PKP Class OKz32 is a Polish

tank locomotive A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...

Polskie Koleje Państwowe (''PKP S.A.''; en, Polish State Railways, Inc.) is the dominant railway operator in Poland. The company was founded when the former state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure ...

, designed for hauling passenger trains in mountain regions, built in 1934-1935. The designation stood for passenger (O) tank (K)

2-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States of America and elsewhere the is ...

(z) steam locomotive accepted in 1932.

History

The locomotive was designed in Poland specially for passenger traffic on mountain route

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

–

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...

in Tatra Mountains. It was constructed in H. Cegielski works in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, under direction of Prof. Antoni Xsiężopolski. The first locomotive was made in 1934 and appeared successful. A series of 25 in total was built in 1934-1935 for

. The locomotive could haul heavier trains (350 tonnes), than German-origin TKt1 and TKt2 (250 tonnes), and was faster. They were also used with freight trains. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

18 locomotives were captured by the Germans and impressed into service as DRG class 95³, with numbers 301 to 318 (two of them were first captured by the Soviets, then by the Germans in 1941). The remaining 7 locomotives were seized by the Soviets in Poland and converted to broad gauge by 1941. They served in

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

during the war. Along with further locomotives captured from the Germans, Soviet Union operated 11 locomotives after the war, until 1966. After World War II, Poland reclaimed 11 locomotives, receiving new numbers OKz32-1 to 11. They served still until the 1970s. One – OKz32-2 (former OKz32-5) was preserved, in

Chabówka Chabówka is a village located on the outskirts of the southern Polish town of Rabka, in the Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. With population of 1,600 (as for 2006), Chabówka is a popular tourist attraction because of its location ne ...

Railway Museum. It was operable as of 2016.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pkp class OKz32 Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 OKz32 2-10-2T locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Poland