Look at all those wheels!
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Between the small coal bunker, low drive wheels, and the number of them, I'm guessing this was used as a yard switcher? Or a helper engine on a steep grade? It looks like the two center axles are blind, but this thing must still have one heck of a turning radius. Quite the machine!
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The BDZ 46 03 is a standard gauge superheated simple-expansion locomotive. The 3rd and 4th axles have flangeless wheels. The 46 class was designed to haul heavy coal trains on steep mountain gradients which they did very successfully. The Bulgarian railwaymen called them "Mother Bear". The locomotives of the 46 class appear to be the most powerful steam locomotives built in Europe. Remarkably, the 46 03 has been preserved and restored to working order. Two batches of the 46 class were built, with some significant differences. The first batch of 12 engines was built in 1931 by Cegielski in Poznan (Poland). These had two cylinders of 700 mm diameter. The second batch of 8 was built by Schwartzkopff in Berlin. These locomotives had three cylinders of 550 mm diameter.
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