The NS 3900 was a series of express steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways. The NS 3900 was the last express steam locomotive specifically designed for the Netherlands. The NS 4000 series was ordered in Sweden during the war, however this series was based on an existing Swedish design.
Steam locomotive NS 3922; circa 1930. Collection of the Utrecht Archives.
Historyedit
At the end of the 1920s, the Dutch Railways needed an express locomotive that was stronger than the 3700 series, because more and more wooden passenger coaches were replaced by steel ones. The axle load could also could be increased from 16 tons to 18 tons. This resulted in a design that looked at both NS 3600 and NS 3700 series, so with a wheel arrangement of 2'C. The NS 3900 series used bar frame of the 3600 but the design of boiler, cylinders and cab resembled the 3700 series, but with a more powerful boiler and cylinders with a diameter of 420 mm instead of 400 mm. This increased tractive effort by about 15 percent. The same boiler would later be used on the 6300 series of tank engines. The tender was similar to that of the NS 3600 series and the later built eight wheeled tenders of the series 3700 series. The NS 3900 was able to quickly bring the heaviest passenger trains to a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).[1]
The manufacturer, Henschel & Sohn, built the locomotives in two batches in 1929 and 1930. The first batch of 22 locomotives from 1929 (3901-3922) was initially not built with smoke deflectors. These were installed in 1930. The second batch of ten locomotives (3923-3932) was fitted with smoke deflectors immediately upon completion.[1]
Until the electrification, they pulled the heaviest express and D trains, but there were also disadvantages. Especially the fireman had a hard time on a 3900 or 6300. They could hardly be fired by hand and the power out of 1,600 kgf was only achieved with the best coal and a good fireman. The locomotives were also technically unsuccessful. The boiler design was old-fashioned and the construction of the cylinders and valves was also of an outdated design. The build quality also left much to be desired, which resulted in cracking inner fireboxes and disproportionate wear of various sliding bearings of the cylinder block.[2]
Almost immediately after they were put into service, controversy arose about the quality of the 3900s. This was confirmed because, apart from the coal consumption, the series 6300 showed none of the above deficiencies. Due to the findings of various committees, adjustments were made to the locomotive's construction, which largely solved the problems. The poor steaming of the series, however, persisted until the withdrawal, despite several tests. This was partly due to the construction of the cylinder blocks, where large-scale modifications often meant a completely new cylinder block. Due to the high costs, this was not done with the 3900 series.[2]
When problems with the new diesel-three trainsets on the central network, which had to provide fast connections between the major cities, were replaced by so-called steam diesels services, short express trains pulled by a steam locomotive, which had to be able to keep up with the timetabel of the diesel multiple units. Before that, test runs were first held with locomotives of the 2100, 3700 and 3900 series. It turned out that both the 2100 and the 3700 were faster than the 3900. This was due to the fact that the 3900 had a high rolling resistance of its own, which made it type was less suitable for light express trains.[2]
After the Second World War and the rapid electrification of the main lines, the 3900 series was used less and less, mainly on express or D trains on routes that were not yet fully electrified. None have survived into preservation, but the preserved NS 6317 does have the boiler of NS 3927.
Galleryedit
NS 3911 in Nunspeet; circa 1930. Collection of the Utrecht Archives.
NS 3911 at Rotterdam Delftsche Poort station; circa 1930. Collection of the Utrecht Archives.
Steam locomotive of the 3900 series at Amsterdam Central Station; 1932.
Cab of NS 3902 at the exhibition "100 years of railways in the Netherlands" on the Frederiksplein in Amsterdam. (September 1939)
A NS 3900 pulling a coal train near Wijchen. (25-03-1953)
Replica of the steam locomotive "De Arend" of the N.S. next to a steam locomotive of the series 3900 at the central workshop in Zwolle
NS 3904 during overhaul in the Central Workshop Tilburg. On the right NS 3601. (30 June 1933)
NS 3916 with (steel) carriages in the vicinity of Baarn.
NS 3931
Cab of a NS 3900 series
Sourcesedit
^ abWaldorp, H. (1986). Onze Nederlandse stoomlocomotieven in woord en beeld (7e, gew. dr ed.). Almaar: De Alk. ISBN90-6013-947-X. OCLC 63833327.
^ abcHenken, Paul (2012). NS-serie 3900 : de laatste Nederlandse sneltreinlocomotieven (1e dr ed.). 's-Hertogenbosch: Uquilair. ISBN978-90-71513-75-6. OCLC 793361539.
Martin van Oostrom: Stoomlocomotieven serie NS 6300, uitgeverij Stichting Railpublicaties Rosmalen, 1985. ISBN90-71513-01-7.
