The EAR 27 class, previously known as the EAR MR class, was a sub-class of gauge

USATC S118 Class The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S118 Class is a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotive. Built to either , or gauge, they were used in at least 24 different countries. Based on Australia's new C17 class locomotives, their specifica ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s operated by the

East African Railways The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Uganda ...

(EAR), and, with one exception, previously by the

Malayan Railways Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) (Jawi: كريتاڤي تانه ملايو برحد) or Malayan Railways Limited is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was firs ...

Service history

The first eight members of the class were built in 1944, and were acquired second hand by the

Tanganyika Railway Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

(TR) from the Malayan Railways in 1949. Those locomotives entered service on the Central Line in

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania M ...

in 1949. By that time, the TR had been succeeded by the EAR, which designated them for a very short time as its MR class, but then, as part of a comprehensive reclassification of all of its locomotives, redesignated and renumbered them as its 27 class. In 1950, the EAR acquired eight further 27 class locomotives from the Malayan Railways, and in 1953 another 27 class locomotive was built in the EAR's Dar es Salaam Workshops, using spare parts acquired from the

Nigerian Railways Nigerian Railway Corporation (commonly abbreviated as NRC) is the state-owned enterprise with exclusive rights to operate railways in Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naij ...

. The 27 class therefore eventually reached a total of 17 locomotives.

Class list

The builders, build year and fleet numbers of each member of the class were as follows:

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links