 | |
| SS 326 (Grote Groene) | |
|---|---|
| by Supersnell11 | |
| Price | 400 Robux |
| Gamepass | Preserved Four |
| Statistics | |
| Type | Passenger |
| Top Speed | 90 km/h |
| Weight | 64 tons |
| Capacity | 310 tons |
| Passenger Capacity | 2 first class 2 second class |
| Length | 15,4 meters |
The SS 326 is a Dutch 1B (2-4-0) passenger locomotive that has been preserved in the Dutch national railway museum.
Liveries
SS 326 is only available in SS apple green.
Historical details
SS 326 was ordered by the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van de Staatsspoorwegen (SS) as a part of the series SS 301-475. It was designed because the series that Staatsspoorwegen had at the time did not include a Westinghouse-brake and air-pump, which had recently become required. The SS ordered Beyer, Peacock & Co. to design a powerful locomotive that they could use to compete with the other Dutch railways such as HSM and NBDS.
Beyer used the culmination of an English design with inside cylinders and an outside frame, but bigger than they had ever been in the UK. The locomotives were, at the time of delivery, also the largest steam engines in Europe. Their size and green livery gave them the nickname 'Grote Groene' (Big Green).
Although these were intended for passenger trains, trials in 1893 proved that these locomotives were also suitable for goods trains, so theese were the only type of locomotive SS ordered for a while. They ordered so many of them that this series would become the largest ammount of Dutch steam locomotives to be operated until the introduction of NS 4300.
The SS 301-475 were used across the entire network of the SS but after 1910, the year the SS 700 (later NS 3700) were put into service, they lost the most important work, that being passenger trains, but were nevertheless used for the plethora of secondary jobs on the network.
After the SS fused with the HSM in 1921, the locomotives were renumbered to NS 1301-1475, not to be confused with the second NS 1300 series. They were still stationed across the Netherlands, including depots which would be closed in the 1920s. The electrification of the railway barely affected these locomotives. The depots Leeuwarden and Roosendaal each had 18 of them in 1929/30s. Nijmegen had 17 in the same years and Arnhem 13. After 1935 they were all moved to depots North and East of Zwolle, which itself lies North-East of the centre of the country.
The first locomotive of the series to be withdrawn was NS 1378 in 1924, another five followed the next year. 14 were withdrawn between the years of 1925 and 1930, after which they started disappearing from the railway in large numbers. The worst year was 1935, during which 63 of them were withdrawn. The last member of the class survived until 1940, when the 1382 and 1435 were withdrawn.
In 1929, NS 1326 was withdrawn to be displayed in the future railway museum. Sadly, the engine was severely damaged during the war when it was stored in a shed in Maastricht. After the war, it was stored in Almelo until 1947, after which it got moved to Arnhem. NS 1326 had to wait until 1955 to be restored for the museum. The cylinder block, that has been destroyed since 1944, was replaced with a construction plate on which the cylinder lids sat. The locomotive was painted back to Staatsspoorwegen apple green livery. It has been on display at the railway museum ever since.
Technical details
SS 326 was originally equipped with: a Westinghouse-brake; a Westinghouse-air pump; a coupling for steam heating on the back; a Cartazzi bearing on the front axle and two Friedmann-injectors. The cylinders have a diameter of 457 mm and the boiler pressure was 10,3 atmosphere. The driving wheels have a diameter of 2150 mm.
The locomotive has a double frame for which the centre axle has four bearings. The rear axle only has two, in the outer frame. The front axle is capable of 13 mm of sideways moment
The Friedmann-injectors were later replaced by Gresham & Craven-injectors.
The locomotives of the series were fitted with drop grates and slideable ash tray bottoms from 1913 onwards.
From 1918 onwards, they were fitted with Knorr pre-heaters with a heating surface of 9,2 m² and a pump with a capacity of 120 litres a minute. Additionally, the driver's place was moved to the right.
The tender originally had a capacity of 10,3 m³ of water. However, the water tank was enlarged to increase this to 13 m³. All tenders of the series were fitted with a rim to prevent coal from falling off. This didn't increase the amount of coal that was allowed to be loaded.
The original Westinghouse air pump was replaced by Duplex air pumps of the New York Air Brake Company design, though this change was reverted in 1925.
In the 1920s, when the locomotives were used mostly for shunting and other secondary jobs, they received tender cabs, an air-powered bell, sanders that worked on the centre axles in both driving directions, couplings for steam heating and a pulling cord to control the whistle at the front of the engine, in case the locomotives had to drive tender-first.
Trivia
- The SS 326, alongside SS 13, are the only steam engines in-game to feature cab interior and character animations for the driver.
- Though they share having character animations with NS 1.
- Ironically, the SS 326 has a higher tractive effort than NS 1700, which is the successor to the SS 326's series.
- The SS 326 is one of two steam locomotives without extra whistle sounds, only having one sound file.
- The other being NS 5500, which also has a single whistle audio file.
- Strangely enough, the single audio file of the whistle is also used by the SS 13 (De Bril), which uses lots more whistle audio files.
- SS 326 has been available since the release of the Preserved Four gamepass in version 0.5.
Gallery
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The driver of SS 326 stands in his engine in Helmelo's station. The interior of the cab can be appreciated.
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Ditto.
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The actual SS 326, in the Spoorwegmuseum.
