Ol49
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Ol49-65, photographed somewhere in
Ol49-44, preserved at Chabówka railway stock
heritage park; photo taken on
… and another example from Chabówka:
Ol49-100, photographed on the same occasion. Note different smoke lifters.
Earlier picture of the Ol49-100, taken
at the Kraków Łobzów station on October 11, 1992. Photo by Wojciech Szpigiel
(from my collection). Ol49-100 participated in the steam locomotive parade on
Another picture of the Ol49-44, taken on
Ol49-79 (Fablok
3190/1953), preserved at the Zduńska Wola Karsznice depot; photo taken on
Ol49 side drawing, taken from PPN.
Ol49-50, beautifully preserved at the Toruń
Kluczyki depot. Photo taken on
First Ol49 purchased by PKP: Ol49-1 can be
seen at Jarocin station. Photo taken on
Another picture of this engine, taken on
This Ol49-29 is now plinthed at Stare Juchy
railway station; photo taken on
Ol49-4 + 25D49-61 (Fablok 2606/1951),
photographed in Ełk on
...and was photographed there on
This Ol49-71 (Fablok 3182/1953) was
photographed at Kościerzyna loco depot on
Derelict, but complete Ol49-69 + 25D49-59 (Fablok
3183/1954) was photographed at
Ol49-90 (Fablok 3202/1954), kept in
Pyskowice, is a private property; photo taken on
Another picture of the Ol49-90, taken on May
2, 2009.
This Ol49-20 + 25D49-57 (Fablok 2622/
1952) is plinthed in
Ol49-21 + 25D49-?, Fablok 2623/1952,
Ol49-18 + 25D49-18 (Fablok 2620/1952), preserved at Łuków depot; photo taken on
This Ol49-15 (Fablok 2617/1952) was photographed in Krzeszowice on
In 2008, Ol49-15 was transferred to
Pyskowice; this picture was taken on May 2, 2009. Some pictures of the Wolsztyn-based Ol49s can
be seen here. If wrecked locomotives don’t upset you too much, you can see some Ol49s here.
Sometimes things improve. Two engines from
the wreck section were later
photographed in the Industry and
Railway Museum in Jaworzyna Śląska, in much better condition. Ol49-93 +
25D49-93 was transferred from Ełk in
September 2005 (which made a five-day trip). Photo taken on October 28,2005.
Ol49-64 + 25D49-? (Fablok 3175/ 1953), photographed on July 8, 2009.
Another machine from Ełk, Ol49-38 + 25D49-? (fictitious designation
Ol49-27) was transferred to Korsze...
... and plinthed near the
station...
... which really makes an impressive sight! Three above photos were
taken by Damian Lemański (http://korsze-foto.blog.onet.pl)
on
Two more pictures of the Ol49-38 at Korsze…
…both taken on September 9, 2008.
This photo of Ol49-3 (Fablok
2605/1951), taken inside the engine shed in Ełk on June 15, 2006, is perhaps
not very good, but at least shows the machine to be in a good condition.
Ol49-8 + 25D49-?, Fablok
2610/1951. This engine is plinthed in Przeworsk and was photographed on
Three Wolsztyn-based Ol49s, photographed during the 2008 Steam
Locomotive Show: Ol49-23...
...Ol49-7 ‘Bob Wyatt’...
...and Ol49-99.
Again Ol49-23, photographed in Wolsztyn on July 25,
1992. Photo by Wojciech Szpigiel (from my collection).
Ol49-23 again. Photo by J.Weselik (postcard from my
collection); details are lacking. Note small stars painted on pilots. |
After WWII, most numerous passenger locomotives in the PKP inventory were elderly Ok1 (Prussian class P8) and Ok22 (its direct derivative, built in Poland on the basis of German design). Their combined number exceeded 500. These machines, despite their age, still proved very useful, especially with light local trains. Their tractive effort was, however, comparatively low in view of growing demands, and economy left something to be desired, particularly due to low boiler pressure of only 12 bar – the principal shortcoming of these otherwise very successful and reliable machines. New and modern locomotive for such service was thus necessary. Design of the new machine, designated Ol49, was submitted by the Fablok factory of Chrzanów and accepted in 1950. Axle arrangement was changed from 2-3-0 to 1-3-1, in order to accommodate wide firebox (intended to burn low-grade coal) and at the same time keep axle load within moderate limits. Such arrangement was not very widespread in Europe, at least with passenger locomotives; only Austrian and Hungarian railways ordered 1-3-1s in considerable quantities. It was more popular in the USA (known there as Prairie), but few, if any, line locomotives of that layout were built there after 1910: Pacifics ran better at higher speeds and Mikados were better balanced. Single-axle lead truck (in the case of Ol49, of Krauss-Helmholtz type) resulted in somehow uneasy running, the more so that the main rod was usually connected to the second pair of drivers, located near the center of gravity, so that such machines were prone to yaw. Moreover, Prairies were usually ‘tail-heavy’. In Ol49, weight distribution was almost perfect (17.0 tonnes on each driven axle and 15.95 tonnes on each idle axe in working order), but there was some tendency to slip, as coupled axes were shifted forward and power was transmitted to the second pair of drivers by a short main rod. For these reasons, Pacifics were preferred with passenger trains, but it was difficult to accommodate large firebox with this layout without considerable increase in length. As far as speed and weight were concerned, Ol49 was in the same category as its predecessors, weighting in working order 82.9 tonnes without tender (Ok1 and Ok22 – 78.2 and 78.9 tonnes, respectively) and having the same maximum speed set at 100 km/h. Boiler pressure was, however, increased to 16 bar and rated power was, in comparison with the Ok1, about 40 percent higher. This gave considerably better economy, but with smaller cylinder diameter (reduced from 575 to 500 mm – the smallest in Polish passenger engines) tractive effort was in fact slightly lower. Experience gained with earlier locomotives built by Fablok right after the war, namely Ty45 and Pt47, was used to a great extent, and