Staatsspoorwegen series 995

For the heavy mail trains between Germany and England which crossed the network of the Staatsspoorwegen, the 2-4-0 locomotives of the series 300 were soon no longer sufficient without double heading. Beyer, Peacock & Co. used their own 4-4-0 designs as a basis and added a trailing axle to accommodate a longer firebox and to keep the axle load below the required 15 tons. However, the trailing axle was not radially adjustable, but only had lateral play.

Although the locomotives could reach high speeds with heavy mail trains, the running smoothness left a lot to be desired. What was even more dramatic was that they dealt damage to the tracks and thus even had to be stored for several months. With the number 995, the bogie was moved forward by eight inches, but this did not bring a sufficient improvement. As a result, the locomotives were initially only used on lines with a high axle load limit and the maximum speed later had to be limited to 80 km/h. In the meantime, a superheater has been retrofitted.

When the SS and the HSM merged their fleets in 1921, the five locomotives were given the numbers 2001 to 2005. There, too, attempts were made to improve the running characteristics and 2005 was given a series 3700 bogie. Since this also did not have the desired effect, the locomotives were transferred to goods service. Their service ended there between 1930 and 1932. Only 2005 was converted into a brake van for dynamometer trains and was used in this role until 1955.