Steam locomotives SEK Ηα401 ex-PDS ex-BDZ MAFFEI 1904

[christo]

Hα 401 D n2v + 3T Henschel 1908 Ex BDZ, ex PDS E 501

Works photo of BDZ number 84. One loco of this class was taken by Greece as war spoils after the Balkan Wars. The BDZ took this enginre back during WWII.

christo.

[GAZKGK]

Ηα 401 was БДЖ 357, and as far as I know it remained in Greece, while (ex-БДЖ) Θα 501, 511 & 512 were taken by the Bulgarians again in WW II and were reused.

[christo]

The BDZ 357 belonged to a batch (352-364) built by Henschel to an identical specification and appearance.

christo.

[jsimantov]

Hi Everyone,

Those engines were similar to the KPEV G-7, but were 2 cylinder compounds; the pic shows the low-pressure cylinder.

Similar engines ran in France as 040B where they were known as "Les Boiteuses" (The lame). This happened because the unequal cylinder pressure caused frequently a lateral movement when the locomotives were running, giving the distinct impression of a lame person walking!

Don't know if the Greek drivers had any similar nickname...

Cheers,

Iossif