Garratt

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This article is about steam locomotives. For people named Garratt, see Garratt (surname).

Diagram of a Garratt locomotive
South African Railways 2 ft (610 mm) gauge SAR NGG 16 Class Garratt, preserved in operating condition on the Welsh Highland Railway

A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive that is articulated into three parts.[1] Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler. Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might restrict large rigid-framed locomotives. Many Garratt designs aimed to double the power of the largest conventional locomotives operating on their railways, thus reducing the need for multiple locomotives and crews.

Locomotive development[edit]

A builder's photo of K1, the first Garratt locomotive

The Garratt articulated locomotive was developed by Herbert William Garratt, a British locomotive engineer who, after a career with British colonial railways, was the New South Wales Railways' Inspecting Engineer in London. Garratt first approached Kitson & Co, but his idea was rejected, perhaps because that company were already committed to the Kitson-Meyer. He then approached Beyer, Peacock and Company, who were only marginally more interested.[2]

The first Garratts[edit]

In 1907 Beyer, Peacock & Co. submitted a proposal for a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt to the New South Wales Government Railways, which was not proceeded with. The following year a design for a 2 ft gauge Mallet locomotive was submitted in reply to an enquiry from the Government of Tasmania. This was followed with a submission for a Garratt based on, but a little heavier than, the New South Wales proposal. This proposal was accepted, and two locomotives were built in 1909, which became the K class.[3] The K class had to cope with 99' radius curves and 1 in 25 gradients.[4]

Unlike in Garratt's patent, Tasmanian Railways insisted on a compound arrangement with cylinders facing inwards, in order to reduce the distances between both the main steam pipe and the high-pressure cylinders, and between the high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders. This made the locomotive unnecessarily complicated and placed the high-pressure cylinders directly underneath the cab, making it uncomfortably hot, especially in summer. The pattern was not repeated on later Garratt designs. Only one more Garratt locomotive, again built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in 1927, was produced with compound propulsion for the Burma Railways.[5]

Early design and construction difficulties involved the steam-tight flexible connections between the boiler unit and the power units. These were solved by Beyer, Peacock's designers after studying a description of the spherical steam joints used on a Fairlie locomotive built for the Ffestiniog Railway followed by a visit to the FR to observe these locomotives at work.[6]

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway[edit]

The third Garratt (another 0-4-0+0-4-0, like the first two) was built in 1910 for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, and given the class letter "D". As with many early Garratt classes, this engine's dimensions and power were designed to be roughly equivalent to those of two of the line's existing 0-4-0T engines, although in practice it achieved only a 65% increase in loading.[7]

First main-line class[edit]

In 1911 Beyer, Peacock and Company built six 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratts for the Western Australian Government Railways. The M class were followed by the Ms and the Msa class. They also formed the pattern for locos for the Victorian Railways narrow gauge G class, and for Australian Portland Cement.[2]

Final Garratts constructed[edit]

The final Garratts to a Beyer-Peacock design were eight 2 ft (610 mm) gauge South African Railways Class NG G16 locomotives, built in 1967–1968. The order was placed with Beyer, Peacock and Co., but since the firm was in the process of closing down, it subcontracted the order to the Hunslet Engine Company. Hunslet's South African subsidiary, Hunslet-Taylor, in Germiston, built these locomotives using boilers manufactured by their mother company.[2]

The 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) gauge Southern Fuegian Railway (F.C.A.F.) in Argentina procured a new 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt in 1994. Based on Livio Dante Porta's work, it included larger cross section tubing, insulation of the boiler and an improved front end. This vastly improved the economy of this modern steam engine and more than doubled train length. Accordingly, a second Garratt for this railway was built to similar specifications, but with superheating added, in the workshops of Girdlestone Rail in Port Shepstone, South Africa. It was shipped to Argentina in 2006 and entered service in October of that year.[8]

Production list[edit]

Garratts around the world[edit]

Garratts were used in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. No Garratts were used on North American railroads, the most likely explanation being that American rail companies considered the Garratt's coal and water capacities insufficient for their requirements.[2]

Africa[edit]

South African Class GMAM Garratt

The Garratt was most widely used in Africa,[2] with large numbers in South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and Algeria and smaller numbers in Angola, Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, and Zaïre.

