MÁV 275.118 at the Train Station in Cegléd, Hungary

After the First World War, MÁV needed to update its repertoire of steam locomotives. On the main lines two major classes were introduced: 328 and 424. On the secondary lines there was a need for a smaller, lighter type of steam locomotive and so was the class 22 born. Designed and built by MÁVAG, the first 5 locomotives of the 22.000 series saw the light in 1928. After a short period, seeing that these locos were a success, MÁVAG has ordered another 20 pieces, but this time the suspension was redesigned and improved. In 1929 a third order was placed and another set of class 22 locomotives were produced, with the boiler pressure increased from 13 to 14 atm. In the same year another set of 26 locomotives were built with even more improvements. In 1930 15 and in 1931 12 more such steam locomotives were assembled and so the total number of locomotives in the 22.000 series built for MÁV was 148. Also, there were 13 pieces built for Yugoslavia by MÁVAG, after which Yugoslavia has purchased the blueprints and they've built another 22 pieces of their own.

In 1956 the 22.000 series was renamed to 275.00. MÁV 275.118 is a fine example of the 275.000 (ex 22.000) series. It is currently exhibited in the front of the Cegléd train station, where many such steam locomotives used to do service in the steam age (see below).

Facts:

ID: MÁV 275.118

Wheel arrangement: 2-4-2T

Built: 1938

Builder: MÁVAG (Budapest)

Length: 8670/8860 mm

Height: 3865 mm

Width: 3000 mm

Leading wheel diameter: 875 mm

Driving wheel diameter: 1220 mm

Trailing wheel diameter: 875 mm

Empty weight: 28.55 t

Service weight: 35.9 t

Axle load: 10.1 t

Top speed: 65 km/h

Boiler pressure: 13/14 atm

Power: 290 HP (230.7 kW)

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Cegléd, Hungary (train station)

Links:

MÁV 275.118 at www.steamlocomotive.info

MÁV class 22 at Wikipedia

CFR 324.951 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

The locomotives of the 324.000 series became the property of CFR after the First World War when Romania received 499 locomotives of this type as war damage compensation. This is a pretty big number, actually it's more than half of the steam locomotives of this type built by MÁVAG. The locomotive factory at Budapest created a total of 905 locomotives of this type between 1909 and 1917 in three variants: compound without superheating, with twin cylinders and superheating, and with Brotan boiler and superheating. The 1C1-h2 type locos were robust and resistent, they included new technologies and they were versatile enough to perfectly satisfy the needs of the Hungarian Railways (MÁV).

The 324.000 series has become the second most widely spread steam locomotive of CFR, after the 50.100 series. Actually, they were very similar from traction power point of view and both types were suitable for all kinds of traction and maneuvers. They had been used for pulling passenger, freight and mixed trains on sections of track with relatively low declivity. Due to their good characteristics, the locomotives of the 324.000 series had been in service for over 7 decades, until the end of the steam era in Romania. Most of them had been retired around 1978. The Romanian engineers and mechanics used to call them "the Hungarian goat" ("capra ungureasca")

Unfortunately, in spite the fact that so many of them existed in CFR's property, only two steamers of this type survived. 324.951 is one of them. It has been working at the Mirsa ballast-pit until 1980, when it was abandoned. After 13 yars, in 1993, it was taken over by the Sibiu depot. It is now on display in the Sibiu steam locomotive museum.

Facts:

ID: CFR 324.951

Wheel arrangement: 2-6-2

Built: 1917

Builder: MÁVAG (Budapest)

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is in a fairly good shape. It is on display in the Sibiu steam locomotive museum, not used anymore. It's a pity that it's jammed behind the bushes and it can only be photographed properly from one side.

Links:

CFR 324.951 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 324.951 at www.infofer.ro

CFR 324.951 at www.railwayfan.ro

CFR 324.951 at http://forum.lokomotiv.ro

CFR 20.064 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

CFR 20.064 is a special locomotive built in 1924 by Henschel & Sohn (Kassel). It is one of the two fireless locomotives imported by CFR. Instead of using coal, wood or crude oil as fuel, the locomotive can be filled directly with steam and water through the hole located at the front of the boiler. Once filled with steam, the loco could run for as long as 8-9 hours. It was built for special use in places with high risk of explosion (such as ammunition depots, refineries and distilleries).

Its "sister" locomotive is said to be abandoned on a hill near the Constanta train station. The two steamers were used at Chimimpex Constanta and Mararsesti Chemical Factory until 1976 when they were retired from service. CFR 20.064 was donated in 1995 by the Marasesti Chemical Factory to the Sibiu steam locomotive museum and it's on display there ever since.

