Locomotive 148 preserved in the Bulgarian National Transport Museum at Ruse.

Bulgarian State Railways locomotives 142-150 provided motive power on Bulgaria's first railway, opened in 1866 to connect Ruse on the River Danube with Varna on the Black Sea. Ordered from England shortly after the opening of the railway, they were intended as mixed-traffic locomotives to supplement the line's original locomotive fleet. They were powerful 2-cylinder 0-6-0 locomotives with 6-wheeled tenders.[1]

In 1888 the Bulgarian railways were nationalised under the Railways Act 1885[2] and the locomotives became the property of the Bulgarian State Railways (BDŽ).

Construction

The supervising engineers and construction companies contracted to build Bulgaria's first railway were all British[3] and after the opening of the line in 1866 an order was placed for 10 new British-built locomotives to supplement the original fleet. Eight were constructed by Sharp, Stewart & Company in Manchester, and the other two by Beyer, Peacock & Company also of Manchester. They were all built and supplied between 1868 and 1869. They were numbered sequentially from 12 to 21.[4]

Ownership

On 1 July 1873 operation of the Ruse-Varna line was transferred to the Chemins de fer Orientaux (CO) company, the Ottoman Empire's principal railway operator, and the host line of the famous CIWL Orient Express service. Under CO ownership the English-built locomotives were renumbered in the series 279–288.

After the end of Ottoman rule, Bulgaria established its own National Assembly, which passed the Railways Act in 1885, leading to the establishment of the Bulgarian State Railways in 1888. The Ruse-Varna line was acquired that year, although operation was unaffected. Bulgaria declared independence on 5 October 1908[5] and this led to restructuring within BDŽ, as part of which the English-built locomotives were again renumbered, this time in the sequence 142–150.[4] The reduction of sequential numbering from 10 to 9 resulted from the loss of original locomotive 12, which had been dismantled in 1873 as a source of spare parts for the other engines. In BDŽ service the locomotives were classified as class P 3/3 z along with the technically similar Austrian-built locomotives Bulgarian State Railways locomotives 151-157.

The locomotives were withdrawn from service in 1914, having completed nearly half a century of operational service.

Preservation

One example of the class has been preserved. Locomotive 20 (later 285, then 148) was not scrapped, and in 1966 was transferred to the National Historic Collection. It is currently on display at the main location of the National Transport Museum at the original 1866 Ruse railway station.[6]

Table of locomotives

Number Builder Year built Serial number Notes
Original CO BDŽ (1888) BDŽ (1908)
14 279 279 142 Sharp, Stewart & Company 1868 1865 Withdrawn 1914
15 280 280 143 1868 1866 Withdrawn 1914
16 281 281 144 1868 1867 Withdrawn 1914
17 282 282 145 1868 1868 Withdrawn 1914
18 283 283 146 1868 1871 Withdrawn 1914
19 284 284 147 1868 1872 Withdrawn 1914
20 285 285 148 1868 1873 Withdrawn 1914 and preserved 1966 (Bulgarian national collection)
21 286 286 149 1868 1874 Withdrawn 1914
12 287 - - Beyer, Peacock & Company 1868 834 Withdrawn 1873 and used for spare parts
13 288 288 150 1869 925 Withdrawn 1914

British construction

These 10 locomotives are the only engines built in the United Kingdom specifically for service in Bulgaria. Bulgarian State Railways also operates a fleet of Class 87 electric locomotives built at British Rail Engineering Limited at Crewe Works, although these were supplied second-hand after original service in the United Kingdom.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dejanow, Dimiter (1990). Die Lokomotiven der Bulgarischen Staatsbahnen (Internationales Archiv für Lokomotivgeschichte) (in German). Vienna: Josef Otto Slezak. ISBN 3854161506.
  2. ↑ "Major dates in the history of the Bulgarian railways". BDŽ. 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "150 years Bulgarian railway transport". International Scientific Conference on Aeronautics, Automotive and Railway Engineering and Technologies. Technical University of Sofia. 16 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 Durrant, A E (1966). Steam Locomotives of Eastern Europe. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 9780715340776.
  5. ↑ Crampton, R.J. (2007). Bulgaria. Oxford University Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-19-954158-4.
  6. ↑ ""Музей на транспорта" – гр. Русе (Translates: Museum of Transport, Ruse)". BDZ (Bulgarian State Railways) website. Retrieved 23 November 2016. (In Bulgarian. Includes photograph of the locomotive.)
  7. ↑ "BZK locomotives". Railfaneurope.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  8. ↑ UK Traction Overseas Modern Locomotives Illustrated issue 235 February 2019 pages 66-73

Additional sources

  • Dimitar Ivanov, BDZ traction 1866-1946, Sofia, 1988 (in Bulgarian)

Media related to BDŽ 142 to 150 at Wikimedia Commons

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