Garratt Articulated Locomotives

[@anantdabholkar685]

@6:09 , the Green 4-8-0 0-8-4 Garratt marked B N R is a Bengal Nagpur Railway locomotive from the Railway Museum in New Delhi. That was a pre-Independence Private Railway used to pull lignite and other ore cars. Considered the most powerful steam locomotive in India since all others were mostly non articulated Pacific and Mikado types. The Museum had some very rare Locomotives but they were not used in large numbers, like the Garratts.

[@dj-ksa]

I fired the GMAM and Gf garrets out of Masons mill depot in Pietermaritzburg. It was the good old days It has a unique beat

[@jashugg]

You have sourced some terrific photos for this video! Just one important point. You didn’t mention that Garratts were used extensively across Australia on 2’, 2’6”, 3’6” and 4’8.5” gauge. The very first Garratts used anywhere in the world were introduced in Australia in 1909, and some of the latest huge double 4-8-4 versions were still in service in the early 1970s. Many were imported to Oz, but local manufacturers also built them here. Some of your technical drawings were in fact of various Australian Garratt locos, including the very last one.

[@InevitableMe]

At 2:33 he even shows NSWGR 6029, the most powerful steam locomotive operating in Australia.

[@johnmorgan4313]

During World War 2 Australia designed & built, the first one in 18 months, about 38 Australian Standard Garrets of 3'6" gauge for WAGR, QR, TGR & South Australian Government Railways at railway workshops in WA Victoria, South Australia & Queensland. Build was exceptional as motive power was required urgently to move war supplies to Northern Australia due to threat of invasion by Japanese Imperial Army. 🇭🇲

[@Narrowgaugefilms]

Sunday River Productions used to sell a film about the GMA Garretts called "Bigger than Big Boy", with the explanation that if built to standard gauge dimensions rather than 3'6" gauge, this would have been larger than the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4s and therefore the biggest locomotives in the world. As steam locomotives go they are still big, and can hold their own against many decent sized standard gauge engines.

[@K-Effect]

Did they mean biggest as in they were longer?

[@Narrowgaugefilms]

No, they are probably smaller than a big boy in every dimension, it's just proportional to track gauge they are really big! Still the same, in terms of things like tractive effort, they would be above average compared to standard gauge power even in terms of raw numbers.

[@lolroflpmsl]

We had some of these in England (LMS 2-6-0+0-6-2, and LNER 2-8-0+0-8-2 (6 cylinders)).

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Well, England had more than I expected.

[@MICMARKMAC]

60 class Garrets ran in NSW Australia. Pretty large units. My uncle hated driving them as you were cooked going through tunnels, he preferred 57,58 & 59 class loco’s. He drove the western line from Sydney to parks and everywhere in between.

[@markrutlidge5427]

If Americans adopted the Garrett , big boyy would have been known as small boy.😊

[@royreynolds108]

The first Beyer-Garratt was a 2-foot 0-4-0+0-4-0 compound for use on a logging railroad on Australia's island of Tazmania in 1909. The cylinders were reversed to be toward the center of the loco. It was numbered K1 and its sister, ordered a few years later, was numbered K2. They both survived until dieselization and the operation closed in the 1950s. The K1 was shipped back to the UK, rebuilt, then went to the Welsh Highland Ry where it is in occasional use along with several SAR 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratts built for the SAR 2-ft branches in the 1960s(the last Garratts built) because of the pulling power with low axle loads on the sharp curves(150-foot radius) and grades of the branches. A Houston oilman bought a NGG16 2-6-2+2-6-2 and several cars to be shipped to close to Houston but I haven't seen where they have been put into service. This would be the only Garratt in the US other than models. Garratts were built for gauges from 2 feet to 5 feet 6 inches and 0-4-0+0-4-0 to 4-8-4+4-8-4. They were mostly used where British companies had investments and operated railroads other than Canada and the USA.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

A note concerning K1: Though it has worked for a living, this earliest Garratt design is very obviously a prototype! Following it's service stints on the WHR, the loco has moved to the Statfold Barn Railway in Staffordshire (UK), where it has been fully overhauled. Oddly, one of it's first jaunts off base was back to the WHR!! It's ownership remains vested in the F&WHR Trust.

