TR ML class

The TR ML class, later known and expanded as the EAR 26 class, was a class of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge 2-8-2 steam locomotives designed for and ordered by the Tanganyika Railway (TR), as a development of the TR MK class.

Tanganyika Railway ML class East African Railways 26 class
No. 2603 at Tabora depot, Tanzania, in 1968
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder W. G. Bagnall Vulcan Foundry Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Serial number WGB: 2832–2837 (1947) VF: 6182–6187 (1952) RSH: 7444–7449 (1952) Build date 1947, 1952 Total produced 12
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-2  • UIC 1′D1' h2 Gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) Driver dia. 43 in (1,092 mm) Adhesive weight 39.0 long tons (39.6 t) Loco weight 51.8 long tons (52.6 t) Fuel type Oil Fuel capacity 1,300 imp gal (5,900 L; 1,600 US gal) Water cap. 4,200 imp gal (19,000 L; 5,000 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 27 sq ft (2.51 m2) Boiler pressure 180 psi (1.24 MPa) Heating surface 1,731 sq ft (160.8 m2)  • Tubes   1,272 sq ft (118.2 m2)  • Firebox 139 sq ft (12.9 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 321 sq ft (29.8 m2) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 17+1⁄2 in × 23 in (444 mm × 584 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 25,050 lbf (111.43 kN)
Career Operators Tanganyika Railway (TR) → East African Railways (EAR) Class TR: ML class EAR: 26 class Number in class 12 Numbers TR: 700–705/600–605 EAR: 2601–2612 Delivered 1947, 1952
[1]

The six members of the ML class were built in 1947 by W. G. Bagnall, in Stafford, England, and delivered to the TR. They were later operated by the TR's successor, the East African Railways (EAR), as its 26 class. In 1952, six further members of the 26 class were delivered to the EAR. They had been built by Vulcan Foundry, of Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now part of Merseyside), England, and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns of North East England.[2]