Indian locomotive class YG
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| Indian locomotive class YG | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 YG 3543 at Bareilly City sheds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sources:[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Indian locomotive class YG were a class of 2-8-2 metre-gauge goods locomotives introduced by Indian Railways around 1949. It was one of several standardised locomotive designs developed as further additions to the Indian Railway Standard (IRS) design locomotives built for the metre-gauge railways of India.
The YG class was the most mass-produced metre-gauge freight locomotive in India after the partition of India. Between 1949 and 1972, a total of 1,074 locomotives were built by nine different manufacturers.[3]
Although designed as goods engines, the YG was often used on passenger trains. It replaced the 1927-built YD class.
YG 3573, completed on 5 February 1972 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, was the last steam locomotive built in India.[4]
Many of the locomotives were in use until the end of the 1990s. The last three examples, 3318, 3334 and 3360 were in regular service with Western Railways in 1999, being used on freight and passenger trains from Wankaner to Navlakhi via Morbi on the Gulf of Kutch.[5]
| Builder | Built date | Number | Serial number | Running number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1949/50 | 120 | 74474–74592 | 3000–3149 |
| Montreal Locomotive Works | 1950 | 20 | 77606–77625 | |
| Canadian Locomotive Company | 1950 | 10 | 2624–2633 | |
| Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. (TELCO) | 1952/53 | 50 | 1–50 | 3150–3199 |
| Nippon Sharyo | 1954/55 | 75 | 1619–1693 | 4001–4075 |
| Wiener Lokomotivfabrik Floridsdorf | 1956 | 50 | 17776–17825 | 4076–4125 |
| Lenin Works (Škoda) | 1956 | 50 | 3434–3483 | 4126–4175 |
| Nippon Sharyo | 1956 | 46 | 1706–1751 | 4276–4321 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | 1956 | 39 | 880–918 | 4322–4360 |
| TELCO | 1956–66 | 554 | 151–200, 291–760, 831–844, 936–955 |
3200–3513, 3690–3749, 4176–4275, 4361–4440 Not in order |
| Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) | 1969–72 | 60 | N/A | 3514–3573 |
| Source:[6] | ||||
Design
The YG class was designed as a metre-gauge variant of the broad-gauge class WG, but externally, they were broadly similar to the class YP passenger locomotives. The biggest difference between YG class and the preceding YD class was the use of bar frames, which were lighter and easier to manufacture than the plate frames.[3]
In addition, the YGs had the latest technical features in a steam locomotive of its era, such as steel fire grates, rapidly heating boiler tubes, combustion chambers and large-area superheaters. Improved boiler conditions allowed the combustion of low-grade Indian coal with high ash content.[7]
Allocations
The YG class was widely used throughout India. By 1976, 1,059 locomotives were still rostered on the following zones of Indian Railways:[8]
| Region | Number |
|---|---|
| Central Railways | 24 |
| Northern Railways | 165 |
| North Eastern Railways | 293 |
| Northern Frontier Railway | 106 |
| Southern Railways | 159 |
| South Central Railways | 151 |
| Western Railways | 161 |
East African exports
In 1976, five locomotives, numbers 3563, 3564, 3551, 3550, and 3549, were sold to East African Railways. These were manufactured in 1971 and 1972, and were overhauled in India beforehand. Differences include the absence of smoke deflectors and some other minor adjustments. The five locomotives were placed in the 2701-2705 numbering sequence, being designated as Class 27II, and were passed on to Tanzania Railways after the breakup of the EAR, before being withdrawn and scrapped in 1993.[9][2]
