Manila Railroad 200 class

The Manila Railroad 200 class were 2-10-2 Santa Fe steam locomotives operated by the Manila Railroad Company (MRR), predecessor of the Philippine National Railways.[1] They were built alongside the 4-8-2 Mountain-type 170 class by the American Locomotive Company at its Brooks facility between 1921 and 1922. During its service at the MRR, it carried heavy freight trains on the South Main Line between Manila and the Bicol Region.[4]

Manila Railroad 200 class
A 200 class in Lucena in 1922. It was then the terminus of the South Main Line until the extension to Albay was opened in 1938.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Horace L. Higgins American Locomotive Company Builder American Locomotive Company (Brooks Plant) Build date 1921-22 Total produced 10
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-10-2  • UIC 1'E1'h3G Gauge 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Wheelbase  • Engine 34.58 ft (10.54 m)  • Drivers 18.33 ft (5.59 m) Length 80 ft (24 m) with tender Adhesive weight 148,500 lb (67,400 kg) Loco weight 188,000 lb (85,000 kg) Tender weight 155,000 lb (70,000 kg) Total weight 343,000 lb (156,000 kg) Tender type Four-axle tender Fuel type Oil, coal Fuel capacity 6,000 US gal (23,000 L) oil or 5.5 t (12,000 lb) coal Water cap 5,000 US gal (19,000 L) Firebox type Standard fire-tube firebox  • Firegrate area 35 sq ft (3.3 m^2) Boiler pressure 180 psi (1,200 kPa) Heating surface  • Tubes 416 sq ft (38.6 m^2)  • Flues 498 sq ft (46.3 m^2)  • Tubes and flues 914 sq ft (84.9 m^2)  • Firebox 176 sq ft (16.4 m^2) Superheater: ​  • Type Fire-tube  • Heating area 493 sq ft (45.8 m^2) Cylinders 3 Cylinder size 130.9 cu ft (3.71 m^3) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type Piston valves Couplers Buffers and chain coupler
Performance figures Maximum speed 53 mph (85 km/h) Power output 1,944 hp (1,450 kW) Tractive effort 53,550 lbf (238.2 kN) Factor of adh. 2.77
Career Operators Manila Railroad Company Number in class 10 Numbers 201-210 Nicknames Santa Fes Locale South Main Line, Luzon Delivered 1921-22 First run 1922 Withdrawn 1945 Preserved 0 Scrapped 1945 Disposition Destroyed during World War II
References:[1][2][3]

Unlike the 170 class, all 10 locomotives were destroyed during World War II. These locomotives were ultimately scrapped without a single unit preserved like all of the Manila Railroad's tender locomotives.[5]

Background

The Manila Railway Company Ltd., d/b/a Ferrocarril de Manila a Dagupan, owned various tank locomotives as the bulk of its mainline fleet. In 1906, the Manila Railway purchased five 100-class locomotives. These 4-4-2 Atlantics would be the first tender locomotive in Philippine service but the company continued to acquire tank locomotives. By 1916, the Manila Railway was reorganized into the Manila Railroad Company of New Jersey.[6] Under the new American leadership, the MRR purchased heavier locomotives such as the 4-6-0 45 class built by H.K. Porter, Inc. between 1919 and 1921.

In 1921, the company ordered 20 units of heavy locomotives from the American Locomotive Company. While having similar specifications, it was grouped into two wheel configurations. Ten of these would be in a 2-10-2 Santa Fe configuration for freight and another ten would be in a 4-8-2 Mountain configuration for passenger use. The Mountain-types would become the 170-class while the Santa Fe-types would become the 200-class.

Design

The 200 class was the largest and heaviest locomotive class that entered Philippine service. With a four-axle tender, a 200 class was 80 ft (24 m) long and weighed 305,500 pounds (138,600 kg; 138.6 t).[4] Each locomotive was 50 percent heavier and twice longer than the 2-6-0+0-6-2 Kitson Meyer locomotives it replaced. Despite being its flagship class, the 200 class was still one of the smallest tender locomotives of this wheel arrangement. Santa Fes in other national railroads such as the USRA Light Santa Fe easily weighed above 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) without a tender and would rather not fit on the turntables built by the Manila Railroad.

According to Alco, it was built with almost the same exact specifications as the Mountain-type 170 class, except it had a different weight distribution and driver diameter, and was also heavier by 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg; 2.3 t). It also had the biggest cylinders of any non-articulated locomotive of the era that ran on narrow-gauge lines. It was not until 1927 when the so-called Henschel Giants of the South African Railways featured a wider cylinder. However, it had relatively small boilers and grates compared to the other Santa Fes, which would then contribute to its smaller size and weight.[2]

The locomotives were fitted with a Walschaerts valve gear similar to all steam locomotives during this era.[2]

Service

These locomotives were used on freight services on the South Main Line. Initially the line ended near Lucena, Quezon. Due to the size of the locomotives, new 80 ft (24 m) railway turntables were constructed to accommodate them.[4] The locomotives would see extended freight service to Bicol with the opening of the Lucena–Port Ragay section in 1938. In 1942, the Japanese government took control of the operations of the Manila Railroad Company and the 200 class was included in the Japanese operations of the MRR.[7] The class did not survive World War II unlike its sister 170 class, which lasted until 1956. These were ultimately scrapped.[5]

References

1. Snowden Bell, J. (March 1922). "New Mountain Type and Santa Fe Type Locomotives for the Manila Railroad". Railway and Locomotive Engineering. New York City. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
2. Llanso, Steve. "Manila Railroad 2-10-2 Locomotives in Philippines". Sweat House Media. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
3. "Locomotive Engineers Journal". Vol. 90. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. 1956. Retrieved February 9, 2021. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. Paez, Jose (December 31, 1922). "1923 Report of the General Manager". Reports of the General Manager, Manila Railroad Company.
5. "Manila RR 'Santa Fe' Locomotive 2-10-2 - 1922". Flickr. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
6. "Chapter I: Present Conditions". Report of Survey of the Manila Railroad Company and the Preliminary Survey of Railroads for Mindanao (Report). Chicago: De Leuw, Cather & Company. 1951. pp. 1–12.
7. "1942 0619 Affairs Concerning Railway Battalion of the Imperial Japanese Forces". Flickr. January 8, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2020.