Jaworzyna Śląska 2024-05-02

History of TKi3 steam locomotives.

The TKi3 steam locomotive was a steam locomotive used in Poland. The locomotive had the Prussian designation T9-3, and later the Germanic designation 91-3-18. The locomotives were manufactured by Henschel, Union Gießerei Königsberg (Gdańsk), Jung, and others. The locomotive was a universal tank locomotive and was produced from 1901 to 1914. Over 2,200 units were built, primarily for the Royal Prussian Railway Administration, but also for the Alsace-Lorraine Railway and other private railways.

TKi3 locomotives were used for light passenger and freight trains weighing up to 400-500 tons, primarily on local lines and over short distances of up to 50 km. These were short routes, but with challenging route profiles. TKi3 locomotives were also used for shunting at large stations and plant sidings. TKi3 locomotives were also operated in the territories of the Partitioned Poland, where they could be found in Poznań, Gdańsk, Katowice, and Wrocław. During the Great War, following the front, TKi3 locomotives found their way onto the tracks of the Moscow Partition and operated, for example, in Skierniewice and Warsaw. In 1920, as war reparations, the Reborn Polish Republic received 320 locomotives, which the Polish State Railways designated TKi3. The locomotives operated in all PKP directorates.

After World War II, in 1945, 213 locomotives remained in PKP’s inventory. From the late 1940s, the locomotives were gradually written off. The main reason was the locomotive’s saturated steam operation. The boiler lacked a superheater, making it uneconomical. Furthermore, there was a tendency to assemble long and heavy trains for heavy steam locomotives. Some locomotives were transferred to sidings at industrial plants: steelworks, mines, and power plants. Several dozen were converted into fireless locomotives for chemical plants. The last example of the PKP TKi3 series was retired in 1969. TKi3 locomotives operated in industry until 1979. Five of this type remain in operation in Poland to this day.

TKi3 steam locomotive specifications:

Axle configuration: 1-3-0, 1’C. Track gauge: 1435 mm. Boiler pressure: 12 atm. The boiler has no superheater. Boiler heating area: 107 m². Grate area: 1.53 m². Twin engine. Rated power: 470 hp (345 kW). Drive wheel diameter: 1.35 m. Rolling wheel diameter: 1.00 m. Design speed: 65 km/h. Tractive effort: 8,900 kg. Service weight: 59,900 kg. Coal capacity: 2,000 kg. Water capacity: 7 m³.

Written by Karol Placha Hetman