Moscow & Kazan 0-8-0 Locomotives in Russia

Class Ap / V (Locobase 6472)

Data from [], accessed 19 March 2005. The site does not give superheater area.

Robert Hendry's "Russian Railways Group" article credits the design to E Noltein of the M-K Railway. He originally preferred compound locomotives but was won over to superheating in the late 1890s.

In the first few years of the 20th century, the Moscow-Kazan operated 0-6-6-0 Mallets as its heaviest engines; these included some that were superheated. Noltein went for power in individual locomotives because of the unpredictable demands of this agriculturally oriented line. The engines had to be powerful enough to tackle the grain traffic in bumper years because the much lower demands in less successful seasons wouldn't pay for a second track.

As Noltein considered a design for a more powerful, but non-articulated locomotive than the Class Ah compounds then available, he also want to enlarge the grate. In the 20 locomotives built in Kolomna, he pitched the boiler high to gain the extra width he desired. He also adopted piston valves measuring 250 mm (9.84") in diameter. In many ways, the new 0-8-0 was a success, delivering improved water and fuel consumption rates and demanding less maintenance. But the Ap still fell short in tonnage rating. Over the 1.3% ruling grade, they could manage 975 tons compared to the Mallets 1,250. Thus as Noltein added 36 more 0-8-0s, he bought 35 more Mallets. By now, the class ID had been changed to V as part of the 1912 unified number system.

Surprisingly, says Hendry, all 56 locomotives somehow survived the turmoil of the First World War and the Civil War that followed. By 1930, they'd been relegated to switch duties. Although not much known of later service, members of the class probably operated well into the 1960s.