Newsletters | 5AT Advanced Steam Locomotive Project

Note - these newsletters have been copied from the original 5AT website. The links relate to the old website and will not work on this new site.

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12th Dec 2004

It's only two and a half months since my last news update (dated 23 Sept 04), and there's been no huge developments since that date. Nevertheless the project moves slowly forward and we have now at last passed one important milestone with Dave Wardale's completion of the Fundamental Design Calculations (FDCs) in November. The work has taken two and a half years of concentrated mental effort by David, in which time he has produced 356 pages of calculations and advisory notes for the detail design of the locomotive, and over 6500 "lines" of calculation plus over 100 sketches, drawings and diagrams. The full list of FDCs (17 in number) is given on the new updated Calculations page on the 5AT website.

Several other pages of the website have also been updated at the same time (as of today's date). These are summarized on the Updates page as follows:

The Home page has been updated to show the latest Robin Barnes painting of the 5AT, displaying its new appearance as defined by the finalized Fundamental Design Calculations. You will see quite significant visual changes that have evolved which give the 5AT something of a new "character". Robin's view on the loco's new look is, I think, worth quoting. He says: "All steam locomotives have something in their visual make-up, not often easy to define, which gives each type its own individual character, and my own view is that what has happened now is the 5AT at last has developed that. It is utterly believable and I very much hope now will stir interest amongst the enthusiast body. Out on the tracks, this will be quite something!" I think he's probably right, but it will take me (for one) a little time to get to like the new look as much as I did the old one. Anyway, I guess we're going to have to update our 5AT "logo" now!
The Artist's Impressions has also been revised to include Robin's new painting. However, in addition, Robin has kindly provided some captions to this and his earlier paintings which are now shown in date order to illustrate the evolution of the locomotive's outline.
The Calculations has been updated with details of the final FDCs (as mentioned above); in addition, a revised "final" version of FDC 1.3 has been included (in PDF format) which incorporates some minor changes resulting from subsequent calculations. A new page has been added (accessed through the Calculations page) which quotes from a recent letter from Dave Wardale with his concluding comments on the FDCs. I've included a comment of my own and taken the opportunity to put a plug in for Martyn Bane's "Argentina" rescue project.
The News page has been updated with the news of the FDC completion plus the news of the formation of the "5AT Engineering Planning Working Party".
The Who's Who page has been updated with two photos of the attendees at the recent 5AT "Engineering Planning" meeting, held in Staffordshire on 16th Oct 2004, and the photos have been rearranged in date order.
The Links page has been updated with the inclusion of a link to John Johnston's new website at http://www.greenloco.com/ - another Second Generation Steam loco project but on a smaller scale than the 5AT.
Finally, the Help page has been updated with a call by Alan Fozard for volunteers to assistant with the developement of the Commercial Plan for the 5AT project.

This last item is perhaps the one that I should focus on in this newsletter, since the ultimate success of the project is going to depend not just on the engineering outputs, but on the commercial planning that needs to become a major focus of our attention over the next 12 months. And it is in this area that our current Leading Group is most weakly represented. We urgently need the help of people with appropriate skills to help with the task of updating the commercial sections of the Business Plan, to ensure that what is finally presented to potential investors is both commercially attractive and practically realistic. So if you have skills in commercial and/or financial planning and/or in railway management or operation and would like to contribute to this most exciting project, then please don't hesitate to contact us. Either write to me at info(at)5at.co.uk or better still write directly to Alan at Alan-Fozard(at)5at.co.uk.

That's enough from me just now. Please take a look at the latest updates on the 5AT website and keep sending in your views and comments. Most importantly, let us know if you can help us with the task of updating the Business Plan for the project.

May I take the opportunity to wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

Chris Newman

23 Sept 2004

It is a long time since I sent out a newsletter about the 5AT project, I feel it is high time to get in touch with you once more even though there is not much to report. This doesn’t mean that no work is being done on the project - quite the opposite is the case, and David Wardale is now nearing the completion of the arduous task of preparing the Fundamental Design Calculations (FDCs). Their current status is reported on the 5AT website in the "Calculations" page.

