After the Bengal-Nagpur had tested two class HSG 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratts for slow and heavy coal trains on inclines, they ordered the 4-8-0+0-8-4 class N in 1929. With a service weight of 234 tons, they are the heaviest locomotives ever to run in India and were perfectly suited to well-laid and relatively straight tracks found on the BNR network. They could haul up to 3,000 tons on the level and even managed 2,400 tons on inclines of one percent.

No. 815 at the Delhi Railway Museum

flickr/TrainsandTravel

To enable the operation on a wider selection of lines, the 16 class N locomotives were joined in 1931 by ten NM class locomotives which were similar, but lighter. To date, these 26 locomotives are the only Garratts ever built with a 4-8-0+0-8-4 wheel arrangement. Two locomotives of class N are still existing. While No. 811 has run a few times in 2006 and 2019 but has an unclear future, No. 815 is on display at Delhi Railway Museum.

For the expected increase in traffic towards the French border, the Central de Aragón ordered two types of Garratts for express and freight traffic. The locomotives for express service were designed as double Pacifics and were built by Babcock & Wilcox after plans by Beyer, Peacock & Co.

They were the most powerful express locomotives in Europe at the time and at the same time the only Garratts that were used on express trains. When they were incorporated into the RENFE, they became 462-0401 to 0406, whereby the 462 was to be understood as “two times 231”. Between 1955 and 1962 they were converted to oil firing and renamed 462F. Their use on express trains ended in 1966 and they were used in freight transport for another four years. Today only the non-operational 0401 exists.

For the expected increase in traffic towards the French border, the Central de Aragón ordered two types of Garratts for express and freight traffic. The locomotives for freight service were designed as double Mikados and were built by Babcock & Wilcox after plans by Maffei of Munich. The six locomotives delivered in 1931 were numbered 201 to 206 and dubbed “Garratts pequeñas” (small Garratts) in reference to their express counterparts.

When they were incorporated into the RENFE, they became 282-0401 to 0406, whereby the 282 was to be understood as “two times 141”. Between 1955 and 1958 they were converted to oil firing and renamed 282F. In 1961, ten more were built which were among the last Garratts to be completed. They were retired between 1971 and 1973 and 282F-0421 was preserved in running condition.

The class 59 of the East African Railways wasn't only the most powerful and heaviest Garratt locomotive ever built for meter gauge, but most likely also heavier than all built for cape gauge and nearly as heavy as the heaviest standard gauge Garratts in Australia and the Soviet Union. They were designed to accelerate freight traffic on the 330 miles between Mombasa and Nairobi. While Mombasa is located on the coast, Nairobi's elevation is 1.661 m or 5.450 ft above sea level.

Their wheel arrangement 4-8-2+2-8-4 is also called “Double Mountain”, since it resembles two 4-8-2 “Mountain” locomotives coupled back to back. In fact, the 34 locomotives built by Beyer-Peacock in 1955 were named after mountains. Their task was to haul 1,200 ton trains up long inclines of 1.5 percent. When needed, they also had to take over express trains with 35 coaches.

For the whole of their lives, they operated on the same line. Many of their crews only consisted of Sikhs. These always kept their locomotive in the best and cleanest condition and decorated their cab in a special way. After all had been withdrawn between 1973 and 1980, No. 5918 “Mount Gelai” was overhauled at the Nairobi Railway Museum. Until 2005, it wasn't only used to haul excursion trains, but sometimes even had to stand in when there was a shortage of diesel locomotives.

The unsatisfactory results of the unreliable and high-maintenance M-class Mallets led the Kenya-Uganda Railway to switch to Garratt-type locomotives. They weighed over 120 tons loaded, had a Belpaire firebox and were among the most powerful meter gauge locomotives of their time. The first four machines to be delivered came in 1926 from Beyer, Peacock & Co. and were designated class EC. They were fired with eucalyptus wood, which soon proved inefficient and dangerous for the crew. Thus, a conversion to coal firing took place, but they were already sold to Indochina in 1939.

In 1927, 20 examples of the EC1 were purchased, which were essentially identical to the EC but were coal-fired from the start. Two more examples followed in 1930, which differed from the 1927 machines in minimal details. For this reason, the first series later became the class 50 and the second the class 51 in the East African Railways. Ten more oil-fired machines followed in 1931, which ran as the EC2 on the KUR and later became class 52 on the EAR.

Works photo of EC Nr. 41

Beyer, Peacock & Co.

With the Garratts, the train loads could be significantly increased compared to the older locomotives. Up to 440 tons could now be towed on the old stretches with a gradient of up to two percent, on which the older eigth-coupled vehicles could tow a maximum of 200 tons. They also hauled passenger trains at higher speeds on the upgraded line between Mombasa and Nairobi. They were mostly phased out in the 1950s and some of the bogies were reused to rebuild class 13 tank locomotives from a 4-8-2 to 4-8-4 wheel arrangement.

For the requirements of the Second World War, the KUR had seven Garratts of the EC4 class built from 1944, which had a high power despite their light construction. In 1945, the KUR received two more or less identical EC5s, four of which went to the Tanganyika Railways and others to India and Burma. The KUR soon received the machines from Tanganyika and five from Burma. Six more, slightly revised locomotives were ordered in 1949. These entered service directly for the East African Railways and were designated the Class 56, while the EC4 and EC5 formed the Classes 54 and 55.

At the beginning of the thirties, the PLM in Algeria needed very powerful express locomotives, as the compound ten-wheelers used there had reached their limits, even when running in double. The specifications stipulated that the new locomotive alone should be able to pull trains with 19 to 29 cars sufficiently quickly over the ramps, which had often two percent, and should also have a maximum speed of 110 km/h or 68 mph. The result was a Garratt as a “Double Pacific” with 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) driving wheels. 

In 1932, a first prototype was built at Franco-Belge, which was tested first in France and then in Algeria. A special feature was the rotating coal bunker patented by Beyer-Peacock, which automatically transported the coal towards the cab. The cab was generously sized and had a fan to improve comfort in high temperatures. There were also controls in both directions and the Cossart valve gear was electrically actuated.

During the tests, up to 73 cars were successfully transported and the required speed was easily achieved with normal trains. The pulling power of the Garratt was now equated with the pulling power of 2.4 ten-wheelers. Only the special design of the coal bunker led to vibrations above 120 km/h, so it was no longer used in series production. The Kylchap exhaust system was replaced in the series by the usual double chimney of the PLM. The series locomotives were also given a streamlined casing.

After the 231-132 AT, twelve 231-132 BT were built in 1936, which reached up to 132 km/h (82 mph) and were therefore probably the fastest Garratts ever. On a better track, it was even expected that up to 140 km/h would be possible. When the first diesel locomotives were introduced after the Second World War, maintenance of the Garratts decreased. They were brought to Spain and scrapped at the beginning of the fifties.