[@manga12]

@@TheHoveHeretic there are garretts that survive I thought there was only one that wasn't torched, they are an intersting configuration though kind of like a snabell car for extra large oversize loads like they use for refining vessls, and have 36 wheels on them to spread the weight on the rail better but move very slow as you can imagine and only certain routes for the largest of due to needed clearances

[@simonmcowan6874]

That first Garratt is in North Wales.

[@royreynolds108]

@@TheHoveHeretic K1 and K2 were built as compounds because that is what the customer wanted. They were the only Garratts with the cylinders facing in. The present K1 has parts from K2 before it was repatriated to the UK. There was only one other compound Garratt; it was built for a Brazilian railroad, I believe.

[@frasermitchell9183]

As another respondent has said, the Welsh Highland Railway operate ex-South African Railways Beyer-Garretts on the 2 foot gauge, and what magnificent machines they are too ! Well worth a visit to North Wales to see them in action. They share the station at Portmadoc with the Ffestiniog Railway which also have some very interesting engines built to the Fairlie design principal, being also articulated, with two boilers and the cab in the middle !

[@caroleast9636]

The boiler on a Double Fairlie is double ended but it’s still one, not two boilers.

[@Dilbert-o5k]

Saw one in a railyard in Nairobi kenya years ago. Not steamed unfortunately. There is one in the Manchester science museum , which has an an automatic stoker to feed the coal into the firebox from the tender. Fascinating piece of kit. Apparently they were often used on narrow gauge railways where they needed good pulling power but with the weight distribution for light tracks .

[@thejdmguru621]

We have a 4-6-2+2-6-4 GF Garratt at my local rail yard, although non operational here’s hoping that No.2380 gets refurbished, just like our Class 3BR “Maureen” which ran under her own power just 2 days ago.

[@sangheiliwarrior86]

I think the largest Garratt locomotive ever built was the "YA-01" built by Beyer Peacock for the USSR.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

the Russians try to build the biggest of anything.

[@richardwindsor60]

I remember looking down on Garratts from an overpass in the mid 1960s on the Newcastle (NSW) to Wallangarra (Qld.) line

[@howardsmith189]

You may like to read the specifications of the AD-60 class Garratt locomotive of the New South Wales Railways in Australia that you used at the end of your video at 12:35. These engines were one of the most powerful Garratts built and were used on lightly built lines to haul heavy freight trains. Love your videos.

[@N330AA]

I love the aesthetic of Garratts.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Very unique looking Loco's

[@ronwilken5219]

Pronounce Pietermaritzburg as Peter Maritz (the person's name) Burg (city) and you've got the sound correct. Now speed it up to one flowing word Pietermaritzburg.

[@simonmcowan6874]

There is also a Garratt steam locomotive on the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth west Wales, come and see it, it is a German Hanomag built version from 1927.

[@simonmcowan6874]

Love this series, Donald Binns made a great book about articulated locomotives of the world, if you have the time, I would love to see what you find on the rarest type, the Kitson Meyer. Good hunting.

[@allangibson8494]

And the “Puffing Billy” Tourrist Railway in Victoria, Australia has a 2’6” G class (G42) Beyer Peacocks Garrett and a second Ex South African NG-G16 class in service.

[@roberthuron9160]

Garrett based his locomotives on the heavy gun carridges,used during WW1! See BIG BERTHA,120mm Howitzer,and other types,that preceeded,and came after! The US had 14 inch Naval guns mounted the same way,real heavy duty mounting! Anyway,this is a side note,on an interesting locomotives,that in one case,as ALCO had the US LICENSE,to build Beyer-Garrett's! The CP was almost going to get one,after some bad experiences with Mallets! Never happened,but it would have been very interesting,to say the least! Thank you for your attention! Thank you 😇 😊!

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

You're very welcome! Nice note!

[@ronalddevine9587]

Interesting technology. Very unique. I'm surprised to find that Germany was able to build and export such massive locomotives only 8 years after the end of the war. Lots of good hard work and determination. Bravo!

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

That one caught me by surprise as well. But I wonder if they didnt build them as part of settling war debts and all.

[@ronalddevine9587]

War reparations or not, the mere fact of their ability to undertake such a project is impressive. I remember back in the 60s, West Germany alone surpassed all of prewar Germany's output. Japan is another example of miraculous recovery.

[@ronalddevine9587]

Did the Japanese use any such locomotives?

