BNR Garratt 815

The name itself suggests the grandeur of this Beyer Peacock, Manchester, UK, built powerful locomotive, which is assumed to be the heaviest and the highest in power of any steam locomotive ever used in Indian Railways. Weighing a gigantic 235 tons, these 4 cylinder articulated steam locomotive were used mainly to haul heavy mineral and iron ore on Bengal Nagpur Railway (B.N.R) and later South Eastern Railway. these set of locomotives, were powerful enough to haul a load of 2400 tons on a 1:100 Gradients.

"A Garratt (also known as Beyer-Garratt) is a type of powerful Steam locomotive that is articulated in three parts. Its boiler is mounted on the centre frame, and two steam engines are mounted on separate frames, one on each end of the boiler.

Articulation permits larger locomotives to negotiate curves and lighter rails that might restrict large rigid-framed locomotives. Many Garratt designs aimed to double the power of the largest conventional locomotives operating on their railways, thus reducing the need for multiple locomotives and crews."