Tr20
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Tr20-59, photographed at the
Factory
photo of a Pershing class locomotive;
National Railroad Museum (USA) collection.
CFR 140.117, preserved at the Tr20 side drawings by Marek Æwik³a (source: SK
vol.12/2008). Upper drawing shows the original version, lower – with
modification (Tr20-151 through 175). |
After
WWI Polish railways took over a number of German, Austrian and Russian
locomotives, but most of them were old and obsolete machines running on saturated
steam. Those suitable for heavy freight traffic included primarily Prussian
class G10 (re-classed Tw1 in the PKP
service), of which 35 were taken over from KPEV and twenty from Austrian military railways; further thirty
were built by Schwartzkopff against
Polish order. These engines had the tractive effort of 15.2 tonnes. Other
types with comparable performance were usually represented by single examples
and indigenous Tr21 (designed in co-operation with Austrian StEG) appeared only in 1922. Soon it
became evident that coal transportation and export would be of vital
importance for national economy, which obviously resulted in heavy drafts, so
there was an urgent need for a powerful freighter. Brand
new engines could be readily supplied by American manufacturers. Among them, Baldwin
Locomotive Works had already become the largest locomotive builder in the
world. In July 1917, after USA had entered WWI, U.S.Army Transportation Corps
(USATC) placed an order for 150 1-4-0, or Consolidation,
engines, to be used in Europe by American Expeditionary Forces. They had many
European features, in particular cabs, but generally represented the American
design school. In August 1918, the second order was placed with Baldwin for
further 510 identical engines and total output eventually reached about 2000
examples. SK gives 2019, but detailed study of available sources (many
thanks to Piotr Staszewski) yields 1840 engines for U.S.Army, six for
U.S.Navy and 100 supplied directly to French Compagnie de Chemins de Fer de
Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM) – 1946 in
all. This total does not include locomotives built for Poland and Romania –
see below. In 1918 U.S.Army began referring to them all as the Pershing
class, in honor of Gen. John J. Pershing, the AEF commander. After the
war, the majority of these locomotives – 1816 – went to various French companies.
Apart from PLM, they were used by Alsace-Lorraine (AL), Est,
Etat, Midi, Nord and Paris-Orléans (PO)
and it seems doubtful whether any was eventually shipped back to the USA
(most probably two engines remained there in the USATC service). After
various French railway enterprises were merged into Société Nationale des
Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF) in 1938,, they continued with the
new company, but it seems that class designation 140G, originally used solely
by PLM, was introduced only after WWII. During the war French engines
were scattered throughout the entire part of Europe under German control and
most probably some also saw service in Poland. Another
recipient of Pershings was Romania. In all, Romanian railways CFR
acquired 65 examples. Of these, 140.101 through 140.115, from wartime Baldwin
production, were presented by French authorities in 1919, together with 48
ex-KPEV engines. In April 1920, CFR purchased further fifty
engines: 140.116 through 140.140 (built by Baldwin) and 140.141
through 140.165 (built by Montreal Locomotive Works, an ALCO
subsidiary). They differed in having rocking grates and provisions for mixed
coal/oil firing. There are some discrepancies concerning steam engine:
competent Romanian sources (including ITFR) give cylinder bore/piston
stroke at 584/660 mm (i.e. 23’/26’), which of course resulted in higher
tractive effort of 15.9 tonnes. On the other hand, other sources (including Baldwin
catalogue) give 21’/28’, as in original Pershings and Polish Tr20s.
Apart from five written off after accidents, all CFR engines were
still in service in late 1953. Most were withdrawn between 1970 and 1973 and
the last one was 140.105 (ex USATC 1664, Baldwin 50433/1918), withdrawn
in September 1977 and formally written off in October 1979. Polish
government did not buy surplus U.S.Army engines, but in July 1919 ordered 150
brand new ones from Baldwin (factory type 10-36-E). They were supplied
in a few batches (serial numbers in the range from 52421/1919 to 53313/1920)
and assembled at the Troyl-Werke (a division of The International
Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd.) in Gdañsk, first twelve arriving
in December 1919. Initially they were given service numbers 6001 through
6150; later, in accordance with new designation system introduced in 1922,
they were re-numbered Tr20-1 through -150. In 1922 additional 25 engines were
ordered and supplied, with serial numbers in the range from 55695/1922 to
55868/1922. They differed in some details and externally could be
distinguished by higher cabs, extended smokestacks and tenders with higher
side walls. Ten were fitted with steel fireboxes. Due to these differences,
the second batch was initially considered a new class, numerical designations
7001 through 7025 being initially assigned, but in fact all engines were
re-numbered Tr20-151 through -175 even before delivery. Baldwin
locomotives, compared to their nearest equivalent then in the PKP
service – the above-mentioned class Tw1 – were only marginally heavier, but
longer by over one metre, mainly due to larger tender. Smaller cylinder bore
was to some extent compensated by higher steam pressure, but tractive effort
was slightly lower, as Tr20 had four coupled axles instead of five. Maximum
axle load was substantially higher, by over two tonnes. Powerful and robust
engines, Tr20s were accepted by Polish railwaymen with sheer enthusiasm. Some
of them, immediately after delivery, were sent eastwards, as they were badly
needed during the fight against the Bolshevik assault. Despite harsh
conditions, poor water quality and maintenance problems they gave good
performance. Tr20s were, however, not entirely trouble-free. Some items in
the driver’s cab obstructed forward view and axle bearings often overheated.
