Why did the garratts have an extra section in front of the boiler?
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Sure is a beauty, Gianfranco. I'm used to seeing the Union Pacific Big Boys, but these Garratts are still plenty big. Love the paint scheme. Thanks for posting.
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Water.
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The extra section is an additional water tank - great for adhesion on the front loco unit when the tank is full, but not so good when the tank is empty. As a result the front tank was invariably used as a reserve water source.
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I believe the section in front is the water tank.
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Great picture. Great locomotive. Just one point - the name of the city is Bulawayo, not Bulawajo.
Trust me on this: I grew up there :-)
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The front section of a Garrett carried water, the rear section the coal.
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Why did they need a larger water tank than North American locomotives? Because the climate in Africa is so dry? I used to think that the tank was to protect the crew from collisions with elephants, lol.
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| Posted by ar-ren on November 11, 2017 | |
No, that's because there's narrow gauge. Manufacturers need to low center of gravity, so they place boiler between two truck, as low as possible. First truck carry a water, second - coal plus water too.
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