The Belgian State Railways Type 10, later known as the NMBS/SNCB Type 10, was a class of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s built between 1910 and 1914. The class was used to work express trains operated by the Belgian State Railways and its successor, the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), which was established in 1926. The locomotives were noteworthy for their unusually short boiler, which ended behind all four cylinders. This was due to the class sharing the boiler design with the Type 36 2-10-0 freight design, and the

2-10-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was of ...

's weight limitations determined the length of the boiler. There were two sub-types of the Type 10" *The first 29 engines were the most powerful; they mostly ran over hilly main lines, including the tough between Brussels,

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, Arlon and Luxembourg City *The last 29 were slightly lighter and had a smaller firebox; they were intended for easier lines, including the level line between Brussels and Ostend. Despite these differences, the last sub-type was used extensively, on the Luxembourg line. Some type 10, captured by the Germans in World War I ; several damaged or worn out engines were cannibalized for spares and scrapped during the occupation of Belgium. After the war, between the 1920s and the 1940s the surviving type 10 were gradually upgraded with new

superheaters A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There a ...

, Legein or

Kylchap The Kylchap steam locomotive exhaust system was designed and patented by French steam engineer André Chapelon, using a second-stage nozzle designed by the Finnish engineer Kyösti Kylälä and known as the ''Kylälä spreader''; thus the name ...

dual exhaust, ACFI feedwater heather, smoke lifters, duplex air pumps, larger tenders borrowed from war reparation locomotives. Despite being newer and fitted with a very large firebox, the new Type 1 Pacific, built in 1935, could not outperform the old Type 10, especially on steep inclines. The Type 5

Mikado Mikado may refer to: * Emperor of Japan or Arts and entertainment * ''The Mikado'', an 1885 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan * ''The Mikado'' (1939 film), an adaptation of the opera, directed by Victor Schertzinger * ''The Mikado'' (1967 f ...

, built in 1930 for the heaviest trains on the Luxembourg line, had many shortcomings and failed to replace the Type 10 as well. The class was withdrawn in 1956 when the Luxembourg line was electrified but four Type 10 were displaced to Brussels South and used, until 1959, along with Type 1. One member of the class, No. 10.018, has been preserved by the NMBS/SNCB for display at

Train World Train World is a railway museum in Brussels, Belgium, and the official museum of the National Railway Company of Belgium. It is situated in the preserved buildings of Schaarbeek railway station and in a new shed built to its north. Although sched ...

, the Belgian national railway museum.

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian State Railways Type 10 4-6-2 locomotives National Railway Company of Belgium locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1910 Steam locomotives of Belgium Passenger locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Belgium 2′C1′ h4 locomotives

See also

References