FC de C+cuta 2-4-0 Locomotives in Colombia


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class America (Locobase 13782)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University Volume 36, p. 328. Works number was 36094 in February 1911.

Procured through Yglesias Lobo & Company, this little 6-wheeler ran on a rail line located in Eastern Colombia practically on the border with Venezuela and about 75 miles southwest of Lake Maracaibo. A former capital of New Granada, the city itself is the last relatively low-lying population center (900 feet ASL) before the mountains of Colombia and Venezuela. It offered a transhipment link between Colombia' Pacific ports and access to the Caribbean through Lake Maracaibo.

As the city recovered from a disastrous 1875 earthquake, attempts to revive its economy prompted the construction of the FC de C+cuta. The railway first opened to traffic in 1888 on the Norte line to Puerto Santander and Puerto Villamizar on the Rio Zulia on the way to Lake Maracaibo. This line remained in service the longest, only being closed in 1960. Eleven years later, the railway completed another line to the border (La Frontera) at San Antonio de Tachira; this handled most of the passenger traffic. Both of these routes took advantage of river valleys, but capacity clearly was limited. The Frontera line was the first to close in 1933.

Almost 3 decades after that, FC de C+cuta struck out for Bogota to the south, but by 1930 had run only as far as Pamplona. That line closed in 1936.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassAmerica
Locobase ID13782
RailroadFC de C+cuta
CountryColombia
Whyte2-4-0
Number in Class1
Road Numbers4
GaugeMetre
Number Built1
BuilderBaldwin
Year1911
Valve GearStephenson
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)6 / 1.83
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)12.42 / 3.79
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.48
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)27.96 / 8.52
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)30,000 / 13,608
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)35,000 / 15,876
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)15,000 / 6804
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)50,000 / 22,680
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)800 / 3.03
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)25 / 12.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)37 / 940
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)150 / 1030
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)11" x 16" / 279x406
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)6671 / 3025.92
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.50
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)111 - 1.5" / 38
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) 6.58 / 2.01
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)40.20 / 3.73
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) 9.20 / 0.85
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)324 / 30.10
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)324 / 30.10
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume184.10
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation1380
Same as above plus superheater percentage1380
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area6030
Power L12759
Power MT405.50

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