loco-info.com - German Reichsbahn class 41

41 1231 in April 2016 in the traditional depot in Stassfurt

Rainer Haufe CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

The wheel arrangement 2-8-2 was chosen for fast freight trains in order to be able to achieve the required power with an axle load of 18 tonnes. With a driving wheel diameter of 1,600 mm, 90 km/h could be achieved and the axle load of the driving wheels could be changed to 20 tonnes by switching the position of bolts. The boiler pressure was initially 20 bars, but had to be reduced to 16 bars because of the problems with the St 47 K alloy. After the war, the Reichsbahn and the Bundesbahn fitted their class 41 locomotives with new boilers. They were in use in the GDR until 1988.

Variant	as built	reduced boiler pressure	rebuilt Bundesbahn	rebuilt Reichsbahn

General
Built	1937-1941	1957-1961	1959-1960
Manufacturer	BMAG, Borsig, Esslingen, Henschel, Jung, Krauss-Maffei, Krupp, O&K, Schichau		RAW Zwickau, RAW Karl-Marx-Stadt
Axle config	2-8-2 (Mikado)
Gauge	4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)

Dimensions and Weights
Length	78 ft 5 1/8 in
Wheelbase	39 ft 6 7/16 in
Rigid wheelbase	18 ft 2 1/2 in
Total wheelbase	66 ft 2 5/16 in
Empty weight	204,148 lbs
Service weight	224,651 lbs	241,692 lbs	227,517 lbs
Adhesive weight	154,323 lbs	171,475 lbs	173,724 lbs
Total weight	388,234 lbs	365,967 lbs	391,100 lbs
Axle load	40,124 lbs	42,869 lbs	43,431 lbs
Water capacity	8,982 us gal
Fuel capacity	22,046 lbs (coal)	3,170 us gal (oil)	22,046 lbs (coal)

Boiler
Grate area	41.9 sq ft	41.7 sq ft	45.5 sq ft
Firebox area	171.1 sq ft	228.4 sq ft	229.3 sq ft
Tube heating area	2,015.5 sq ft	1,682.6 sq ft	1,991.3 sq ft
Evaporative heating area	2,186.7 sq ft	1,911 sq ft	2,220.6 sq ft
Superheater area	777.4 sq ft	1,030.9 sq ft	902 sq ft
Total heating area	2,964.1 sq ft	2,941.9 sq ft	3,122.6 sq ft

Variant	as built	reduced boiler pressure	rebuilt Bundesbahn	rebuilt Reichsbahn

Power Plant
Driver diameter	63 in
Boiler pressure	290 psi	232 psi
Expansion type	simple
Cylinders	two, 20 1/2 x 28 3/8 in

Power
Power source	steam
Indicated power		1,873 hp (1,397 kW)	1,949 hp (1,453 kW)	1,923 hp (1,434 kW)
Estimated power	2,179 hp (1,625 kW)
Top speed	56 mph
Starting effort	46,504 lbf	37,207 lbf

Calculated Values
Factor of adhesion	1 : 3.32	1 : 4.15	1 : 4.61	1 : 4.67
Optimal speed	30 mph	32 mph	33 mph
Power-to-weight ratio	0.0097 hp/lb	0.0083 hp/lb	0.0081 hp/lb	0.0085 hp/lb
Heating Area Equivalent	4,597.2 sq ft		5,114.8 sq ft	5,171 sq ft
Cylinder volume/HAE	1 : 716.04		1 : 643.58	1 : 636.58
Adhesive weight/Total	1 : 1.46		1 : 1.41	1 : 1.31
Tractive force/Heating area	1 : 3527.10	1 : 2821.97	1 : 2843.23	1 : 2678.68
Grate area/Heating area	1 : 66.70		1 : 65.14	1 : 63.55
Firebox/Tube area	1 : 16.32		1 : 11.88	1 : 12.62
Total/Superheater	1 : 2.81		1 : 1.85	1 : 2.46

steam locomotive

freight

last changed: 02/2023

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