The Engerth locomotive was a type of early articulated steam locomotive designed by Wilhelm Freiherr von Engerth [1] for use on the Semmering Railway in Austria. The distinctive feature of the Engerth design was an articulated tender as part of the main locomotive frame. Some of the weight of the tender therefore rested on the driving wheels, improving adhesion, while articulation allowed the locomotive to navigate the narrow curves of mountain railways.
Wilhelm von Engerth was born in Pless, Upper Silesia (Now Pszczyna, Poland) on 26 May 1814, the brother of the artist Edouard von Engerth. Initially, he studied architecture, but in 1834 he took up mechanical engineering as a profession. By the late 1850s he was the General Manager of the Imperial Austrian State Railways. Von Engerth was created a Baron (Freiherr) in 1875, and he died on 4 September 1884 in Leesdorf. [2]
Von Engerth first patented his design for an articulated locomotive on 11 December 1852. [1] [3]
The Semmering Railway, opened on 17 July 1854, [4] was one of the first true mountain railways, traversing a section of the Austrian Alps. It was characterized by steep gradients and sharp curves. To work this railway a new design of locomotive was developed. [5]
A competition was held to decide which locomotives would be bought for operation on the Semmering Railway. One stretch of the line had gradients of 1 in 40 (2.5%) and curves with a minimum radius of 190 metres (210 yd) and a maximum radius of 285 metres (312 yd). A speed of 11.5 kilometres per hour (7.1 mph) was required to be maintained and a maximum axle loading of 14 tonnes, with a boiler pressure not exceeding 8.5 kgf/cm2 (830 kPa). There were four entrants, Bavaria, built by Maffei; Wiener-Neustadt built by Wiener-Neustadt; Seraing built by Société anonyme John Cockerill in Belgium and Vindobona built by the Gloggnitz Bahn in Vienna. All four locomotives met the trial conditions, but none proved reliable in practical use. The Semmering Trials led to a number of developments in locomotive design: Fairlie's Patent of 1863, The Meyer locomotive and the Mallet locomotive. [6]
The Engerth design articulated the tender with the main locomotive frame, allowing some of the weight of the fuel and water to be carried on the driving wheels to improve adhesion. Because the tender was articulated, rather than directly attached to the frame, the locomotive could traverse relatively sharp curves, while still enjoying the advantage of the additional adhesive weight gain. The original design also included an indirect drive from the main driving wheels to the wheels under the tender. This arrangement proved too complex to maintain and was dropped from the design. [5]
Sixteen locomotives were supplied to the Semmering Railway between November 1853 and May 1854. They proved capable of 19 kilometres per hour (12 mph) uphill on gradients of 1 in 40 (2.5%). An Engerth locomotive was featured on an Austrian stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Semmering Railway in 2004. [4] The Engerth locomotive also appeared on a 25 Euro coin issued by Austria in 2004.
The design proved popular, especially for use in Alpine mountain railways. Engerth locomotives were found with wheel arrangements of 0-4-4 T , 0-4-6 T , 2-6-4 T , 0-6-4 T , and 0-8-6 T . As well as in Austria, they were used in Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Java, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. Krauss of Munich built ten locomotive for the Ponferrada - Villablino Railway (PV) in Spain. Some narrow gauge 2-6-0 T locomotives were built for the Elgoibar - San Sebastián Railway. These powerful locomotives were capable of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph) and could traverse curves of 100 metres (110 yd) radius. Two of these locomotives were later sold to the PV. Another four locomotives built by MACOSA in Spain were also bought by the PV. Three of the PV locomotives were in service until 1989. [3] Thirteen Engerth locomotives were supplied to the Oraviţa - Bazias Railway in Romania in 1854. [7]
A variation of the Engerth system was devised by Pius Fink. This entailed having the rear wheels also driven by coupling rods from a crankshaft, thus making the locomotive an 0-6-4-0T. One locomotive was built by the Staatseisenbahn Gesellschaft, Vienna in 1861 carried No. 500 and was named Steyerdorf. It was used on the Reschitza - Orawicza line. Three more were built, the last in 1867. These included No. 501 Krassova and No. 502 Gerliste. One of these four locomotives survived until 1891, becoming Hungarian State Railways No.4270. [8] [9]
One example of the Engerth type is preserved at the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne. This locomotive, No.28 Genf an 0-4-6 T built by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in 1858 to work the Schweizerische Centraalbahn (Swiss Central Railway). She retired from active service in 1899 and was used as a static boiler at Olten. She is the oldest locomotive in Switzerland. [10] [11]
Buštěhradská dráha (Buštěhrad Railway) locomotive 103 Kladno [12] is preserved in the National Technical Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. [13]
All six of the narrow gauge NÖLB Mh or 399 class Engerth locomotives survive in Austria. [14] These 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) gauge 0-8+4 (D2h2t) locomotives were built by Krauss for the Mariazellerbahn in 1906 and 1908. When the Mariazellerbahn was electrified the Niederosterreichische Landesbahn (NOLB) transferred them to their Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen system at Gmund. When the ÖBB took over in 1922 the locomotives were redesignated the 399 class.