The good news is that no untoward problems have been thrown up as these calculations have progressed and they confirm that the 5AT should meet the performance capabilities originally predicted. However during the process of working through the calculations, David has become increasingly concerned as to whether there is sufficient expertise now available to undertake the detailed design work for the 5AT. Accordingly he has recently written a "position paper" in which he lists in detail some of the difficulties that he envisages will have to be overcome and injects a note of healthy reality into the project by posing a number of challenging questions.

A taste of his concerns can be gleaned from an excerpt from that paper that I have incorporated into a new "Help Required" page that I have just added to the 5AT website. In this excerpt, David emphasises the magnitude of the task of designing and building something that is technically more advanced than any steam locomotive that has been built before. His concerns relate (in part) to the difficulties that will be faced in designing such a machine in a world that has moved so far away from steam that there are now very few engineers with the knowledge or experience to undertake the task, which is what prompts us to seek responses from anyone with past knowledge and experience in the field which we might be able to draw from.

Providing a full response to David's questions is no small task and involves making accurate estimates of the number of components in the 5AT, making realistic estimates of time required to design them, defining an appropriate organizational structure for the design group and quantifying the number of experienced design engineers and support staff that will be required for the project. This work is ongoing. At the same time we have to assess the availability of experienced people to do the design work.

Once we have formulated and agreed our response to the position paper, the next major task will be to include revised estimates for the project into an updated issue of the Business Plan. This will include much more detail on the proposed 5AT engineering organization than hitherto and also modifications arising from the detailed work on the FDCs. An update of the Business Plan will be essential before we start seeking major finance for the project.

I had hoped that by now we would have established a formal project support group - the "Friends of the 5AT" - that has been mentioned in earlier newsletters. Unfortunately this has not happened yet because we don't want to start taking people's membership contributions until we are confident that the project can continue to move forward. Please bear with us. And do please respond to our call for assistance (see www.5at.co.uk/5AThelp/).

Best wishes

Chris Newman

4th Feb 2004

WEBSITE UPDATES and
DETAIL DESIGN PLANNING FOR THE 5AT

Whilst nothing much may seem to have been happening with the 5AT Project of late, progress continues to be made not least of which is the ongoing work of David Wardale on the Fundamental Design Calculations (FDCs) for the locomotive. With the boiler calculations nearing completion, this phase of the work is now past the half-way mark and its completion is expected by the end of 2004. The next task after that will be the preparation of the Safety Case for the locomotive and its submission to the railway safety authorities, approval of which will signal the start of the project proper and the seeking of funding for the detail design to begin.

Much planning work is currently in progress, one of the most important of which is the preparation of a discussion document titled "Engineering the 5AT" by David Smith (PhD Mech Eng), who has also been providing part-time assistance to Wardale in his work on the FDCs. The detail design phase of the project is expected to be the most difficult and demanding of all the work that has to be done, because of the scarcity of people with experience of steam locomotive design and because of the exacting standards of work that will be required. I have therefore dedicated a new page of the website (see "Engineering Design") which discusses the subject in some detail and which invites anyone with an interest in being involved in the work to contact us and send us their CV. Meanwhile, copies of David Smith's discussion paper will be circulated to engineers who we believe may be able and willing to contribute to the design work, or at least to its planning. If you are an engineer and/or have skills that could be of use to use during the detailed design work and wish to be included in the circulation of this document, please let us know and at the same time send us a copy of your CV (preferably in the format provided on the 5AT website). All CVs that are sent to us will be treated in the strictest confidence.

The new "Engineering Design" page of the website incorporates three parts: Part 1 is a new section in which the detail design phase of the project is discussed. Part 2 describes the Fundamental Design Calculations (being the old page previously titled "Design Principals"); while Part 3 is titled "Philosophy behind the Design Specification" and is taken from the old page previously titled "Design Philosophy".

Three other pages have also been updated:- the "Updates" page (obviously!), the "News" page (now called the "News and Newsletters" page) and the "Who's Who" page. The Updates page describes the changes in detail, so I won't repeat them all here; however I might draw attention to the "Who's Who" page which now lists the people who are currently involved in the planning for the project. This may be of special interest since we have tended to work anonymously up till now. It may be reassuring to see that we're not a bunch of idealistic enthusiasts; many (most?) of those involved are professional engineers of one sort or another.

