Haarlemmermeer Light Railway 0-6-0 Locomotives in Netherlands


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class L3 (Locobase 20829)

Data from "The Haarlemmermeer Local Railways, Holland", Locomotive M-agazine, Volume XXVII [27] (15 September 1921), pp. 236-239. See also Wikipedia's "Haarlemmermeer railway lines" on the encyclopedia website at [link], last accessed 23 January 2021. Werkspoor produced the first 18 locomotives, Henschel added 10 more and BMAG completed the class with works numbers were 5248-5251 in 1914.

LM relates the long history of the Haarlemmermeer region, which in centuries past had contained 181 sq km (69.83 sq m) of water in low-lying land that frequently flooded Haarlem, Amsterdam (to its east), and Leyden (to its south). First conceived in 1643, plans to dyke the area and create a polder were only approved in the late 1830s and work began in May 1840.

After surrounding the lake with a dyke, engineers pumped out 724 million cubic metres (converts to a rounded 191.2 billion US gallons--seriously), engineers began transforming the ground into farmland. Over the next 12 years, pumps continued to remove 54 million cubic metres (about 14.2 billion gallons) each year until the project was complete in 1852.

It wasn't until 1911 that the demand sufficed to build a railway on the new land. The network was riginally conceived as an electrically powered light railway, but once the Holland Railway Company bought the shares, it opted for steam power.

The first lines--from Haarlem to Aalsmeer and Hoofddorp to Leyden--opened on 3 August 1912. Further expansion covered a wider area than the Haarlemmermeer polder, but just as the railway was always identified as the HESM (E for electrification that never happened), all of the lines fell under the single identification.

HSM also took delivery of the first engines, which are described in this entry. Over two dozen of these small tanks pulled both passenger and goods trains. Four larger locomotives, outfitted with superheaters, were bought for passenger service in 1920.

Alas for the HLR, the Great Depression that began in 1929 so badly affected demand that much of the network was abanadoned in the 1930s. Only routes heading south from Amsterdam south to Alsmeer and southeast from Bovenkerk to Uithoorn to Nieuwersluis-Loenen still operated. Passenger service ended in 1950. Most freight service ended in 1972.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassL3
Locobase ID20829
RailroadHaarlemmermeer Light Railway
CountryNetherlands
Whyte0-6-0T
Number in Class28
Road Numbers1005-1022, 1035-1034, 1044-1048
GaugeStd
Number Built28
Builderseveral
Year1912
Valve GearAllan
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)11.48 / 3.50
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)11.48 / 3.50
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase1
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)11.48 / 3.50
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)69,886 / 31,700
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)69,886 / 31,700
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)1003 / 3.80
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 1.10 / 1
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)39 / 19.50
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)48.50 / 1232
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)179.80 / 1240
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)12.99" x 21.65" / 330x550
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)11,512 / 5221.76
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 6.07
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)119 - 1.752" / 44.5
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) 9.51 / 2.90
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)48.44 / 4.50
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)13.46 / 1.25
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)565 / 52.50
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)565 / 52.50
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume170.14
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation2420
Same as above plus superheater percentage2420
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area8710
Power L13533
Power MT334.36

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