2-8-4 Steam Locomotives in Czechoslovakia

Class 446.0/456.0 (Locobase 1659)

Data from [] (as translated by Google). See also "CSD-Baureihe 456.0" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 29 July 2026; and "Lokomotivní rada 456.0

Krasin" on the Atlas Parnich locomotive website at [] . First two of the class arrived in 1927. Six more followed in 1928 and five in 1930. Fourteen more followed in 1931-1932.

To meet the increased demands in the later 1920s for more power and speed on excursion trains than the Class 365 2-6-2 locomotives could provide, the railway designed a passenger engine based on the Class 455.1 (Locobase 1658). When it entered service, the 446.0 class outweighed any other class in service. After its speed limit was lifted to 80 kph (50 mph), 446.0s became 456.0s.

The rigid wheelbase displayed its only flexibility by using a Krauss-Helmholz truck that held both the leading truck and the first coupled axle. A weight-saving decision to not fit brakes on the rear bogie led to moments when the engine didn't have enough brake power.

After the first two locomotives proved their mettle in a harsh 1927 winter, however, they acquired the name of the icebreaking ship Krasin. Atlas parnich locomotive comments on their good qualities: "For the CSD, these locomotives were very advantageous in operation, both in terms of performance, structural simplicity and reliability."

Their service life extended in the 1960s at several depots throughout the system. Diesels replaced them and the class closed when 456.025 left the roster on 22 January 1973.

Class 486.1 (Locobase 1668)

According to Hans Schaefer, [] (15 Sept 2003)), this 2-8-4 from CKD competed against Skoda's 4-8-2 486.0 class (Locobase 1667) as a 4-axle replacement for the Class 387 and 399 Pacifics. The 486.0 was chosen and these three were the only ones of this arrangement to be built by the Czech Railway to this design.

See the museum website [][] for a history of the CKD firm.