Santo 2-8-0 Locomotives in China


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class 551 (Locobase 14648)

Data from DeGolyer, Vol 60, pp. 303. Julean Arnold, Commercial Handbook of China, Volume I, Miscellaneous Series-No 84 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1919). Works numbers were 51823-51838 in May 1919, 54863-54868 in June 1921.

These locomotives were ordered and delivered at a time when the Shantung, which had been built under German control, was operated by the Japanese after World War One.

Germany's occupation of the province in the Kiautschou Bay concession began in 1897 as a response to the murder of two German priests in Tsingtao (later Qingdao). Occupied by the German Navy beginning on 14 November, the concession was leased to Germany for 99 years in March 1898. Officers (Kapitan zur See) of the Kriegsmarine administered the concession.

Japan and the United Kingdom staged a joint siege of the city after the two countries (allied under a 1902 treaty) declared war on Germany in 1914. 4,000 German troops held out for two months before surrendering on 7 November 1914. Japanese forces occupied Shantung province (then called Santo) until 1922, when the Japanese returned Shantung (later Shandon) to China on 10 December 1922.

The railway's main line ran 245 miles (394 km) west from Tsingtao on Kiaochow (later Jiazohou) Bay to Tsinanfu, Shantung province's capital. Like many Chinese railways, the Shantung had a relatively gentle profile in which gradients didn't exceed 1%. Minimum curve radii of 990 feet (302 m) translate to a modest 6 degrees. Sidings had sharper bends, as might be expected, but even they were no more severe than 11 1/2 degrees (radii of 495 feet/151 metres).

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class551
Locobase ID14648
RailroadSanto (Shantung)
CountryChina
Whyte2-8-0
Number in Class6
Road Numbers551-560
GaugeStd
Number Built6
BuilderBaldwin
Year1919
Valve GearWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)15.50 / 4.72
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)23.50 / 7.16
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.66
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)52.17 / 15.90
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)36,000
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)138,000 / 62,596
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)159,000 / 72,121
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)103,000 / 46,720
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)262,000 / 118,841
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)6000 / 22.73
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 8.80 / 8
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)58 / 29
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)54 / 1372
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)180 / 12.40
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)21" x 26" / 533x660
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)32,487 / 14735.87
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.25
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)167 - 2" / 51
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)26 - 5.375" / 137
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)14.25 / 4.34
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)149 / 13.84
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)40.90 / 3.80
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1906 / 177.07
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)444 / 41.25
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)2350 / 218.32
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume182.87
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation7362
Same as above plus superheater percentage8761
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area31,916
Power L110,331
Power MT660.17

All material Copyright © SteamLocomotive.com
Wes Barris