Mewar State / Morvi State 4-6-0 Locomotives in India


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class 20 (Locobase 14654)

Data from DeGolyer, Volume 60, pp. 339. Works numbers were 42080-42081 in May 1915.

Lightly treading 41 1/4 lb rail (20.6 kg/metre), this little Ten-wheeler's small tubes, made of "solid brass of very best quality", had narrower diameters than most superheated engines. As a result, its superheater contributed a greater percentage of overall heating surface area. When combined with the relatively large Belpaire firebox made of arsenical copper, this engine would appear to have had quite a bit of power packed in a small frame.

The design was based on the earlier P class passenger locomotive engine, but had 7" (179 mm) piston valves. Two more with saturated boilers and larger tubes would be delivered in 1920; see Locobase 14655.

The railway ran for 93 miles (150 km) in this little state (also known as Morvi) in the Kathiawar Political Agency, northwest of Bombay (later Mumbai). It was originally laid on the 2' 6" (762 mm) gauge, but converted to the metre gauge around the turn of the century.


Class 24 (Locobase 14655)

Data from DeGolyer, Vol 60, pp. 339 and Vol 78, pp. 418. Works numbers were 53400-53401 in July 1920 and 59207 in May 1926.

Locobase cannot say why this small Indian railway reverted to a saturated boiler after procuring two superheated Ten-wheelers in 1915 (Locobase 14654). A clue may lie in the adoption of 2" (52 mm) tubes in preference to the 1 3/4" tubes used in the earlier engines. Perhaps maintenance proved a problem and the railway concluded that haulage demands didn't mandate the extra expense imposed by a a superheater. The customer also specified balanced slide valves in place of the earlier engines' piston valves. Otherwise the design was identical and also had a Belpaire firebox made of arsenical copper.

In 1926, when presumably the railway had had a chance to compare the two design, the Morvi bought another saturated locomotive.


Class unknown (Locobase 20335)

Data from "Locomotives for Mewar State," Engineer, Volume 188, No 8 (19 August 1949), p. 198.

The Engineer report said that the some of the running gear--coupling rod crankpins, connecting rod big ends, and eccentric rods--turned in Skefko self-aligning roller bearings. The big Belpaire firebox was most likely called for by the low-calorie coal it had to burn.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
Class2024unknown
Locobase ID14654 14655 20335
RailroadMorvi StateMorvi StateMewar State
CountryIndiaIndiaIndia
Whyte4-6-04-6-04-6-0
Number in Class233
Road Numbers20-2124-25, 19
GaugeMetreMetreMetre
Number Built233
BuilderBaldwinBaldwinWG Bagnall
Year191519201949
Valve GearWalschaertWalschaertWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)12 / 3.6612 / 3.6611 / 3.35
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)21.12 / 6.4421.12 / 6.4420.17 / 6.15
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.57 0.57 0.55
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)42.15 / 12.8542.15 / 12.85
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)19,488 / 8840
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)60,000 / 27,21659,000 / 26,76266,892 / 30,342
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)78,000 / 35,38076,500 / 34,700
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)52,640 / 23,87752,600 / 23,85951,520 / 23,369
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)130,640 / 59,257129,100 / 58,55951,520 / 23,369
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)2400 / 9.092400 / 9.093600 / 13.64
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT)4 / 44 / 4 5.50 / 5
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)33 / 16.5033 / 16.5037 / 18.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)57 / 144857 / 144848 / 1219
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)160 / 1100160 / 1100180 / 1240
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)15.5" x 22" / 394x55915.5" x 22" / 394x55916.5" x 22" / 419x559
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)12,611 / 5720.2612,611 / 5720.2619,092 / 8660.00
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 4.76 4.68 3.50
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)87 - 1.75" / 44130 - 2" / 51113 - 1.75" / 44
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)15 - 5.25" / 13315 - 5.25" / 0
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)11.83 / 3.6111.83 / 3.61
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)93 / 8.6492 / 8.55100 / 9.29
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)13.60 / 1.2613.60 / 1.2625.50 / 2.37
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)800 / 74.32892 / 82.87988 / 91.79
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)199 / 18.49176 / 16.35
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)999 / 92.81892 / 82.871164 / 108.14
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume166.51185.65181.46
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation217621764590
Same as above plus superheater percentage261121765279
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area17,85614,72020,700
Power L1966842778125
Power MT1065.71479.45803.35

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