Egyptian State 2-2-2 Locomotives in Egypt

Class 14 (Locobase 10441)

Data from "The Egyptian Government Railways and Locomotives," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol X (12 March 1904), p.40. Boiler pressure is an estimate.

The author of the LM history notes that this pair had a unusual appearance. The boilers had large cast iron dome casings and a closed-in cab that had ventilating spots in the sides and front. Francis Trevithick rebuilt the engines in 1893 with new boilers, cylinders, and valve motion, which substantially altered their appearance.

Class 192 (Locobase 10436)

Data from "The Egyptian Government Railways and Locomotives," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol X (15 January 1904), p.11. Boiler pressure is an estimate.

As Locobase has noted in other entries on Egyptian Railway locomotives (e.g., Locobase 10385), the Viceroy of Egypt, Said Pasha, responded to the brightwork of a beautiful locomotive on display the way other men might to a well-shaped ankle. At the 1867 Paris Exhibition, Stephenson's well-proportioned single (works number 2012) was immaculately turned out and the ERA took ownership soon after the end of the fair.

As of the 1904 date, the 13, fitted with a Trevithick-standard boiler in 1893, was still in service, attesting both to its initial quality and to the care given it by its shopmen in Egypt.

Class 68 / 23 (Locobase 10385)

Data from "The Egyptian Government Railways and Locomotives," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol IX (10 October 1903), p. 156. Boiler pressure is an estimate. Works numbers were 850 (1862) and 1130-1131 (1865).

Among the sights seen by the Viceroy of Egypt, Said Pasha at the 1862 Great Exhibition in London were the towering drivers on this Neilson exhibit engine. Relishing the idea of traveling at 80 mph, Said Pasha bought this locomotive and two more in 1865. The profile had a dome on the firebox, a slotted semi-circular splasher, a double frame, and cylinders up on the smokebox to meet the exceptionally high drivers.

Alas for the potentate's hopes, these highflyers never saw 80 and in fact enjoyed less success on the fast runs as some of the other passenger locomotives. One reason was the design's outside cylinders, "...the large amount of dust, added to frequent sand-storms, occasionally caused the crossheads to seize in the exposed slide bars."

They were scrapped in 1894-1895.

Class Class 1 (Locobase 10456)

Data from E L Ahrons, "Thirty Years of Locomotive Progress in Egypt", Engineer, Volume 118 (27 November 1914), pp 499-501. Kitson works numbers were 3166-3171.

These were pretty important locomotives for the ERA because they were among the first new batches to be ordered in 19 years. Crimson lake in basic color, these express engines had vermillion splashers and wheels. Five years later Franco-Belge delivered four more to the same design.

See Locobases 10466-10467 for the 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 classes that used the same boilers, cylinders, and motion.