Narrow Gauge Steam Locomotives, Croatia

On October 3rd, the Croatian post issued these two locomotives' stamps - seems that each year, the do dedicate an issue to trains and railways, which I absolutely support :)

The history of railway systems is marked by huge and complicated development of hauling locomotives, starting from steam locomotives to the electrically, diesel and diesel-electrically driven locomotives. At the same time the sequence of development from steam locomotives to today's technically and technologically sophisticated hauling locomotives was enormous and can be traced in many segments. This is the reason why the review of the original series of steam locomotives - especially those which were used in industry or in freight and passenger traffic on narrow gauge railway tracks is almost inconsistent when compared with the possibilities and exploitation features of today’s locomotives.

Steam locomotive model  207 (top stamp) - locomotives of this kind were built for hauling in industrial plants and mines for the 600 millimetre gauge. The locomotive model no 207 is a tender locomotive functioning on the saturated steam system. It was built in 1949 at the Đuro Đaković Factory in Slavonski Brod. From 1951 it was used in the mine Rudovci and then in the Tile and Brick Factory Ilovac in Karlovac. It was withdrawn from traffic on 1 December 1966. In 1993 the locomotive was donated to the Croatian Railway Museum by the Technical Museum of Zagreb. The power of the locomotive was 26 kW (35 KSi), its length was 5.312 mm, its weight 8.87 t, and the highest allowed speed 20 km/h.




Steam Locomotive of the series JDŽ/HDŽ/JŽ 83-106(SHS/BH Stb IV a5 1138) (bottom stamp) -  locomotives of this series were built for hauling of light freight and passenger trains on narrow gauge tail tracks of 760 mm in Bosnia and Hercegovina. They were constructed by Austrian engineers by reinforcing one kind of steam locomotive which was already hauling trains on local lines in Austrian Alps. In the period between 1903 and 1929 the locomotives from this series were built in Austrian factories Krauss in Linz and Jungenthal in Sieg and in the period between 1948 and 1949 ten locomotives from the series were produced also in the Đuro Đaković Factory in Slavonski Brod for the needs of Yugoslav Railways. At first the locomotives were built using compound system on saturated steam and later the system of superheated steam. Their special features were round steam distributors, Heusinger steering, handbrake and vacuum brake Hardy, water filter and chimney Kobel. The locomotives of this series were known in public under the name „Ćiro“ and they hauled trains on the narrow gauge railway network in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
After Second World War on the narrow-gauge railway Split-Sinj (the so called rera of Sinj) several of these locomotives were used as replacement for the locomotives of the series JDŽ/HDŽ 186. In Croatia one locomotive remained preserved from the mentioned series and is featured on this stamp). The locomotive was built in 1916 in the Krauss Factory in Linz, Austria; from 1918 it was used in Bosnia and Herzegovina and later also in Croatia. It was withdrawn from traffic on 18. February 1975. The locomotive is exhibited at the train station Ploče, and makes part of the fundus of the Croatian Railway Museum. The power of the locomotives from this series was 254 kW (345 KSi), the length with tender 13,700 mm, the weight of the empty locomotive 32.5 t, the weight of the locomotive in function 36 t and the highest allowed speed 35 km/h.

I have to thank myself for these two :D