Egyptian State Railways 545 class

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Egyptian State Railways 545 class
Type and origin
Power type steam
Builder North British Locomotive Company; Armstrong Whitworth; Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH [1] [2]
Serial number NBL 23682 – 23721; AW 585 – 604; Borsig 13983 – 14002 [2]
Build date 1928 (NBL & AW); 1931 (Borsig) [1]
Total produced 80
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 2-6-0 [1] [2]
Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Driver dia. 5 ft 6 3⁄4 in (1,695 mm) [3] [2]
Fuel type mazut [4]
Water cap 5,500 imperial gallons (25,000 l) [3]
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		 25.25 sq ft (2.35 m2) [3]
Boiler pressure 180 psi (1,200 kPa) [3]
Heating surface 1,931 sq ft (179.4 m2) [3]
Cylinders 2, outside [3]
Cylinder size 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm) [3] [2]
Performance figures
Tractive effort 26,281 lbf (116,900 N) [3]
Career
Operators Egyptian State Railways; [1] [2] Israel Railways [5]
Class 545 [3]
Number in class 80
Numbers 545 – 624 [1] [2]
Locale Egypt; [1] [2] after 1956 five in Israel
Delivered 1928; 1931 [1] [2]
First run 1928
Disposition five captured by Israel in 1956 & withdrawn by 1959; remainder in Egypt withdrawn by 1963

The Egyptian State Railways 545 class was a type of standard gauge mixed traffic steam locomotive on Egyptian State Railways (Egyptian Republic Railways after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952; now Egyptian National Railways).

Steam locomotive railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine

A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler. The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind.

Egyptian National Railways

Egyptian National Railways is the national railway of Egypt and managed by the parastatal Egyptian Railway Authority.

Contents

History

Between 1920 and 1938 various locomotive builders supplied ESR with 180 2-6-0 tender locomotives, [6] of which 80 were of the 545 class. The initial order for 58 of this class was built in Britain in 1928. Of these, 40 came from the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, Scotland and 20 from Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. [1] [2] The design was very British in style, but in 1931 Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH in Berlin, Germany supplied ESR with another 20 to the same design. [1] [2]

2-6-0 locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Mogul.

Tender (rail) vehicle for carrying a steam locomotives supply of fuel and water

A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive (itself) instead are called tank locomotives.

North British Locomotive Company defunct British locomotive manufacturer, active 1903–1962

The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp, Stewart and Company, Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company, creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe and the British Empire.

Numbers 551, 568, 573 and 596 were rebuilt in 1939 with Caprotti valve gear. [1] Number 590 was damaged at El Daba in June 1942 and withdrawn from stock in September 1943. [1]

Caprotti valve gear

The Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented in the early 1920s by Italian architect and engineer Arturo Caprotti. It uses camshafts and poppet valves rather than the piston valves used in other valve gear. While basing his design on automotive valves, Caprotti made several significant departures from this design to adapt the valves for steam. Having agreed a joint-venture with Worcester-based engineering company Heenan & Froude from 1938, Heenan & Froude fully acquired Caprotti post-World War II in 1947.

In ESR service all members of the class were painted green. [4] In August 1941 Palestine Railways started operating a through passenger service between Haifa and Cairo via El Kantara East and a newly completed swing bridge at El Ferdan; in 1942–43 number 560 had "The Orient Express" painted on the sides of its cab for hauling this service between Cairo and El Kantara East. [4]

Palestine Railways

Palestine Railways was a government-owned railway company that ran all public railways in the League of Nations mandate territory of Palestine from 1920 until 1948. Its main line linked El Kantara in Egypt with Haifa. Branches served Jaffa, Jerusalem, Acre and the Jezreel Valley.

El Ferdan Railway Bridge railway bridge

The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the western shipping lane of the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. It is the longest swing bridge in the world, with a span of 1,100 feet (340 m).

All standard gauge steam locomotives in Egypt were withdrawn by 1963. [7]

545 class in Israel

During the 1956 Israeli invasion of Sinai five members of the class were captured [5] on the former Palestine Railways main line between El Kantara East and Gaza: numbers 546, 550 and 557 (NBL works numbers 23683, 23687 and 23714) and numbers 607 and 613 (Borsig works numbers 13985 and 13991). [8] Israel Railways may have taken four of them into stock and used them around Lod in central Israel for one or two years. [5] They were withdrawn and scrapped by 1959, when steam traction on Israel Railways officially ceased. [5]

Suez Crisis diplomatic and military confrontation in late 1956 involving Egypt, Britain, France and Israel

The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli War, also named the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and Operation Kadesh or Sinai War in Israel, was an invasion of Egypt in late 1956 by Israel, followed by the United Kingdom and France. The aims were to regain Western control of the Suez Canal and to remove Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had just nationalized the canal. After the fighting had started, political pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations led to a withdrawal by the three invaders. The episode humiliated the United Kingdom and France and strengthened Nasser.

Israel Railways Transport company

Israel Railways corporation Ltd., dba Israel Railways, is the state-owned principal railway company responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Israel. All its lines are standard gauge. The network is centered in Israel's densely populated coastal plain, from which lines radiate out in many directions. In 2017, the Israel Railways carried 65 million passengers.

Lod Place in Israel

Lod is a city 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv in the Central District of Israel. In 2017 it had a population of 74,604.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Proud & Smith, 1946, page 3
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hughes, 1981, page 22
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Proud & Smith, 1946, page 5
  4. 1 2 3 Proud & Smith, 1946, page 4
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cotterell, 1984, page 101
  6. ↑ Hughes, 1891, page 33
  7. ↑ Hughes, 1891, page 15
  8. ↑ Cotterell, 1984, page 137

Sources

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