Manila Railway 70 class

The Manila Railway 70 class of 1908 were at least twenty 0-6-2 combination side- and well-tank locomotives built by the North British Locomotive Company. It was first operated as mainline locomotives in the late 1900s and early 1910s by the Manila Railway Company, primarily to support its growing network and replace the aging Dagupan class engines. They were used on all the lines of the networks of both the Manila Railway and its succeeding incarnation, the Manila Railroad. Since the 1920s, some locomotives were retired then either scrapped or given to sugarcane plantations. The last unit, No. 79, survived with the Pampanga Sugar Development Company as late as 1989.

Manila Railway/Railroad 70 class
No. 71 in Scotland.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerHorace L. Higgins
BuilderNorth British Locomotive Company
Build date1908–10
Total produced22+
Specifications
Configuration:
  Whyte0-6-2T
0-6-2TT (Pasudeco)
  UICC1t
Gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Driver dia.40.5 in (1,030 mm)
Wheelbase:
  Engine
17.75 m (58 ft 3 in)
  Drivers12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Adhesive weight61,936 lb (27.650 long tons; 28,094 kg)
Loco weight77,840 lb (34.75 long tons; 35,310 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Water cap.3,000 US gal (11,000 L)
Firebox type
  Firegrate area16.5 sq ft (1.53 m2)
Boiler:
  TypeFire-tube boiler
Boiler pressure180 psi (1,200 kPa)
Heating surface
  Firebox55 sq ft (5.1 m2)
Valve gearStephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effort11,492 lbf (51.12 kN)
Career
OperatorsManila Railway
Manila Railroad

Pampanga Sugar Development Company (Pasudeco)
Number in class22+
Numbers71-92
LocaleEntire MRR network
Delivered1908–09
First run1910
Last runBefore 1947 (MRR)
1989 (Pasudeco)
Preserved0
Scrapped1922–61, before 2006
DispositionAll were presumed to be scrapped
References:[1]

Background

Two Glasgow-based locomotive manufacturers previously built 30 tank locomotives for the newly-formed Manila Railway Company in 1888. These were Neilson & Company, maker of the A subclass and numbered 1 to 15, and Dübs & Company, maker of the B subclass and numbered 16 to 30. These were known to local railroad historians as the Dagupan class.[2]

These two companies then merged with Sharp, Stewart & Company and formed the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) in 1903.[3][4] In 1906, the newly-formed NBL built the Manila Railway 100 class tender locomotives under the designs of Horace L. Higgins, the sole general manager of the Manila Railway.[5]

The 1900s also sought the increase of several branch lines to the north of the Pasig River including the Antipolo line, infamous for its steep gradients which limited the trains' speed. While the 100 class took the flagship express train services on the PNR North Main Line, the Dagupan class were still hauling both regular passenger and freight services. This is due to the 100 class' relatively small fleet of only five locomotives. However, the Dagupan class also started to show its age with these locomotives already approaching 20 years old at the time. For this reason, Higgins ordered additional 0-6-2 Branchliner type tank locomotives from NBL in 1906. However, construction and entrance to service was delayed to 1908.[2]

Design

As with the Dagupan class, the 70 class had a combination of side and well tanks being made for mainline services of the era. The 70 class is distinguished from the former with a slimmer smokestack and a more solid cab.[1] The design was also reported to be faster and can carry heavier loads than its predecessor.[2]

While its livery is fully black during its term with the Manila Railway and Manila Railroad, its cab and side tanks were painted orange during its service with Pasudeco.[6]

Service

The locomotives were first introduced in 1908 throughout the entire Manila Railway/Railroad network and ushered the eventual retirement of the Dagupan class.[2] In 1910, No. 84 was introduced into service on the Antipolo line.[7]

Relegation and retirement

As with the other old tank locomotives built by the British, the arrival of larger American-built locomotives in the 1920s rendered the class obsolete for mainline services. They still continued serving the new Manila Railroad well into the 1930s as a switcher or on the remaining services on the Antipolo line after the 160 and 300 classes were transferred to new branch lines after a 1916 Supreme Court of the Philippines ruling. The class was already retired by 1947 since it was not given a letter classification by the MRR's Mechanical Department. By 1952, Nos. 79, 90 and 92 were stored in Tutuban.[8]

Long after dieselization in 1956, No. 92, the last known unit to be preserved in MRR was awaiting its fate in Tutuban by 1960 hoping to be preserved longer but was scrapped in 1961 at the MRR Caloocan Shops.[9]

Pasudeco

Pasudeco acquired No. 79 and it was occasionally given an accompanying Slopeback tender if their Baldwin-built No. 2 did not work. The unit survived until 1989, though rather in a derelict state.[6] It remains unknown if No. 79 is the second of two steam locomotives reported by Kautzor (2006) to have survived in their facilities due to its former railyard being off-limits, the first being Baldwin-built No. 2, a 2-6-0 tender locomotive now on display in a shopping mall in Marikina.[10] Otherwise, it is most likely been scrapped in the 1990s.

References

  1. Llanso, Steve. "Manila Railroad 0-6-2 Locomotives in [the] Philippines". SteamLocomotive.com. Sweat House Media. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  2. Corpuz, Arturo (May 1989). Railroads and regional development in the Philippines: Views from the colonial iron horse, 1875–1935 (Thesis). Cornell University. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. "Dubs and Co". Grace's Guide to British Industrial Heritage.
  4. "Bass Works Loco N°9". Model Engineering Website. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  5. "New Locomotives, Manila Railway". Locomotive Magazine. Vol. XIV. May 15, 1909.
  6. Tesson, John (1989). Former Steam Locomotive No. 79 of the Manila Railroad Company that was sold to Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASUDECO). Facebook. Philippine Train Enthusiasts and Railfans Club. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  7. ANTIPOLO HILL SECTION Manila Railroad Company, East of Manila. [circa] 1910. 1910. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  8. Motive Power and Rolling Stock. Report of Survey of the Manila Railroad Company and the Preliminary Survey of Railroads for Mindanao (Report). De Leuw, Cather and Company; Manila Railroad Company. July 1952. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  9. Sherron, Dave (1960). PNR old steam trains in 1960 at stockyard ready to be scrapped. Facebook. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  10. Kautzor, Thomas (May 23, 2013). "Today's Railways and Preserved Steam in the Philippines". International Steam. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
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