kKStB 2-10-0 Locomotives in Austria

Class 280 (Locobase 10554)

Data from "Compound Ten-Coupled Loco, Austrian State Rys," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol XII (14 April 1906), p. 63. See also Dr. R. Sanzin, "Die Lokomotiven auf der Intertionalen Austellung in Mailand 1906, 31. 5/6 gekuppelte zweizylindrige Verbund-Gebirgszuglokomotive der oesterreichischen Staatsbahnen ...", Zeitschrift des Oesterreichischen Ingenieur- und Architeckten-Vereines Nr. 12 (22 March1907), pp. 209-210. (Thanks to Alexander Blessing for his 16 June 2024 email correcting the adhesion wheelbase and outside tube diameter.) Works numbers were 3236 in 1906, 3391-3392 in 1907.

Karl Goldsdorf designed these six-axled helper locomotives to assist passenger trains over the mountain fastnesses. The route had bridges that were relatively fragile and not capable of supporting heavy loads. Hence the need for so many axles.

The design had some hefty pulling power, being able to haul 280 tons up a 2.6% grade at 32 km/h (20 mph). The Sndbahn ordered two engines in this class in 1908 and three in 1911; these went to the Italian State Railways as war reparations in 1918 and designated Gruppo 478.

Unfortunately the Clench superheater was not very effective and the advent of the Schmidt superheater led to the supercession of this small class by other classes.

Class 380 (Locobase 10555)

Data from "kkStB 380", Wikipedia, [], last accessed 23 June 2009. StEG works numbers were 3656-3657 (road 380.01-380.02) in 1909, 3778-3785 (road 380.100-380.107) in 1911, 3946-3947, 3988-3989 (road 380.122-380.125) in 1914. Wiener Floridsdorf works numbers were 2073-2077 (road 380.116-380.120) in 1912, and 2099 (road 380.121). Wiener Neustadt works numbers were 5062-5069 (road 108-115) in 1911.

The 2-10-0s described in Locobase 10554 offered a great deal of power, but their Clench superheaters were unsatisfactory. Revising the design to accept the Schmidt superheater and piston valves created what some have called Karl Golsdorf's most successful locomotive design. The first two 380s had slide valves supplying steam to the LP cylinders; production engines used piston valves.

Certainly the power output increase of 23% over the 280 and 50% above that of the 170 class 2-8-0s suggests that the 380 cured the 280's debility. They hauled express passenger trains through the mountains on the kKStB's main lines at speeds up to 70 km/h (43 mph). Others operated on the Arlbergbahn from Innsbruck to Vorarlberg and the Wocheinerbahn, which ran south from Wocheiner to Trieste on the Adriatic.

In the dispersal of former kKStB locomotives after World War One, 12 remained with the successor BB+ (11 to be classed by the Third Reich's DRG as 58.951-961 after the 1938 Anschluss). Yugoslavia received 7 and the Italian State Railways acquired 9 as Gruppo 479.