Tr12
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Tr12-25, photographed at the Chabówka loco depot on
…and at the same location almost a year later, on
This photo of Tr12-25 was taken by Wojtek ‘Mundek’ Nowak in Kraków on
…and this one by the same author at Kraków railway station on
On Exactly three months later, on July 29, a
similar locomotive gala was organized by the Chabówka
railway stock heritage park – some photos are here.
Tr12, original version from WLF; side drawing by Z.Kołoda (source: KMD
vol.1/2007).
Tr12-25 at the 15th Steam
Locomotive Show, Wolsztyn,
JŽ 25-026 (WLF
2656/1920) began its service life as 270.164 and later served with FS
as 728.028. This engine can be seen at the railway museum in Lublana; photo taken on June 18, 2009.
ÖBB 156.3423 (ex BBÖ 270.125, WLF
2617/1920) is a Reko version with Giesl-type steam exhaust. This engine can be seen at the Heizhaus Strasshof;
photo taken on June 20, 2009.
Tr12-25 inside the shed: Chabówka,
September 6, 2009.
Tr12-25 photographed during its visit to
Warsaw on June 17, 1995. Photo by Marek Niemiec
(from my collection).
German soldiers pose on the captured Tr12-141
(WSABP 57/1927), location and date
unknown. This locomotive was taken over by NKPS in 1939 and – as indicated on the cab – assigned to the Lvov
railway. Later it became DRG 56
3541; in 1945, following short period with ÖBB and then MÁV, it
was returned and re-numbered Tr12-37, to be written off in August 1954.
Location and date unknown. Source: Lokomotiven ziehen in den Krieg by Hansjürgen Wenzel (Verlag Slezak,
1977).
KkStB 270.02 (BMMF 651/1917), probably a factory
photo. After the war this engine was impressed into ČSD as 434.102. During WWII it was taken over by MÁV and re-numbered 403,601; withdrawn in
October 1963. Source: Die Lokomotive May 1918.
An unidentified Tr12 with a special train,
photographed in Wisła in 1937. Photo from my
collection.
An unidentified Romanian class 140
locomotive, photographed in Cluj Napolca in August 1972 by someone who wishes to be known
as 8474tim (source: www.commons.wikimedia.org).
An unidentified Tr12 photographed in 1936,
location unknown. Source: National
Digital Archives (used by permission). |
Between
1897 and 1919 Austrian manufacturers (Wiener Neustadt, WLF, StEG, BMMF, Breitfeld Daněk and Krauss Linz) supplied 837 class 170 locomotives,
intended mainly for heavy freight traffic (tractive effort of 11.6 tonnes). This type had been designed by Karl Gölsdorf, who favored saturated steam and compound
engines. 170s were good steamers (heating surface of 250 sq.m)
and powerful engines, achieving 920 kW during tests. After WWI their
production was resumed in Czechoslovakia, further 71 examples being delivered
until 1922. They remained in service until 1970s. Considerable number of
these locomotives, classed Tr11, served with PKP (they are described
under a separate entry). Despite
good overall performance of class 170, heavy freighters running on saturated
steam were already becoming an anachronism. Gölsdorf
thus decided to reconstruct this locomotive, introducing steam superheating and
single-expansion steam engine. After his death in 1916 this reconstruction
was completed by his successor, Johann Rihosek.
Distance between tube plates was reduced by 500 mm and twin steam domes
connected with a horizontal tube, typical for many Austrian engines, were
replaced by a single one. Frame and motion gear remained virtually unchanged.
