The Bure Valley Railway in Norfolk has returned to trialling manufactured ovoids for use in their steam operation.
The supply of steam coal from Wales has now ended, and the latest supply of ovoids for the railway is a new version that is not yet widely available.
The ovoids use coal residue from the production of other ovoids with a resin binder.
Should this trial be successful, the railway plans to move to a version that includes a source of biomass, providing a suitable fuel for steam locomotives with better sustainability.
The new ovoid is quicker to ignite than other ovoids and also has a longer burn time.
This isnt the first time the railway, which is based in Norfolk, has tested ovoids. The railway has in fact tested the ovoids around 3 years ago, and has also tested them in ‘arduous' conditions, with the railway winning awards for their research work.
The results will be interesting to see. Further trials of biomass fuels will continue in the autumn. Our research and development continues
BVR Spokesperson
Just wait for the moans. Its a faily new idea so it must be wrong. From the Norfolk manual.
Would be interesting to know the actual make up of the avoids I.e from which location the coal bits come from before processing and what type of waste coal they are made from i.e anthracite etc etc.
My father who was a fireman in the real steam days said you ended up knee deep on the footplate with ovoids if the loco was a “rough rider”!!. 🚂🚂👍👍
No matter what we do, this global warming is cyclical, nothing we do will change things. Let’s get another coalmine open and carry on with our lives. My cousin worked his way up to a main line steam driver, and drove restored locomotives until his death, about 20 years ago
BR used them towards the end of steam. Nightmare to keep steam. Might be different with a small train and 25 mph running