We hope to be able to announce the formation of the "Friends of the 5AT" (Fo5AT) project support group in the near future. Indeed I hope that Fo5AT will be subject of my next newsletter. However there is still quite a bit of work to be done before we make the launch and I cannot be sure how long it might take to accomplish. Anyway, when it happens it will be an important milestone, and a worthy celebration for this the bicentennial of "Penydarren" - the earliest ancestor of the 5AT.

Lastly, I've taken the unusual step (for me) of circulating this newsletter to a number of people who have not specifically asked to be included on my circulation list. In particular, I have included all the people that attended the Brienz Congress last October whose email addresses I have, in the hope that their interest in attending the Steam Congress translates into an interest in the 5AT project. If anyone receives this message who would prefer not to receive news updates about the 5AT project in the future, please write back and let me know and I will delete their names from my listings. Please be assured that my circulation list is not given out to anyone that is not immediately involved in the project or the establishment of Fo5AT.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

31st Dec 2003

HAPPY NEW YEAR
TO ALL 5AT "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

I was reminded the other day that I've not sent out a bulletin since my October 17th post-Brienz effort, so I thought it appropriate to combine a short newsletter with some well-wishes for the New Year.

To be honest, there's not a lot of news to report just now which is the principal reason I'd not thought of sending out a bulletin earlier, but that does not mean that nothing is happening. The project still moves forward but most of the work is going on behind the scenes: Dave Wardale has resumed work on the Fundamental Design Calculations (FDCs) following his holiday in China and Pakistan; Alan Fozard continues to work away making contacts with rail and safety people and organizations, and familiarizing them with the project and its aims; Martyn Bane and I have been developing our thoughts on the formation of the "Friends of the 5AT" (Fo5AT) and its membership arrangements.

That doesn't leave a great deal else to report on, which is reflected by the relative paucity of updates to the 5AT website over the last two months. These have largely reported on news articles in the railway press, and the addition of some new (and updated) pages describing the work of Roger Waller and his DLM team, prompted by the return to the rails of his 52-8055. Roger and Andrew Thompson have sent me some beautiful photographs of this fabulous-looking locomotive which I have been happy to add to the 5AT website, hoping that one of these days someone will take some equally stunning photos of the 5AT when it eventually gets onto the rails.

The next website update will report the completion of the 5AT's boiler strength calculations. Dave Wardale has in fact completed these already, but is awaiting clarification of some interpretations of the 1953 German boiler code in relation to DB steam loco boiler design before releasing his calculations. Thereafter, the boiler and superheater combustion gas and steam flow, and heat transfer calculations, FDC. 11.3., will be started. Wardale describes this as a major piece of work and that it will take me some time to finish, hopefully in February. I have other website additions waiting to be added (for instance a report on my discussions with Wardale during his recent visits to Beijing) but have been holding off pending formation of Fo5AT when I plan to reorganize the website to provide a "Members Only" section that will offer news and other information of that nature as a benefit to members only.

It is pleasing to report that the lack of website updates does not seem to have resulted in a loss of interest. My last newsletter reported a phenomenal increase in the website "hit-rate" following Alan Fozard's presentation at the Brienz Congress and the Guardian article that followed. Prior to that, the hit-rate had averaged 30 per day and had once peaked at 54. No-one expected the post-Brienz rates of over 200 per day to be maintained, and indeed they lasted only a week (having peaked at 365); however daily rates of between 50 and 70 seem to have remained steady since the middle of October.