This modernization improved economy and slightly increased tractive effort. Further
history of this locomotive turns out to be quite complicated. New engine was
accepted by KkStB
in 1917 and classed 270. First orders were placed with BMMF (or PČM, after its
Czech name) of Prague, but this factory supplied only seven examples –
starting with 650/1917 – before the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Eighth machine, 270.8, rolled out on November 28, 1918, was the very first
brand new locomotive built for newly-formed Czechoslovakian state railways ČSD (original service numbers were
initially retained). Austrian factories, Wiener Neustadt and WLF (aka Floridsdorf),
undertook production of these locomotives only in 1919, both for new Austrian
state railways BBÖ (100 examples)
and for export, although initially there were no foreign orders and engines
were built at manufacturers’ risk (all of them were given consecutive KkStB service
numbers!). They were eventually purchased by Czechoslovakia (eight), Italy
(35, FS class 728), Poland (84),
Romania (five) and Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians (SHS, later
Yugoslavia – nine, from 1929 JDŽ
class 25) Class
270 had higher tractive effort than its predecessor and consumption of coal
and water was reduced; steam generation was, however, somehow insufficient
and there were problems with boiler priming. These deficiencies were not
ignored, particularly in Czechoslovakia, where several attempts to optimize
boiler design were made. After building 91 machines and purchasing further
seven from WLF (ČSD service numbers 270.01 to 96,
270.98 and 270.99 – later re-designated 434.101 to 198), it was decided to
reduce the number of flues from 173 to 162, with corresponding heating
surface reduction. First modernized example was supplied by WLF (s/n 2784/22, 270.288, later
434.199), but I don’t know whether these changes were also incorporated in
engines built in Austria for other customers; it was followed by 32 examples
built in Czechoslovakia (270.300 to 331, later 434.1100 through 1131). In
order to improve steaming capacity and eliminate boiler priming, twin steam
domes with horizontal connecting tube – as in former KkStB
class 170 – were re-introduced from 270.320 onwards. 14 engines built by Breitfeld-Danĕk between 1925 and 1926
(434.1132 through 1145) had completely redesigned boilers with 27 flues and
110 smoke tubes, evaporating surface being reduced to 137.7 m2 and
superheater surface increased to 60.1 m2. Finally, in 1930, ČKD (successor to Breitfeld-Danĕk)
delivered 20 machines (434.1146 through 1165) with Metcalfe injectors,
electric lighting and modified cabs. In all, ČSD had 157 machines built by Czech factories and eight from WLF. Last two were withdrawn in 1974. Romania,
having purchased five examples from WLF,
ordered further 27 from French factory Schneider & Cie
and 100 from Škoda (the latter, and possibly
all, corresponded to the modernized variant with 162 flues, but single steam
dome – all machines with twin domes were built by Breitfeld-Danĕk
and ČKD). All 132 locomotives were
delivered between 1920 and 1922 and classed 140.220. They served mainly in
northern Moldova and often ran with passenger trains. From early 1960s
onwards they were replaced by class 060DA diesels and survived in service
until 1978; last example was scrapped in 1998. Eight were built between 1928
and 1930 by Magyar Királyi államvasutak
gépgyára of Budapest for DSA (Duna-Szava-Adria) railway
and classed 140. In 1932, DSA was
absorbed by state railways MÁV and
these engines were re-classed 403. During WWII, MÁV acquired further 19 examples from Czechoslovakia and one from
Poland (ex Tr12-91, which arrived with an evacuation train); most of them were
returned shortly after the war. Several (four?) examples, taken over by MÁV after the war, went to Albania in
1948 (according to some sources, they were handed over by JDŽ). Italian state railways FS
handed over some of their 728s (probably eighteen) to JDŽ after WWII; last
Italian engines of this type survived in service until early 1960s. In
all, production of this type can be summed up as follows: -
Austria: 241; -
Czechoslovakia: PČM – 78, Škoda – 120, Breitfeld-Danĕk
– 39, ČKD – 20; 257 in all; -
Hungary: Magyar Királyi államvasutak
gépgyára – 8; -
France: Schneider – 27; -
Poland: WSABP – 58. This
gives the grand total of 591 examples. Class
270, with comparatively high tractive effort and moderate axle load of only
14.5 tonnes, was well suited to Polish conditions
immediately after WWI, especially in southern and south-eastern areas.
Austrian factories had considerable numbers of these locomotives at hand and
could supply them in a short time on favorable terms, so contracts were soon
agreed with WLF for 82 examples,
classed Tr12. Further two were supplied by Wiener Neustadt. It was
also decided to produce these locomotives in Poland at WSABP (aka Parowóz) of Warsaw,
although most sub-assemblies were in fact initially imported from Austria.
First machine assembled in Warsaw (Tr12-66) was rolled out in December 1923
and the first one built without imported components was Tr12-93 (s/n 9/1925).