Algeria[edit]

In Algeria 29 4-6-2+2-6-4 Garratts, constructed between 1936 and 1941 by the Société Franco-Belge de Materiel de Chemins de Fer at Raismes in Northern France, operated until the Algerian independence war caused their withdrawal in 1951. This class, designated 231-132BT, was streamlined and featured Cossart motion gear, mechanical stokers and 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) driving wheels, the largest of any Garratt class. On a test in France, one of these achieved a speed of 132 kilometres per hour (82 mph)—a record for any Garratt class (and indeed any articulated class).[12]

Angola[edit]

All three main railways in Angola used Garratts.

The largest user was the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge Caminho de Ferro de Benguela. Forty-eight were purchased from Beyer, Peacock between 1926 and 1956. They came in four batches, class 10A (301–306); class 10B (311–324) in 1930; class 10C (331–348) in 1954; and class 10D (361–370).

The second-largest user was the Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda, who bought six 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives (501–506) from Beyer, Peacock in 1949, and six more (551–556) from Krupp of Germany in 1954.

The other user, was the Caminhos de Ferro de Moçâmedes, who bought six 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives (101–106) from Henschel & Son of Germany.

Botswana[edit]

Garratts operated on 3'-6" gauge through trains from South Africa to Rhodesia.[citation needed]

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda[edit]

The largest and most powerful steam locomotives to run on the metre gauge were the East African Railways (EAR) 59 class Garratts, each of them a 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotive with a large 70-square-foot (6.5-square-metre) grate that delivered a tractive effort of 83,350 pounds-force (370.76 kilonewtons). These thirty-four oil-fired East African Garratts remained in regular service until 1980. Two survive, no. 5918 and 5930. Both have worked since 1980 on tourist excursion trains but are now both out of service and belong to the Nairobi Railway Museum.[13]

The Garratts that ran on the East African Railways, the earlier ones having been inherited from the Kenya Uganda Railways (KUR) or the Tanganyika Railways (TR), were:

  • 50 class – EC1 type – 18 locomotives Nos. 5001–5020 built 1928 (ex KUR 45–64)
  • 51 class – EC1 type – 2 locomotives Nos.5101–5102 (ex-KUR 65–66) built 1930
  • 52 class – EC2 type – 10 locomotives Nos. 5201–5210 (ex-KUR 67–76)
  • 53 class – GA type – 3 locomotives Nos. 5301–5303 (ex-TR 700–702)
  • 55 class – GB type – 11 locomotives Nos. 5501–5511 built 1945 (ex-KUR 120–121 and nine locomotives second-hand from Burma)
  • 56 class – EC6 type – 6 locomotives Nos. 5601–5606 built 1949 (ex-KUR 122–127)
  • 57 class – EC3 type – 12 locomotives Nos. 5701–5712 built 1940 (ex-KUR 77–88)
  • 58 class – EC3 type – 18 locomotives Nos. 5801–5818 built 1949 (ex-KUR 89–106)
  • 59 class – Mountain type – 34 locomotives Nos. 5901–5934 built 1955–56
  • 60 class – Governor type – 29 locomotives Nos. 6001–6029 built 1954

All were built by Beyer-Peacock in Manchester, England, except the 52 class which was built by North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow and some of the 60 class which were built by Société Franco-Belge in France. All were of the 4-8-2+2-8-4 wheel arrangement, except the 57 and 58 classes which were 4-8-4+4-8-4.

Mozambique[edit]

4-6-4+4-6-4 and 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts operated in Mozambique, some built as late as 1956.[14]

Rhodesia / Zimbabwe and Zambia[edit]

Rhodesia imported 246 × 3'-6" gauge Garratts of four different wheel arrangements: 2-6-2+2-6-2s of the 13th, 14th and 14A classes; 4-6-4+4-6-4s of the 15th class, 2-8-2+2-8-2s of the 16th, 16A, and 18th classes; and 4-8-2+2-8-4s of the 20th and 20A classes. Many went to Zambia Railways in 1967 when Rhodesia Railways surrendered the lines in Zambia to its government. Zimbabwe's economic and political situation has extended the life of its Garratts. Five Garratts, including some from the Zimbabwe National Railway Museum, were returned to service in 2004–05 to haul commuter trains. They also perform shunting duties around the city of Bulawayo to this day (December 2011).[15][16]

Sierra Leone[edit]

This 2'6" gauge system had 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratts starting in the 1920s and in the middle 1950s purchased 14 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts.

South Africa[edit]

The most powerful of all Garratts irrespective of gauge were the South African Railways' eight 3'-6" gauge GL class locomotives of 1929–30, which delivered 89,130 lbf (396.47 kN) of tractive effort. However, they were all out of service by the late 1960s.[17] There was also a proposal for a quadruplex super Garratt locomotive with a 2-6-6-2+2-6-6-2 wheel arrangement for South African Railways, but this was never built.[18]

Sudan[edit]

Sudan operated at least one 4-6-4+4-6-4 Garratt.[19]

Asia[edit]

Burma[edit]

Burma had 43 Garratts, all "metre gauge". Five B class 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratts went to the Burma Railway Company between 1924 and 1927, with seven more built by Krupp of Germany in 1929.[20] They were followed by 31 locomotives transferred from India for War Department service: ten 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives, class GB (ex-Indian class MWGL); twelve 2-8-2+2-8-2 locomotives of class GC (ex-Indian class MWGH); and nine 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives of class GD (ex-Indian class MWGX).[21][22][23] A class of four 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives, the GE class, was built for Burma Railways in 1949,[23] but was diverted to the Assam Railway in India.[24]

Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)[edit]

Ceylon had 10 Garratts: an H1 class 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) 2-4-0+0-4-2 in 1924, a C1 class 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) 2-6-2+2-6-2 in 1927 and eight more C1 class 5 ft 6 in gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2s in 1945.[23][25]

India[edit]

Bengal Nagpur Railway 815, Class N (BP 6594 of 1930), at the National Rail Museum, New Delhi

India had 83 Garratts. One 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2 was built for the Indian State in 1925.[23] The 5 ft 6 in gauge Bengal Nagpur Railway had 32 Garratts: a pair of HSG class 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives built in 1925; 16 N class and 10 NM class 4-8-0+0-8-4 locomotives built in 1930–31 and four P class 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotives built in 1939.[23][26]

The metre gauge Assam-Bengal Railway had six T class 2-6-2+2-6-2 locomotives built in 1927. They later became the GT class on the Bengal Assam Railway. Three types of Garratt were supplied for war service on the BAR: ten MWGL class 2-8-0+0-8-2 locomotives; twelve MWGH 2-8-2+2-8-2 locomotives; and 18 MWGX class 4-8-2+2-8-4 War Department standard light Garratts. Of these, only nine MWGX stayed in India, with the remainder transferred to Burma.[21][23] After the war, the four Burma Railways GE class 4-8-2+2-8-4s were diverted to the Assam Railway.[citation needed]

Iran[edit]

The Trans-Iranian Railway had 10 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts (class 86) built in 1936.[23]

Mauritius[edit]

Mauritius had three standard gauge 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratts that were built in 1927.[23]

Nepal[edit]

The Nepal Government Railway (NGR) had 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt locomotives manufactured by Beyer, Peacock and Company in 1932 and 1947.[9]

Siam (Thailand)[edit]

Royal State Railway of Siam acquired 8 German Henschel-built Garratt during 1929-1937 for heavy freight duties in Pak Chong highland areas. Only one survived and preserved, and currently on display in Kanchanaburi.