Martyn Bane has also made an interesting list of visual design changes that have been made to the 5AT as a result of Wardale's work so far on the FDCs as compared to the details shown on Robin Barnes's magnificent paintings. The list has not been verified by Wardale, so neither Martyn nor I can vouch that it is complete (or even correct) but I reproduce it below because I think it is of interest:

SNCF style feedwater heater tanks mounted behind and either side of chimney;
Connecting rod shape changed (parallel towards the big end and tapered towards the small end);
Top of combination lever to be suspended from a hanger (to facilitate operation of the twin valves feeding each cylinder);
Crosshead arm added (from which union link is connected to the bottom of the combination lever);
Alligator type slide-bars supported by a bracket attached to the mainframe between the leading coupled axle and the bogie;
BFB wheels instead of Scullins (from discussions only, not from FDCs);
Cross-Compound air pump to be fitted (from discussions only, not from FDCs);
OLEO drophead buckeye with retractable buffers and centre buffer as per Class 90/91 electrics (from discussions only, not from FDCs);

Let us hope that the next 12 months will see some real advances with the 5AT project. We can at least expect to see the completion of the FDCs during that time and the formation of Fo5AT to which I hope and trust that you will all be fast to join as Inaugural Associate Members. More hopefully, we would like to see funding in place during the next 12 months to allow Dave Wardale to make a start on the preparation of the Safety Case as soon as he finishes his work on the FDCs. The cost of this is not expected to be high, but it is an essential step that needs to be taken before funding for the design and construction of the locomotive can be sought in earnest.

\Best wishes to you all for 2004.

Chris Newman

17th Oct 2003

CIRCULAR TO 5AT "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

If the recent website "hit-rate" is anything to go by, I imagine that most of you must have already seen the updates that I've made to the 5AT website over the last couple of days. There's been a huge increase in the number of viewers to the site, from a yearly average of just over 28 per day and a recorded maximum of about 60 per day, there have been over 200 viewings per day earlier in the week, and over 300 yesterday. What has brought about this sudden interest? I think it can only have been the article about the 5AT published in last Saturday's Guardian reporting on Alan Fozard's presentation at the "First World Steam and Tourist Train Congress" in Brienz last week, and his brief appearance on Tuesday morning's Radio 4 "Today" program. Anyway, the 5AT has become "news", which is wonderful because it is indeed a newsworthy project. And unusually it provides the press with some good news to broadcast to the world!

A lot of people complain the 5AT isn't the ideal locomotive for the needs of today, and they have many good and valid reasons to support their views. Many see the need for a smaller, more versatile locomotive that can run at equal speed in both directions and/or pull heavier loads at slower speeds. Indeed the 5AT won't meet everyone's needs especially in North America and Australia where trains of larger and heavier carriages need to be hauled over steeply inclined gradients. My view however is that the 5AT is the right machine for this moment. What modern steam needs is a draw-card; something that will grab people's attention; an eye-catcher; a show-case; a machine that can run on a "First World" railway, compete with the latest diesels and electrics on their own turf, demonstrate to rail industry leaders just how fast, efficient, economical and environmentally clean modern steam can be, and perhaps even break a record or two to drive the point home. The 5AT is, I believe, the right locomotive to demonstrate the facts, to bring them to people's attention and to open the door for newer and more advanced ideas that can (and hopefully will) follow behind it. Such is my view, at any rate.

Going back to the publicity issue, the root cause of the sudden interest in the 5AT project was of course Alan Fozard's presentation titled "Making the Commercial Case for the 5AT" at the Brienz Congress last week. Those of us who were lucky enough to attend the conference enjoyed two days of interesting presentations and discussions; an evening's run on the Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn behind (or in front of) one of Roger Waller's modern-steam rack locomotives; a walk through BRB's locomotive maintenance shops; and an inspection of one of the local (steam driven) lake paddle steamers in dry dock. The Conference itself was I believe a very worthwhile exercise which will hopefully lead to bigger and better things in the future. Perhaps most importantly there was general agreement on the desirability of forming a "World" or International body that can represent and protect the interests of steam and tourist railways throughout the world, and at the same time create better recognition of (and a better image for) traditional heritage steam railways, and encourage the further development of modern steam traction. Congratulations to the organizers of the Congress, and to Andrew Thompson and Christian Keifer who did the bulk of the work.

Alan's presentation was, of course, quite excellent and gave a good overview of the theme of the Business Plan for the locomotive. His presentation was well received by Congress delegates, discussion centering mainly on the length of time that is currently planned for the implementation of the design and construction of the locomotive. This is an important issue and one that will be receiving close attention in the near future when we look more closely at how the detailed design work can best be undertaken.

As for the website, for those of you who haven't been counted amongst its hundreds of recent visitors, you will find there have been several updates to it. Most interesting perhaps are the following:

A copy of Alan Fozard's paper "Making the commercial case for the 5AT" has been added (a link is provided from the Business Plan and News pages)
A link has been added to the article in the Guardian newspaper on Saturday 11th Oct, titled "Steam power on track for great renaissance". See the Articles and Letters page.
A copy of the BBC radio broadcast of an interview with Alan Fozard on the 06:20 Business Report of their Today program added. See links on the News and Articles and Letters pages.
Re-arrangement of the Business Plan page to include copies of the Executive Summary and Preface forming part of the Plan itself. The page also includes a note stating that "Since the Business Plan contains commercially sensitive (or potentially sensitive) information, it will not be widely distributed, nor will it be displayed in full on this website as originally intended. Copies of the Business Plan will however be made available to rail industry organizations or other individuals or organizations that have a genuine interest in the fundingof, or advancement of, the 5AT Project".
A transcript of Chris Newman's article "The 5AT Project - Where is it at? Where is it going?" as published in Locomotives International Issue 67 (September 2003) has been added with the kind permission of Paul Catchpole, editor of the magazine - see link from Articles and Letters page.
A new "Who's who" page has been added (find it in the main index on the left hand side of the screen). This offers photos of various people who, directly or indirectly, have become involved in the 5AT project. Not all those pictured are "actively " involved, but I think I am right in saying that all are supportive and those who are not actively involved, have been in regular (and supportive) correspondence about it. What I find most encouraging when looking through the pictures is the number of relatively young faces that appear.
A new Robin Barnes painting depicting his impression of a 5AT hauled Premium Train has been added to the Home and Artist's Impressions pages.

I expect that the next 5AT Newsletter that I send out will be to notify you of the planned formation of the "Friends of the 5AT" (Fo5AT) which we see as the next stage of the 5AT's development. Fo5AT is intended to formalize the loose organization that is so far leading this project, which will make it easier to take the project to its next stage -promoting the Business Plan to potential investors. Besides that, we anticipate that Fo5AT will have a long-term role in coordinating (perhaps even project managing) the work of the investors, designers and the rail industry in bringing the locomotive to the rails, and in helping to ensure that it is operated successfully and profitably when it is completed.

A draft constitution for Fo5AT has been prepared and will be circulated to all Interest Group members when we notify you of our intention to formalize the organization. Three levels of membership will be offered initially:

Full Membership (by invitation) for people who are (or who are willing to become) actively involved in the work of the organization;
Associate (non-voting) membership for those who want to be kept up to date with developments without being actively involved in the work;
Corporate Membership for the representation of corporations that wish to be involved with the project.

I trust that we can look forward to your joining Fo5AT in one capacity or another when the time comes.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

19th Sept 2003

CIRCULAR TO "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

A few news updates about the 5AT project and its website:

Firstly, it's pleasing to announce that the website received its first 10,000 hits in the 350 days since I set up a counter on it, representing an average rate of 28.6 hits per day. Equally pleasing is the fact that the hit rate has increased consistently from less than 20 per day 12 months ago, and now stands at 28.8 hits per day. No doubt the rate will increase further if/when we get the project started and start generating some publicity about it.

I've made a few more changes to the website recently including reference an article about the project that has just been published in Locomotives International Issue No 67 (Sept 2003) titled "The 5AT Project - Where is it at? Where is it going?". "Locomotives International" is published by Paul Catchpole at The Haven, Trevilley Lane, St. Teath, Cornwall, PL30 3JS Great Britain. He can also be contacted by email at: locomotives.international@talk21.com (see web site: www.locomotivesinternational.co.uk).

In addition, there is a copy of an article titled "Steam Ready to Ride Again on the Rails" published in The Engineer early this year which described some of the recent work of Roger Waller of DLM in Switzerland. Another obituary to Ing. L.D. Porta is also included, as published in Continental Railway Journal.

