PKP series Px48
| PKP series Px48 | |
|---|---|
 Px48-1778
|
|
| Numbering: | Px48-1721 to -1790 Px48-1901 to -1924 |
| Number: | 111 |
| Manufacturer: | Fablok , Chrzanów |
| Year of construction (s): | 1950-1955 |
| Axis formula : | D. |
| Gauge : | 750 mm, 785 mm, 1000 mm (after conversion) |
| Length over buffers: | 12,826 mm |
| Service mass: | 22.0 t |
| Top speed: | 35 km / h |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 750 mm |
| Number of cylinders: | 2 |
| Cylinder diameter: | 320 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 360 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 13 bar |
| Grate area: | 1.2 m² |
| Superheater area : | 12.5 m² |
| Evaporation heating surface: | 39.0 m² |
| Water supply: | 6.0 m³ * |
| Fuel supply: | 4.0 t * |
| * Tender | |
The series locomotives Px48 of the Polish State Railways (PKP) are narrow-gauge steam locomotives .
history
After the Second World War , narrow-gauge railways in Poland were of considerable importance for transport tasks due to the lack of alternatives. The gauges have been standardized. The partially dismantled Pomeranian narrow-gauge network was rebuilt uniformly in meter gauge . The material required for this was obtained by re-gauging the Ełcka Kolej Dojazdowa , the Śmigielska Kolej Dojazdowa and the Średzka Kolej Dojazdowa to 750 mm. At the same time, railways with a gauge of 600 mm to 750 mm were re-gauged and in 1950 the Nasielska Kolej Dojazdowa and the Starachowicka Kolej Dojazdowa were completely rebuilt. This resulted in a considerable need for locomotives for 750 mm.
Construction began in 1948. The Px29 series, built from 1929, served as the starting point . Since it was foreseeable that the locomotive demand would not be completely covered and therefore very long journeys would have to be made, the locomotives received large storage containers and were designed as a tender locomotive with a four-axle tender .
The new series was named "Px48" according to the year of construction, the tenders were named "Pt6x48". From 1950 to 1955 93 Px48 were built for the PKP. 18 more Px48 were built for industrial railways, some with a gauge of 785 mm. These were used under their serial number. Three of the latter made their way to the Upper Silesian Narrow Gauge Railway of the PKP as Px48-2701 to -2703 after a few years . In the 1960s they were re-tracked to 750 mm and referred to as Px48-1925 to -1927.
In 1949 a variant with a three-axle tender was designed and named the Px49 series. Px49-1798 became Px48-1798 by exchanging the tender. From 1969 to 1974 17 Px48 were re-tracked to meter gauge, they were given the numbers Px48-3900 to 3916. In 1996 the Px48-3917 was created from the Px49-1791.
The Px48 were used on all 750 mm PKP railways, they served both passenger and freight traffic. After delivery of the Lxd2 series from 1967 and line closures, the Px48 became gradually dispensable. Some remained operational for tourism purposes, others were preserved as memorials or were sold abroad for tourism purposes. The use in regular, non-tourist passenger traffic ended in 2000 when the Średzka Kolej Dojazdowa was converted to railcar operation. Freight operations ended around the same time at Gnieźnieńska Kolej Dojazdowa .
Four Px48 locomotives with a gauge of 762 mm were delivered ex works to China, and another 760 mm locomotive was delivered to Albania.
The locomotive with the no. 1741 was purchased by a New Zealand businessman in 1992 and put back into service on the island of Rarotonga . For a while the locomotive was in use on a 50 m long section of track.
Only two examples of this series, which is characteristic of Polish narrow-gauge railways, are currently operational across the country: Px48-1756 in Środa Wlkp. and Px48-1907 in Krośnice.
See also
literature
- Paweł Korcz: Atlas wąskotorówek . Poznańskie Klub Modelarzy Kolejowych, Poznań 2006, ISBN 83-920757-3-0 .