Turkey[edit]

Ottoman Railways had just one standard gauge 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt that was built in 1927.[23]

Australasia[edit]

New Zealand[edit]

A NZR G class Garratt locomotive

Beyer, Peacock built three 4-6-2+2-6-4 NZR G class locomotives in 1928, which were too powerful for the system and had complicated valve mechanisms. Unusually, these engines had three cylinders (24×16.5 in) each, on two sets of engine frames, thus creating a six-cylinder Garratt; they were the second and final Garratts to employ this arrangement, the other being the one-off LNER U1. They entered service in 1929. Walschaerts valve gear operated the outside cylinders with the inner third cylinder linked by a Gresley conjugated valve gear. Photos verify the coal bunker was carried on an extension to the boiler frame rather than on the rear engine frame, as with most Garratts. The engines delivered 51,580 lbf (229.44 kN) of tractive effort, which was too powerful for the drawbars on the rolling stock. After a few years they were rebuilt as six Pacifics, also unsuccessful, but which saw nearly twenty years of service.[27]

There is also a South African Garett locomotive alongside the mainline at the Strand in Auckland awaiting Restoration

New South Wales[edit]

NSWGR AD60 Beyer Garratt, in storage at the Dorrigo Rail Museum

New South Wales Government Railways introduced the 4-8-4+4-8-4 AD60 Garratt in 1952, built by Beyer, Peacock. The AD60 weighed 265 tonnes, with a 16-tonne axle loading. As delivered, it developed a tractive effort of 60,000 lbf (270 kN)), not as powerful as the South African Railways GMA/M 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratts of 1954, which developed a tractive effort of 60,700 lbf (270 kN).[17] Following modifications in 1958 to thirty AD60s, their tractive effort was increased to 63,016 lbf (280.31 kN). These locomotives remained in service until the early 1970s with a replacement "6042" (The original was scrapped in 1968) the last withdrawn in February 1973.[28] Oberg wrote he witnessed an AD60 clear a dead 1220-tonne double-headed diesel freight (total weight 1450 tonnes) from a 1 in 55 grade without wheel slip.[29]

Queensland[edit]

Queensland Railways operated thirty Beyer Garratt locomotives. These were mainly based in the Rockhampton area.[30]

Tasmania[edit]

Following the success of the K class Garratts on the North East Dundas Tramway, the Tasmanian Government Railways imported Beyer, Peacock Garratts for their main lines, in particular the 4-4-2+2-4-4 M class for express passenger work. These were the only eight-cylinder Garratts.[31] The M1 achieved a world speed record of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) on 30 November 1912. Their 5-foot (1.5 m) diameter driving wheels were at the time the largest on any narrow-gauge locomotive in Australia.[32] Their eight cylinders proved a nightmare to maintain, and after several fatal and disastrous derailments in the late 1920s, mainly due to inadequate trackwork, they were withdrawn and scrapped.

Victoria[edit]

Victorian Railways operated two Beyer Garratts, used on the Crowes and Walhalla narrow gauge railway lines. The two engines were classified as G class, numbered G41 and G42; the latter engine has been restored. It is currently in use at the Puffing Billy Railway near Melbourne. It was not used in public service on that line prior to the preservation era.

Europe[edit]

Garratts were mainly employed in Great Britain, Russia and Spain, where some five railway companies employed seven classes. These included the 1931 order for Central of Aragon Railway for six Double Pacific Garratts for fast passenger service. In addition a Dutch and a Belgian tramway also operated one or more engines based on and built to the Garratt design.

Netherlands[edit]

In 1931 the Dutch Limburgsche Tramweg Maatschappij (LTM) 'Limburg tramway company' ordered a single standard gauge Garratt, numbered LTM 51, from Henschel (Germany) with builder's number 22063. This design was slightly different in that the coal bunker was located on the boiler frame and both machines only holding the watertanks. More importantly, it was the only Garratt with inside cylinders. The wheel arrangement was C+C (0-6-0+0-6-0). Due to abandonment of the line in 1938 the loc was sold to a metal merchant, who in turn sold it to an engineers' bureau, that sold it in 1941 to Germany. Further whereabouts of this machine are unknown, but it is presumed scrapped.

Spain[edit]

Spain had a varied collection of Garratts from most builders; Beyer, Peacock themselves only building a pair of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) 2-6-2+2-6-2s for Rio Tinto in 1929. The first Garratts in Spain however were four metre gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2s built for the Ferrocarriles Catalanes in 1922 by Sociéte Anonyme St. Leonard of Liége, Belgium. Four more followed in 1925. Also on the metre gauge, the Ferrocarril de la Robla bought two pairs of 2-6-2+2-6-2s, the first from Hanomag of Germany in 1929, the second from Babcock & Wilcox of Bilbao in 1931. The Compania Minera de Sierra Minera also bought a pair of metre gauge 2-6-2+2-6-2s in 1930.

On the broad gauge, the Central of Aragon Railway bought six 2-8-2+2-8-2s from Babcock & Wilcox and six 4-6-2+2-6-4s from Euskalduna of Bilbao, both in 1931. The last Garratts supplied to Spain were ten 2-8-2+2-8-2s for RENFE by Babcock & Wilcox in 1960.

United Kingdom[edit]

British usage of Garratts was minimal. A single large Garratt (2-8-0+0-8-2, London and North Eastern Railway Class U1 number 2395/9999/69999) was built in 1925 for banking heavy coal trains on the Woodhead route. Thirty-three 2-6-0+0-6-2 locomotives were built for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and several 0-4-0+0-4-0s for industrial use, one of which is preserved at Bressingham Steam and Gardens.[citation needed] The Garratt design was not generally used on British railways as most goods trains were short and light, on railways with broad curves and moderate grades compared with elsewhere in the world.[citation needed]

USSR[edit]

Soviet Ya.01 class 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt

Beyer, Peacock constructed the largest steam locomotive built in Europe, a 4-8-2+2-8-4 for the USSR, works order number 1176 in 1932. The locomotive had the Russian classification Ya.01 (Я.01). This massive machine was built to the Russian standard 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge and a loading gauge height of 17 feet (5.2 m). It underwent extensive testing and proved to be very able to operate in extremely low temperatures, due to adequate protection of the external plumbing between boiler and engine units. This may have been the lowest temperature operation of a Garratt type. The locomotive was used for a number of years for coal traffic in the Donbass region, but was never replicated. This decision appears to be a combination of unfamiliar maintenance processes and politics.[33][34][35] The Russians later experimented with Mallet locomotives, the P34 2-6-6-2 and the P38 2-8-8-4.[citation needed]

South America[edit]

Argentina[edit]

The British-owned 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) gauge Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway operated twelve Garratt 4-8-2+2-8-4 oil-fired locomotives, numbers 4851–4862, built by Beyer, Peacock in 1929. They were used on the Bahía Blanca North Western section, particularly on the Toay line), on the main Bahía Blanca North Western line to General Pico, and between Tres Arroyos and Bahía Blanca. They were withdrawn in the 1950s due to the rapid decline in freight traffic caused by the increasing competition from road transport.[36] The F.C.A.F in Ushuaia uses two 500 mm (19 3⁄4 in) gauge Garratts to haul tourists into a National Park with a third under construction (June 2016).

Other British-owned railway companies in Argentina operated Garratt locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock:

One of the NEA 4-4-2+2-4-4 (BP 6646) was sold to the Paraguayan Ferrocarril Presidente Don Carlos Antonio Lopez in 1975, and scrapped later in the same year.

Bolivia[edit]

Three meter gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 were delivered to the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway in 1929, followed by six more in 1950.[37]

Brazil[edit]

In Brazil, post-1927 the São Paulo Railway operated broad-gauge 4-6-2+2-6-4 Garratts that ran passenger trains at 70 m.p.h.[38]

Colombia[edit]

In Colombia, one 914mm gauge 4-6-2+2-6-4 Garratt was purchased by the FC Pacifico in 1924 and two more by the La Dorada in 1937.[39]

Peru[edit]

Four 2-8-2+2-8-2 standard gauge Garratts were delivered to the Central Railway of Peru from 1929 to 1931. (Donald Binns, The Central Railway of Peru and The Cerro de Pasco Railway, 1996)

Advantages of the Garratt concept[edit]

Works drawings of K1, showing how the boiler and firebox are not inhibited by the running gear

