Fireman`s Experience on the Brienz Rothorn

Fireman’sExperienceontheBrienzRothorn
There are numerous railways these days that offer firing experience days, the concept is well established and well patronised. The maturity of these offers makes the market interesting for the customer who has a wide range of railways and locomotives to choose from but more demanding of course for the railways, that seek to offer that ‘Something Extra’ to capture the imagination of the prospective customer. WelcometotheBrienzRothornRailway
The Brienz Rothorn Railway has for several years been running just exactly that ‘Something Extra’, they offer the chance to experience firing and maintenance of a steam locomotive on a Swiss rack railway. Not only that but the locos in question date from 1891 and are in service with their original coaches! In addition, this is a commercial railway, not a preserved one; there are revenue services to work between on a single bi‐directional line with no signalling. On the 18th May 2012 I was invited to follow the events of a day’s Footplate Experience for a group who had registered for training with the Brienz Rothorn Railway. The group in question consisted of the maximum of 8 men who ranged from 20 to about 65 years of age, the knowledge level, related to steam traction was between zero and a competent 7 ¼ “ live steam model builder. Some had received the course as a gift and others had paid for it themselves. BRB N°5 ready and waiting for the Fireman’s Introduction Course on the 18th May 2012. This locomotive built in 1891, is now 121 years old and will be in service 7 days a week from May until October this year. Note the chimney bend, referred to later in this report. Photo: Luzia Ellis As I drove up to the car park in Brienz I saw that most of the group had already mustered early on the walkway between the offices and Brienz Station. On greeting the attendees I detected an air of nervous anticipation and quiet from the group. The centre‐point of everyone’s focus was the rostered loco for the day’s course; BRB N°5, fresh from a level 3 overhaul undertaken during the winter. Emerging from her rebuild N°5 really looked a picture and was deserving of the admiring stares! Punctually at 09:30 the BRB team brought the group together and following introductions, the plan for the day was presented. The driver and chief instructor for the day Kurt Amanden, soon got down to business and took the group through the basic concept and functionality of steam traction. He highlighted the peculiarities for rack systems, including things like the side rods not being anchored to the wheels but the pinion wheels. Oil lubrication for the wheel – rail interface. The reason the locos are built at the angle of 1 in 4. Why the cylinders are water cooled… and so on. The knowledge of many years of service flowed in a constant stream from Kurt as he explained the intricate details of his locomotive to the eager audience. As Kurt gets down to details the group tries to keep pace with the volume of knowledge he imparts. The Lake of Brienz can be seen in the background and the famous Rickenbach Falls are off to the left behind the roof. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. Having passed on decades of experience in 30 minutes it was time to distribute the overalls and hats for the day and hit the road. Being the middle of May this was the first week of service for the railway, there were commercial trains running. The route to the summit however is not open until the first weekend of June. There was still 5.5m of snow to clear to reach Rothorn Kulm at 2244m above sea level. The services and our train would be terminated at Planalp about half way up to Rothorn Kulm, a driving time of about 25 minutes for the 3.4 km. This is Kurt doing what he enjoys, passing on knowledge to interested people. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. By now N°5 was starting to show impatient feathers of steam around the safety valves. Once the preceding passenger service had left we had a free road to Planalp and everyone was quickly boarded for departure. Christian Reiser was the lucky first to get to grips with using the Fireman’s shovel for the first ascent of the day. This is the view from the fireman’s side of BRB N°5. There really is not much room. During the course the duty fireman has to hang on to the roof in order to not fall out! Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. The first impression is one of an extremely confined cab. The coal is delivered to the fireman from the roof bunker. In effect the coal falls out onto the floor from where the fireman, using a quite short shovel throws it into the firebox. The firebox is about 1m long and 1.2m wide. The first few minutes on the footplate are consumed by thoughts of where can I hold on and how do I manoeuvre a shovelful of coal into the firebox….without pushing the real fireman out of the doorway once and for all! The controls of N°5, No dual operation here. All trains are propelled and the primary observation is the responsibility of the conductor who stands on the balcony at the front. Communication is via cord and whistle. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. Firing however is not necessary until a couple of minutes after departure, by then N°5 was running well and had a good pull on the fire. At this point the driver points to the door and indicates that 4‐5 shovels are to be distributed….. Having bent down to load a shovel he opens the door which is about 50cm from the fireman’s face. Most of us have never seen a white fire until this point, the blast of heat simply stuns one to a standstill. The hairs on arms started to curl and burn in an instant and initial shovel work is simply guess work, you see nothing in that furnace. Theory is one thing, practice is another! Keeping a fire door open of course is not good practice and any pause stunned or otherwise is quickly interrupted by the driver anxious to close reclose the door. Having completed the first round of stoking there are a couple of minutes free to take stock of the cab surroundings. The pressure gauge: between 13 and 15 bar. The water gauge, on these locos mounted halfway along the boiler and therefore only visible through the windows. The injectors left and right sit at 10 and 2 O’clock above the water tanks. Then there is the steam brake wheel behind the driver and the hand brake behind the fireman. All the while there is the constant noise of the loco pounding up the 1:4 gradient at about 9 km/h. N°5 with dedicated coach B11 approach Planalp with the final ascent of the day’s training. Note the conductor at the front and the level aspect of the loco boiler despite the 1:4 gradient. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. The first passing loop is At Geldried where we swap students, the next section then climbs away curving 180° up and into a series of 4 tunnels. On entering the tunnels the driver swings a 90° bend onto the chimney. This deflects the blast behind the loco and reduces the damage that would be caused to the natural rock formation of the roof. He also starts the steam dynamo to provide lighting in the coach. The loco meanwhile is plunged into total darkness. It’s very hot, extremely noisy as the exhaust blast is not directed at the cab, and in short is an adrenalin inducing experience! N°12 caught in the nick of time as she descends through the series of tunnels between Geldried and Planalp. The steam rising from the rear of the cab is steam brake exhaust. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. The series of tunnels lead up into the forest region shortly before Planalp loop 3.4km from Brienz. At Planalp we stop and take on water. Climbing the first 900m has used 1000l of water and whilst the fireman fills the tanks the driver attends to the lubrication of the loco. Planalp passing loop and it’s time to clean! This loop is about halfway up the Rothorn at about 1400m. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. The return journey involves no shovel work. The fire being essentially damped down. The interesting aspect however is the braking system. These locos are primarily compression braked, which as we all know generates heat as gasses are compressed. The overheating of the cylinders is avoided by water cooling; the ensuing steam generated is exhausted via a pipe on the rear right hand side of the cab. The fireman’s introduction course lasts a full day; each attendee gets the chance to work the footplate twice, including an ascent and descent. The midday meal is included and also the apero at the successful conclusion of the day’s activities. At the end of the shift there is of course a dirty loco to clean and prepare for the next day’s operation, dirt under the fingernails is assured! The regular fireman demonstrates how the fire of N°5 is dropped. First however he slacks the still glowing ash with the water hose. The cylinder behind the wheel is the oil lubricator for the rail wheel interface. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. Once cleaned the loco, now with dropped fire runs light into the shed and onto the traverser which takes it to the correct spur. Once hands have been washed and overalls returned, the BRB hostess serves a well‐earned Apero to one and all. At this point the certificates of completion are distributed to those who didn’t drop too much coal back onto the floor whilst trying the hit the fire! Christian concentrates on hitting the dogs free to open the smoke box door. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. I would sum the day up as being a great experience for anyone interested in steam, anyone who wants to experience something totally different whilst on vacation in the region or, a great idea for someone who has always wanted to ride on the footplate of a steam loco. This is a chance to savour something rather different that will give a lasting memory of a worthwhile day spent in the Swiss Alps! The final cleaning draws to a close as the day’s work is concluded. N°5 passes Kurt’s inspection and is ready for the next shift on the Brienzer Rothorn. Photo: Melanie Schlunegger. For further details and booking please contact Mike Ellis in German or English under the follow address: [email protected] +41 (0)79 724 0535 Or directly to the the Brienz Sales Office: Brienz Rothorn Bahn Postfach CH3855 Brienz Switzerland +41 (0)33 952 2211 www.brienz‐rothorn‐bahn.ch