Manila Railroad 170 class

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Manila Railroad 170 class
MRR 170 class locomotives in Legaspi.png
Two MRR 170 class locomotives; Nos. 173 and 177 double-heading the inauguration of the second Bicol Express to Legazpi on May 8, 1938.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder American Locomotive Company
(Brooks Plant)
Serial number62729–38
Build date1921-22
Total produced10
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 •  Whyte 4-8-2
 •  UIC 2'D1' h3P
Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Driver dia.60 in (1,500 mm)
Wheelbase
​
 • Engine34.58 ft (10.54 m)
 • Drivers15.75 ft (4.80 m)
Length80 ft (24 m)
Adhesive weight 119,000 lb (54 t; 54,000 kg)
Loco weight183,000 lb (83 t; 83,000 kg)
Tender weight155,000 lb (70 t; 70,000 kg)
Total weight338,000 lb (153 t; 153,000 kg)
Tender typeFour-axle tender
Fuel typeCoal, oil
Fuel capacity6,000 US gal (23,000 L) oil or 6 t (13,000 lb) coal
Water cap.5,000 US gal (19,000 L)
Firebox:​
 • Type
 • Grate area32 sq ft (3.0 m2)
Boiler pressure180 psi (1,200 kPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox176 sq ft (16.4 m2)
 • Tubes416 sq ft (38.6 m2)
 • Flues498 sq ft (46.3 m2)
 • Tubes and flues914 sq ft (84.9 m2)
 • Total surface
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area493 sq ft (45.8 m2)
Cylinders 3
Cylinder size 20 in (510 mm) diameter x 28 in (710 mm) stroke
Valve gear Walschaerts
Valve typePiston valves
Couplers Buffers and chain coupler
Performance figures
Maximum speed40 mph (64 km/h) (service)
80 mph (130 km/h) (design)
Power output1,944 hp (1,450 kW)
Tractive effort 42,840 lbf (190.6 kN)
Factor of adh. 2.78
Career
Operators Manila Railroad Company
Number in class10
Numbers171-180
LocaleSouth Main Line, Luzon
Delivered1921-22
First run1922
WithdrawnAugust 15, 1956
Preserved0
Scrapped1945, 1968
Last unit scrapped in 1968
References: [1] [2] [3] [4]

The Manila Railroad 170 class were ten 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotives operated by the Manila Railroad Company (MRR), predecessor of the Philippine National Railways. [1] They were built alongside the 2-10-2 Santa Fe-type Manila Railroad 200 class by the American Locomotive Company at its Brooks facility between 1921 and 1922. [5] During its service at the MRR, it carried passenger trains on the South Main Line between Manila and the Bicol Region. [6]

Contents

A handful of locomotives survived World War II unlike its sister the Manila Railroad 200 class and continued to serve until August 1956, when diesel locomotives started to replace them. These locomotives were ultimately scrapped without a single unit preserved like all of the Manila Railroad's tender locomotives. [7]

Background

The London-based Manila Railway Company was purchased by the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in 1916 during the height of World War I in Europe. It was renamed into the Manila Railroad Company with Col. Henry B. McCoy replacing Horace L. Higgins as the general manager. [8]

Although then-Manila Railway already had some locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company such as the 2-8-0-type 130 class, its steam locomotives (especially all of its tank locomotives) continued to be built by British manufacturers. [2] Under the new Manila Railroad administration however, its policy changed to purchasing only tender locomotives from American manufacturers. The move aimed to replace the aging British locomotives built in the 1890s and the 1900s from mainline service. [9]

The numbering of the 170 class follows suit of the Manila Railroad 160 class built in 1914. [3] Despite being the newest of the British-built rolling stock, the 160 class earned a negative reception during its operations on the Antipolo line and the South Main Line. [10] Therefore, the 160 class was included among those to be replaced by American locomotives.

