Ty51
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Ty51-185, location unknown, August 1961. Photo from my collection.
Ty51-133 (HCP
2425/1956) currently on display at Chabówka rolling stock heritage park,
photographed on
Another picture of the Ty51-133, taken on November
12, 2008…
…and yet another, this time with a special train in
Zabrze, February 5, 1993. Photo by Wojciech Szpigiel (from my collection). In September 2012 this
engine was transferred to Sosnowiec (see below).
Two more Ty51s can be seen in Chabówka: Ty51-182 (HCP
2474/1956)…
…and Ty51-137 (HCP
2429/1956); both pictures were taken on the same occasion.
This beautiful Ty51-183 (HCP 2475/1956) has been preserved at Wolsztyn loco depot; photo
taken on
Ty51-223 (HCP
2532/1957), photographed on the same occasion.
Less than two years later, on
Ty51-183 again: things have improved. Photo
taken on
This Ty51-15 (HCP
1994/1954) has been plinthed near Sędziszów railway station; photo taken on
June 19, 2003.
In 2010, Ty51-15 was externally refurbished; photo
taken on January 8, 2012.
Ty51 side drawing by Wojtek
Lis from www.parowozy.com.pl .
Slightly derelict Ty51-140 (HCP 2432/1956), photographed at the PCC Rail Polska loco depot in
Szczakowa on
This beautiful picture of Ty51-71, operated
by PMP PW (sand railways), was
taken in October 1989, between Rybnik and Kotlarnia, by Roman Ficek – thanks
for permission! (source: www.transport.amsnet.pl).
Derelict Ty51-177 + 27D51-153 (HCP
2469/ 1956), abandoned in Korsze; photo taken on September 8, 2005. This
machine was scrapped in early 2006.
Ty51-1 + 27D51-108 (HCP 1980/1953) at the Zduńska Wola Karsznice depot; photo taken
on October 27, 2003.
Another picture of the Ty51-1, undergoing
restoration at the PSMK premises in Skierniewice; September 19, 2011.
Ty51-228 + 27D51-92 (HCP 2627/1958), Railway Museum, Warsaw, September 5, 2006.
Ty51-228 – coal feeder details.
Ty51-138 (HCP
2430/1956) was used by the Kotlarnia
sand mine and has been plinthed at the company’s premises. Photo taken on
October 4, 2006.
Ty51-17 (HCP 1996/1954) from the TOZKiOS
collection, photographed in Pyskowice on May 2, 2009.
Ty51-37 (HCP 2131/1955), plinthed in
Rzepin; photo taken on May 15, 2009.
Ty51-57 (HCP 2349/1955) with a draft
of double-deck coaches, typical for commuter trains at that time. Włocławek,
May 23, 1980. Photo by Roman Witkowski (postcard from my collection).
Ty51-36 (HCP 2130/1954), photographed
in Chełm in 1983. Photo by Jerzy Szeliga (postcard from my collection).
Ty51-137 again; Chabówka,
May 6, 2017.
Ty51-77 (HCP
2369/1955), originally built for PKP,
was later transferred to sand railways and retained its service number. Photo
taken near Pyskowice on June 11, 1979, by Martin
Stertz (from my collection).
Another picture from my collection by the
same author: Ty51-116 (HCP
2408/1956), photographed between Toruń and Turzno on September 29, 1979.
Ty51-133 (HCP
2425/1956) plinthed in Sosnowiec; September 16,
2020.
Another (and better!) picture of the
Ty51-133, taken in August 2022. Photo by Philippe Bellamit
(thanks for permission!).
Withdrawn from line service Ty51s were
sometimes used for switching. This Ty51-208 (HCP 2517/1957) was photographed at the Dęblin
station in May 1988. Photo by Krzysztof Wiśniewski
(postcard from my collection).
Ty51-228 again: Stacja Muzeum (former Railway Museum),
Warsaw, July 6, 2023. |
Coal
export has always been important for Polish economy. This explains intensive
development of heavy freight locomotives after WWI, almost exclusively with
the 1-5-0 axle arrangement (class Tr21 of foreign origin was the sole
exception). Ty23 was the most numerous steam locomotive of indigenous design
ever built (612 machines), and its direct development, Ty37, went into series
production shortly before WWII, to re-appear in a modified form soon
afterwards as Ty45. Thus Decapods dominated heavy freight traffic in
Poland until the end of steam era. Poor
condition of Polish locomotive factories immediately after the termination of
hostilities prevented them from supplying badly needed machines in sufficient
numbers. On the other hand, coal export was vital for the entire national
economy, so 100 heavy freight locomotives were purchased in the USA in 1947.
