Belgian State 2-6-2 Locomotives in Belgium

Class Type 4 (Locobase 6432)

Data from G. Brabt "Ordinary Types of Belgium State Railway Locomotives", American Engineer and Railroad Journal, Volume 67, No 6 (June 1893), pp. 288-293. See also "Belgian Rolling Stock at the Paris Exhibition", Railroad Gazette, Volume 10 (6 August 1878), pp. 431-433; and "Old Belgian Tank Locomotives", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXI [21] (15 February 1915), p. 31.

Builder Year Works numbers Road numbers

Franco-Belge 1878-1879 292-295, 302-310, 313 1087-1095,1175-1181

Tubize 1879 355-358, 362-364 1096-1099,

1172-1174, 1176

Haine St Pierre 1879 124-128, 134-135 1100-1104. 1199-1200

Cockerill 1879 1076-1083 1105-1112

Carels Freres 1879 -1880 na, 105-109 1175, 1185-1186

Tubize 1880 387, 408 1195-1196

Franco-Belge 1880 317-318, 320-325 1197-1198,

1228-1229, 1274-1277

Carels Freres 1880 121, 123-125 1225-1227, 1272-1273

Haine St Pierre 1880 143-146 1268-1271

Tubize 1881 433-437, 450-454 1434-1438, 1457-1461

Haine St Pierre 1881 157-163 1439-1441, 1462-14

Taking the Type 2 fast-freight and passenger design (Locobase 6431), the railway put spring-centered radial trucks under each end and created this tank locomotive based on the designs of Alfred Belpaire. The interesting visual result was a long profile exaggerated by the slender tanks that ran the full length and tapered in front. The carrying axles turned in radial axle boxes designed by Edward Roy,.

Obviously, the design met the requirements quite satisfactorily as several Belgian builders produced more than six dozen engines in four years. They originally served the Brussels-Namur and Brussels-Antwerp lines, but were soon moved to branch line work and local passenger trains.

Class Type 6 (Locobase 7380)

Data from Titre Exposition universelle internationale de 1878 a Paris. Rapports du jury internationale..Volume Groupe VI - Classe 64. Rapport sur le materiel des chemins de fer. p. 50 (cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?8XAE277-11.1/54/100/312/0/0 (accessed 1 September 2005) table and pages 93-95. See also "Passenger Locomotive for the Belgian State Railways", Engineering, Volume 27, No. (28 February 2022), pp. 172-174.

This engine was described by the Jury as one of the most powerful in existence at the time of the 1878 Exposition. They note that the Belpaire firebox has a large grate and substantial direct heating surface. The cylinders were located inside of the frame and Engineering's 28 February report noted that they were bolted together at the center of the engines such that "they form a good transverse stay at this point." It also liked the centerline of the valve spindle positioned "very close to the valve face, so that the valve is very directly driven--a good feature."

Yet Engineering also observed more generally that in outside frames, "it is very difficult to get thoroughly efficient transverse connexions [sic]." The report noted the care the designers took in trying establish such connections, but added "we still think that the frames will be found more flexible than is desirable after the engine has seen some service."