[@josephschuster1494]

The locomotives belonging to this class are true beasts, and a magnificent example of design, engineering, and manufacturing. Thank you for this very detailed examination of these wonderful machines. 🚂

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Yes they are!

[@railwayjade]

Another great video, thank you. It is interesting how certain designs were preferred by the various railways. In South Africa, the mallet-types were not successful and all were scrapped and as you point out, in the US, the garrett is non-existent. The "mother" of the GMAM - the Class GM was so successful on the Krugersdorp - Zeerust line that it prevented the line from being electrified (to this day it is still unelectrified and serviced by diesel locos).

[@robertbalazslorincz8218]

I don't recall hearing of any Garratts in Europe outside of Britain?

[@gwaithwyr]

It's nice to see your pictures of narrow-gauge Garratts that work on the Welsh Highland Railway, the railway on which I worked as a volunteer from 2002 to 2015. I did some work on these ex-South African Railways locos: plenty of cleaning, some painting and mechanical work. The WHR is well worth a visit!

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Many thanks!

[@davidhewson8605]

Great stuff . Thanks. Dave

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Very welcome

[@henrikjorgensen1614]

Untill now i had never heard about this type of loco Thanks for a good video

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

You're welcome

[@aalcomtive]

i know garratt are articulated but i know this is like a Brazillian RFFSA Garratt built in Beyer

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Garratts were used in just about any country except the U.S. and Canada.. Including South America

[@johnmorgan4313]

Thank you for this video on the Garrett type locomotives that ran in various parts of the world. It would have been interesting if the invention & modifications of the French Railway engineer Andre Chapelon had been used in a Garrett type lico. Howere that is conjecture. Thank you.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@VonVitto]

Can you do a video about the Union Pacific quadraplex and the Union pacific hexaplex please

[@Tom-Lahaye]

The Garratt is my favourite type of locomotive, I have even driven one during a visit to Zimbabwe! You told that the Garratt design was widely used in Europe, but this isn't actually the case, other articulated types like the Mallet and Meyer saw more use. Apart from Spain the Garratt saw service in very limited numbers in Europe. The UK had 6 of the LMS 2-6-0+0-6-2, 1 LNER U1 2-8-0+0-8-2 (picture at 11:30) and 3 industrial 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratts. Of these only one of the industrial Garratts survived (picture at 1:25 in the video) and several of the 2' track gauge South African NG/G16 2-6-2+2-6-2 (picture at 2:00 in the video) are imported and do run on the Welsh Highland tourist railway, they also have one of Herbert Garratts original design, the Tasmania Railways K1 0-4-0+0-4-0. In the Netherlands there was only one Garratt, Limburgse Tramweg Maatschappij #51, it was a tramway locomotive designed to pull freight trains over the tram line in the very south east of the Netherlands which had quite some steep hills, this is the region I live in. It disappeared during WW2. Belgium also had 2 tramway Garratts, and one prototype was built for Russia, the Ya-01 4-8-2+2-8-4 (picture at 3:50 in the video). Spain has the only operational Garratt originally built for an European railway company. The most widespread use that Garratts saw was on the African continent, followed by Asia, Australia and South America. The Garratt was perfectly suited for the lightly laid narrow gauge railways in these countries, actually SA started buying Garratts after failed experiments with American built Mallets, these couldn't work well on the tight curves. The GL (picture at 4:30 in the video) and GMA/M were their most powerful classes, they could produce 3000hp and the GL produced almost 80,000lbf of tractive effort, this is the highest number for any narrow gauge locomotive.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Certainly fun to look at.

[@terrybrown8539]

While Garratts would have been theoretically excellent on the mountainous central stretch North Island main trunk New Zealand's Garratt experience was not encouraging for several reasons including them having more tractive effort than most wagon couplings could cope with at that time, being more complex than desirable given the three imported remained orphans, over heating axel boxes on one axel, low coal capacity to stay within axel loading, hot cabs in confined tunnels and a mechanical stoker the firemen could not use to advantage. With good crews they performed very well but that was not the norm. I have heard that the unions didn't like them as they would have seen a reduction in crews because they could pull larger trains. After a couple of years the three were imported were taken out of service and converted to six Pacific 4-6-2's engines locally but these were not particularly useful either with a low factor of adhesion making them slippery. These lasted 20 years despite their faults. An ex South African Garratt was imported some years ago and she is an impressive machine but requires minor cab modifications to fit within the NZ loading gauge. I don't know if she has ever steamed here.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Yeah...to me me they lack a decided "punch"... well, compared to American Articulateds anyhow.

