China Railways KF

what is it?

The Class KF (聯盟型, 'Confederation class', re-designated "ㄎㄈ" or "KF") are a type of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives, built in the United Kingdom by the Vulcan Foundry for the railways of China. Between 1935 and 1936, 24 locomotives were built for the Guangzhou–Hankou Railway, designated as the 600 series. Following World War II, and the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Government assumed control of the railway and re-designated the engines in 1954 as the "ㄎㄈ" class ("ㄎㄈ" being the Zhuyin characters for "K(o)-F(o)") from the first two syllables of "Confederation", and in 1959 as the "KF" class.

who runs it

base stats

• speed 120 km/htop speed
• weight 260 tin working order
• built 24made 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 91 years ago, in 1935.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 43 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 📏28.4 m long: about 6 cars parked nose to tail.
• ⌛Served for 35 years (1935–1970).

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

spec sheet

built

1935–1936

in service from

1935

retired

1970

status

preserved

number built

24

kind

Steam

traction

steam

origin

🇨🇳 China

builders

Vulcan Foundry

designer

Colonel Kenneth Cantlie

operators

China State Railway Group

top speed

120 km/h

power

—

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

4-8-4

length

28.4 m

weight

260 t

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