Beijing-based member, Liang Chenyuan, who reported that experiments were being conducted in Tianjin and in Inner Mongolia to power to preserved steam locomotives using compressed CO2 gas instead of steam – see http://advanced-steam.org/ast-news/news-from-china/. Chenyuan now reports that modification work on Tianjin’s SY1007 is near completion and that […]

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Red Devil Returns to Steam

It’s gratifying to report that Dave Wardale’s Class 26 4-8-4 “The Red Devil” is once again back on track.  On 4th July she moved under her own steam for the first time since August 2004, travelling from Worcester where she was overhauled, some 75 miles south to Cape Town.  Her boiler certificate will see her […]

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ASTT 2018 Autumn Conference – Advanced Notice

ASTT will hold its annual Autumn Conference over the weekend of 29/30 September 2018 on the theme “Building up Steam for the Future”.   The conference will be held once again at the Transport Museum meeting room in Bury, Greater Manchester, Lancashire. Like last year, the conference will combine presentations with an outside excursion – this […]

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News from China ….

ASTT member Liang Chenyuan has sent us a link to a video of an experiment carried out on steam locomotives in China recently. Chenyuan, who only recently joined ASTT, reports that the experiments were undertaken in 2017 by the Chuntian Company on QJ and SY locomotives owned by the Jitong Railway Company, which involved the […]

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