Facts:

ID: CFR 20.064

Wheel arrangement: 0-4-0F

Built: 1924

Builder: Henschel & Sohn (Kassel)

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

This interesting steam locomotive is in a fairly good shape, but it is not used anymore, it's simply being displayed in the Sibiu steam locomotive museum. Unfortunately it too is crowded between other steamers. There is no information panel next to it to inform visitors about the special design of the locomotive (as a matter of fact there is no information displayed about any of the locomotives in the museum).

Links:

CFR 20.064 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 131.040 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

The locomotives of the 131.000 series, of type 1C1t-h2, are considered a great achievment of the Romanian railway industry. They have been designed and built entirely by Romanian engineers and technicians. The prototype, 131.001, built by the Uzinele Domeniilor Resita factories, was finished in 1939. Its designers were hoping to create a locomotive that could replace the the 375.000, 376.000 and 377.000 series locos that were servicing the secondary lines of CFR at the time because these were too old, technically outdated, inefficient and not powerful enough.

So was the first 131.000 series steam locomotive born, which had an empty weight of 48.5 t and 61.6 t service weight. It could produce a power of 632 HP and 81 kN pulling power. The optimal speed was 50 km/h but it could reach up to 65 km/h. The main wheels' diameter was 1.2 m and the whole locomotive was 11.87 m long.

The tests proved that the 131.001 locomotive was strong enough and suitable for its purpose, so the Uzinele Domeniilor Resita factories started building more of them. 66 more locomotives of this type were assembled between 1940 and 1942. The total of 67 steamers of this kind got the numbers 131.001 - 131.067. Beginning with 1953 some of them were transformed so that they could also use crude oil as fuel. They were used in the Banat region until 1975 - 1976 when CFR retired them. After 1980 most of them were scrapped, only a few survived.

CFR 131.040 was saved in the last moment by railway enthusiasts. In 1992 it was taken to Arad depot in order to be dismantled, but they rescued it and thanks to them since 1994 it is on display in the Sibiu steam locomotive museum.

Facts:

ID: CFR 131.040

Wheel arrangement: 2-6-2T

Built: 1941

Builder: Uzinele Domeniilor Resita

Top speed: 65 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is in a good shape, displayed among others in the steam locomotive museum in Sibiu. Unfortunately it is crowded between other locos and homeless dogs live under it, so it's pretty difficult to even take a good photo of it.

Links:

CFR 131.040 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 131.040 at www.infofer.ro

CFR 130.503 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

Originally numbered 130.569, this is a steam locomotive of type 1C-h2, which was pretty wide spread in the past among the CFR locomotives. The first 40 locos of this type were bought by CFR between 1911 and 1916. Due to the good results of these locomotives in service, in 1920 CFR ordered another 80 from the Škoda factories in Plzen. They were delivered between 1921 and 1922 and numbered 130.501 - 130.580. Used mainly for pulling passenger trains on lines with low grades, these steam locomotives functioned mostly until the 70s, when they were retired. Rarely they pulled freight trains too because they were powerful enough.

130.569 was first exposed in 1972 when the north station of Bucharest, Romania (Gara de Nord Bucuresti) was 100 years old. Two years later the original 130.503 was dismembered and 130.569 received its number plates. Since 1994 it is being displayed in the steam locomotive museum of Sibiu, Romania.

Facts:

ID: CFR 130.503

Wheel arrangement: 2-6-0

Built: 1921

Builder: Škoda (Plzen)

Gauge: standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is in a good shape, on display in the steam locomotive museum in Sibiu (not being used anymore).

Links:

CFR 130.503 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 130.503 at www.infofer.ro

CFR 150.1105 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

CFR 150.1105 is a steam locomotive of type 1E-h2, which is part of the German DR-52 series. Some locos from the DR-52 series (including CFR 150.1105, former DR 52.196) were given to Romania by the Soviet Union after the Second World War (between 1949 and 1950) as war damage compensation. Built by BMAG Schwartzkopf, it is the strongest locomotive used in Romania for pulling heavy trains on steep grades. Retired from regular service only in 1988, it was used many years after for pulling nostalgic trains. Today it is out of service, because the boiler's usage certification has expired. It is being displayed at the Sibiu steam locomotive museum. The locomotive has a special boat-shaped tender made of steel. It was created this way so that the bullets would glance off it and the water supplies would remain intact. Most of the 150.1000 series locomotives were rented by CFR from DR (Deutsche Reischbahn). They were a bit different from the original locos of the series because they had to be built fast and they were required to be serviceable easily.