I've just added references to a few other recent articles in Steam Railway and other magazines not directly related to the 5AT, but on the subject of "modern steam", plus another obituary to L.D. Porta published in Railfan and Railroad magazine.

An informal but nevertheless inaugural meeting of the 5AT "leading group" was held at the house of project leader Dr. Alan Fozard on 25th August and attended by several people who expect to be involved in the implementation of the project. Discussions focussed on the organization and operation of the Engineering Group that will undertake the detail design, manufacturing supervision, commissioning and testing of the prototype locomotive; the proposed support group to be called "Friends of the 5AT"; the finalization of the Business Plan for the project; the Brienz Congress presentation; contacts with rail industry and related organizations.

I also had a lengthy meeting with Dave Wardale last Sunday when he passed through Beijing on his way to a trekking holiday in the Himalayas. Our discussion focussed on several project-related issues and included a lengthy session in which Dave provided verbal answers to several technical questions that have been put to me by readers of the website. I hope to add some of these answers to the FAQ page of the website once I have Dave's confirmation that I've recorded his answers correctly.

Lastly (and for the last time) a final call for the "First World Steam and Tourist Train Congress" is now just two weeks away. This inaugural event is being held in Brienz, Switzerland, from Sunday 5th October to Wednesday 8th October, where on the Monday Dr. Alan Fozard (author of the 5AT Business Plan) will be presenting a paper titled "Making the Commercial Case for the 5AT". Once again I encourage, urge and cajole all of you who are interested and able, to come and attend. At least four of the 5AT Project's "leading group" will be attending including Alan Fozard, David Smith (soon also to have a Dr in front of his name); Martyn Bane and myself. We're looking for all the support (and supporters) we can get there!

As indicated before 100 copies of the latest issue of "Locomotives International" containing the latest article on the 5AT Project will be available for us to hand out to congress attendees. Many thanks again to Paul Catchpole for his generous donation.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

25th Aug 2003

CIRCULAR TO "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

I was having trouble with my SMTP (mail-sending) server at the time I sent out my last circular message on 4th August, and I'm not sure that it got distributed properly. Hence I thought I would repeat the news items that were in it (please forgive me if you've seen them before) and perhaps add a few more notes on the latest news.

First a "news update":

I guess that quite a few of the messages that I sent out did actually get through because there's been quite a big jump in the number of "hits" on the 5AT website, which now total over 9450 with the average daily hit rate gradually increasing (which is in itself encouraging) to the current figure of 28.4. I'm confident that we'll comfortably exceed the 10,000 mark in the first 12 month period since I began the count.
There's also been a bit of a jump in the number of new people writing to me to express interest in the project, which is encouraging - the numbers are still not enormous (thank heavens, as otherwise I wouldn't cope!) but there's been eight new contacts so far this month.
For those who are interested, the next issue of the bi-monthly magazine "Locomotives International" will feature an article on the 5AT titled "The 5AT Project; Where is it at? Where is it going?" which sets out to answer those two questions in more detail than is currently displayed on the website. The magazine is produced by Paul Catchpole who tells me that the edition carrying the 5AT article is expected to be released from the printers before then end of August. If you would like to order a copy of this excellent magazine, Paul can be contacted at The Haven, Trevilley Lane, St. Teath, Cornwall, PL30 3JS Great Britain, or via email at: locomotives.international@talk21.com (web site: www.locomotivesinternational.co.uk).

Now back to the news items sent out before (which obviously are now a little out of date). These were to the effect that:

A copy of a most noteworthy obituary to L.D. Porta as published in The Guardian newspaper on 2nd August, has been reproduced on the website;
Fundamental Design Calculation FDC 1.4 "Tractive Effort Diagrams" has been added to the Calculations page, together with two diagrams relating to the calculations;
Extra diagrams have been appended with links to them added to Fundamental Design Calculations FDC 1.1, FDC 1.2 and FDC 1.3.
Several new letters and articles have been added to the Letters and Articles page, including the Porta obituary.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the "First World Steam and Tourist Train Congress" is now barely more than a month away. This important event is being held in Brienz, Switzerland, from Sunday 5th October to Wednesday 8th October, where on the Monday Dr. Alan Fozard (author of the 5AT Business Plan) will be presenting a paper titled "Making the Commercial Case for the 5AT". Once again I would encourage, urge and cajole all of you who are interested and able, to come and attend this important event. I have now booked my air ticket to travel over from China in order to be able to attend what I think will be a most interesting and informative gathering.

