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 HPS 24467 on display at the National Rail Museum, New Delhi. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Class HP (Heavy Passenger) was a broad gauge steam locomotive introduced in 1906 for heavy passenger trains on the railways in British India. It was one of the BESA locomotives developed by the British Engineering Standards Committee, later called the British Engineering Standards Association (BESA).
The HP class was the locomotive intended for heavy passenger traffic, which was first proposed in the BESA standard of 1907. [1] Like the AP class, the HP was offered with three different large tenders, the small one holding 3000 gallons of water, the medium 4000 and the large 4500.
The HP class locomotives were delivered to various railways, but only the Indian States Railways (ISR) gave their locomotives the designation HP. They were built by several British locomotive factories, including the Vulcan Foundry, Robert Stephenson and Company, North British Locomotive Company, Kitson and Company and William Beardmore and Company. [2]
Later, the HPS series was introduced, fitted with the Schmidt smoke tube superheater system - the S stands for superheated, and the HPC series for the locomotives with superheaters converted from the HP series, where the C stands for converted.
Three HPS series locomotives have been preserved:
| Working | Class | Number | Location | Built | Zone | Builders | Build No | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | HPS | 30 | Rajshahi Railway HQ | |||||
| No | HPS | 32 | Regional Rail Museum Howrah | ER | ||||
| No | HPS | 24467 | National Rail Museum | 1950 | RB | Vulcan Foundry Ltd, Newton Le Willows |
The locomotive was a two-cylinder saturated steam engine with a Belpaire firebox . The grate was arranged between the coupling gear sets, for which the wheel base between axles 2 and 3 was increased. The cylinders were arranged on the outside and the drive was on the second axle. The saturated HP class had Walschaerts valve gear with slide valves; piston valves were used in the superheated HPS and HPC classes. The running plate was set low, so splashers had to be fitted above the driving wheels. As with the AP class locomotives, the line of the driver's cab floor is raised in an arc to the height of the running plate. A small cow catcher was attached to the front buffer beam. The driver's cab was completely closed, with the rear wall of the driver's cab being formed by the three-axle tender. The three-axle tender was equipped with running boards and handrails along the side walls, which made it possible to reach the train from the locomotive while in motion. [4]
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type after a locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia was shipped across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This type of steam locomotive is commonly known as the Mountain type, though the New York Central Railroad used the name Mohawk for their 4-8-2s.
Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2023, it maintains over 108,706 km (67,547 mi) of tracks and operates over 13,000 trains daily with a fleet of 14,800 locomotives. The railways primarily operates a fleet of electric and diesel locomotives along with a few compressed natural gas (CNG) locomotives. Steam locomotives are operated on mountain railways and on heritage trains.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class C1 is a type of 4-4-2 steam locomotive. One, ex GNR 251, survives in preservation. Much like their small boiler cousins, they were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h). They were also known as Large Atlantics.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) Class 8A was a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotive built between 1902 and 1911 for handling heavy coal trains over the Pennines. They all passed to the LNER in 1923, who redesignated them Class Q4. They were withdrawn from service between 1934 and 1951.
The South African Railways Class 19C 4-8-2 of 1935 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 19 4-8-2 of 1928 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 14B 4-8-2 of 1915 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 12A 4-8-2 of 1919 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 10C 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class 10B 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class 10A 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class 3 4-8-2 of 1909 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Colony of Natal.
The South African Railways Class GM 4-8-2+2-8-4 of 1938 was an articulated steam locomotive.
SG is the name of a class of Indian steam locomotives used for freight trains. In the designation stands S for Standard, G for Goods. It was by number of built locomotives one of the largest steam locomotive classes built in United Kingdom. The design originated from a BESA standard.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 640 is a class of 2-6-0 'Mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. Commonly nicknamed "Signorine", a nickname shared with the similar Class 625, these locomotives were the first superheated steam locomotives in Italy.
The NSB type 21 was a standard gauge locomotive, suitable for lightly laid lines, introduced in 1904 for the rebuilt Bergen-Vossbanen, and was in use until NSB phased out steam in 1970-71.
The Indian Railways SP class is a class of Indian steam locomotives used for passenger trains which was built around 1905. In the designation SP stands for Standard Passenger. The design originated from a BESA standard.
The NER Class Z was an Atlantic class of locomotives designed by Vincent Raven. It was introduced in 1911.
The Class AP was a broad gauge tender steam locomotive introduced around 1907 for passenger trains on the railways in British India. It was one of the BESA locomotives developed by the British Engineering Standards Committee, later called the British Engineering Standards Association (BESA). The abbreviation AP stands for Atlantic Passenger Locomotive, where Atlantic refers to the wheel arrangement of the same name.
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| AC electric |
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| Dual (AC and DC) electric |
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| Dual mode |
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