Selection of Papers by L.D. Porta: Volume 2: Adhesion, Compounding and the Tornado Proposal

The Argentinean engineer Livio Dante Porta (1922 - 2003) remains an unsung hero in the long history of steam locomotive development. Following in the footsteps of Chapelon, he rebuilt numerous locomotives in Argentina and elsewhere, and designed several revolutionary locomotives, both large and small. Like Chapelon, none of his designs were built and most of his rebuilds have been lost to scrap. He has however left a rich legacy in the form of over two hundred technical papers covering a wide range of subjects and written in his native Spanish, and French, but the majority in English. A few of his papers were published in conference proceedings; some were typed, but the majority were left as hand-written manuscripts. Many were written for specific purposes such as his Tornado proposal written in the hope of influencing the design of the planned new-build A1; likewise his "Compounding" paper that was written to try to influence David Wardale's design of the 5AT. Others would have been written for the purpose of guiding present and future engineers and designers towards the further development of steam locomotive engineering. Chris Newman has transcribed over 40 of Porta's English-language papers including the three published in this volume. Five papers were published in the first volume of this series, and 19 shorter papers appear in the 3rd volume. A fourth volume will cover feedwater heating, boiler water circulation, and boiler water treatment. A fifth volume is planned covering a miscellaneous variety of subjects. In addition, an anthology of papers about Porta and his works is also planned to celebrate the 2022 centenary of his birth. These volumes are being published through the auspices of the Advanced Steam Traction Trust under an agreement with the leading members of the Porta Family Foundation, specifically Joint Presidents Ana Maria Porta and Alejandro Dante Porta and Vice President Shaun T. McMahon who have proof-checked the pre-production copies and approved the style and presentation of the papers as edited by Chris Newman. Porta's legacy deserves to be recorded for posterity in the same way that Chapelon's did. Indeed, it may be argued that his legacy is more important because it was built on Chapelon's work and might therefore be seen as the "final word" on the commercial development of the steam locomotive. Besides that, he was a truly remarkable man, and an indefatigable proponent of steam traction, who deserves to be remembered.

About the Author :
Livio Dante Porta (1922 - 2003) was an Argentinean engineer, famed for his indefatigable advocacy for the steam locomotive. He graduated in civil engineering in 1946 and within 3 years had masterminded the rebuilding of a metre gauge Pacific locomotive into a highly sophisticated compound 4-8-0 at the behest of the Peron government. The locomotive equalled the world record for steam locomotive thermal efficiency that had been achieved by Chapelon's famed 240P locomotives. Porta went on to develop countless innovations aimed at improving the efficiency, reliability and performance of steam locomotive, famously taking over as General Manager of the 750mm gauge 225 km long Rio Turbio coal railway where his improvements to the railway's fleet of diminutive 2-10-2s achieved haulage feats that can claim to be unbeaten by steam on most standard gauge railways of the world. Most famously, he developed the Gas Produce Combustion System that served to dramatically reduce fuel loss through the chimney. Around 1970, Porta left Rio Turbio to take up the post of Head of Thermodynamics at the Argentinean National Institute of Technology (INTI) in Buenos Aires. In that role he undertook numerous locomotive developments, including suburban tank engines in Buenos Aires that outperformed new diesel multiple sets then being introduced. He developed an improved loc exhaust system (The Lempor), and effectively reduced boiler maintenance to a near-zero level by developing a new internal water treatment system. In the 1970s he provided immense assistance and guidance to David Wardale in his South African and Chinese endeavours as detailed in Wardale's book The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam. In the early 1980s he was engaged (with Wardale) by the American Coal Enterprises (ACE) consortium that had been set up to develop a new generation of steam locomotives to operate on US coal at a time when oil prices were sky-rocketing. When that enterprise collapsed c.1984, Porta moved to Cuba where he began a series of improvements to the ancient fleet of locomotives that operated the sugar traffic. He also produced a brand new design of locomotive that would have burned bagasse as its fuel. His work ended with the death of the Cuban transport minister and consequent change of policy. Porta retired around 1990 but maintained an interest in steam until his death in 2003, amongst other things acting as a consultant adviser to the FCAF, the End of the World tourist railway that operates out of Ushuaia at the southern-most tip of Argentina.