There were several other minor problems, but two shortcomings were found
particularly serious. Fairly soon it was revealed that rear boiler tube wall
was rather weak and prone to distortion and fatigue cracks. Connection
between water box and tender frame was also too weak, so head-on collisions
usually resulted in water box being rammed into the driver’s cab, which was
often fatal for the crew. It seems that the above-mentioned shortcomings
were, at least to some extent, caused by hurried development and production
rather than basic design flaws. First order for 150 examples was placed on
July 17 and completed by October 1, 1917; during late 1917 and early 1918 Baldwin
were producing almost 300 1-4-0s for USATC per month. Tr20s
were later supplemented by indigenous Tr21s with similar overall
characteristics (tractive effort of 14.4 tonnes with maximum axle load of 17
tonnes). With gradual introduction of Ty23s, which soon dominated heavy
freight traffic, both these classes were relegated to secondary lines and
later to switching, but most probably all 175 Tr20s remained in service until
1939. Their good service during the war against Bolsheviks must have
impressed military authorities, as shortly before WWII it was intended to fit
all of them with car heating installations, so that they could haul military
trains (with officers’ cars usually right behind the engine!). At least two,
Tr20-140 and Tr20-154, were in fact fitted with such installations by Troyl-Werke.
According to LP and SK, which give the most comprehensive
information on individual examples, after the September campaign 98
engines were impressed into DRG as class 5637-38; 66 went
to the Soviet Union and were taken over by NKPS. One (Tr20-36) was
taken to Lithuania, to fall into Soviet hands in 1940. There is no reliable
data on the remaining ten examples, but most probably they were also captured
by the Soviets. Two German engines, badly damaged during hostilities
(Tr20-103 and Tr20-168) were written off in 1940. 59 Soviet engines were
later captured by the Germans and also impressed into the DRG service. In 1940, Polish boiler
works Babcock-Zieleniewski (renamed Ferrum-Werk Sosnowitz)
built seven replacement boilers for Tr20s; they differed in distance between
tube walls shortened by 19 mm (due to tube wall strengthening), which
resulted in heating surface reduction by 1.3 sq.m. After
1945, 88 ex-DRG Tr20s were directly returned to PKP, plus six
more that had seen brief service in Yugoslavia (2) and Austria (4).
Czechoslovakian railways took over six examples, of which three were given ÈSD
service numbers: 437.2500 (Tr20-38), 437.2501 (Tr20-83) and 437.2502
(Tr20-125). First was sold to industry in 1958 and second was scrapped in
1961. The remaining three saw no service with ÈSD. Two of them,
together with 437.2502, were returned to PKP between 1947 and 1949;
data on the third is lacking. Tr20-145, taken over by Soviet military
authorities in Eastern Germany, but probably not restored in service, was
returned in 1949. Tr20-87, formally taken over by Ostbahn, but with no
service record, was rebuilt from a wreck after the war. The most mysterious
post-war Tr20 is Tr20-99, possibly also taken over as a wreck, buth with
unknown identity; formally included in rosters, it saw no service and was
written off in 1951. DB kept 23 Tr20s, scrapped in early 1950s; of
fifteen taken over by DR, all but one were returned in 1955 and
1956, but their condition was very poor and they were scrapped with no new
service numbers allocated. Thus, in
all, 100 Tr20s were given PKP service numbers after WWII, but some
were written off in late 1940s or early 1950s. According to rosters quoted in
SK, this class numbered 88 examples in October 1946, 96 in July 1949
and 86 in January1955. As rapid electrification had been envisaged, Tr20s,
together with other older classes, were intended for rapid withdrawal. These
pland had to be modified fairly soon: 43 Tr20s still remained in service in
early 1965. This engine, however, remained a troublesome one. Boiler material
ageing forced costly repairs and steam engine cylinder fractures were
commonplace. Eight examples survived until 1974 and the last one, Tr20-95
(pre-war Tr20-133, Baldwin 53016/1920), was finally withdrawn in
November. Unfortunately, not even a single example managed to escape the
cutter’s torch. As
far as I know, only two Pershings have survived until today. One
engine from the first batch of 150 (U.S.Army No.8341, built in 1917), which
had not been sent to France, saw some service at Ft.Monroe, VA, and was
rebuilt in 1925. Withdrawn in 1945, it was sent to Korea in 1947 along with
100 engines acquired from Europe – hence its new number, No.101. It was
returned by the authorities of the Korean Republic in 1959 and can now be
seen at the National Railroad Museum,
Green Bay, WN. The other surviving Pershing
is CFR 140.117 (Baldwin 53343/1920), which has been preserved
in Sibiu. It underwent a major overhaul in 2004 and is still in working
order, from time to time running with special trains. Main technical data
1) Data
in brackets for replacement boilers. 2) Some
sources give ‘rounded-up’ figures: bore 535 mm, stroke 715 mm. 3) Refers
to Polish order (factory type 10-36-E) only. References and acknowledgments
-
Monographic article by Tomasz Roszak (SK vol.
12/2008); -
LP, ITFR, RR, EZ
vol.3; -
Private communication: Tamas Haller (Romania),
Robert J. Lettenberger (USA), Tim Moore (USA) and Adrian Raduta (Romania); -
Piotr Staszewski (also private communication – many
thanks for very throughout and detailed study on the production and service
of ‘Pershings’, which allowed me to correct a number of errors in this
entry). |
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