Kraków 2021-12-20
Steam locomotive TKh49-1 in Chabówka. 2021.
The first steam locomotive that was produced in Free Poland in the "First Locomotive Factory in Poland S.A." in Chrzanów for industrial railways, there was a three-axle, standard-track tenderer. The Republic of Poland bought technical documentation for a steam locomotive in Austria and a steam locomotive marked T1A was built in Chrzanów. On the basis of this first T1A steam locomotive, further Polish structures 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 received the designation TKh49 in the PKP system. The 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 the 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. RTS Friedmann suction and pressure injectors were used to supply the boiler with water. The locomotive had an electrical installation. Electricity was produced by a 24 V turbogenerator. A three-cylinder, two-stage H11a3 compressor worked for the air system. The compressed air tank was placed transversely under the driver's cab. A sandbox was installed on the boiler drum, which covered the sand only under the wheels of the second axle. The first two axles were fixed, and the third one had a lateral movement of 15 mm in each side, thanks to which the welding steam locomotive covered even bends with a radius of 70 m. At the request of some foreign users, locomotives with three fixed axes were built, and the central wheels were devoid of rims. The locomotive made bends with a radius of 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 domestic industry and 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 TKh49-1 steam locomotive, factory number 5695, was built at the FABLOK factory in Chrzanów in 1961. The locomotive went to work in the Florian steelworks in Świętochłowice. The locomotive served there until 1989. The locomotive was taken over by PKP. In 1996, the locomotive went to the open-air museum in Chabówka.
T-T data of the TKh49-1 steam locomotive:
Length 9.15 m. Width 2.88 m. Height 3.67 m. Service weight 44,400 kg. The pressure in the boiler is 13 atm (at). The heating area of the boiler is 100 m2. The grate area is 1.7 m2. Design speed 40 km / h. Wheel diameter 1.15 m.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman