KF 4-8-4 Locomotive (2 of 2).

This engine was built in 1935 at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-Le-Willows, Lancashire, England and was designed by Colonel Kenneth Cantile (a British railway advisor to the Chinese government) for passenger and freight service on the Chinese railway network.

The engine is 28.3 metres (93 feet) long and weighs 195 tonnes. It carries 12.2 tonnes of coal and 24,410 litres (6469 UK gallons) of water and is capable of pulling a load of 609 tonnes at a speed of up to 50 mph on level ground. Each of the 8 main driving wheels is almost 1.8 metres (approx. 6 feet) in diameter.

During the Second World War it was captured and used by the Imperial Japanese army. After the war it was used again on the Chinese rail network until 1981 when it was donated to the people of Britain as a gift from the people of China and put on static display at the National Railway Museum in York.

Camera: Nikon D90. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2.