Eastern Bengal State 4-6-0 Locomotives in India


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class BESA/P (Locobase 20544)

Most data from [link], a ca. 1920 Vulcan Foundry catalogue. See also Leslie S Robertson, Secretary, Report of the Locomotive Committee on Standard Locomotives for Indian Railways (London: Crosby Lockwood & Son, 2nd Ed, November 1905) and "British Engines for the Orient", Railway Times, Volume 89 (23 January 1906), pp. 42-43. See also "Thirty-Years' Development, Meter-Gage [sic] Locomotives, Indian State Railways", Railroad Age Gazette, Volume XLVII [47], No. 3 (16 July 1909), p. 110.

British Engineering Standards Association narrow-gauge version of the BESA Ten-Wheeler (Locobase 4242), a sort of half-scale HP.. The Belpaire-boilered design came in two wheel diameters; see Locobase 14422 for the pure freight version.

The Railway Times report referred specifically to the Nasmyth Wilson engines headed for the Eastern Bengal. This railway's core was a broad-gauge spine running up from Calcutta to the Ganges River, then eastward to the meeting of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. The "guaranteed" contract ran out and the Indian state took it over, adding the Northern Bengal's narrow gauge system north of the Ganges. By 1906, the Eastern Bengal included 384 miles (618 km) of broad gauge, 938 (1,510 km) of metre gauge, and 55 miles (89 km) of 2 ft 6 in gauge.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassBESA/P
Locobase ID20544
RailroadEastern Bengal State
CountryIndia
Whyte4-6-0
Number in Class
Road Numbers
GaugeMetre
Number Built
BuilderNasmyth Wilson
Year1905
Valve GearWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)12 / 3.66
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)21.12 / 6.44
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.57
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)42.19 / 12.86
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)58,240 / 26,417
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)74,704 / 33,885
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)49,280 / 22,353
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)123,984 / 56,238
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)2400 / 9.09
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 4.50 / 4
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)32 / 16
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)57 / 1448
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)180 / 1240
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)15.5" x 22" / 394x559
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)14,187 / 6435.12
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.11
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)177 - 1.75" / 44
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)11.77 / 3.59
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)108 / 10.03
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)16 / 1.49
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1062 / 98.66
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1062 / 98.66
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume221.04
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation2880
Same as above plus superheater percentage2880
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area19,440
Power L15702
Power MT647.53

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