Details of the Congress can be found at http://www.alpenregion.ch/Dampfcongress_e.htm#program. Or email Andrew Thompson at steamcongress@yahoo.com if you want more information about it. The program looks thoroughly interesting, and several worthwhile excursions are planned. I hope to meet a lot of 5AT supporters there! Incidentally, Paul Catchpole is donating 100 copies of the forthcoming issue of "Locomotives International" containing the article on the 5AT for us to hand out to congress attendees. So if you come to Brienz, you may get one free! Many thanks to Paul for the generous offer.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

4th Aug 2003

CIRCULAR TO "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

Just a brief message to those who have not checked out the 5AT website www.5at.co.uk recently, to let you know that I've made several updates which may be of interest. These are summarized on the Updates page, and they include:

A copy of a most noteworthy obituary to L.D. Porta as published in The Guardian newspaper on 2nd August, has been reproduced on the website;
Fundamental Design Calculation FDC 1.4 "Tractive Effort Diagrams" has been added to the Calculations page, together with two diagrams relating to the calculations;
Extra diagrams have been appended with links to them added to Fundamental Design Calculations FDC 1.1, FDC 1.2 and FDC 1.3.
Several new letters and articles have been added to the Letters and Articles page, including the Porta obituary.

Incidentally, there's now been over 8500 visitors to the 5AT website since I started recording the numbers, and at the present rate the number will exceed 10,000 in the first 12 month period (ending 26th September). Encouragingly, the average "hit rate" has gradually increased over the year, and now stands at 28 per day.

Lastly, I'd like to remind you that the "First World Steam and Tourist Train Congress" will soon be on us. This important event will be held in Brienz, Switzerland, from Sunday 5th October to Wednesday 8th October. Most importantly from our perspective, Dr. Alan Fozard (author of the 5AT Business Plan) will be presenting a paper titled "Making the Commercial Case for the 5AT" at the Congress, so I would encourage, urge and cajole all of you who are interested and able, to come and attend this important event. I plan to travel over from China to attend what I think will be a most interesting and informative gathering.

Details of the Congress can be found at http://www.alpenregion.ch/Dampfcongress_e.htm#program. See also the "News Page" at www.5at.co.uk. Email Andrew Thompson at steamcongress@yahoo.com if you would like to attend the congress or want more information about it. The program looks thoroughly interesting, and several worthwhile excursions are planned. It should be an excellent event, and I hope there will be a lot of 5AT supporters present.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

15th June 2003 CIRCULAR NOTICE TO 5AT PROJECT "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

For those who have not heard the sad news, Ing. Livio Dante Porta died last week at his home in Buenos Aires at the age of 81. Whilst he lived to a good age, he had not finished his life's work, and was still actively involved in steam development to the end.

I have added a short announcement of his death on the 5AT website stating that everyone involved in the advancement of steam locomotive technology, and especially we who are involved with the 5AT project, owe Porta a very great debt of gratitude for his dedication, and for his extraordinary achievements in demonstrating what can be achieved through the adoption of scientifically based theories, and a systematic, holistic approach to steam locomotive design. We hope and expect that the 5AT will be a fitting memorial to this great man.

Best wishes

Chris Newman

22nd March 2003

CIRCULAR TO "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

Addition of a "News" page.
Some very interesting information about Shaun McMahon's recent upgrading of FCAF Garratt No 2 (link from "Engineers" page);
Additions to the FAQ pages, with further explanations behind Wardale's decision to use Walschearts valve gear, and an explanation of what the proposed fuel (gas oil) actually is.
A copy of a paper recently presented by Roger Waller to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division titled "Modern Steam - An Economic and Environmental Alternative to Diesel Traction" (links provided from the "Updates" and "Engineers" pages.)
Several more published and unpublished letters about the 5AT to be found in the "Articles and Letters" page.

