2-6-0 Steam Locomotives in Ecuador

FC del Sur


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class Ocho de Septiembre (Locobase 11779)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 10, p. 44. See also Martin Coombs, Part 6: Ecuadorian steam locomotive list from his Railways of the Far South series, v.1.24 (March 2026) on the web at [], last accessed 7 March 2026. Works number was 5256 in August 1880.

Since the small Mogul's name commemorated the day (8 September) that General Ventimillia seized power and that autocrat fell out of power in 1884, Martin Coombs suggests, perhaps the engine bore a different name afterward. Coombs cites Copeland when noting that a boiler in poor repair sidelined the 4 in 1893.

Back in service in 1894, the 4 derailed when it hit a horse that jumped across the track just as the locomotive came along. The accident caused a 2-day paralysis of traffic between Yaguachi and Chimbo. 4 still appeared on the roster ten years later.

Coombs reports that records suggest that the 4 wound up first on the Guayaquil a Quito, its gauge widened to the Cape Gauge, then transferred in 1910 to the FFCC de El Oro.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassOcho de Septiembre
Locobase ID11779
RailroadFC del Sur
CountryEcuador
Whyte2-6-0
Number in Class1
Road Numbers4
Gauge3'
Number Built1
BuilderBurnham, Parry, Williams & Co
Year1880
Valve GearStephenson
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)12 / 3.66
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)18 / 5.49
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.67
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)45,000 / 20,412
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)52,000 / 23,587
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)1600 / 6.06
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)25 / 12.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)37 / 940
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)130 / 900
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)14" x 18" / 356x457
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)10,536 / 4779.05
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.27
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)154 - 1.75" / 44
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) 8.44 / 2.57
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)53 / 4.93
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)12.50 / 1.16
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)640 / 59.48
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)640 / 59.48
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume199.56
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation1625
Same as above plus superheater percentage1625
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area6890
Power L12262
Power MT332.46

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