Mh1 / 399.01 (5431/1906) is currently based at Gmünd.
Mh2 / 399.02 (5432/1906).
Mh3 / 399.03 (5433/1906) was sold to the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn. It is currently based at Zell am See.
Mh4 / 399.04 (5434/1906) is based at Gmünd.
Mh5 / 399.05 (5924/1908) is privately owned. [15]
Mh6 / 399.06 (5925/1908) is preserved on the Mariazellerbahn in Austria. [16] [17]
Chemins de fer du Midi 0-6-4 T locomotive no.312 L'Adour is preserved at the Musée Français du Chemin de Fer, Mulhouse, France. [18]
The Beer Heights Light Railway has Gem, an Engerth type locomotive on its 7+1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge line. [19]
The Semmering railway in Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag, was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the considerable altitude difference that was mastered during its construction. It is still fully functional as a part of the Southern Railway which is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways.
Mason Bogie locomotives are a type of articulated tank locomotive suited for sharp curves and uneven track, once commonly used on narrow-gauge railways in the United States. The design is a development of the Single Fairlie locomotive.
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive which carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomotive a tender holds some or all of the fuel, and may hold some water also.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.
Herbert William Garratt was an English mechanical engineer and the inventor of the Garratt system of articulated locomotives.
An articulated locomotive is a steam locomotive with one or more engine units that can move independently of the main frame. Articulation allows the operation of locomotives that would otherwise be too large to negotiate a railroad's curves, whether mainlines or special lines with extreme curvature such as logging, industrial, or mountain railways.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-6-4 locomotive has two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels.
In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotive wheel arrangement, an 0-4-4-0 is a locomotive with no leading wheels, two sets of four driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. The arrangement is chosen to give the articulation of a locomotive with only the short rigid wheelbase of an 0-4-0, but with its weight spread across eight wheels, and with all the weight carried on the driving wheels; effectively a flexible 0-8-0. Articulated examples were constructed as Mallet, Meyer, BMAG and Double Fairlie locomotives and also as geared locomotives such as Shay, Heisler, and Climax types. A similar configuration was used on some Garratt locomotives, but it is referred to as 0-4-0+0-4-0. In the electric and diesel eras, the Bo-Bo is comparable and closest to the Meyer arrangement of two swivelling bogies.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, 2-4-4 is a steam locomotive with two unpowered leading wheels followed by four powered driving wheels and four unpowered trailing wheels. This configuration was only used for tank locomotives; no tender locomotives with this wheel arrangement were made.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-2-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, two powered driving wheels on one axle, and four trailing wheels on two axles.
A Meyer locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive that has two separate bogies, upon which the boiler and firebox swivel. The design was never as popular as the Garratt or Mallet locomotives. It can be best regarded as 19th Century competition for the early compound Mallet and also the Fairlie articulated designs. Most single cab modern trains are of a similar design such as power cars, freight diesel locomotives, and some passenger locomotives.
Crocodile electric locomotives are so called because they have long "noses" at each end, reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile. These contain the motors and drive axles, and are connected by an articulated center section. The center section usually contains the crew compartments, pantographs and transformer.
The South African Railways Class NG15 2-8-2 is a class of narrow-gauge steam locomotives.
An 0-4-6T, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, is a locomotive with no leading wheels, four driving wheels fixed in a rigid frame, and six trailing wheels. Examples of this type of locomotive were built by Wilhelm von Engerth.
The articulated variant of the Bavarian B V was an unusual, 0-6-6, steam locomotive in the Royal Bavarian State Railways.
Wilhelm Freiherr von Engerth was an Austrian architect and engineer, known for being the designer of the first practical mountain locomotive. For his services he was elevated in 1875 to the baronetcy.
The South African Railways Class 18 2-10-2 of 1927 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class FC 2-6-2+2-6-2 of 1925 was an articulated steam locomotive.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-6 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and six trailing wheels on three axles. All locomotives with this wheel arrangement were tank locomotives; no 0-6-6 tender locomotives were recorded.
Nord 360 to 399, renumbered to Nord 4.361 to 4.400 in 1872, were 0-8-4T Engerth locomotives for freight traffic of the Chemins de Fer du Nord. The machines were built in 1856–1857 and retired from service in 1907–1910.
