Great Indian Peninsula 2-8-0 Locomotives in India

Class H1 (Locobase 10614)

Data from "New Locomotives for the Great Indian Peninsula Ry," The Locomotive Magazine, Vol XIII (15 April 1907), p. 64

A classic Belpaire firebox on this big engine as well as other elements identified these Consolidations as near-sisters to the 2-8-4Ts supplied to the railway only a short time before (Locobase 6746). They were purchased to manage the heavier, longer trains on the line, which had grown to as much as 1,000 tons behind the tender.

Class H4 (Locobase 20325)

Data from "Consolidation Locomotive, Great Indian Peninsula Ry", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XX [20] (15 June 1914), p. 146; and "Oil-Fired Goods Engine and Tender for the Great Indian Peninsular Railway", Vulcan Foundry Locomotive Catalogue, No. 45, found on Flicker's Historical Locomotive Images website at []. (Many thanks to Abhijit Gore for his 30 December 2020 email supplying the class ID, road numbers, and full set of works numbers; and to Jorge Cerezo Toledo for his 26 June 2021 email containing links to several sites including the Vulcan Catalogue referred to above) Works numbers were 2824-2829, 2917-2937, 2892-2916, 2938-2950 in 1913.

Obviously based on the British Engineering Standards Association HG design (Locobase 4253), nearly five dozen Consolidations were delivered to the GIPR in 1913-1914. Like many of the BESA designs, these engines had Belpaire fireboxes. The superheaters led to the adoption of piston valves.