China 4-8-4 Locomotives in China


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class KF (Locobase 2593)

Data from No. 63, "Mixed Traffic Engine and Tender for the Chinese National Railway", Vulcan Foundry Locomotive Catalogue found on Flicker's Historical Locomotive Images website at [link], last accessed 26 June 2021. See also Vulcan Foundry brochure preserved at [link]. (Many thanks to Jorge Cerezo Toledo for his 26 June 2021 email containing links to several sites including the Vulcan Catalogue referred to above.); and Yang Ling, "Chinese Railway Museum", Japanese Railway & Transport Review No. 58 (October 2011), pp. 42-45. Works numbers were 4668-4683 and 4696-4703.

Boasting large, 12 1/2" (318 mm) piston valves with 9" (279 mm) travel, a 2:1 doubling lever to permit finer tuning of the valve gear, electric lights, mechanical stoker, multiple valve header, and a tender booster, these engines were thoroughly modern for their day. According to Vulcan Foundry, their designer was Colonel Kenneth Cantile in his capacity as mechanical engineering advisor. The Chinese Railway Museum claims that Chinese engineer Ying Shangcai "and others" originally designed the Kf in 1933. Payment came from a fund set aside in China to pay for damages to foreign property during the 1900 Boxer rebellion.

Although the dates of their final departure from service are a bit clouded, it is known that most survived World War II and the Chinese Civil War and carried on well into the 1960s.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassKF
Locobase ID2593
RailroadChina
CountryChina
Whyte4-8-4
Number in Class24
Road Numbers600-623
GaugeStd
Number Built24
BuilderVulcan Foundry
Year1935
Valve GearWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)18.70 / 5.70
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)43.93 / 13.39
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.43
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)84.06 / 25.62
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)38,001 / 17,237
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)149,852 / 67,972
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)222,704 / 101,017
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)172,481 / 78,236
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)395,185 / 179,253
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)7999 / 30.30
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)13.10 / 11.90
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)62 / 31
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)68.90 / 1750
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)224.80 / 1550
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)21.26" x 29.53" / 540x750
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)37,016 / 16790.20
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.05
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)50 - 2.244" / 57
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)120 - 3.504" / 89
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)19.03 / 5.80
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)312.16 / 29
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)66.95 / 6.22
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)2988 / 277.59
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)1076 / 99.96
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)4064 / 377.55
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume246.27
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation15,050
Same as above plus superheater percentage18,963
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area88,419
Power L130,282
Power MT1782.03

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