Polish State Rwys 2-8-0 Locomotives in Poland


Class Details by Steve Llanso of Sweat House Media

Class Tr-12 (Locobase 7469)

Data from Tomasz Galka's Standard Locomotives in Poland website -- [link] (accessed 4 March 2006).

Galka relates that the first 82 engines were built at Floridsdorf in Vienna. They were Austrian 270 class locomotives, which were in turn simpled and superheated versions of the Golsdorf 170 compound Consolidations. In 1923,the first of 60 engines were assembled at the WSABP (aka Parowóz) of Warsaw. Most sub-assemblies installed in these engines were originally produced in Austria and imported.

Although other railways (including the Austrian and Czech systems) found the locomotives a bit short on steam and prone to boiler priming and modified them in several ways, the Polish engines apparently were built to the original design. As such, says Galka, the small drivers and low axle loading suited the requirements of the southern and south-eastern regions in which they operated.


Class Tr-20/Tr 21 (Locobase 1689)

Data from A[nthony] E[dward] Durrant, The Steam Locomotives of Eastern Europe (Newton Abbot:David & Charles, 1966); and Tomas Galka's excellent Polish steam locomotives site (written in English, to boot) -- [link], last accessed 22 May 2008. See also DeGolyer, Volume 57, pp. 278 and Volume 63, pp. 11+. Works numbers were

1919

September 52421-52422

November 52451-52452, 52482-52485, 52562-52563, 52585

December 52615-52618, 52646-52648, 52677-52679, 52714-52715, 52728-52732, 52737-52741, 52743-52753, 52768-52776

1920

January 52797-52809, 52829-52843, 52859-52861, 52877-52890, 52895-52906, 52929-52933

February 52955-52965, 52982-52983, 52995-52997, 53015-53018, 53028, 53041, 53057

April 53082, 53092, 53137, 53174, 53199-53201

May 53227- 53228

June 53279-53280, 53313

Known as the "Pershing" class, these sturdy Consoliations endured for decades. According to Galka, this group was similar to the Pershings that came over to Europe with the Americans during World War One, but built under a separate order a year later. Piston valves measured 10" (254 mm ) in diameter.

Galka notes the good and the not-as-good about this design: "Tr20s were powerful and robust engines. Some of them, immediately after delivery, were sent eastwards, as they were badly needed during the fight against the Bolshevik assault. Despite harsh conditions, poor water quality and maintenance problems they gave good performance. They were, however, not entirely trouble-free. Some items in the driver's cab obstructed forward view and axle bearings often overheated."

He then points up two defects as "...particularly serious. Fairly soon it was revealed that rear boiler tube wall [sic - American "tube sheet"] was rather weak and prone to distortion. Connection between water box and tender frame was also too weak, so head-on collisions usually resulted in water box being rammed into the driver's cab, which was often fatal for the crew." A slight reduction in tube length, Galka believes, represents the strengthening of the tube sheet to eliminate the buckling.

Galka concludes that all 175 Tr 20s remained in service when Germany invaded in 1939. At that time, the DRG took 98 of them into the German railway system and assigned them class IDs of BR 56 37 - 38. The Soviet Union, which invaded Poland from the East two and a half weeks after the Germany came in from the north, south, and west, grabbed 66 others.

Remarkably, 88 of the BR 56 class survived to be returned to the PKP in 1945; these included engines that had been taken over the Soviet Union. Others had gone to Yugoslavia (2), Austria (3), and Czechoslovakia (7). Of the others, the Deutche Bundesbahn (West German successor to the DRG) operated 23 and the Deutsche Reichsbahn (the East German counterpart) used 16.

The last eight operating Tr 20s weren't scrapped until 1974.


Class Tr-21 (Locobase 1690)

Data from Tomas Galka's English-language Polish locomotives website [link], accessed 10 Jan 2007; and J Dabrowski, "Consolidation Locomotive for the Polish State Railways", Railway Mechanical Engineer, Volume 97, No 9 (September 1923), p. 623.

Galka notes that this was the first design to be produced by Poland's locomotive industry following the collapse of both the German and Austro-Hungarian empires and the emergence of Poland as an independent nation.

Given that they were starting from scratch, it was only reasonable that Polish designers would get help from an established firm like the Austrian St.E.G. (Maschinenfabrik der priv. Oesterreichisch-ungarischen Staatseisenbahnen-Gesellschaft). The engines were delivered with Schmidt superheaters and Knorr feed water heaters. Compared to the earlier Baldwins (Locobase 1689), the Polish design had more cylinder volume and more heating surface area.

Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media
ClassTr-12Tr-20/Tr 21Tr-21
Locobase ID7469 1689 1690
RailroadPolish State RwysPolish State RwysPolish State Rwys
CountryPolandPolandPoland
Whyte2-8-02-8-02-8-0
Number in Class142175148
Road Numbers6001-6150
GaugeStdStdStd
Number Built142175148
BuilderseveralBaldwinseveral
Year191919191922
Valve GearWalschaertWalschaertHeusinger
Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m)14.11 / 4.3016.58 / 5.05
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m)22.31 / 6.8024.92 / 7.60
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase 0.63 0.67
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m)45.23 / 13.7957.37 / 17.4955.42 / 16.89
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg)31,967 / 14,50038,581 / 17,50037,479 / 17,000
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg)126,325 / 57,300148,150 / 67,200149,914 / 68,000
Engine Weight (lbs / kg)149,914 / 68,000166,669 / 75,600176,811 / 80,200
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg)99,208 / 45,000121,254 / 55,000105,820 / 47,999
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg)249,122 / 113,000287,923 / 130,600282,631 / 128,199
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML)5546 / 21.01
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) 8.80 / 8
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m)53 / 26.5062 / 3162 / 31
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter (in / mm)51.20 / 130056 / 142253.10 / 1349
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa)192.90 / 1330200 / 1380188.50 / 1300
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm)22.44" x 24.88" / 570x63021" x 28" / 533x71124.21" x 25.98" / 615x660
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg)40,122 / 18199.0537,485 / 17002.9345,948 / 20841.69
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) 3.15 3.95 3.26
Heating Ability
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm)165 - 2" / 51176 - 2.008" / 51
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm)26 - 5.375" / 13727 - 5.23" / 133
Flue/Tube length (ft / m)14.76 / 4.5013.58 / 4.1416.14 / 4.92
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2)149.56 / 13.90170.44 / 15.84168.93 / 15.69
Grate Area (sq ft / m2)29.16 / 2.7131.85 / 2.9644.33 / 4.12
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)1815 / 168.701693 / 157.342250 / 209.03
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2)463 / 43420 / 39.03549 / 51
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2)2278 / 211.702113 / 196.372799 / 260.03
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume159.37150.83162.55
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation562563708356
Same as above plus superheater percentage6750764410,027
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area34,62040,90638,212
Power L1972710,5199684
Power MT679.02626.13569.65

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