Production lasted until 1927, totaling 58 examples. Polish-built engines
differed in several details. They had slightly larger superheaters,
extended smokestacks without Rihosek-type spark
arresters, Westinghouse air brakes and other minor equipment items
modifications. Running tender first during winter turned out to be very
uncomfortable for crews, as there was no protection against snow and cold
wind. Initially makeshift rear cab walls were fitted, made of wooden planks;
later production examples had modified cabs based on these of Tr21, then in
production at Fablok. As heavy freight
traffic was soon taken over by more powerful Tr20s and later Ty23s, these
engines were used mainly in southern Poland, where their advantages could be
used to the full. In 1931 all 142 examples were based there. About 20 Tr12s,
based in Lwów, were converted to oil firing. In
1939 most Tr12s (most probably 106) were captured by the Soviets and
converted to 1524 mm track; according to LOZD, 92 examples were
converted until July 10, 1940. Ex-PKP engines
retained their original numbers, but these were painted on cabs in Russian
script. Soviets acquired further locomotives of this type, this time from CFR,
after annexation of Bukovina in June 1940. Germans captured 35 examples and,
together with former Austrian and Czechoslovakian ones, classed them 5634-35.
Ex-PKP engines were re-numbered 56
3501 through 3533; two examples that served with Ostbahn retained their original
numbers. In 1941, some Soviet engines fell into German hands; nine were given
DRG service numbers (56 3538
through 56 3546), some more probably served with Ostbahn with original numbers.
After WWII Polish railways initially regained 22 machines, of which only ten
served with PKP before 1939. Some more pre-war Polish Tr12s returned
later. Two (Tr12-22 and Tr12-126), impressed into ČSD service, were returned in 1949 and 1950; five more remained
in Czechoslovakia and there is no trace of their subsequent service with ČSD, although they were allocated
service numbers. On the other hand, four ex-ČSD machines, which served with MÁV during the war and somehow made their way to Poland, were not
assigned PKP service numbers and
returned to Czechoslovakia in March 1948. Eleven were returned by ÖBB between 1947 and 1948, one by JDŽ in 1949 and one by MÁV in 1953. Finally, in 1955, twenty
engines were returned by DR, but all were in very poor condition and
only two were repaired; the rest ended up as scrap. In all, 39 engines of
that type were impressed into PKP
service and given new service numbers. Initially Tr12s were based in Warsaw, Gdańsk and Kraków and used
mainly with light freight trains. Post-war modifications were typical and
included steel fireboxes, normalized injectors and compressors and slightly
modified cabs. Some engines were fitted with electric lighting. Later, most
Tr12s were shifted to secondary duties and switching. Last examples, Tr12-1
(ex 270.225) and Tr12-5, were withdrawn in 1969. Few were subsequently used
as stationary boilers, surviving in this role until 1973. Tr12-25
(pre-war Tr12-58), withdrawn in 1966, spent some years in Przemyśl
and Tarnowskie Góry
before being transferred to the Railway Museum in Warsaw. After 20 years
there, it was overhauled in 1993 and restored in service. Based in Chabówka, it is still sometimes used with tourist trains.
According to many older Polish sources this engine was built by WLF for stock in 1921 (s/n 2742) and
initially designated 270.246. In fact this is WLF 2696/1920, initially 270.203. ‘Real’ 2742/1921 served with BBÖ as 270.246, then with DRG as 56 3475 and after WWII was
taken over by JDŽ, to become
25-015. According to the monographic article by Bogdan Pokropiński
(KMD vol.1/2007), this mismatch has
resulted from the fact that, during the war, Tr12-58 served in Austria and was
fitted with the boiler from 2742/1921 during an overhaul. This source,
however, gives that Tr12-58 was WLF 2965/1921,
initially 270.209. Be it as it was, Tr12-25, in perfect condition and fitted
with beautiful Rihosek spark arrester, is one of
the most precious steam locomotives preserved in Poland and for some time the
only operational engine of Austrian origin (later joined by Ol12-7). Apart
from the Tr12-25, ten examples have survived until today, most of them (six)
in Slovenia, the rest in Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Albania. One
of Slovenian engines is owned by the Trieste railway museum. Czech machine is
particularly worth mentioning, as this is the very first locomotive built by Škoda, s/n 1/1920 (ČSD 270.300, later 434.1100). This historical loco, based at Lužna u Rakovníka and formally
owned by the National Technical Museum, is in working order and often hauls
special trains. All ten preserved locomotives of this type represent the
original variant with single steam dome. Main technical data
1)
Including 58 machines assembled in Poland by WSABP. 2)
Boiler characteristics refer to engines built by WSABP (data in brackets for original
Austrian variant). 3)
Modified variants built in Czechoslovakia and
Hungary. 4)
Some fitted with Knorr brakes after 1945. References
and acknowledgments
-
Monographic article by Bogdan Pokropiński (KMD vol.
1/2007); -
www.parowozy.best.net
(website maintained by ‘Doctor’); -
PNPP, KT, LP, EZ, ISRSL, ITFR and EDÖ. |
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