Following the success of the 45 class, the Manila Railroad ordered 20 heavy-duty locomotives from the American Locomotive Company in 1921. Ten of these would become the Manila Railroad 170 class 4-8-2 for passenger service while another ten would become the Manila Railroad 200 class 2-10-2 for freight. [2]

Design

MRR No. 172 as it appeared in the Railway and Locomotive Engineering magazine in 1922. MRR 170-class Locomotive.png
MRR No. 172 as it appeared in the Railway and Locomotive Engineering magazine in 1922.

Both the 170 and 200 classes were built with the same specifications in mind. Their only differences are those related to the wheel arrangement such as weight distribution and driver diameter. The 170 class was also lighter by 5,000 pounds (2,300 kilograms) than the 200 class. [2]

According to Snowden Bell's 1922 article, the 170 class locomotives were built with interchangeable parts with the 200 class. This is to reduce the number of extra parts due to the distance between the Philippines and the United States, the latter being where the spare parts were manufactured. Both locomotives may also be powered with coal or oil, making them have the option as an oil-burning locomotive. However, the parts required for the modifications of the forward axle of the 2-10-2 arrangement were not interchangeable. [1]

Due to its similarities with the 200 class, the 170 class also had the largest cylinders of any non-articulated narrow-gauge locomotive during its time. It was not until the South African Henschel Giants of 1927 used cylinders that are wider by 0.5 in (13 mm) in diameter. However it had a comparatively small boiler and grate area. [1] The locomotives also had the latest American three-cylinder technology, which was also brought to other countries in Asia later in the 1920s such as the JNR Class C52. [11] Its four-axle tender is a heavier version of the one used by the 45 class and resembles the ones used by heavy-duty locomotives in the US. [4]

Llanso (2007) estimated that the power output of the locomotives was at 1,944 horsepower (1,450 kilowatts). It would be rated between the contemporary PNR 900 class at the lower-end and the INKA CC300 at the higher-end. [2]

Service

Manila Railroad 179, the latest of the class, refueling its oil tender in 1930. Manila Railroad 179 refueling.png
Manila Railroad 179, the latest of the class, refueling its oil tender in 1930.

The 170 class entered service in 1922. Being the passenger version of the 200 classes, it mostly operated on the South Main Line as there were not much evidence of their usage on the network's northern counterpart. [12] On May 8, 1938, two 170-class locomotives hauled nine coaches the first Bicol Express in its new terminus in Legazpi, Albay. For the remaining years of the interwar period, it hauled southern Luzon's limited express trains and was complemented by the MC class self-propelled railcars for short-range regional rail services. [13]

By the outbreak of World War II, the Manila Railroad was placed under Japanese control and its rolling stock was used by its military.

Post-war service

The Manila Railroad suffered heavily after World War II, and it was also evident with its steam locomotive fleet. Only three out of ten 170 class locomotives managed to survive the war. [7] The 200 class locomotives were also scrapped altogether after being deemed beyond repair. The Manila Railroad then received ten 4-8-2 locomotives from the United States, alongside several 2-8-2 Mikados as part of war reparations. [4] Numbered after Manila Railway 100 class of 1906, the first tender locomotives in Philippine service, the Manila Railroad 100 class complemented the 170 class on passenger services throughout Luzon.

Retirement

By 1956, all steam locomotives were retired from mainline service as diesel locomotives built by GE and the JMC-class diesel multiple units built by Japan replaced them. In 1968, No. 176 was stored awaiting to be scrapped in Tutuban alongside Manila Railroad 800 class USA No. 869. [14] These were eventually scrapped without a single unit preserved like all of Manila Railroad's tender locomotives. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine National Railways</span> Railway company in the Philippines

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-8-2</span> Locomotive wheel arrangement

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">0-6-0</span> Locomotive wheel arrangement

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used on both tender and tank locomotives in versions with both inside and outside cylinders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4-6-4</span> Locomotive wheel arrangement

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Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere the 2-10-2 is known as the Santa Fe type, after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway that first used the type in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dieselisation</span> Conversion to diesel fuel in vehicles, especially locomotives

