China Railways SL6

胜利6
SL6

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Various Japanese builders,[1] CSR Sifang Co Ltd. Serial number SL6 301 - 572, SL6 601 - 750 & 771 Build date 1933-1958 Total produced ~423

Specifications UIC class 4-6-2 Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) Driver dia. 1,750 mm (68.90 in) Length 22.600 m (74 ft 1.8 in) Loco weight 174 t (171 long tons; 192 short tons) Fuel capacity 14 t (13.8 long tons; 15.4 short tons) Water cap 30 m^3 (1,059 cu ft) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 570 mm × 660 mm (22.441 in × 25.984 in) bore x stroke Valve gear Walschaerts

Performance figures Maximum speed 110 km/h (68 mph) Power output 1,397 hp (1,042 kW) (at wheels)

Career Operators China Railways

The China Railways SL6, a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives, was China's most numerous class of steam passenger locomotive and undoubtedly one of the most attractive.

History

The Japanese introduced several classes of pacific during their occupation of Manchuria but standardised on the PaShiRo, for volume production. It is thought that 272 were built for the South Manchurian Railway, Manchurian National Railway and the railways of occupied North China between 1933 and 1944.

The name "Shengli" or "Victory" was adopted in 1951 for all classes of pacific inherited by the new China and the PaShiRo became the Shengli 6 or SL6. Sifang Works restarted production in 1956 and completed 151 locos before switching to RM construction in 1958.

The SL6s saw use in most parts of China and were reported by visitors to centres as far apart as Nanning, Nanjing, Hailaer and Shizuishan. Like the RMs, their inability to haul the heavier passenger trains introduced in the 1970s and 1980s saw them progressively reallocated to secondary duties over the years. By 1990, most of the survivors were concentrated in Manchuria, at Dashiqiao, Jilin and Baicheng depots. At the other end of the country a few remained in use at Chengdu. The final three, SL6 631, 635 and 680 continued in traffic at Jilin until 1991.

Numbering

The pre-liberation machines were numbered SL6 301 to 572 in the 1951 renumbering, with the later Sifang built locos starting at SL6 601. The class were allocated numbers up to 750 in the SL series, with the small class of streamlined SL7s starting at 751. As a result, the 151st and last SL6 was numbered 771. In common with many steam classes, the cabside number often didn't include the suffix, so SL6 631 would have SL631 painted on the loco.^[1]

Preservation

SL6-601

• SL6-601: is preserved at the Beijing Railway Museum.^[1]
• SL6-724: was plinthed at the driver training school at Hohhot.^[1][2]

See also

• China Railways JF
• China Railways JF6
• China Railways RM
• China Railways SL
• China Railways SL7

References

1. Duncan Cotterill, SL6 Class 4-6-2s, Railography
2. SL6 301 to SL6 771, Railography