C.F. du Bas Congo a Katanga Beyer-Garratt Locomotives in Congo
Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media
Class 900 (Locobase 589)
Data from Gavin Hamilton's excellent compilation of Garratt data posted at [
] (6 September 2005); and A[rthur] E[dward] Durrant, Garratt Locomotives of the World (revised edition) (Newton Abbott, UK: David & Charles, 1981), p.. Works numbers were 2097-2108 in 1953
One of two Double Mountain Garratt classes supplied by this builder. A glance at the numbers shows these to have been among the largest Garratts produced - powerful, well-proportioned locomotives running on the 3/4-scale gauge. Unusually for a Garrtt, these engines had round-topped boilers.
The class went to work on the Katanga-Dilolo-Leopoldville main line, but the trains to Leopoldville (later Kinshasa) stopped at Port Franqui on the Kasai river. Continuing traffic was transloaded to river transports that carried it to the Congo river and thence to Leopoldville downstream.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | 900 |
| Locobase ID | 589 |
| Railroad | C.F. du Bas Congo a Katanga |
| Country | Congo |
| Whyte | 4-8-2+2-8-4 |
| Number in Class | 12 |
| Road Numbers | 901-912 |
| Gauge | 3'6" |
| Number Built | 12 |
| Builder | FUF Haine Saint-Pierre |
| Year | 1953 |
| Valve Gear | Walschaert |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | 30,733 / 13,940 |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 245,952 / 111,562 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 413,504 / 187,562 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 6600 / 25 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 11 / 10 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 51 / 25.50 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 45 / 1143 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 184.20 / 1270 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 19" x 24" / 483x610 (4) |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 60,290 / 27347.12 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.08 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 236 / 21.93 |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 57.40 / 5.33 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 2496 / 231.97 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 610 / 56.69 |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 3106 / 288.66 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 158.46 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 10,573 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 12,688 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 52,165 |
| Power L1 | 8039 |
| Power MT | 576.47 |