[@blehtbh]

I love your videos

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

Whyyyyy Thank you!

[@markrutlidge5427]

Pietermaritzburg, pronounced pee-ter-ma-ritz-burg in English. The Afrikaans pronunciation is similar but different.

[@johnd8892]

Everyone who has seen this loves this Australian coverage of the AD60 class , and others, in their last years of service in the sixties. The NFSA has some very high standard film and sound of these and others on the main north line around 1968 ; kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4HTeGeqi62Gg7M

[@simonmcowan6874]

Love your post, could you do something on the rarest type, the Kitson Meyer?

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

info isn't very easy to find... But I will try.

[@simonmcowan6874]

​@@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower very true, not many I think in N América, perhaps some as logging locos, S America had many, check out the Donald Binns book, probably THE book on the subject, also u tuber "Garrett maker" made a superb brass model, check him out too.

[@SDE1994]

the best source of info is "kitson meyer articulated locomotives" by Donald Binns, ive got a copy and one of my favourite books

[@simonmcowan6874]

@@SDE1994 articulated locomotives of the world also by Binns is a good book too.

[@mow4ncry]

Would like to see one get to the states just for hysterical purposes I mean historical 🤪

[@dennismitchell-h9s]

One x 2' Garratt in Texas [ex South AfrIcan N.G.G. 13 # 50 ].

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

They lacked punch IMO, so it would have been interesting in many areas of the country.

[@dennismitchell-h9s]

@@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower The Garratts had plenty of punch ; for what they were designed for ; most were at capacity for the systems they worked. The South African GL 4-8-2+ 2-8-4 had 89,140 LBS T.E.. [@ 85 % b.p.] and the East African railways 59 class had 83,350 lbs @ 85% b.p. on metre gauge! In 1926 the Union Pacific & A.L.C.O. were looking at a Quadruplex 2-6-6-2 + 2-6-6-2 and South Africa wanted a 3' 6" version ;..unfortunately the depression stopped such a locomotive . The water problem was overcome in South Africa by the auxiliary water tank to keep filling the smaller front tank ; After all, N &W in 1954 decided it was better to carry an extra tender of 100 tons , than stopping and starting an 11,000 ton train. I am sure that if steam had continued, the heavy "drag " railroads [N & W , C & O ,D.M &IR etc. would have realized the benefits of Garratts or Mallet Garratts .After all in 1920 South Africa had many classes of Mallets but when the Garratt proved more powerful and more economical [shorter but fatter boiler ] S.A.R. ordered no more Mallets but over 500 Garratts until the end of steam .As an Australian, I think you have only to look at South Africa to find out what works , they tried everything Kitson Meyers , Union Garratts, Mallets , Rotary cam valve gear Condensers [ partly because different C.M.E.s had different ideas ], but they kept what worked and discarded what didn't . Look up the history of South African railways and you will find a diverse system which up until 1990 s was brilliant ;for a 3'6" system they ran monsterous locomotives !!

[@ThePaulv12]

You neglected to mention Australia even though you show a picture of two. The Garrett at the end is not a South African Garrett nor is it a 4-8-2+2-8-4 as per the subject of the vid. We had the AD60 class 4-8-4 + 4-8-4 type that ran on standard gauge and many other types including the Australian Standard Garrett (ASG) which were 3' 6" narrow gauge. G-33 is one example and is undergoing restoration and perhaps will be having a trial run later in the year. Then there were other types that ran on 2'6" including the restored G-42. NZ had a poor run with Garretts. They had one example that was a failure and was quickly converted to a rigid locomotive and need not be included in your list of users - particularly when Australia built Garretts locally from scratch (ASG) and imported and modified other types such as the AD60 class.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

The principal subject was GARRATT LOCOMOTIVES. The secondary subject as an example was the SARS. All of the photos were Garratts regardless of country. I mentioned that nearly every country had them outside of the U.S. and Canada. Including Australia and New Zealand. So there isn't anything "neglected" here and I don't appreciate the undertone.