Facts:

ID: CFR 150.1105

Wheel arrangement: 2-10-0

Built: 1943

Builder: BMAG - Schwartzkopf

Top speed: 80 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive was completely retired from service only a few years ago and is in a fairly good shape.

Links:

CFR 150.1105 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 150.1105 at www.infofer.ro

CFR 375.032 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

The steam locomotives of the 375.000 series were used by CFR on short length secondary lines to pull all kinds of trains. The reason for running these locos on shorter lines is that they had no tender, so the amount of coal they could carry was limited.

CFR 375.032 was built in 1911 by MAVAG (Royal Hungarian Railway Machine Factories) at Budapest. It is a locomotive of type 1C1t-n2 with a top speed of 60 km/h. Its history is pretty interesting. Along with several other locos of this type it ended up in the inventory of CFR after the First World War. It was given to Romania as war prey. In 1940 it was captured by the soviet trupes along with the occupation of Basarabia and given back to Romania in 1945. Here it was used in several regions of the country until 1977, when it was finally retired. It was given to the Romanian Train Club and taken to Bucharest. After being restored in 1994, it was donated to the Sibiu steam locomotive museum in 1997 and is being displayed there ever since.

Facts:

ID: CFR 375.032

Wheel Arrangement: 2-6-2T

Built: 1919

Builder: MAVAG (Budapest)

Top speed: 60 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is on display, unfortunately crowded between other steam locomotives. It's not in a bad shape, but it could use some paint.

Links:

CFR 375.032 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 375.032 at www.infofer.ro

CFR 1493 at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

In 1894 Henshel & Sohn delivered the first 20 steam locomotives of this type to CFR. A total of 59 locomotives (numbered 1441-1499) were bought by CFR and they were used to pull passenger, freight and mixed trains.

The loco currently numbered 1493 (its original ID was 1497) is on display at the Sibiu steam locomotive museum. It was built in 1894 and had a top speed of 73 km/h.

Facts:

ID: CFR 1493

Wheel arrangement: 0-6-0

Built: 1894

Builder: Henchel & Sohn

Top speed: 73 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is in a fairly good shape, not being used anymore.

Links:

CFR 1493 at www.steamlocomotive.info

Older picture of CFR 1493 at www.cimec.ro

CFR 1493 at www.railwayfan.ro

CFR 620 "Murgeni" at Sibiu Steam Locomotive Museum

The CFR 620 steam locomotive is the last surviving representative of a series of 84 locomotives built more than a century ago, between 1890 and 1893, by different German and Belgian companies for CFR, numbered 597 through 680. These locomotives were used to pull both passenger and freight trains all across the old Romanian Kingdom, but only on sections of track with relatively low grade (on plains). Due to their simple construction they were easy to service and they proved to be both effective and reliable, this is why later CFR ordered more of them. The next locomotives were built between 1899 and 1907 and numbered 688-743. All these locos were used in Romania until around the year 1960 when they were retired from service.

The C-n2 type CFR 620 locomotive, nicknamed "Murgeni", built by the Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer in 1890, was used on Moldavian lines until 1950. After that it was taken to the Bucharest marshalling yard and used for another 21 years. Since 1971 it was exhibited in the Bucharest railway museum until the point when it was finally transfered to its current place, the Sibiu steam locomotive museum.

Facts:

ID: CFR 620 "Murgeni"

Wheel arrangement: 0-6-0

Built: 1890

Builder: Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer

Top speed: 55 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Sibiu, Romania (steam locomotive museum)

The locomotive is looked after in the museum but it's not being used anymore.

Links:

CFR 620 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 620 at www.railfaneurope.net

About CFR 620 at www.railwayfan.ro

CFR 620 at www.infofer.ro

Older picture of CFR 620 at www.cimec.ro

CFR 231.050 at Dej Triaj Depot

In 1913 the Romanian Railways (CFR) have bought from J. A. Maffei the first 20 Pacific (4-6-2) type locomotives, which were numbered 2201 - 2220. In the following years another 20 have been aquired, numbered 2221 - 2240. Due to the good results obtained with these locomotives, in 1922 CFR has ordered another 20 from J. A. Maffei München and 30 from Henschel & Sohn (Kassel). These were numbered 231.041 - 231.090. The locomotives in series 231.000 were very fast (top speed 126 km/h), actually the fastest steam locos ever used in Romania. CFR has used them to pull express passenger trains. Currently there are only two surviving locos, the 231.050, being displayed at Dej Triaj depot, and the 231.065 in the Sibiu railway museum.

Facts:

ID: CFR 231.050

Wheel arrangement: 4-6-2

Built: 1922

Builder: J. A. Maffei (München)

Top speed: 126 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Dej Triaj, Romania (depot)

The locomotive is in fairly good shape, but is not being used anymore.

