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The NS 4700 series consisted of 35 steam locomotives for freight trains, which were in service with the Nederlandse Spoorwegen from 1944 to 1958.
As early as World War II, the Dutch government in London ordered 50 steam locomotives from the Swedish factory Nydqvist & Holm AB (NOHAB) in Trollhättan in order to quickly bring the fleet of locomotives, which had been severely depleted by war, up to standard. In order to save time, existing models of typical Swedish locomotives were chosen. These were 15 express locomotives with the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement (NS 4000 series) and 35 freight locomotives with the 0-8-0 wheel arrangement (NS 4700)
The 4700s were delivered in the years 1944 to 1946, following the example of existing locomotives of the Swedish private railway company Grängesberg-Oxelösund (TGOJ) and were very modern by Dutch standards. They were derived from the Swedish type M3b. Some tenders and boilers were delivered by Motala Verkstad and ASJ. The first delivered locomotive was mistakenly given the wrong number. When ordering the locomotives, the name 'Swedish Freight Locomotive' was given. The manufacturer mistook this for a type designation and therefore also called the first locomotive 'ZG1'. Just like the 4000 series, they had a 3-cylinder drive train and all axles ran in SKF ball bearings. Upon delivery, they were equipped with a large cow catcher and a large searchlight, which were immediately removed.
The driver's cabin was completely closed off with a bellows on the tender, which was identical to that of the 4000 series. In contrast to locomotives designed in the Netherlands, the instruments, such as the pressure gauge and the speedometer, were clearly arranged in front of the regulator key (drive handle). Just like the 4000 series, the 4700 series was also equipped with steel inner fireboxes. In all 4700s, these were replaced by a copper one. The locomotives had electric lighting, also in the driving gear, to facilitate night-time maintenance. This earned them the nickname Christmas tree from the staff.
In 1949 a new numbering scheme was introduced for the tenders of the steam locomotives. From that time on they were given their own number; for the 4700 series the numbers became 4016-4050, which made the tenders of the 4000 and 4700 series more easily interchangeable.
These freight locomotives were initially used for passenger trains to immediately fill the large shortage of tractive force for them. Later they ended up in the coal transport from the Limburg mining region to the west, where they performed very well. If the remaining German locomotives of the NS 4900 series (former BR50) are not counted - they hardly ran at all and quickly returned to Germany - they were the strongest steam locomotives in terms of tractive force that the NS has ever had.
At the beginning of 1955, the 4700 series was the only steam locomotive series that was still completely in service with the NS. However, that year also saw the start of the decommissioning of the 4700s. Nos. 4731 and 4734 were the last steam locomotives that still ran according to a planned timetable with the NS. They were finally decommissioned in February 1958. Together with the 4732 and a few other NS steam locomotives, they were scrapped in the spring of 1958 at the Van Dijk company in Veenendaal. The fact that the 4700s were very popular with the staff is proven by the inscription on the 4732 when it arrived at the Van Dijk scrapyard: "Rest in peace, dear Swede".
In the Haanrade – Heerlen line near Eygelshoven there was a slope with a gradient of 18 per mille. Even a 4700 could not pull a coal train consisting of 40 loaded coal wagons on its own, so another 4700 was used to push up this train. They continued this work until the last steam year 1957. When the diesel locomotives of the NS 2200 series took over this work, the 4700s remained active in these push-up services for a long time. The 4700 was coupled directly to the leading 2200 in mixed traction, or pushed at the back as a push-up locomotive.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. Locomotives of this type are also referred to as eight coupled.
The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-8-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced in 1943 for war service. A total of 935 were built, making this one of the most-produced classes of British steam locomotive. They were nicknamed Ozzies by the railwaymen.
The Railway Museum in Utrecht is the Dutch national railway museum. It was established in 1927 and since 1954 has been housed in the former Maliebaan station.
Veluwse Stoomtrein Maatschappij (VSM) is a Dutch heritage railway between Apeldoorn and Dieren. It passes through the villages of Lieren/Beekbergen, Loenen, and Eerbeek.
The NS Class 6400 is a type of Bo-Bo diesel-electric freight locomotive. 120 were built by MaK and ABB between 1988 and 1994 for Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
The Statens Järnvägar Class G11 was a class of two ex-British War Department Austerity 2-8-0 steam locomotives, numbered 1930 and 1931. They were both purchased in 1953 from Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
The NS 1600 was a series of steam engines of the Dutch national railways, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), and its predecessors Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS), Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and Nederlandsche Rhijnspoorweg-Maatschappij (NRS).
The NS 3700 class was a class of express steam locomotives with the wheel arrangement of 2'C (4-6-0) of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and its predecessor Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS).
The NS 5000 was a series of tank engines of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and its predecessor Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS).
The NS 1300 was a series of steam locomotives of Nederlandse Spoorwegen and its predecessors Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS) and Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NBDS).
The NS 600 was a series of steam locomotives of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and its predecessor Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS).
The NS 700 was a series of steam locomotives of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and its predecessors Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS) and Noord-Brabantsch-Duitsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NBDS).
The NS 1700 was a series of express steam locomotives of Nederlandse Spoorwegen and its predecessor Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS).
The NS 3500 was a series of express train steam locomotives of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) and its predecessors Noord-Brabantsch-Deutsche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NBDS) and Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS).
The NS 3500 was a series of steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways (NS), which were acquired second-hand from the Swiss railways SBB.
The NS 3900 was a series of express steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways. The NS 3900 was the last express steam locomotive specifically designed for the Netherlands. The NS 4000 series was ordered in Sweden during the war, however this series was based on an existing Swedish design.
The NS 3600 was a series of express steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways (NS) and its predecessors Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS) and Nederlandsche Centraal-Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NCS).
The NS 4000 was a series of express steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways from 1945 to 1956.
The NS 1900 was a series of express train steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways (NS) and its predecessor Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM).