Data from Roy V Wright, Fig. 2172, Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice, Tenth Edition (New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation, 1938), p. 976. See also "Bwana Mkubwa" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 2 January 2022; and "Polish World War II Memorial Site - Ndola" on the "Copperbelt - Where to go and what to see"website at [
], last accessed 2 January 2022. Works numbers were 66751 in April 1926 and 67541 in November 1927.
According to Wikipedia, Bwana M'kubwa means "big chief" or "great master" and in 1902, the name was bestowed to a settlement and a mine in Copperbelt Province, Zambia. Immediately after World War One, the company began exploring a flotation process to extract copper from low grade ores. The "Perkins Process" could handle 1,000 tons of ore per day and promised to liberate copper from an estimated reserve of 3.7 million tons.
As BMCMC sought to reach profitability, it added these two Prairie tanks to move the ore to a railhead. But the company suffered from a misguided method for assessing copper percentage and regularly lost so much money per year that the company closed the mines in 1931.
Perhaps the most profitable venture, from a humanitarian perspective, was the sheltering of thousands of Polish refugees at Bwana Mkumbwa in World War Two. At war's end in 1945, refugees could remain in Rhodesia or move along. A Polish World War II Memorial commemorates this life-saving effort.
Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
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Class | 101 |
Locobase ID | 20969 |
Railroad | Bwana M'Kubwa Copper Mining Co |
Country | Rhodesia |
Whyte | 2-6-2T |
Number in Class | 2 |
Road Numbers | 101-102 |
Gauge | 3'6" |
Number Built | 2 |
Builder | Alco-Schenectady |
Year | 1926 |
Valve Gear | Walschaert |
Locomotive Length and Weight | |
Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | 8 / 2.44 |
Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 22.50 / 6.86 |
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | 0.36 |
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 22.50 / 6.86 |
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 80,000 / 36,287 |
Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 103,000 / 46,720 |
Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | |
Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | |
Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | |
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | |
Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 44 / 22 |
Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 37 / 940 |
Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 180 / 1240 |
High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 15" x 20" / 381x508 |
Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 18,608 / 8440.46 |
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 4.30 |
Heating Ability | |
Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | |
Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | 68 / 6.32 |
Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 20 / 1.86 |
Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1014 / 94.20 |
Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 1014 / 94.20 |
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 247.88 |
Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 3600 |
Same as above plus superheater percentage | 3600 |
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | 12,240 |
Power L1 | 3674 |
Power MT | 303.74 |