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East African class 59
Kenya | 1955
34 produced
flickr/Historical Railway Images

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 After all had been withdrawn between 1973 and 1980, No. 5918 “Mount Gelai” was overhauled at the Nairobi Railway Museum.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.

General
Built1955
ManufacturerBeyer, Peacock & Co.
Axle config4-8-2+2-8-4T (Double Mountain (Garratt)) 
Gauge3 ft 3 3/8 in (Meter gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Length102 ft 11 in
Wheelbase92 ft 6 1/2 in
Rigid wheelbase15 ft
Service weight563,763 lbs
Adhesive weight357,347 lbs
Axle load47,040 lbs
Water capacity8,600 us gal
Fuel capacity3,243 us gal (oil)
Boiler
Grate area72 sq ft
Firebox area247 sq ft
Tube heating area3,313 sq ft
Evaporative heating area3,560 sq ft
Superheater area747 sq ft
Total heating area4,307 sq ft
Power Plant
Driver diameter54 in
Boiler pressure225 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylindersfour, 20 1/2 x 28 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Estimated power2,700 hp (2,013 kW)
Optimal speed21 mph
Top speed43 mph
Starting effort83,350 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
freight
Garratt
last changed: 09/2024
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