Toruń 2024-09-02

Steam Locomotive TKh49-5564 in Toruń.

The first steam locomotive produced in Free Poland in the “First Locomotive Factory in Poland S.A.” in Chrzanów for industrial railways was a three-axle standard gauge tank locomotive. The Republic of Poland bought the technical documentation for the locomotive in Austria and a locomotive designated T1A was built in Chrzanów. On the basis of this first T1A locomotive, subsequent Polish designs were built: T2A – TKh29, T2A Ferrum 29, T3A Ferrum 47. The name “Ferrum” comes from the Ferrum Steelworks for which the locomotives were built.

The T3A Ferrum 47 steam locomotive, in the PKP system, received the designation TKh49. The steam locomotive was developed on the basis of the T2A Ferrum 29 steam locomotive, but in a simplified version, and therefore cheaper. The steam locomotive was deprived of a superheater and operated on saturated steam, but thanks to this it was easier to build and repair. Many of its elements were made using electric welding. The locomotive received a lower chimney and a lower steam collector. Friedmann RTS suction-pressure injectors were used to supply the boiler with water. The locomotive had an electrical installation. Electricity was produced by a 24 V turbo generator. A three-cylinder, two-stage compressor of the H11a3 type worked for the air system. The compressed air tank was placed transversely under the driver’s cabin. A sander was mounted on the boiler drum, which fed sand only under the wheels of the second axle. The first two axles were fixed, and the third had a lateral movement of 15 mm in each direction, thanks to which the steam locomotive could even negotiate arcs with a radius of 70 m. At the request of some foreign users, locomotives with three fixed axles were built, and the middle wheels were without flanges. Such a locomotive could negotiate arcs with a radius of even 50 m. The locomotive took 5 m3 of water in tanks on the sides of the boiler and in a tank under the coal box. The locomotive took 2.5 tons of coal.

In the period 1948-1961, 437 Ferrum 47 locomotives were built for industry in the country and for export. There are about 20 steam locomotives left in Poland, which are presented in various places. 4 steam locomotives were transferred to open-air museums in Sweden and the UK.

The TKh49-5564 steam locomotive, factory number 5564, was built in the FABLOK factory in Chrzanów in 1960. The boiler was built in 1960, in the factory; Sosnowieckie Zakłady Budowy Kotłów. On August 11, 1960, the locomotive began service at the Inowrocław Soda Plant in Mątwy. Since March 1977, the locomotive worked at the Mełno Sugar Factory. On September 20, 1988, the locomotive was transferred free of charge to the Toruń Kluczyki Extraclass Locomotive Depot and underwent renovation. On May 22, 1993, the locomotive was placed at the Toruń Główny PKP station. In November 2016, the locomotive was moved to a new location.

T-T data of the TKh49-5564 steam locomotive:

Length 9.15 m. Width 2.88 m. Height 3.67 m. Service weight 44,400 kg. Boiler pressure 13 atm (at). Boiler heating surface 100 m2. Grate surface 1.7 m2. Design speed 40 km/h. Wheel diameter 1.15 m.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman