Ferrocarriles Nacionales No. 57 and 58
The location of the Colombian capital Bogotá in the middle of the Andes meant that the 132 km Girardot-Tolima-Huila line started at Girardot at an altitude of 330 meters (1,083 ft), followed the Rio Bogotá and reached the capital's suburbs at 2,620 meters (8,596 ft). This led to gradients of 4.5 percent with curve radii of up to 72 meters (236 ft). Since the Kitson-Meyer locomotives already in use there with six driving axles were soon no longer sufficient, the now nationalized railway tendered the development of even more powerful locomotives in 1934.
The need to accommodate extremely powerful locomotives on the three foot gauge again led to articulated locomotives, this time with eight driving axles. In addition to the Baldwin-supplied No. 72 simple Mallet, Kitson-Meyer developed the No. 57 of their design. As the size of the locomotive was beyond the factory's capacity, it was manufactured by Robert Stephenson & Co. in Darlington.
Number 57 therefore had the wheel arrangement 2-8-0+0-8-2T and, in accordance with the Kitson-Meyer design, had the firebox between the bogies. The water supplies consisted of a total of 11,340 liters on the two sides of the boiler and 6,804 liters on the rear bogie. This ensured an even weight distribution that hardly changed even as the amount of water dwindled. Since there was an oil refinery in their working area, it was fired with oil. 5,000 liters of it were also stored on the rear bogie.
Since the locomotive apparently performed well in the first tests, a second one was promptly ordered. The number of the Baldwin machine originally intended as number 58 was rewritten to 72 and the second locomotive was given the number 58. Both were in service until 1959.
Technical data
General
- Built
- 1935
- Manufacturers
- Robert Stephenson & Co.
- Wheel arrangement
- 2-8-0+0-8-2T (Kitson-Meyer)
- Gauge
- 914 mm (Three feet)
Dimensions and weights
- Service mass
- 132.3 t
- Adhesion mass
- 117.9 t
- Rigid wheelbase
- 3.09 m
- Axle load
- 14.7 t
- Water capacity
- 18,143 l
- Fuel capacity
- 5,001 l (oil)
Boiler
- Grate area
- 4.738 m²
- Evaporative heating surface
- 238.482 m²
- Superheater surface
- 59.458 m²
- Total heating surface
- 297.9 m²
Power plant
- Driver diameter
- 952 mm
- Boiler pressure
- 14.5 bar
- Expansion type
- simple expansion
- Cylinders
- four, 451 x 508 mm
Power
- Power source
- steam
- Estimated power
- 1,491 kW (2,027 PS)
- Starting effort
- 266.8 kN
Calculated values
- Factor of adhesion
- 1 : 4.33
- Optimal speed
- 34 km/h
- Power-to-weight ratio
- 11.3 kW/t
- Adhesive weight/Total
- 1 : 1.12
- Tractive force/Heating surface
- 1 : 18.71
- Grate area/Heating surface
- 1 : 62.88
- Total/Superheater
- 1 : 4.01