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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 10 (May 1, 1929.)

World's Most Powerful Machines

World's Most Powerful Machines.

The new Garratt locomotives are the first of the three-cylinder type (simple) arrangement to be built for a 3ft. 6in. gauge railway, and are the most powerful locomotives of their kind on any railway of similar gauge in the world. They possess a tractive effort of 51,580 lbs. at 75 per cent of their boiler pressure—200lbs. per sq. in.

Opinions differ amongst locomotive engineers as to the relative advantages of the two, three and four, and compound cylinder arrangement.

However, after careful consideration, it was decided to adopt the three-cylinder (simple) arrangement in the design of our Garratts. It is interesting to note, in passing, that the new locomotives in this respect are similar in design to those which have achieved such high distinction in Britain in performing the non-stop runs between London and Edinburgh, a distance of 393 miles.

The Garratt type of articulated locomotive has in many parts of the world proved its suitability for every variety of traffic, including high-speed passenger trains. Amongst the railways which have adopted this type of locomotive are the London and North-Eastern, and the government railways of South Africa, Victoria and Western Australia.