MAWD "MacArthur" 2-8-2

Click here to see photo of WD

Photo courtesy: Louis T.Cerny, author of "Meter Gauge Steam in India"

No railway has publicly expressed gratitude to the United States for supplying locomotives for free. During World War II, the U.S. built thousands of steam locomotives and supplied them to various Allied countries. Pre-independence India, an American ally, got hundreds of such "War Department" locomotives, to alleviate the prevailing motive power shortage. The AWE Class was one of the 3 such "War Department" class locomotives supplied to India, the other two being the AWD (or CWD, the version supplied by Canada) and the MAWD meter gauge 2-8-2 known as "MacArthurs". With their stovepipe chimneys, bar frames and central headlamps, they were typical American locomotives. Though these engines were designed and built in a hurry, they rendered yeoman service to the railways which owned them, long after the War had ended. Thanks America!

HISTORICAL NOTES

The MAWD was built in 1942 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the premier locomotive builder in the United States. It was popularly known as a "MacArthur", after the famous American World War II general. It was also supplied to Thailand; the Thai Railways kept their MAWDs cleaner and better-maintained than did Indian Railways. MAWDs were a common sight on the meter gauge lines of the Southern Railway, in the good old days of steam. They were especially suited for shunting duties. They were not permitted to run at high velocities because their bogie tenders could derail at such speeds; otherwise, they were fine locomotives. The one in the picture was photographed at Tiruchirappalli.

In their early years, spare parts for the War Department locomotives were not readily available, so they had to be "shedded", until the parts came in.

DIMENSIONS

Numbers built: 304 (approx.), Cylinders: (2), 16" Bore x 24" Stroke, Wheel Diameter: 4'-0", Boiler Pressure: 185 psig, Grate Area: 27.6 sq.ft, Tractive Effort: 20,128 lb, Nominal Axle Load: 8.9 tonnes.

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