Prussian P 4

Prussian P 4
Quantity	1
Manufacturer	Henschel
Year(s) of manufacture	1898
Retired	1921
Wheel arrangement	4-4-0
Axle arrangement	2'B h2
Type	P 24.45
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Length over buffers	16,411 mm
Overall wheelbase	7,400 mm
Empty weight	44.6 t
Service weight	49.1 t
Adhesive weight	31.0 t
Axle load	15.5 t
Top speed	90 km/h
Indicated Power	675 kW (900 PS)
Coupled wheel diameter	1,750 mm
Carrying wheel diameter	1,000 mm
No. of cylinders	2
Cylinder bore	460 mm
Piston stroke	600 mm
Boiler Overpressure	12 bar
No. of heating tubes	141
No. of smoke tubes	1 fire tube
Grate area	2.32 m2
Radiative heating area	8.9 m2
Tube heating area	76.2 m2
Superheater area	21.0 m2
Evaporative heating area	85.1 m2
Tender	pr 3 T 15
Water capacity	15.0 m3

The Prussian P 4 was a derivative of the P 4.1 (Hanover variant) and the second superheated steam locomotive in the world.

Design

The engine was based on that of the Class P 4.1 that had Hanomag had produced in large numbers since 1892. It had slightly larger wheels and, due to its new design, significantly fewer heating tubes. The superheater and the steam engine were entirely independent designs.

Service and preservation

In 1898 a one-off was delivered by Hanomag to the Prussian state railways. The economy of the superheated system was soon proven in 1899 by the engine during trial runs from Kassel. Apart from a short stay at Halle the engine was assigned to Kassel as Cassel 131 and, from 1906, as P 4 Cassel 1846. In 1921, after the First World War, the engine was mothballed, along with many other machines of similar class. With its sectioned boiler the P 4 stood for a long time in the Transport and Construction Museums, part of Museum of the Present at Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin.

See also

• Prussian state railways
• List of Prussian locomotives and railbuses
• List of preserved steam locomotives in Germany

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prussian P 4.