Dieselisation is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PNR 900 class</span> Diesel-electric locomotives used by Philippine National Railways

The PNR 900 class is a class of 21 GE Universal Series diesel–electric locomotives operated by the Philippine National Railways since 1973. The locomotives comes with three different types: U14CP (1973), U14C (1979), and U15C (1991). Initially used for long-distance express services throughout Luzon, they were relegated to hauling commuter trains within Metro Manila, a task previously done by PNR's diesel multiple units fleet. This was further exacerbated by the closure of the PNR South Main Line's intercity section in 2012 after an accident in Sariaya, Quezon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE UM12C</span>

The UM12C is a type of diesel-electric locomotive manufactured by GE for Southeast Asian rail operators. It is currently in service with the State Railway of Thailand. It was also operated by the Manila Railroad Company and the Philippine National Railways from 1956 until 1999. While the units for both companies feature a shovelnose layout, the MRR locomotives were single-ended and had a cowl unit cab, the SRT locomotives are double-ended cab forward units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PNR South Main Line</span> Philippine rail line

The PNR South Main Line is one of the two trunk lines that form the Philippine National Railways' network in the island of Luzon, Philippines. It was opened in stages between 1916 and 1938 by the Manila Railroad. Services peaked in the 1940s until the late 1960s, when the system started to decline. Since 1988, it was the only functioning inter-city rail after its counterpart to the north, the North Main Line, was closed. The intercity section of the line in Laguna, Quezon and the Bicol Region was then closed and reopened repeatedly between 2004 and 2014 due to a combination of declining ridership and was closed since then. Currently, only a little more than half of line is operational as the line currently serves two commuter services, namely the Inter-Provincial Commuter from San Pedro to Lucena and the Bicol Commuter regional rail service between Sipocot, Naga Camarines Sur and Legazpi Albay, following the closure of the main line, the PNR Metro Commuter Line between Tutuban station and Laguna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Railroad 45 class</span>

The Manila Railroad 45 class of 1919 were twenty-one 4-6-0Ten-wheeler steam locomotives. Twenty locomotives were built by American light duty locomotive manufacturer H.K. Porter, Inc. between 1919 and 1921 for the Manila Railroad Company (MRR). The so-called Porters were the most successful steam locomotive class in Philippine service. They carried express trains for passengers as well as short-range maintenance trains for 70 years and served both the MRR and its successor, the Philippine National Railways. However, like all tender engines from the Manila Railroad era, the last locomotive was scrapped in the 1990s without a single unit preserved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Railroad 200 class</span>

The Manila Railroad 200 class were 2-10-2 Santa Fe steam locomotives operated by the Manila Railroad Company (MRR), predecessor of the Philippine National Railways. They were built alongside the 4-8-2 Mountain-type 170 class by the American Locomotive Company at its Brooks facility between 1921 and 1922. During its service at the MRR, it carried heavy freight trains on the South Main Line between Manila and the Bicol Region.

Manila Railway <i>Dagupan</i> class Railway Class

The Manila Railway Dagupan class comprised thirty side tank locomotives. They were built for the Manila Railway Company between 1888 and 1890, and were the first true mainline locomotives in service of the Ferrocarril de Manila a Dagupan inter-city rail line, succeeding two of five Manila-class light-duty locomotives. One of these locomotives, No. 17 Urdaneta, survives today on static display in an open-air museum in Dagupan, Pangasinan.

The Manila Railroad 160 class[a] of 1914 was a class of four 2-6-0+0-6-2 Double Mogul-type Kitson-Meyer locomotives. This particular class was the only type of articulated locomotive used by both the Manila Railway/Railroad Company, which were the predecessors to the Philippine National Railways. The class was introduced in 1914 and was originally intended for mixed traffic services on the Antipolo line. After that line's closure in 1917, the locomotives were transferred to the South Main Line to serve in Lucena, Quezon, and Pagsanjan, Laguna. All were withdrawn in 1925, shortly after the arrival of their replacements such as the Manila Railroad 200 class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Railway 100 class</span>

The Manila Railway 100 class of 1906 was a class of five 4-4-2 Atlantic type steam locomotives built by the North British Locomotive Company for the Manila Railway Company, a predecessor of the Philippine National Railways. They were the flagship locomotives of the Manila Railway from the late 1900s to the 1910s and were the first class of tender locomotives to operate in the Philippines. They hauled the Baguio Special, an express service between Manila and Baguio via Damortis station in Rosario, La Union.