February 27, 2024
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The NS 3900 was a series of express steam locomotives of the Dutch Railways The NS 3900 was the last express steam locomotive specifically designed for the Netherlands The NS 4000 series was ordered in Sweden during the war however this series was based on an existing Swedish design NS 3900Type and originPower typeSteamBuilderHenschel amp SohnBuild date1929 1930Total produced32SpecificationsConfiguration Whyte4 6 0 UIC2 CGauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in Leading dia 930 mm 3 ft 1 in Driver dia 1 850 mm 6 ft 1 in Tender wheels1 100 mm 3 ft 7 in Length20 410 mm 67 ft 0 in Height4 530 mm 14 ft 10 in Loco weight84 t 93 short tons 83 long tons Tender weight63 t 69 short tons 62 long tons 56 t 62 short tons 55 long tons with WD tenderFuel capacity6 t 6 6 short tons 5 9 long tons 9 t 9 9 short tons 8 9 long tons with WD tenderWater cap 28 m3 6 200 imp gal 23 m3 5 100 imp gal with WD tenderFirebox Grate area3 16 m2 34 0 sq ft Boiler pressure14 kg cm2 200 psi Heating surface Tubes150 m2 1 600 sq ft Firebox17 m2 180 sq ft Superheater Heating area53 m2 570 sq ft Cylinders4Cylinder size420 mm 660 mm 17 in 26 in Valve gearWalschaertsPerformance figuresMaximum speedFirst 90 km h 56 mph increased in 1930 to 100 km h 62 mph then in 1939 to 110 km h 68 mph Power output 1 600 kgfTractive effort12 330 kgf 27 200 lbf CareerOperatorsNSPower classPO4Numbers3901 3932NicknamesGrote Jumbo Large Jumbo Withdrawn1957Wikimedia Commons has media related to NS 3900 Steam locomotive NS 3922 circa 1930 Collection of the Utrecht Archives History editAt the end of the 1920s the Dutch Railways needed an express locomotive that was stronger than the 3700 series because more and more wooden passenger coaches were replaced by steel ones The axle load could also could be increased from 16 tons to 18 tons This resulted in a design that looked at both NS 3600 and NS 3700 series so with a wheel arrangement of 2 C The NS 3900 series used bar frame of the 3600 but the design of boiler cylinders and cab resembled the 3700 series but with a more powerful boiler and cylinders with a diameter of 420 mm instead of 400 mm This increased tractive effort by about 15 percent The same boiler would later be used on the 6300 series of tank engines The tender was similar to that of the NS 3600 series and the later built eight wheeled tenders of the series 3700 series The NS 3900 was able to quickly bring the heaviest passenger trains to a speed of 100 km h 62 mph 1 The manufacturer Henschel amp Sohn built the locomotives in two batches in 1929 and 1930 The first batch of 22 locomotives from 1929 3901 3922 was initially not built with smoke deflectors These were installed in 1930 The second batch of ten locomotives 3923 3932 was fitted with smoke deflectors immediately upon completion 1 Until the electrification they pulled the heaviest express and D trains but there were also disadvantages Especially the fireman had a hard time on a 3900 or 6300 They could hardly be fired by hand and the power out of 1 600 kgf was only achieved with the best coal and a good fireman The locomotives were also technically unsuccessful The boiler design was old fashioned and the construction of the cylinders and valves was also of an outdated design The build quality also left much to be desired which resulted in cracking inner fireboxes and disproportionate wear of various sliding bearings of the cylinder block 2 Almost immediately after they were put into service controversy arose about the quality of the 3900s This was confirmed because apart from the coal consumption the series 6300 showed none of the above deficiencies Due to the findings of various committees adjustments were made to the locomotive s construction which largely solved the problems The poor steaming of the series however persisted until the withdrawal despite several tests This was partly due to the construction of the cylinder blocks where large scale modifications often meant a completely new cylinder block Due to the high costs this was not done with the 3900 series 2 When problems with the new diesel three trainsets on the central network which had to provide fast connections between the major cities were replaced by so called steam diesels services short express trains pulled by a steam locomotive which had to be able to keep up with the timetabel of the diesel multiple units Before that test runs were first held with locomotives of the 2100 3700 and 3900 series It turned out that both the 2100 and the 3700 were faster than the 3900 This was due to the fact that the 3900 had a high rolling resistance of its own which made it type was less suitable for light express trains 2 After the Second World War and the rapid electrification of the main lines the 3900 series was used less and less mainly on express or D trains on routes that were not yet fully electrified None have survived into preservation but the preserved NS 6317 does have the boiler of NS 3927 Gallery edit nbsp NS 3911 in Nunspeet circa 1930 Collection of the Utrecht Archives nbsp NS 3911 at Rotterdam Delftsche Poort station circa 1930 Collection of the Utrecht Archives nbsp Steam locomotive of the 3900 series at Amsterdam Central Station 1932 nbsp Cab of NS 3902 at the exhibition 100 years of railways in the Netherlands on the Frederiksplein in Amsterdam September 1939 nbsp A NS 3900 pulling a coal train near Wijchen 25 03 1953 nbsp Replica of the steam locomotive De Arend of the N S next to a steam locomotive of the series 3900 at the central workshop in Zwolle nbsp NS 3904 during overhaul in the Central Workshop Tilburg On the right NS 3601 30 June 1933 nbsp NS 3916 with steel carriages in the vicinity of Baarn nbsp NS 3931 nbsp Cab of a NS 3900 seriesSources edit a b Waldorp H 1986 Onze Nederlandse stoomlocomotieven in woord en beeld 7e gew dr ed Almaar De Alk ISBN 90 6013 947 X OCLC 63833327 a b c Henken Paul 2012 NS serie 3900 de laatste Nederlandse sneltreinlocomotieven 1e dr ed s Hertogenbosch Uquilair ISBN 978 90 71513 75 6 OCLC 793361539 Martin van Oostrom Stoomlocomotieven serie NS 6300 uitgeverij Stichting Railpublicaties Rosmalen 1985 ISBN 90 71513 01 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title NS 3900 amp oldid 1193458713, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