Designated Ty246, they were considered an interim measure: there was enough
experience to design and build an indigenous machine in this class. It was,
however, evident that Ty246 was a modern and efficient machine, so instead of
further developing the Ty23/ Ty37/Ty45 family, descending from early 1920s,
it was decided to base the new design on the
powerful ‘Truman’. Detailed
design was prepared by Central Design
Bureau of the Railway Stock Industry (CBK-PTK)
during 1951 and 1952. Prototype, designated Ty51 (s/n 1980), was completed by
HCP (commonly known as Cegielski) of Poznań in 1953 and
underwent extensive tests. Results were considered satisfactory and new
machine was viewed superior even to Ty246. This might have been exaggerated
by official propaganda (after all, Ty246 had been designed by the
‘imperialists’…), but nonetheless Ty51 was successful. Most shortcomings were
in fact due to poor workmanship quality, inferior technology and low-grade
materials; fatigue cracks of side sills were perhaps the most serious damages
suffered during service. Modifications were progressively introduced during
production and later examples, from Ty51-71 onwards, were sometimes
designated Ty51/1, but this was probably not used in formal documents. In
service they earned a good reputation, being not only powerful and
impressive, but also economical and reliable. They were commonly nicknamed
‘Stokers’, as all of them were fitted with mechanical coal feeders. It should
be said, however, that they were neither largest nor heaviest steam
locomotives built in Poland: both these distinctions go to pre-war Pu29
express engine. In
1957 it was decided to terminate orders for steam locomotives in Poland, in
view of expected rapid electrification (which, however, proved
over-optimistic). Production of Ty51 at HCP
(sole manufacturer of this type) was stopped in 1958, after 232 machines had
been built. It was intended to develop an improved version, designated Ty55,
differing mainly in boiler details and equipment, but it did not progress
beyond the initial project stage. Many of later examples (including last
five, built in 1958 with serials from 2627 through 2631 and service numbers
Ty51-228 through 232) went directly to industrial operators, mainly Silesian
sand railways, which used 29 of them. In 1971, three Ty51s from sand railways
were transferred to PKP in exchange for lighter Ty23s. This class was
withdrawn from the PKP service in
1980s and the last examples operated by sand railways survived in active
service until 1993. All
Ty51s were included in the strategic reserve (intended to haul heavy military
trains) and many were kept operational until 1990. Contrary to the Soviet
practice (keeping ‘cold’ locomotives, fired from time to time), in Poland
such engines remained in use at depots for auxiliary duties, so that in a
case of necessity they could be mobilized almost immediately. Fortunately,
this never happened… Several
Ty51s have been preserved, including the prototype. Withdrawn in May 1989, it
was kept in reserve for five more years and in 1994 was transferred to the
Karsznice locomotive heritage park. In March 2008 next transfer took place,
this time to Skierniewice (PSMK collection at the former depot).
Ty51-223 (HCP 2532/1957), withdrawn
in 1988, remained operational at the Wolsztyn depot until late 1990s and
sometimes hauled special trains. For some time it was the largest and
heaviest steam engine in Europe remaining in service – at least until ex-SNCF 241A class No.65 express loco was
brought up to the working order in Switzerland in September 1997.
Unfortunately, after boiler certificate expiration in 2000 Ty51-223 remains
on static display and will not be restored in service. Several Ty51s are
plinthed at various locations. Competent sources (e.g. lists available at www.polskieparowozy.pl, compiled by Tomisław Czarnecki) give
thirteen preserved machines. Of them, Ty51-9, previously displayed in
Bielsko-Biała, was later transferred to the Kraków Płaszów depot. Ty51-140,
plinthed at the sand railway premises in Jaworzno Szczakowa, went to the
Polkowice Pol-Miedź Trans (PMT) railway depot in May 2010, to
be externally refurbished and finally
transferred in July 2011 to the Industry and Railway Museum in
Jaworzyna Śląska. Anyway, those railway fans that held this type in high
esteem due to its impressive appearance still have several examples to see,
as most of the surviving Ty51s are in comparatively good condition. One
more locomotive of this type has survived until today: Ty51-83 (HCP 2375/1955), used by sand railways,
was sold to France in 1989 and is now plinthed in Walibi-Schtroumpf,
Lorraine. Main technical data
References
and acknowledgments
-
www.parowozy.best.net.pl
(website maintained by ‘Doctor’), -
Polish State Railways as a means of transportation
for the Warsaw Pact armed forces by
Zbigniew Tucholski (IHN PAN, Warsaw, 2009), -
www.polskieparowozy.pl (website by Tomisław Czarnecki), - AP, PPN; - Jan Michalski (private communication). |
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