[@muir8009]

​@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower I consider you had excellent coverage of so large a subject. And I could correct the commentator above by saying the rather handsome New Zealand example was actually 3 locomotives, wasn't the abject failure as implied and quickly rebuilt is rather objective. Yes, there were lots of issues with them: an awful lot due to inexperience. The mechanical stokers caused issues, NZ's first and only example of this appliance, local coalers and fireman not appreciating the coal has to be sifted, hence jamming, and not appreciating its not a case of turn on the tap and leave it resulting in firebox clogging and abnormal coal consumption. The gresley conjugated valve gear gave trouble on the inside cylinders, as the gresley valve gear did on every example, including Mallards record run where the valve gear let go a bottom end. In rapid steam shutoffs the conjugated valve gear still is in admission with throttle closed, not being quick enough to compensate, straining the inside cylinder(s) piston and rod. And a huge thing for the NZ garratts was the three were ordered in 1929 to test on the North Island main trunk. Of course the depression hit and there was great incentive for the Government owned railways to build locally. With royalties and licencing and the aforesaid issues it was deemed practicable to start the 4-8-4 K class programme with NZ design and build. The garratts lasted for roughly 8 years (one being basically out of service from 1934 as spares for the other two) and although consideration was given to turning them into 2 cylinders (I.e 4) this was mooted as the much more agreeable 4-8-4 programme was in full swing and provided the motive power needed, as such the need for the garratts Waa basically not there, the CME recommending they'd be more useful getting rebuilt into 6 4-6-2 Pacific's. A couple of boring things: the prior standard tractive effort was the A and Ab classes, with 20,000 lbs (don't knock NZ man: it's only small!), the X mountain class being 25,000. Now the garratts were supposed to be 30,000 lbs, but the salesman must've had a good day as they went from 4 to 6 cylinders, bigger boiler, firebox etc, and ended up being 53,000 lbs tractive effort, which tore the old wagon frames apart and was pointless anyway: the crossing loops were only so long. Now, that k class 4-8-4 was 30,000 lbs, hence a far more useful product. There exists a solitary photo of the raurimu spiral taken around 1932 with two garratts double heading, so on occasion they did see work befitting them. Last boring bit: you'll not the NZ G garratts had a unique feature: the coal bunker sat on the boiler frame. Sorry about the atrociously long comment, I feel your videos are all excellent :)

[@pearlyhumbucker9065]

@@muir8009 That is a high quality answer - I really enjoyed being presented with such a wealth of knowledge. However, in response to Mr Undertone ThePaul, I find this to be "pearls before swine", I highly doubt this poster understands. All the better for the rest of the readers ;)

[@muir8009]

@pearlyhumbucker9065 thank you very much! I'll just add another really boring bit: the steeply graded and winding NZ north Island main trunk artery was opened in 1909. The 4-8-2 X 4 cyl de glehn compounds introduced the same year. Already by 1914 Garratts of the 2-6-2+2-6-2 variety were being considered, a serious purchasing proposal being put forth to the railways commissioner. However the Kaiser's visit to Belgium had just started putting that plan to rest. In 1924 Sirs Sam Fay (of English Railways fame) and Vincent Raven did a Royal Commission for the NZ Railways: basically an early version of getting the consultants in. One of the big recommendations of the Fay Raven report was the acquisition of Garratt locomotives, of a tractive effort roughly 50% greater than the standard Ab Pacific. This report directly led to CME G.S Lyndes purchase of the 3 Garratts. Beyers were in the selling game. Here comes an NZ customer after the wonder machine. Remember that Beyers Garratts were quite expensive, and like any good seller Beyers made sure that the NZ government, for only just a few £ more, could actually have this bigger machine, and better. So the NZR got all very excited reaching feverishly for their wallet and ended up with a machine it never wanted in the first place. What they set out to purchase was 3 4 cyl 2-6-2+2-6-2 hand fired locomotives of 30,000 lbs T.E. and of course they bought back home with them 3 6 cyl mechanically fired 4-6-2+2-6-4 locos of 53,000 lbs T.E. In the end though the experiment of the Garratts and the preference for the home grown 4-8-4 K class (actually a P.R. Angus knock off of an existing SAR 4-8-2) ended up much for the better.

[@TheRailroadCrossing-SteamPower]

@@muir8009 outstanding response and information! This is what the channel is about.