Locomotives.....
Chinese built 1435mm gauge
These standard gauge 0-6-0 tank locomotives belong to the Chinese GJ (GongJian-Construction Worker) class and have been used at the Thai Nguyen Steel Works near Hanoi. It is not clear as to whether any still operate but recent evidence suggests that one or two may still be in operating condition (at least up to the end of 2010). Also it's possible that they may have been purchased/supplied second hand.
According to the "Railography" website the original locomotives were built between 1957 and 1961 but I'm not sure when the Thai Nguyen locomotives were supplied.
Data
| Class Designation | GJ (工建) |
| Descriptive Name | GongJian (Construction Worker) |
| Number in class/road numbers |
Not known/Some numbers: 1042, 1034, |
| Builders | Chengdu, Taiyuan |
| Building Dates | 1958 - 1961 |
| Number Built | 122 (total in China) |
| Boiler Pressure | |
| Grate Area | |
| Total Heating Surface |
|
| Superheater Area | |
| Wheel Arrangement | 0-6-0T |
| Driving Wheel Diameter |
1000 mm |
| Cylinders, Number | 2 (outside) |
| Cylinders, Diameter/Stroke | 480 mm x 550 mm |
| Valve Gear | Walschaerts |
| Tractive Effort | |
| Power Output (Wheel Rim) |
251 kW |
| Maximum Speed | 35 km/h |
| Overall Weight | |
| Overall Length | 9.7 m |
| Coal Capacity | |
| Water Capacity |
Steam Locomotives generally used the traditional
French classification system. A steam locomotive with a 2-8-2 wheel
arrangement is classified as 141 class, a locomotive with 4-6-2
wheel arrangement is classified as 231 class etc. Pretty straight
forward, except what happened if two classes had the same wheel
arrangement? It would appear that there would be several different say
231 classes eg. 231-301 and 231-501.
Diesel locomotives have a completely dfferent clasification system.
In the south diesels were classified again by wheels, so BB for bo-bo types. The same system as used in France and still used in Cambodia. In the north I'm not sure.
Now all diesel classes start with the letter 'D' (for diesel) then a number which I believe is related to the locomotives power output. The third character defines Electric' (E) or hydraulic (H).
e.g. D5H class = Diesel + 500 hp + hydraulic.
Again, what happens if two classes are the same I don't know.
Therefore it would appear that metre guage locomotives can have the same class but not the same road number.
Standard guage locomotives have a slightly different system. Diesel sometimes have 'er' added to the class e.g. D19er, but sometimes don't, e.g. D14E. Steam?
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