Sentetsu Purero-class locomotives

The Purero-class (プレロ) locomotives were a group of steam tank locomotives with 2-6-2 wheel arrangement of used by the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) in Korea. The "Pure" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 2-6-2 wheel arrangement were called "Prairie".^[1]

Chosen Government Railway Purero class (プレロ) Korean State Railway Purŏyu class (부러유)
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Orenstein & Koppel Build date 1911 Total produced 2
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-6-2T Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Driver dia. 1,370 mm (54 in) Length 10,846 mm (35 ft 7.0 in) Width 2,900 mm (9 ft 6 in) Height 3,900 mm (12 ft 10 in) Adhesive weight 34.70 t (34.15 long tons) Loco weight 51.45 t (50.64 long tons) Fuel capacity 1.60 t (1.57 long tons) Water cap. 5,600 L (1,500 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 1.80 m2 (19.4 sq ft) Boiler: ​  • Small tubes 81 x 45 mm (1.8 in)  • Large tubes 12 x 137 mm (5.4 in) Boiler pressure 12.0 kgf/cm2 (171 psi) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 7.60 m2 (81.8 sq ft)  • Tubes 74.40 m2 (800.8 sq ft)  • Total surface 74.40 m2 (800.8 sq ft) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 19.00 m2 (204.5 sq ft) Cylinders 1 Cylinder size 450 mm × 550 mm (18 in × 22 in) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Maximum speed 75 km/h (47 mph) Tractive effort 72.0 kN (16,200 lbf)
Career Operators Domun Railway Chosen Government Railway Korean State Railway Class Sentetsu: プレロ KSR: 부러유 Number in class 2 Numbers Sentetsu: プレロ1, プレロ2 KSR: 부러유1, 부러유2 Delivered 1911

In all, Sentetsu owned 227 locomotives of all Pure classes, whilst privately owned railways owned another 52; of these 279 locomotives, 169 went to the Korean National Railroad in South Korea and 110 to the Korean State Railway in North Korea.^[2]

Description

Orenstein & Koppel of Germany built two superheated 2-6-2 tank locomotives in 1911 which were operated by the privately owned Domun Railway after 1920. Both were taken over by Sentetsu after the nationalisation of the Domun Railway in 1929; after the general renumbering of 1938 they were designated プレロ (Purero) class and numbered プレロ1 and プレロ2.^[3]

Postwar: Korean State Railway 부러유 (Purŏyu) class

After the Liberation and partition of Korea, both ended up in North Korea after Liberation, and were operated by the Korean State Railway^[3] designated 부러유 (Purŏyu) class.