The principal benefit of the Garratt design is that the boiler and firebox unit are slung between the two engine units. This frees the boiler and firebox from the size constraints imposed where they are placed over the frames and running gear, as in conventional designs and other articulated designs such as Mallets. Garratts can have a boiler with a greater diameter, which increases heating area and aids the production of steam. The boiler can also be shorter than other designs with the same heating area. In some loco designs, the boiler is so long almost no heating of the water occurs at the smokebox end of the boiler. A larger firebox promotes more efficient combustion of fuel and also increases the heat available to the boiler.[citation needed]

Because the firebox and ashpan are not restricted in dimensions by running gear, the ashpan could be made to have much larger capacity than that for a normal locomotive. This allowed longer continuous runs without need to stop and empty the ashpan, to avoid choking the grate with combustion products.[40]

Garratts enjoy an advantage over the Mallet system, because of the geometry of the design. When swinging around curves the boiler and cab unit move inward like a bowstring in the bow of a curve and this reduces the centrifugal force that would overturn a normal locomotive and which in turn permits faster running. The Mallet's forward articulated unit tends to throw out as the loco rounds curves.[13] While most Garratts were designed for freight or mixed traffic, there were several passenger Garratt classes. A Garratt holds the world speed record for an articulated locomotive.[12]

Garratts have several advantages when used on light and narrow gauge railways. They are tank locomotives and can easily be run tender-first, thus eliminating the need for expensive turntables or wyes. They do not need to be run through to terminals, increasing operational flexibility. Because the engine units are separated by the boiler unit, the weight of the locomotive is split over the two units, and they can run over bridges or line sections that might not be able to support conventional or Mallet locomotives of similar weight.[citation needed]

While at the end of the steam locomotive era most conventional steam locomotives had reached their maximum in "critical dimensions", the Garratt still had some way to go, with larger driving wheels, larger boilers and greater output still achievable.[13]

Disadvantages of the Garratt concept[edit]

The major disadvantage of a Garratt (shared with all tank engines) is that the adhesive weight decreases as the water is used from the front tank and coal from the rear bunker. As the weight on the wheels decreases slipping occurs. To reduce wheelslip, a wagon containing water was attached behind the Garratt, and this practice also permitted the engine to operate over longer distances.[where?][citation needed] The weight of the water in the locomotive's tank and weight of coal in the bunker (necessary for the factor of adhesion) was predicted in advance, and this problem was not normally an operational issue.[citation needed]

Competitors, look-alikes, and variations on the theme[edit]

South African Union Garratt

The Garratt was, obviously, not alone in the field of articulated locomotives. Aside from the well-known Fairlie and Meyer types, the Garratt had contemporary and similarly-designed competition in the form of the Union-Garratt, Modified Fairlie and Golwé. Of these, the closest was the Union-Garratt, a type originally conceived owing to the perceived necessity for a rigid connection between a bunker or tender and a firebox fed by a mechanical stoker. Though it could be argued that the NZR G class locomotives were Union-Garratts (having their bunkers mounted on the boiler frames, rather than on the hind engine unit), a more concrete example can be seen in the two South African Railways Union Garratts of classes GH and U.

The Union-Garratt did not enjoy the success of the standard Garratt. It was soon evident that mechanical stokers could function perfectly across the connection between a Garratt's boiler and engine unit, making the rationale for the Union-Garratt obsolete. The Union-Garratts' extended boiler frames and the position of the bunker and hind water tank upon those frames meant that they suffered from many of the problems which beset the Mallet design; the SAR U and GH classes had much heavier axle-loadings than Garratts of comparable size, weight and power, and the movement of water at the extreme ends of the long main frames generated high wear on the hind pivot between the boiler and engine unit. The Union-Garratt, like the Golwe and Modified Fairlie, was not perpetuated on anything like the scale of the Garratt, and no known examples survive.

