#1184

Belgian State Railways Type 23

🇧🇪 Belgium ·built by Various· from 1904· class of 375 Belgian 0-8-0T locomotives

1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. 2014-09-27 sncb typ 53 Steam loc preserved at Treignes museum: Noben k· CC BY-SA 3.0

what is it?

The Belgian State Railways Type 23, later known as the NMBS/SNCB Type 53, was a class of 0-8-0T steam locomotives built between 1904 and 1927. The 436 members of the class were used as shunters at most of the railway stations operated by the Belgian State Railways and its successor, the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), which was established in 1926. One member of the class, no.

who runs it

Belgian State Railways SNCB/NMBS

base stats

weight 53 tin working order
built 436made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 122 years ago, in 1904.
Weighs about as much as 9 African elephants (~6 t each).
Served for 63 years (1904–1967).

steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.

spec sheet

built: 1904–1927
in service from: 1904
retired: 1967
status: preserved
number built: 436
kind: Steam
traction: steam
origin: 🇧🇪 Belgium
builders: Various
operators: Belgian State Railways, SNCB/NMBS
top speed: —
power: —
gauge: 1,435 mm standard gauge
wheel arrangement: 0-8-0
weight: 53 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q18175578, Wikipedia: Belgian State Railways Type 23 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.