Central do Piauhy / Central do Piaui 2-8-0 Locomotives in Brazil


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class 5 (Locobase 21118)

Data from Alco class 260 S94 Order C813 builder's card supplied in February 2023 by Teemu Koivumaki. Works numbers were 64269-64270 in March 1923.

According to Al Weber's number-by-number accounting, the 5 came off the line just before the 4. In any case, though they had the same class number as the EFCB 170-194 (Locobase 21116 and 21117), these two lacked a superheater, had a lower boiler pressure and a plain firebox and grate, but longer strokes.


Class 7 (Locobase 15174)

Data from DeGolyer, Vol 66, pp. 338+. Works numbers were 56121-56123 in January 1923.

Ordered at the same time as the single Ten-wheeler shown in Locobase 15173, these wood-burning Consolidations used the same boiler and firebox, but put 7 additional short tons (6,350 kg) on the drivers for only a 2 ton (1,814 kg) gain in overall engine weight. Their tenders carried more water and more wood (3.2 cords or 11 cu m). Both types exhausted their steam through large Rushton Improved spark-arresting cabbage stacks.

Piaui (or Piauhy) State lies in the northeast of Brazil between Ceara on the east and Maranhao on the west. The railway operated between the inland city of Piracuruca (namesake of the river of which it was a port) and the port at Amarracao 148 km (92 miles away). Its first 50-km (31 mile) section inland to Bom Principio opened in 1922. In the next year, the railway reached Frexeiras, Cocal, and Deserto before opening the line to Piracuruca on 19 November 1923. Years later, the line was extended another 43 km (26.7 miles) to Periperi, which lay on the Rio dos Mattos.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
Class57
Locobase ID21118 15174
RailroadCentral do PiauhyCentral do Piaui
CountryBrazilBrazil
Whyte2-8-02-8-0
Number in Class23
Road Numbers5,47-9
GaugeMetreMetre
Number Built23
BuilderAlco-CookeBaldwin
Year19231923
Valve GearWalschaertWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)12.50 / 3.8112.75 / 3.89
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)19.58 / 5.9720 / 6.10
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.64 0.64
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)45.50 / 13.8746.08 / 14.05
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)84,500 / 38,32979,000 / 35,834
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)94,000 / 42,63889,000 / 40,370
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)71,000 / 32,20575,500 / 34,246
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)165,000 / 74,843164,500 / 74,616
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)3500 / 13.263700 / 14.02
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)35 / 17.5033 / 16.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)42 / 106742 / 1067
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)160 / 1100160 / 1100
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)17" x 22" / 432x55917" x 22" / 432x559
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)20,588 / 9338.5720,588 / 9338.57
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.10 3.84
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)203 - 2" / 51145 - 2" / 51
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)11.50 / 3.5110.50 / 3.20
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)106 / 9.85108 / 10.03
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)16 / 1.4917.90 / 1.66
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1328 / 123.38899 / 83.52
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1328 / 123.38899 / 83.52
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume229.77155.55
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation25602864
Same as above plus superheater percentage25602864
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area16,96017,280
Power L136012789
Power MT375.80311.33

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