Russian series Ф
| Russian series Ф (F) | |
|---|---|
 Fairlie
|
|
| Numbering: | different numbering, from 1912 9800–9842 |
| Number: | 45 |
| Manufacturer: |
Avonside Engine Company Sharp, Stewart and Company Yorkshire Engine Company Sigl Lokomotivfabrik Kolomna |
| Year of construction (s): | 1871, 1872, 1879, 1884 |
| Retirement: | 1940s |
| Axis formula : | C'C ' |
| Type : | Fairlie |
| Gauge : | 1524 mm |
| Length: | 13,150-13,974 mm |
| Friction mass: | 72-90.2 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 12-15.2 t |
| Top speed: | 45 km / h |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1,080-1,156 mm |
| Number of cylinders: | 4th |
| Cylinder diameter: | 381 mm 432 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 508 mm 560 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 10.5 bar |
| Grate area: | 2.2-3.24 m² |
| Evaporation heating surface: | 151.2-191.7 m² |
| Particularities: | Fairlie locomotive |
In the Russian class Ф [ ɛf ] different series of steam locomotives of the type Fairlie of the railways of the former Russian Empire with the wheel arrangement C'C 'were combined. They were used in the Greater Caucasus on the Transcaucasian Railway and for decades provided rail traffic over the Suramipass . 45 units were produced in the Avonside Engine Company , Sharp, Stewart and Company , Yorkshire Engine Company , Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik , Kolomna Lokomotivfabrik from 1872 to 1888 and achieved a considerably long service life of up to 50 years for Fairlie locomotives .
history
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In 1865 the construction of the Transcaucasian Railway began in the Russian Empire and in 1868 the railway from Tambov to Saratov . Both railway lines had similar profiles; Gradient stretches with small curve radii. In the case of the Transcaucasian Railway, this mainly affected the section over the Surami Pass in the Greater Caucasus , which had gradients of up to 4% until a base tunnel was built in 1890. For the railway administration, this meant major problems for the procurement of suitable locomotives for pass traffic, which required a high friction weight with good cornering at the same time.
In 1870, the Scottish engineer Robert Francis Fairlie demonstrated a locomotive of his own design on the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales , which was nicknamed "Little Wonder" . Ten Russian representatives from railway companies and the Institute for Railway and Communications were also present at the presentation of the machine , and as a result of the positive impressions, the first fifteen locomotives for the railway from Tambov to Saratov were delivered in 1871 . These steam locomotives were built in 1871 by the English works Avonside Engine Company in Bristol and Sharp, Stewart and Company in Manchester in three slightly different variants and appeared to be the original variant of the Fairlie system ; both boilers were supplied from a fire box. They were designated as series И, И н and 1.
In 1872 the Avonside Engine Company delivered the first four Fairlie locomotives of the К series for the Suramipass route. Four heavier and stronger Fairlies of the Л series followed three years later from the Yorkshire Engine Company. They were equipped with separate fire boxes for the two boilers. The cab was divided into two parts, one side for the driver, the other for the stoker. On the Caucasus route, the demand for transport increased steadily and the railway company needed more locomotives. In 1879 the Transcaucasian Railway received five М series Fairlies from the Sigl locomotive factory in Vienna . From 1884 the local Kolomna locomotive factory delivered further specimens of the N series that differed only slightly in their technical dimensions from previous deliveries from abroad. The Fairlie locomotives performed very well on the difficult pass route in the Caucasus.
The Ryazan-Ural Railway, which had taken over the route from Tambov to Saratov , stopped operating its Fairlie locomotives in 1887 and sold the 15 existing locomotives to the Transcaucasian Railway. In 1888 there were 45 locomotives in the Caucasus, 17 of which came from Kolomna. The pass route was operationally relieved in 1890 by the opening of the tunnel under the pass between the Likhi and Tsipa stations, the greatest gradients were eliminated. Nevertheless, the Fairlie locomotives remained indispensable on the other winding sections. In 1912 there were still 43 locomotives. Although there were attempts to replace the locomotives with less maintenance-intensive locomotives ( Д K ), there were no suitable locomotives to replace the Fairlies until then.
The steam locomotives of the Russian class Ф were originally heated with wood. The locomotives did not have a tender; they carried the fuel and water themselves. They had a barred box for the firewood on each of the boilers, reaching up to the smoke chamber . From 1910 on, the price of oil fell , and the locomotives were then converted to oil-firing . At the position of the wood store they were given a saddle tank on the boiler, arranged between the steam dryer and the smoke chamber, on which the compressed air tank for the Westinghouse brake was built. This increased the frictional weight of the locomotives somewhat, which benefited their intended use.
From 1912 onwards, all Fairlie locomotives were classified as class Ф, the previous class designation was retained as an index. Until about 1925 they also ran freight and passenger trains on the route between Chiatura and Sestaponi . In the mid-1920s, after the turmoil of the revolutionary years, freight traffic over the pass increased again, which forced the Transcaucasian Railway to use class Э locomotives on its mountain routes. Although they were able to cope with the demands in terms of tractive power, they had problems with cornering during operation. At that time, heavy freight trains were pulled by two or three locomotives, and a pushing locomotive was operating at the rear of the train, usually a Ф or a Ы .
From 1926 onwards, only the newest locomotives from the Kolomna plant of the und series remained in service and were used on the route from Kutaisi to Tqibuli and other branch lines for another 10 years . In 1932, with the electrification of the section around Chaschuri, electrical operation began over the Suramipass. From then on, the Surami electric locomotives controlled the operation over the pass.
In 1940 the Transcaucasian Railway still used six steam locomotives of the series Ф in subordinate services. There is no information about her further fate.
See also
literature
- Vitaly Alexandrowitsch Rakow: Russian and Soviet steam locomotives . Transpress, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-344-00413-1 , pp. 63-66
