Manila Railroad 170 class

The London-based Manila Railway Company was purchased by the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in 1916 during the height of World War I in Europe. It was renamed into the Manila Railroad Company with Col. Henry B. McCoy replacing Horace L. Higgins as the general manager. Although then-Manila Railway already had some locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company such as the 2-8-0-type 130 class, its steam locomotives (especially all of its tank locomotives) continued to be built by British manufacturers. The numbering of the 170 class follows suit of the Manila Railroad 160 class built in 1914. Therefore, the 160 class was included among those to be replaced by American locomotives. Following the success of the 45 class, the Manila Railroad ordered 20 heavy-duty locomotives from the American Locomotive Company in 1921. Ten of these would become the Manila Railroad 170 class 4-8-2 for passenger service while another ten would become the Manila Railroad 200 class 2-10-2 for freight. ==Design==

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 than the 200 class. 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. Llanso (2007) estimated that the power output of the locomotives was at . It would be rated between the contemporary PNR 900 class at the lower-end and the INKA CC300 at the higher-end. ==Service==

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. 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. By the outbreak of World War II, the Manila Railroad was placed under Japanese control and its rolling stock was used by its military. Post-war service 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. These were eventually scrapped without a single unit preserved like all of Manila Railroad's tender locomotives. ==References==