Uganda Railway Articulated Locomotives in Kenya


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class Mallets (Locobase 20307)

Data from "Exceptional Locomotives in British Design & Practice", Railway Magazine, Volume 35, , pp. 457-458 . See also "New Engines for the Uganda Railway", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XX [20] (15 July 1914), p. 149. See also the reprint of Frederick A Talbot's 1913 article online at "Railway Wonders of the World -- Railways of the Empire 22", [link], last accessed 24 October 2017.

This design might be described as a "Colonial Mallet" because its operator, which actually ran in the East Africa Protectorate, ordered the same specifications as the 0-6-6-0s delivered to the British-owned West of Goa Railway in India (Locobase 2016) and the ones purchased by the Burma Railways (Locobase 20108) In addition to the dimensions, areas, and weights, the class had the same Belpaire fireboxes and slide valves on all cylinders.

The challenges offered by the terrain and the mostly westbound import traffic meant one of these Mallets needed to pull a 170 ton train up a long 4% grade at 6 mph (10 kph) and 200 tons up a 2 1/2% grade at 12 mph (20 kph).

Work went slowly for a number of reasons Talbot spelled out in his account. His Imperial satisfaction at the results fully flowers in his last few sentences: "The journey from Mombasa to the Lake [Victoria Nyanza] occupies about forty-eight hours - a striking contrast to the four monthsñ painful, weary and hazardous toil involved before the coming of the line. The construction of the Uganda Railway offers one of the most illuminating instances in the history of the railway in the complete subjugation of a hostile country, a great deal of which was terra incognita. In fact, so little was known about the land before the engineers arrived that while construction was in progress the surveyors were able to revise the route and to reduce the original location by about 100 miles."

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassMallets
Locobase ID20307
RailroadUganda Railway
CountryKenya
Whyte0-6-6-0
Number in Class18
Road Numbers
GaugeMetre
Number Built18
BuilderNorth British
Year1913
Valve GearWalschaert
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) 8.25 / 2.51
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)24.25 / 7.39
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.34
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)48.58
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)135,072 / 60,963
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)135,072 / 60,963
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)71,008 / 24,080
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)206,080 / 85,043
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)2400 / 9.09
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 4.40 / 4
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)38 / 19
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)39 / 991
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)180 / 1240
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)15.5" x 20" / 394x508
Low Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)24.25" x 20" / 610x508
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)26,766 / 12140.87
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 5.05
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)178 - 2" / 0
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)15
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)115 / 10.68
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)33 / 3.07
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1513 / 140.56
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1513 / 140.56
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume346.39
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation5940
Same as above plus superheater percentage5940
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area20,700
Power L12285
Power MT223.77

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