Collection

NS 6228

The prototype

Built in 1912-1914 the 40 members of this class were designed to haul the increasingly heavy coal trains in South Limburg. The 6200 series was ordered by the then "Company of exploitation of State Railways" at Hohenzollern Germany. Dutch railways in general tended to design along very English looks in terms of aesthetics. Hohenzollern on its turn churned out a design which was very German in its mechanical conception: form follows function. The Staatsspoorwegen (unfortunately abbreviated SS, which was to gain a sinister connotation in decades later) however influenced the design for the sake of standardisation to the maximum extend with common parts already available from other classes. So the design eventually reflected the English aesthetics and German mechanics. This resulted in a class which looked like a cartoon collision between an English loco and a German loco resulting, after the clouds lift, in a loco which unites both. It is a matter of taste wether you find that beautiful or not. The 6200 class did not come to life for beauty though, it was to pull the coal trains in Limburg.

Dutch companies generally shied away from outside cylinder designs as some of these had proved to be notoriously bad runners. This design seems to have run satisfactorily for the work it was designed for. Their tractive force made the 6200's good hump shunter locomotives as well and they consequently found work on the larger yards after the arrival of the for Dutch terms giant 6300 class. The 6200's were nick named "he-goats" because they tended to buck at start up.

Nine members of the class fell victim to WWII, the remaining 31 were withdrawn between 1952 and 1957. None were preserved.

Grate area	2,33 m2	Hohenzollern factory photo
Boiler pressure	12 Bar
Cylinders	520 mm
Stroke	660 mm
Wheel diameter	1400 mm
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Water capacity	8,6 m3
Coal capacity	4 ton
Total operative weight	91 ton
Total length	12,92 m
Top speed	60 km/h
Tractive force	10,700 kg
Builder	Hohenzollern

Five members of the class (together with a 5400 in between) awaiting their tour of duty in Heerlen

No 6203 at the Fijenoord depot in Rotterdam. Very likely pre-war as both locomotives on the photo both have still all their brass. Photo used with kind permission of ©Dick van Aggelen

The model

A bought a simple etch set in 2010 containing all the sheet metal parts. Cast parts were bought separately as wel as the donor locomotive, a Roco BR93. A protracted project produced a reasonably good model, if I may say so myself. Total cost around €250.

The model doing what the prototype was designed for: pulling coal trains