Manila Railroad 170 class

Both the 170 and 200 classes were built with the same specifications in mind. Their only differences are those related to the wheel arrangement such as weight distribution and driver diameter. The 170 class was also lighter by 5,000 pounds (2,300 kilograms) than the 200 class.^[2]

According to Snowden Bell's 1922 article, the 170 class locomotives were built with interchangeable parts with the 200 class. This is to reduce the number of extra parts due to the distance between the Philippines and the United States, the latter being where the spare parts were manufactured. Both locomotives may also be powered with coal or oil, making them have the option as an oil-burning locomotive. However, the parts required for the modifications of the forward axle of the 2-10-2 arrangement were not interchangeable.^[1]

Due to its similarities with the 200 class, the 170 class also had the largest cylinders of any non-articulated narrow-gauge locomotive during its time. It was not until the South African Henschel Giants of 1927 used cylinders that are wider by 0.5 in (13 mm) in diameter. However it had a comparatively small boiler and grate area.^[1] The locomotives also had the latest American three-cylinder technology, which was also brought to other countries in Asia later in the 1920s such as the JNR Class C52.^[11] Its four-axle tender is a heavier version of the one used by the 45 class and resembles the ones used by heavy-duty locomotives in the US.^[4]

Llanso (2007) estimated that the power output of the locomotives was at 1,944 horsepower (1,450 kilowatts). It would be rated between the contemporary PNR 900 class at the lower-end and the INKA CC300 at the higher-end.^[2]

The 170 class entered service in 1922. Being the passenger version of the 200 classes, it mostly operated on the South Main Line as there were not much evidence of their usage on the network's northern counterpart.^[12] On May 8, 1938, two 170-class locomotives hauled nine coaches the first Bicol Express in its new terminus in Legazpi, Albay. For the remaining years of the interwar period, it hauled southern Luzon's limited express trains and was complemented by the MC class self-propelled railcars for short-range regional rail services.^[13]

By the outbreak of World War II, the Manila Railroad was placed under Japanese control and its rolling stock was used by its military.

The Manila Railroad suffered heavily after World War II, and it was also evident with its steam locomotive fleet. Only three out of ten 170 class locomotives managed to survive the war.^[7] The 200 class locomotives were also scrapped altogether after being deemed beyond repair. The Manila Railroad then received ten 4-8-2 locomotives from the United States, alongside several 2-8-2 Mikados as part of war reparations.^[4] Numbered after Manila Railway 100 class of 1906, the first tender locomotives in Philippine service, the Manila Railroad 100 class complemented the 170 class on passenger services throughout Luzon.

By 1956, all steam locomotives were retired from mainline service as diesel locomotives built by GE and the JMC-class diesel multiple units built by Japan replaced them. In 1968, No. 176 was stored awaiting to be scrapped in Tutuban alongside Manila Railroad 800 class USA No. 869.^[14] These were eventually scrapped without a single unit preserved like all of Manila Railroad's tender locomotives.^[7]