War locomotives[edit]

During World War II, several Garratt designs were built to meet the wartime needs of narrow-gauge railways in Africa, Asia and Australia.[2]

Six 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratts were built for the 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge Sierra Leone Government Railway in 1942, to a design first supplied to that railway in 1926. Five of the older Garratts were converted to a 2-8-0+0-8-2 wheel arrangement to increase their tractive effort.[citation needed]

Seventy Garratts were constructed by Beyer, Peacock for the War Department, to three standard designs. A 2-8-2+2-8-2 based on the South African Railways GE class was constructed on 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge for West Africa and Rhodesia, while a heavier class of 4-8-2+2-8-4 was constructed for East African Railways. A lighter metre-gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 was constructed for India, Burma, and East Africa. This design was particularly successful, and was the basis for several post-war classes.[2]

The Australian Standard Garratt (ASG) was constructed for Australian 3 ft 6 in gauge railways. It was a 4-8-2+2-8-4 locomotive, designed and constructed in Australia in 1943, during the crisis days of World War II immediately following the bombing of Darwin in 1942.[41] The class had several design problems, and encountered resistance from unions, and most were withdrawn at the end of the war.[2]

Preservation[edit]

Around 250 Garratts exist today. While many are stored or dumped in various stages of disrepair, more than 100 are preserved in museum collections or on heritage railways. Operating Garratt locomotives, which number about 15, can be found in Europe, Africa, Argentina, the USA and Australia.[42] In Spain, a 2-8-2+2-8-2 number 282F-0421, nicknamed "Garrafeta", occasionally ran in the Lleida area but no longer. An enormous 4-6-2+2-6-4, number 462F-0401, is under slow cosmetic restoration. Both locomotives are managed by ARMF, a non-profit organisation which also holds the only main line repair workshop for historical railway vehicles on broad gauge network.[43]

A single Hanomag-built narrow gauge example exists in the USA located in Hempstead Texas. It has been made operational again since November 2015.

The first Garratt locomotive, the K class of the North-East Dundas Tramway, has been preserved. After the line closed in 1929 the locomotives were put up for sale. K1 was purchased by Beyer, Peacock in 1947 for their museum. The preserved loco has parts from both original engines. When Beyer, Peacock ceased trading, the locomotive was sold to the Ffestiniog Railway, who initially proposed to cut it down to meet their loading gauge. For a number of years it was on loan to the National Railway Museum and was exhibited in York. In 1995 it was removed from York to commence restoration in Birmingham. It was returned to Wales in 2000 where restoration was continued at the Ffestiniog Railway workshops at Boston Lodge. It was fitted with a new boiler and restored to full running order on the Welsh Highland Railway by September 2008. The Welsh Highland Railway owns several former South African SAR NGG 16 Class Garratts, and operates both the first (K1) and last (NG/G16 143) Garratts constructed by Beyer, Peacock.[44][citation needed]. K1 has now been out of use since 2014.

Several Australian Garratts have been restored to operating condition. G 42, formerly used on the narrow gauge lines of the Victorian Railways, works regularly on the Puffing Billy Railway in the Dandenong Ranges outside Melbourne. The Puffing Billy Railway is also rebuilding ex SAR NG/G16 129 which is expected to enter service in 2019. The Queensland Railways removed 1009, its sole remaining 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt, from an open-air museum and fully restored it to working order. It was out of service by December 2007, awaiting a new boiler. NSWGR AD60 6029 was restored to operating condition in Canberra. As of 2018, 6029 is stored and used out of Thirlmere, NSW by NSW_Rail_Museum on some mainline excursions and events.

In Kenya, East African Railways 59 class 5918 was maintained in operating condition from 2001 to 2011. Likewise in Zimbabwe 20th class 730 and 740 were held in operating condition until 2004. They have not run since 2004 when 730 was briefly used on Bulawayo commuter services. None are likely to operate again without external funding for major repairs as the only work available for them are excursion trains for foreign tourists and rail enthusiasts.

Unfortunately no New Zealand Railways NZR G class Garratts survived, but three more modern Southern African Garratts have been imported for restoration in New Zealand, with No.509's boiler certified and restoration nearing completion as of 2018.

In December 2007, Zimbabwe class 14A Garratt number 509, overhauled in Bulawayo was offloaded in New Zealand for operational preservation by the Mainline Steam trust.[45][citation needed] In early 2011 Zimbabwe 15th class 398 was also delivered to New Zealand for restoration to operating condition by Steam Inc.

