TCDD 45151 Class

The TCDD (Turkish Republic Railways) 45151 Class is a class of 2-8-0 steam locomotives which were acquired from the British War Department to the LMS Stanier Class 8F design.

Background

On the outbreak of the Second World War British locomotive manufacturers could no longer supply an order for 2-10-0s similar to the TCDD 56001 Class, derived from the German BR 42, for TCDD at the original price and conditions. (These locomotives were eventually delivered after the war as the TCDD 56080 Class). However, Nazi Germany stepped in to offer neutral Turkey DRG BR 52-type Kriegsloks which became the 56501 Class. Diplomatically embarrassed, the British offered the Turks 25 of the LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0s, which had been adopted by the War Department as their standard heavy freight locomotive.

The engines selected were built by the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow. Originally intended for WD service but the Fall of France saw them earmarked for the LMS before they were diverted to Turkey.

Shipping

The locomotives were shipped as a kit of parts (other 8Fs destined for the Middle East went complete) via the Cape of Good Hope and the Suez Canal since the Mediterranean was too dangerous for Allied shipping. Seven failed to complete the journey. Four were lost on 19 February 1941 when SS "Jessmore" sank after a collision with another vessel in the Atlantic . Three more received the same watery fate when the MV "Berhala" was torpedoed by Unterseeboot 38 on 23 May 1941 off Freetown, Sierra Leone. The lost engines were:

Service

The remaining 18 locomotives were transhipped at Port Said in Egypt and went overland to Turkey where they were renumbered 45151-68. Re-erection was in Sivas under the direction of R.G. Jarvis of the LMS. In 1943 they were joined by 2 more classmates, (45169/70) taking the class number to 20, in lieu of the lost engines. These were joined by a gift of 29 of the Lend-Lease S200 Class 2-8-2s which formed the TCDD 46201 Class.

Designed for British conditions, the 8Fs were not really suited to Turkish circumstances. Though large for British engines, they were underpowered by Turkish standards and so could not ascend the steep grades unassisted. Their lack of drop grates also prevented them from long-distance working. They were thus relegated to shunting and local trip freights. The Turkish railwaymen referred to them as "Churchills" after British prime minister Winston Churchill.

The locomotives lasted into the 1980s where they became a special interest of British railway enthusiasts venturing abroad after the demise of steam in Britain.

Preservation

Three of the Turkish 8Fs have been preserved. No. 45161 is a static exhibit at the railway museum in Camlik. 45165 has also been preserved in Turkey. No. 45160 was repatriated to Great Britain in 1989 by the Churchill 8F Locomotive Company where it is undergoing restoration on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

External links

* http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/Steam/45151
* [http://ukhrail.uel.ac.uk/cgi-bin/rlylocos?NO=45160&NA=&CL=&CO=ANY&BL=&WN=&LO= Preserved locomotive database entry for No. 45160]