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Manila Railroad 800 class <i>USA</i> Locomotives of the Manila Railroad Company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Railway 70 class</span>

The Manila Railway 70 class of 1908 was a class of at least twenty-two 0-6-2 side and well-tank locomotives built by the North British Locomotive Company. These locomotives were first put into service on a mainline during the late 1900s and early 1910s by the Manila Railway Company. Their primary purpose was to support the growing network and replace the aging Dagupan class engines. They were used on all the lines of the Manila Railway and its succeeding incarnation, the Manila Railroad. Over time, some locomotives were either scrapped or given to sugarcane plantations after being withdrawn. The last unit, No. 79, remained in service with the Pampanga Sugar Development Company as late as 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Railroad Company</span> Historical rail transport operator

The Manila Railroad Company (MRR) was a Filipino state-owned enterprise responsible for the management and operation of rail transport in the island of Luzon. It was originally established by an Englishman named Edmund Sykes as the private Manila Railway Co., Ltd. on June 1, 1887. British engineer Horace L. Higgins was then assigned at the helm in Manila as its first general manager. On July 7, 1906, a separate private entity named the Manila Railroad Company of New Jersey was established. The two companies continued to own the Luzon railroad network until February 4, 1916 when the Insular Government acquired both companies and absorbed them into the new Manila Railroad.

The Manila Railway 37 class, later classified as the Manila Railroad D class, were eight 4-6-0 Ten-wheeler steam locomotives built by Kerr, Stuart and Company.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Snowden Bell, J. (March 1922). "New Mountain Type and Santa Fe Type Locomotives for the Manila Railroad". Railway and Locomotive Engineering. New York City. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Llanso, Steve. "Manila Railroad 4-8-2 Locomotives in [the] Philippines". Sweat House Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Jonathan. "Manila Railroad steam locomotives". Iowa State University . Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "Locomotive Engineers Journal". 90. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. 1956. Retrieved February 9, 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ↑ "Manila RR 'Santa Fe' Locomotive 2-10-2 - 1922". Flickr. 19 November 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2020.(registration required)
  6. ↑ Paez, Jose (December 31, 1922). "1923 Report of the General Manager". Reports of the General Manager, Manila Railroad Company.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Passing of the Steam Engine". This Week. August 12, 1956. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Chapter I: Present Conditions". Report of Survey of the Manila Railroad Company and the Preliminary Survey of Railroads for Mindanao (Report). Chicago: De Leuw, Cather & Company. 1951. pp. 1–12.
  9. ↑ Wright, Roy (1922). Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice, Sixth Edition. New York City: Simmons-Boardman.
  10. ↑ "EN BANC - G.R. No. L-10624 - March 24, 1916 THE MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. THE INSULAR COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, Defendant-Appellant". www.chanrobles.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  11. ↑ Sasada, Masahiro (25 November 2014). 国鉄&JR保存車大全2015-2016[JNR & JR Preserved Rolling Stock Complete Guide 2015-2016] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Ikaros Publications Ltd. p. 128. ISBN   978-4863209282.
  12. ↑ Paez, Jose (December 31, 1922). "1923 Report of the General Manager". Reports of the General Manager, Manila Railroad Company.
  13. ↑ "Manila Railroad Company". Sabatino de La Vanguardia (in Spanish). May 14, 1938.
  14. ↑ Steam locos number 869 and 176 at Tutuban with a Class 3500 Diesel Hydraulic Locomotive circa 1968. 1968. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
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