Vulcan Liberation 2-8-0

Further to the S160 guys finding one of their boilers was a Liberation, a sort of 8F with S160 type boiler, is there any news of the survivors.
Supposedly a demic DD built one at Belgrade roundhouse- nil to see on the google, is it scrapped, or inside?
Whole sight being redeveloped...
Looks like 2 are plinthed in Poland, but look unlikely to ever run again.
Any more info on the UK boiler history?
KWVR tried to bring one home many moons ago, it's perhaps nice they got a Riddles.
15 CSD Czech last 4 withdrawn 1971
10 in Luxembourg 1961
Poland has the 2 plinthed survivors, all withdrawn 1976 but 3 industrial until about 1982
Yugoslavia had 65 UK built and Duro Dokavic built 10 with smoke deflectors and modifications as late as 1958, seemingly some lasted until about 1976, and the demic one possibly only a recent scrapping.
Apparently they were rather good engines in reports from all those countries, and set standards copied by other local designs. Tis a subject I know very little of but very interested to hear more...
All info and anecdotes gratefully heard.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Class

 

https://muzeumkolejnictwa.pl/akcja-adopcja-parowozu/

 

Surprised to hear that the KWVR tried to acquire a Liberation 2-8-0. Given that the engines were built to Continental loading gauge, I suspect that the Nene Valley would be the only British heritage line able to operate them.

Note the sandbox on the boiler top - an unusual feature for a British design.

 

A locomotive being a bludgeoning weapon on infrastructure isn't exactly new though. Severn had the German tank that couldn't leave Bridgnorth because it was out of gauge and 5972 famously trimmed some platforms up the West Highland Line. The diagram lists it as 13ft 11in which isn't as tall as I'd expect but probably just enough to be a ball ache at making it fit the Worth Valley branch. It would have been a hell of a performer at the Great Central though.

 

GCR loading gauge was 13' 4" above rail height. It was also about a foot narrower than Berne gauge as well. A Liberation is 10' over the cabs and not much narrower over the cylinders.

 

Interesting idea of adopt a loco paint, volunteering etc&. Perhaps could yield interesting results here if you want a popular loco back thats at the back of the queue.

 

I always thought the GCR was taller thanks to the Berne myth. The Liberations really are all round far too big for every railway except the Nene then.

 

What is the source of this information? The reason I ask is that the published boiler dimensions for the 2 classes are vastly different:
Distance between tubeplates Liberation 4.41m S160 4.115m.
Grate Liberation 2.363m x 1.733m S160 2.14m x 1.84m.
Total evaporating surface Liberation 208.76 m2 S160 161.3 m2. etc. etc.
So I can't see how a Liberation boiler could possibly fit on an S160. I also remember when these S160's were first imported and certainly didn't notice anything 'unusual'.
Ray.

 

heres the S160 thread https://www.national-preservation.com/threads/usatc-s160.1116711/page-2#post-2756771

 

Here are 12 photos taken in 2011 and 2023 of the Liberation preserved at Jaworzyna Slaska, Poland:

https://andrewstransport.smugmug.com/Polishtrains/Vulcan-Foundry-England-Liberation-2-8-0

Andrew N

 

Maybe I missed it but couldn't see anything related to "the S160 guys finding one of their boilers was a Liberation" as stated in your first post.
Ray.

 

The Liberation engines may have been designed to fit within the French loading gauge, which has a height of just over 14ft - rather less than the height of about 15ft provided in most other countries in Continental Europe. Some of the engines in Poland were given chimney extensions, which can be seen in the post above from @wcmlbls1846.

I think there is a typo in the figure for Liberation grate length - the Vulcan Foundry diagram quotes 7ft 9¾in, which translates to 2.381m. But you are certainly right to say that the Liberation and S160 boilers are completely different. By European standards, the Liberation was a very heavy machine for a 2-8-0, tipping the scales at 84 long tons. That is heavier than a WD 2-10-0 and almost equal to a German Kriegslok 2-10-0.

 

Of course - that makes much more sense. I copied it from here http://locomotives.com.pl/Freight Steam Locomotives/Tr202.htm and should have checked. Now corrected.
Cheers,
Ray.