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The use of the BFB was discontinued in 1948 after the amalgamation of the
Southern into British Railways and Bulleid's departure to work for CIE in Ireland. The next generation of steam traction in Britain, e.g. the BR Standards, would all use spoked wheels. Although many of the Bulleid pacifics were
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The wheel is named for Firth Brown as well as
Bulleid to give equal credit for the design: while the idea was Bulleid's, the development work, and how to cast them, was done by the company. Therefore, both shared the patent. In fact one source gives BFB as meaning Beaumont Firth Brown, referring to
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Despite the advantages for which it was designed and well suited, the BFB had a number of drawbacks. It was difficult to maintain, the hollows collected undesired particles like oil, sand and water. In addition, the wheels were found to be prone to cracking, though this was later attributed to the
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in reference to the wheel used by a number of US railway companies. The BFB is visually similar to the Boxpok, but is of a different design; the Boxpok is composed of sections fixed together to make a hollow shape, while the BFB is cast in a single piece, like a spoked wheel, the shape giving the
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to reduce weight. The advantage over a spoked wheel is that a disc wheel carries the tyre (the metal hoop shrunk onto the wheel to provide contact with the rail) more efficiently; spoked wheels are prone to shrink over time, causing the tyre to work loose, whilst in a disc wheel this is less
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In conventional spoked wheels, the tyre is shrunk onto the centre and then locked in place by a retaining 'Gibson ring' at the rear. The BFB pattern avoids this ring, and the risk of it loosening in service. The tyre is turned with a lip in the outer face, then a similar lip at the rear is
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in 1946. The pacifics also used a similar design of BFB for the non-driving carrying wheels. He also used them in his modifications to
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poorer quality of available steel used during and after the Second World War than to some intrinsic design flaw.
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rebuilt and major features such as their valvegear replaced, the BFB wheels were retained.
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The BFB comprises a single disc, with teardrop-shaped indentations to give rigidity, and
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The BFB weighed about 10 or 12 per cent less than a spoked wheel of the same size.
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The
Bulleid Firth Brown, or BFB, is sometimes, but inaccurately, referred to as a
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of
Pacific locomotives. He later used them on all subsequent designs: the
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pronounced. Disc wheels also distribute the weight more evenly, reducing
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in the late 1930s. It was a disc wheel, in contrast to the usual
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The BFB was developed in 1938 for use on
Bulleid's innovative
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in general use on
British railways. The wheel was designed by
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Type of locomotive wheel used on
Britain's Southern Railway
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cold-rolled into place, after the tyre has been mounted.
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the engineer at the firm who oversaw the development.
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49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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137:) was a locomotive wheel developed for the
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
329:Bulleid Pacifics of the Southern Region
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174:on (and thus the damage to) the rail.
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
149:and developed by the steel company
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228:in 1942; his Light Pacifics (the
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125:Bulleid Firth Brown (BFB) wheel
34:needs additional citations for
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346:. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.
244:then in use on the Southern.
242:the Maunsell Diesel shunters
336:Bulleid Last Giant of Steam
58:"Bulleid Firth Brown wheel"
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342:Mannon, Roger J. (1998).
234:Battle of Britain classes
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41:Please help
36:verification
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172:hammer blow
151:Firth Brown
367:Categories
327:CJ Allen:
322:References
248:Assessment
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155:Sheffield
99:July 2019
261:See also
305:Allen p
202:History
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383:Wheels
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338:(1968)
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191:Boxpok
161:Design
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