Diagramatic cross section of the Belpaire fire box showing the increased area for evaporation and larger volume of water contained in the square section above the box. The hatched circles show the outline of the barrel to which the firebox was attached.A Round-topped firebox cross section shown for comparison. Note the angling of the stays.Pacific-type flat-topped inner firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and square in cross-section, indicated by the longitudinal ridges on the top sides. However, it is the similar square cross-section inner firebox which provides the main advantages of this design i.e. it has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox where the heat is greatest, improving heat transfer and steam production, compared with a round-top shape.
The flat firebox top would make supporting it against pressure more difficult (e.g. by means of girders, or stays) compared to a round-top. However, the use of a similarly shaped square outer boiler shell allows simpler perpendicular stays to be used between the shells.[1] The Belpaire outer firebox is, nevertheless, more complicated and expensive to manufacture than a round-top version.
Due to the increased expense involved in manufacturing this boiler shell, just two major US railroads adopted the Belpaire firebox, the Pennsylvania and the Great Northern.[2] In Britain most locomotives employed the design after the 1920s, except notably those of the LNER.
^Saunders, Lawrence; Blundstone, S. R. (April 1924). "The Belpaire Firebox". The Railway Engineer. 45: 237. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
^William D. Middleton; Rick Morgan; Roberta L. Diehl. 2007. Encyclopedia of North American Railroads. Indiana University Press. p. 1009. ISBN 978-0-253-02799-3.
The Belpairefirebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers...
Jules Belpaire (25 September 1820 – 27 January 1893) was a Belgian locomotive engineer who invented the square-topped Belpairefirebox in 1864. Belpaire was...
engineer Jurgen Belpaire (born 1973), Belgian footballer Marie-Elisabeth Belpaire (1853–1948), Belgian writer and activist Belpairefirebox, invented by...
restricted, again restricting the safe speed. The squared-off shape of the Belpairefirebox does not fit easily beneath a saddle tank, and so most saddle tanks...
Chatham Railway. It was a larger version of the D class incorporating a Belpairefirebox Following the success of his D class 4-4-0 design, Wainwright obtained...
short turntables. Because they used a King Arthur firebox, rather than the square-topped Belpairefirebox used on the Lord Nelsons, the class could be used...
with Belpairefirebox N7/1 Introduced 1925, LNER development of GER design with Belpairefirebox N7/2 Introduced 1926, LNER locos with Belpairefirebox and...
Foundation and well-known venture capitalist. As of December 2022, a new Belpairefirebox was nearing completion, although with thicker steel and other modifications...
over to the Heavy Mikado, although not that locomotive's distinctive Belpairefirebox. None of the originals built under USRA auspices or any of the subsequent...
an attempt to reduce labour costs. It followed the profile of the Belpairefirebox and extended to a curved profile forward of the smokebox front. Spun...
square-topped Belpairefirebox allows steam to be conveniently collected at its top corners and therefore locomotives with Belpairefireboxes often dispensed...
Johnson in 1899, originally with round-topped fireboxes. Henry Fowler later rebuilt them with Belpairefireboxes. They were given the power classification...
Pennsylvania Railroad and the Great Northern Railway had a preference for the Belpairefirebox. In the United States, large-scale manufacturers constructed locomotives...
of the frame, limited firebox space. For this reason, when A & G Price built their Heisler, in 1943, they used a Belpairefirebox, to mitigate problems...
introduced the basic 4-cylinder 4-6-0 layout with long-travel valves and Belpairefirebox that was to become characteristic of Great Western Railway (GWR) express...
locomotives were rebuilt, classified N2sa after the rebuild. They received a Belpairefirebox, the PRR-standard smokebox front, a raised headlight following PRR...
4-6-2s before being rebuilt. The new boiler with the long, narrow Belpairefirebox came from the Nord "Super Pacifics". With all the pipes, domes, and...
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