Incidentally, I've recently been having trouble accessing email through the 5AT mail server, so if anyone has sent me mail that hasn't been answered, can they please resend it?

Best wishes

Chris Newman

28th Jan 2003

CIRCULAR TO "INTEREST GROUP" MEMBERS

It's some time since I sent out a "circular" about progress on the 5AT project. In fact things are progressing well even though there are few tangible results to show just yet. David Wardale is progressing with the fundamental design calculations for the locomotive, and is currently concentrating on the design of the 'motion'. In the meantime Alan Fozard has been busy revising the Business Plan and developing strategic plans and budgets for the implementation of the project.

I hope to be able to report more tangible progress in the near future, but in the meantime I thought it a good time to draw your attention to recent updates to the 5AT website www.5at.co.uk. Details of these are listed on the "Updates" page, a link to which can be found near the top of the index on the left-hand side of the screen.

Recent updates include:

Sections 1.1 and 1.2 of the General Calculations added to the Calculations page;
A FAQ section with 10 FAQs and some questions of my own which David answered for me a long time ago.
A site-search function added to the left-hand index to help visitors find items of specific interest to them;
An unpublished letter to Steam Railway from Bryan Attewell (who has kindly consented to my including it on the website) added to the "Articles and Letters" page, along with Dave Wardale's (also unpublished) response;
An English translation of Wardale's letter "Is it just a Phantom" published (in German) in the May issue 5/01 of the Lok-Report (again to be found in the "Articles and Letters" page;
A copy of a German newspaper article about the 5AT printed in Stuttgart on 27th Dec 2002.

With respect to the FAQs, David has indicated that he is reluctant to spend time responding to technical questions about the 5AT at the present time because of the disruption it causes to his concentration while he is focusing his efforts on the Fundamental Design Calculations. I have therefore prepared a limited number of commonly asked questions and I have drawn indirect responses to them by judicious copying selected text from various articles and letters written by David. All the original articles and letters that I have copied from are available for view on the website.

As I say, I hope to get back to you soon with some news of more tangible progress with the project.

Best wishes for the Chinese New Year!

Chris Newman

9th Nov 2002

News Update - 5AT Website

It's taken a while, but I've finally got together a new web page for the 5AT website in which I have documented what I have been able to find in the way of recent articles about the 5AT and other "Modern Steam" projects and associated correspondence. A link to the new page has been added to the index on the left hand side of the main page which I have substituted for the previous link to David's two recent articles in Steam Railway magazine. (I've put a link to these articles into the new page instead).

I've listed the published articles that I have discovered in three sections:

Section 1: UK Railway Press
Section 2: Overseas Railway Press
Section 3: Non-Railway Press Articles

Publications within the latter group I think are of special interest and importance, since the financial viability of the 5AT will ultimately depend on the interest of people and organizations outside the enthusiast community.

I am quite sure that there must be a lot more articles that have been written on the subject which I have not discovered, especially in non-UK publications. Of these, I currently only know of David Wardale's article in Germany's Lok-Report which I'm waiting to get a receive a copy of to include on the new web-page. So if anyone can suggest other articles or sources that might be included in the page, I will be very pleased to hear from them.

The next page that I plan to incorporate is one covering FAQs and NSFAQs (not-so-frequently-asked-questions). Lots of questions have been raised by many people (including myself) about the 5AT and David Wardale has provided many answers to them, so I think it would be useful and educational (at least to folk like myself) to consolidate them all onto a single page. I have already started work on this, and hope to have time to get it advanced enough for uploading in the next month or so after I've had a chance to run it past David when he returns from overseas.

Do please send me any comments, critisisms or suggestions about this new web-page - and on any of the other pages for that matter.

Meanwhile, many thanks to Paul Catchpole of Locomotives International, Tony Streeter of Steam Railway, Chris Milner of Railway Magazine and (in anticipation) to Martin Stertz of Lok-Report, for letting me reproduce articles from their magazines on this new webpage (not forgetting Robin Barnes for allowing me to reproduce his magnificent paintings of the locomotive).

Best wishes

Chris Newman