As of December 2017 there are only two places in the world where one can with reasonable confidence view a Beyer-Garratt in daily operating service. Hwange, Zimbabwe and Ushuaia, Argentina whilst Dinas in North Wales offers the sight of daily operation for about 10 months of the year.

In Fiction[edit]

In the twenty-second season of the popular show Thomas & Friends, a EAR 59 class Garratt, named Kwaku was introduced.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Durrant 1969, p. 13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Durrant 1981
  3. ^ Belbin, B.; Browning, J; McKillop, B. (February 2007). K1 Steams Again. Light Rails. 193. p. 4. 
  4. ^ "The Garratt Locomotive". ashet.org. Australia. 
  5. ^ Durrant 1981, p. 46
  6. ^ Rolt, L.T.C. (1964). A Hunslet Hundred. Dawlish: David & Charles. p. 66. , quoted by Tom Rolt from Edgar Alcock regarding his time at Beyer Peacock.
  7. ^ Hughes 1994, p. 37
  8. ^ a b The End of the World Train - Tierra del Fuego National Park - Engineer Zubieta Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ a b Hamilton, Gavin N., The Garratt Locomotive - Garratt Locomotives produced by Beyer, Peacock, retrieved 10 November 2012 
  10. ^ Hamilton, Gavin N., The Garratt Locomotive - Garratt Locomotives from Other Builders, retrieved 10 November 2012 
  11. ^ "The End of the World Train - Tierra del Fuego National Park - Engineer Porta". Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. 
  12. ^ a b Glancey 2012, p. 271
  13. ^ a b c Hollingsworth & Cook 1987
  14. ^ Ziel & Eagleson 1973.
  15. ^ "National Railways of Zimbabwe". International Railway Journal. May 1, 2004. 
  16. ^ "Mugabe forced back to steam age". The Times. October 1, 2005. 
  17. ^ a b South Africa – Last Stronghold of Steam. Johannesburg: African Government. 1978. ISBN 0-949934-24-0. 
  18. ^ Paxton & Bourne 1985, pp. 8-9
  19. ^ Ziel & Eagleson 1973, p. 150.
  20. ^ Hughes 1992, p. 48
  21. ^ a b Hughes 1996, p. 11
  22. ^ Hughes 1996, pp. 84–85
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Beyer Peacock Locomotive Order List, Garratt Locomotives, Customer List V1" (PDF). BeyerPeacock.co.uk. 2002-04-08. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  24. ^ Hughes 1996, p. 57
  25. ^ Hughes 1996, p. 92
  26. ^ Hughes 1996, p. 33
  27. ^ Stewart 1970, pp. 98–104.
  28. ^ Oberg 1975, p. 200.
  29. ^ Oberg 1975, p. 191.
  30. ^ Those QR Beyer, Garratts which gave Very Little Trouble Knowles, John, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, January, 1998, pp.13–20
  31. ^ Cooper & Goss 1996.
  32. ^ Cooper & Goss 1996, p. 19.
  33. ^ Bell 1935.
  34. ^ Le Fleming & Price 1960.
  35. ^ Rakov 1995.
  36. ^ Purdom 1977.
  37. ^ Turner & Ellis 1992.
  38. ^ Hollingsworth & Cook 1987, pp. 144–145
  39. ^ Gustavo Arias de Grieff, La Mula de Hierro, 1986
  40. ^ Tuplin, W.A. (1971). British Steam since 1900. Pan Books. p. 73. ISBN 0-330-02721-2. 
  41. ^ Butlin, S.J. (1961). Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Vol 111, War Economy 1939–1942. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. 
  42. ^ Hamilton, Gavin N., The Garratt Locomotive - Surviving Garratt Locomotives, retrieved 10 November 2012. 
  43. ^ "ARMF - Restauració - Fitxa Tècnica -Locomotora Vapor CdeA 101 (Garratt grande / Garratt Pacífic)" [ARMF - Restoration - Technical Specification - Vapor Locomotive CdeA 101 (Garratt grande / Garratt Pacífico)]. 
  44. ^ Belbin & McKillop. pp.6–7
  45. ^ RailwaysAfrica 2008/1 p 34

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External links[edit]

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