Links:

CFR 231.050 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 231.050 at Bucuresti Nord in 1969

CFR 230.299 at Dej Triaj Depot

Between 1907 and 1930 the Romanian Railways (CFR) have bought 131 steam locomotives of type Prussian P8 from several german companies. These were the first ones in the 230.000 series. Because they worked very well in Romania and they were suitable for their purpose (pulling passenger and mail cars), Romania started building its own locomotives of this type. 139 were built at the "Uzinele Domeniilor" factory in Resita, Romania and 91 more at the Uzinele "Nicolae Malaxa" in Bucuresti, Romania, all between 1932 and 1940. The locomotives produced in Romania were revised, technically updated and they were able to burn both coal and crude oil as fuel. They were used in service until 1980. 10 locomotives of this type have been preserved, one of them is the 230.299, displayed at the Dej Triaj depot.

Facts:

ID: CFR 230.299

Wheel arrangement: 4-6-0

Built: 1935

Builder: Uzinele Domeniilor (Resita)

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Dej Triaj, Romania (depot)

The locomotive is a bit rusty, it has known better days, but it still looks good. Not used anymore.

Links:

CFR 30.299 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 230.299 crossing a viaduct near Romuli in 1996

http://www.infofer.ro/zoom14_eng.htm

CFR 151.002 ("Malaxa") at Dej Triaj Depot

This is a unique locomotive, a true masterpiece. Only two of its kind were built by the Uzinele "Nicolae Malaxa" at Bucuresti, Romania. The first locomotive, 151.001 was finished in 1939. After the II World War it was taken by the Soviet Union as war compensation and lost forever. According to unofficial sources it was distroyed at Harkov. The second prototype, finished in 1942, the 151.002 ("Malaxa") was in service in Romania until 1971. Since 1994 it is being displayed at Dej Triaj depot. The two 151.000 series prototypes were created to pull heavy freight trains on steep stretches and they were the most powerful steam locomotives ever built in Romania.

Facts:

ID: CFR 151.002

Wheel arrangement: 2-10-0

Built: 1942

Builder: "Uzinele Nicolae Malaxa" (Bucuresti)

Top speed: 85 km/h

Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)

Location: Dej Triaj, Romania (depot)

The locomotive is in good shape. It was restored in 1994 for being displayed.

Links:

CFR 151.002 at www.steamlocomotive.info

http://www.infofer.ro/zoom21_eng.htm

151.002 in Cojocna 30.7.1969 picture 1

151.002 in Cojocna 30.7.1969 picture 2

CFR 150.105 at Dej Triaj Depot

A fine example of the 150.000 series, built by the "Uzinele Domeniilor" factory from Resita, Romania, is the CFR 150.105 steam locomotive being displayed at the Dej Triaj Depot, which is now part of the romanian national heritage. The 150.000 series locomotives were developed and built between 1946 and 1960 for pulling heavy freight trains. They were the last type of steam locomotive manufactured in Romania and also the most modern. 282 pieces have been built (numbered 150.000 - 150.282) at the Uzinele "Nicolae Malaxa" in Bucuresti and "Uzinele Domeniilor" in Resita. They were retired from service in 1978-1979.

Facts:

ID: CFR 150.105

Wheel arrangement: 2-10-0
Built: 1955
Builder: Uzinele Domeniilor (Resita)

Top speed: 80 km/h
Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)
Location: Dej Triaj, Romania (depot)

The locomotive is in good shape but is not being used anymore.

Links:

CFR 150.105 at www.steamlocomotive.info

CFR 150.105 at romanian national heritage classification

http://www.infofer.ro/zoom20_eng.htm

MÁV 424.353 at the Train Station in Tokaj, Hungary

Let me start by presenting a steam locomotive that I've had the chance to see in late October, 2008. It is the MÁV 424.353, being displayed at the train station in Tokaj, Hungary. It is part of the many locomotives of the 424.000 series, which were the most famous and best steam locomotives of MÁV. A total of 514 such locomotives were built until 1958 (of which 149 were foreign orders) and most of them ran until 1984, when the steam locomotives were withdrawn from service in Hungary.

Facts:

ID: MÁV 424.353
Wheel arrangement: 4-8-0

Length: 20.79 m

Weight: 83.2 t

Built: 1958
Builder: MÁVAG (Budapest)
Gauge: Standard (1435 mm)
Location: Tokaj, Hungary (train station)

The locomotive is a little rusty, but in a fairly good shape. It is not being used.

Links:

MÁV 424.353 at www.steamlocomotive.info

MÁV class 424 at Wikipedia