Fell mountain railway system

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Fell system on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.
Fell system on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

The Fell system uses a raised centre rail between the two running rails on steeply-graded railway lines to provide extra traction and braking, or braking alone. Trains are propelled by wheels or braked by shoes pressed horizontally onto the centre rail, as well as by means of the normal running wheels. These horizontal wheels and shoes are fitted to specially designed or adapted Fell locomotives and brake vans.

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[edit] History

The Fell system was designed, developed and patented by British engineer John Barraclough Fell. The first test application was alongside the Cromford and High Peak Railway's cable-hauled incline at Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, England, in 1863 and 1864.

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 as a temporary connection between France and Italy whilst the tunnel under the Alpine pass was being built.

[edit] A list of Fell railways

Preserved Fell locomotive H199 in the Fell Engine Museum, New Zealand, 20 March 2002.
Preserved Fell locomotive H199 in the Fell Engine Museum, New Zealand, 20 March 2002.
The underside of H199, showing details of the Fell railway system, 20 March 2002.
The underside of H199, showing details of the Fell railway system, 20 March 2002.

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 Government Railways H 199, is preserved at the Fell Engine Museum, Featherston, New Zealand, near the site of the Rimutaka Incline.

[edit] Brazil

  • The Estrada de Ferro Cantagalo (Cantagalo railway) from Niterói to Nova Friburgo opened in 1873. Brazil's first mountain railway, of 1100 mm gauge, it re-used some of the equipment from the Mont Cenis Pass Railway, and continued in operation until the 1960s.

[edit] France

[edit] Isle of Man

[edit] New Zealand

[edit] Renewals

Ten kilometres of new Chinese manufactured Fell rail was expected to be delivered to the Snaefell Mountain Railway in December 2006 for track-laying between the 2006 and 2007 seasons (Railway Magazine, February 2007).

[edit] Related patents

Fell lodged the following patents relating to his system with the British Patent Office:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Goodwyn, M. (1993). Manx Electric, 1st Edition, Platform 5 Publishing. ISBN 978-1-872524-52-8. 
  • Hendry, R. (1993). Rails in the Isle of Man: A Colour Celebration. Midland Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-85780-009-5. 
  • "Chinese rail for Snaefell railway" (February 2007). Railway Magazine 153 (1270): p 58. IPC Media. ISSN 0033-8923. 
  • Ransom, P. J. G. (1999). The Mont Cenis Fell Railway. Twelveheads Press. ISBN 0-906294-41-X. 

[edit] External links

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