certain features were patterned upon those of American Ty246s, which certainly influenced Polish locomotive design. In fact, Ol49 was to have belonged to the family of six post-war normalized Polish locomotives, of which two never materialized. First machine, Ol49-1 (s/n 2603) was delivered in 1951. Production lasted only until 1954 and totaled just 116 examples. Three were exported to Northern Korea in 1953 (s/n 2977, 2978 and 3001, all built in 1952) and fourth followed in March 1954. Korean engines were fitted with Janney knuckle-type couplers and different pilots, but were otherwise identical with Polish machines. Their service life was rather short, as they were withdrawn in late 1970s. In PKP service, Ol49 never supplanted Ok1 and Ok22: these three classes in fact served together. All machines were fitted with small smoke lifters, mounted on the smoke-box top, but these differed in shape. Ol49-1 to 70 (except Ol49-58) had kinked, inward-sloping smoke lifters (with additional kink of the upper edge in Ol49-4 to 11), while in remaining examples they were almost vertical. However, of machines that still exist, Ol49-79, -80, -93 and -11 have ‘older’ smoke lifters, while Ol49-60 has ‘later’ ones. Modifications during service were few. Feedwater heater, used in first machines, proved unsuccessful (due to rapid scale buildup) and was later deleted. Friedmann injector was replaced by Nathan one in later examples. Twelve machines (including prototype), based in Olsztyn, were converted to oil firing from 1965 onwards, but this was not widely adopted and coal firing was soon reintroduced. Ol49s were used with new tenders, purpose-designed for this class and designated 25D49; due to excessive heating of axle journal bearings, roller bearings were introduced in service, and in many tenders during overhauls entire undercarriage trucks were replaced with modified ones, adopted from freight cars. These, however, deteriorated running qualities and maximum speed while running tender first was later reduced to 45 km/h. Despite better economy and more modern design of the Ol49, railway engineers tended to prefer older Ok1s, which were considered more reliable and offered better running qualities. Ol49s were sometimes used with trains heavier than previously envisaged, even with express ones, although their running qualities were not entirely satisfactory for that purpose. Moreover, due to small diameter of cylinders, their startup was rather slow. Five machines (Ol49-2, Ol49-30, Ol49-62, Ol49-94 and Ol49-101) were written off as a result of crashes and accidents. Supplies of new diesel locomotives for passenger trains were, by comparison with freighters, much delayed, so this class was one of the last to be withdrawn from regular service with PKP; this took place in early 1990s, so they outlived Ok1s and Ok22s by more than ten years. This certainly had a positive side-effect: as their withdrawal took place in the period of growing nostalgia for steam, comparatively many of them avoided scrapping. According to rosters quoted in SS vol.104, in 1988 PKP inventory still included 81 Ol49s and in 1990 – 73. According to the same source, 51 machines still existed in 1999. SK 4/99 lists 31 existing engines of this class, plus 17 more as wrecks – many have later been scrapped. The list compiled by ‘Doctor’ (www.parowozy.best.net) gives 34 preserved machines in 2008 – almost 30 percent of all serving with PKP, probably the best result in Poland! Unfortunately, two Ol49s have been scrapped recently. Ol49-48, preserved (in fact, in a very poor condition) at the Piotrków Trybunalski loco depot, was captiously bought dirt cheap from PKP in early 2004 and immediately sold for scrap, which caused much stir among Polish railway fans. Over two years later the same happened to the Ol49-18, preserved at the Łuków depot. When repair works at the Gniezno depot were closed down in mid-2009, the wreck of Ol49-32 was also qualified for scrapping. The largest ‘herds’ of Ol49s in Poland can be found in Wolsztyn and Ełk. Wolsztyn depot has seven machines; Ol49-7 ‘Bob Wyatt’, Ol49-23, Ol49-69 (in fact Ol49-99, re-numbered in 2001) and Ol49-111 are kept in working order and are still sometimes used with local trains, while Ol49-60, Ol49-81 and Ol49-85 are on static display. In Ełk in 2004 there were as many as nine of them, one (Ol49-4) intended for preservation, the rest (Ol49-3, 9, 11, 38, 61, 80, 93 and 102) rusting on an abandoned siding. As far as I know, Ol49-3 was still operational in 1999. In September 2005 Ol49-93 was transferred to the Industry and Railway Museum in Jaworzyna Śląska. In January 2006, Ol49-38 (with erroneous designation Ol49-27) was taken from Ełk and plinthed in Korsze, to commemorate important contribution of railways into the development of this town. Finally, in May 2006, Ol49-4 was transferred to the Skierniewice depot, to become a part of the railway stock collection maintained by the PSMK society. In 1993, Ol49-77 (3188/1953) was sold to Denmark and is now plinthed in Randers. Three years later, Ol49-12 (2614/1951) followed, this time to Stoomcentrum Maldegem, Belgium; this machine has retained its original designation and has been used with special trains. Due to boiler certificate expiration, Ol49-12 was withdrawn in 2005 and most probably shall remain on static display. In May 2010 Ol49-60 was transferred to Leszno for external refurbishment – there are plans to put it on static display at Rundhaus Europa in Augsburg, Germany. Main technical data
1) Some sources erroneously give 115. References and acknowledgments
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Monographic article by Paweł Terczyński (SK
vol. 9 and 10/2005); -
www.parowozy.best.net
(website by Michał ‘Doctor’ Pawełczyk); -
www.holdys.pl/tomi
(website by Tomisław Czarnecki); -
AP¸PPE, PNPP. . |
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