In 1909 the Dutch " Staatsspoorwegen " ( State Railways ) ordered from British locomotive builder Beyer Peacock & Co Ltd,
Gorton Foundry,Manchester, the first batch of four cylinder simple expansion 2C-h4 passenger locomotives for express and
heavy passenger service in Nederland ( Netherlands ).
The locomotives were found very popular among the Dutch locomotive men and a grate of 2.84 sq.m was easy to fired with
Limburg coal.The cylinders ( 4 ) were 400 x 660 mm and the dia of the driwing wheels 1850 mm which gave the locomotives
Vmax 90 kph.
Boiler pressure was 12 atm.and the valve gear was of Walschaert system.
The steaming surface was 130 m2 and superheater 41 m2.
Over the years more and more locomotives were ordered. In 1921 when the HSM ( Hollandsche Ijzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij )
and SS ( Staatsspoorwegen ) were amalgamed to form the State owned " Nederlandsche Spoorwegen ", NS, there were already
115 locomotives in service.
From 1921 to 1939 this class PO3 was the principal passenger train locomotive on NS lines.In 1920s and 1930s when the new
2C-h4 locomotives replaced them in international express train service,they were transferred to lighter passenger trains and semifast
long distance trains.
The Deutsche Reichsbahn leased locomotives Nos 3794-3798 from February 1942 to January 1944 from NS.
In September 1944 when the Dutch railway workers went to strike the Germans started to send DRB personel and locomotives to
Netherlands.They also started to transfer the NS locomotives to Germany.
Five locomotives of class PO3 were sent in September 1944 to RBD Königsberg Nos 3713,3725,3757,3792 and 3797.
All five were still there in April 1945 when the Red Army captured East Prussia.
They were used on Königsberg - Labiau - Tilsit 123.7 km line as long as the line was still in European gauge 1435 mm.
When the gauge was changed in 1946? to 1524 mm the locomotives were placed to sidings to wait their destiny.
According to Estonian railway historian ( former depot chief at Tallinn- Väike narrow gauge depot, ) Engineer Juri Loog,
they were allocated in 1946 as follows.
| NS 3713 | Königsberg-Rothensten 7.3 km from Königsberg Hbf |
| NS 3715 | Königsberg-Rothenstein 7.3 km from Königsberg Hbf |
| NS 3725 | Königsberg-Rothenstein 7.3 km from Königsberg Hbf |
| NS 3757 | Kuggen 24.5 km from Königsberg Hbf |
According to him all were written off from MPS books in 1951.
But an Latvian railwayman noted in 1951 that all locomotives had painted in white to their tender wall " For Korea ".
Here the Dutch and Soviet sources do not fit.According the Dutch sources No 3715 was returned to Netherlands and
was written off from NS books in 1950.Instead they show no 3792 and 3797 missing.
Later It was found from Leningrad archive that the " bes serija " included also 2C No 3792.
Thus this led to conclusion that the locomotive which was recorded as 3715 was actually 3997.Maybe the Germans
had changed boilers and locomotive number plates at RAW Königsberg in September 1944 when they repaired the
locomotives for further use in East Prussia.
Anyway.all four locomotives dissapeared from scene in 1951.
In May 1945 66 locomotives from NS class PO3 were missing.At last 53 were found and returned to Netherlands.
Eight locomotives of this class were found from Soviet Occupying Zone in Germany ( which become in 1949 DDR ).
| NS 3719 | Rbd Schwerin | Bw Rostock | + 15.11.1952 -> North Korea ? |
| NS 3735 | Rbd Greifswald | Bw Pasewalk | + 07.1957 |
| NS 3751 | Rbd Schwerin | Bw Rostock | + 15.11.1952 -> North Korea ? |
| NS 3763 | Rbd Greifswald | Bw Pasewalk | + 07.1957 |
| NS 3773 | Rbd Schwerin | Bw Hagenow Land | + 15.11.1952 -> North Korea ? |
| NS 3777 | Rbd Greifswald | Bw Pasewalk | + 07.1957 |
| NS 3795 | Rbd Magdeburg | Bw Halberstadt | + 11.1955 |
| NS 3801 | Rbd Greifswald | Bw Pasewalk | + 07.1957 |
Of these only NS 3719 and 3751 were in running order at Rostock and in use to 1947.All others were " abgestellt "
cold to the sidings.
It is rumoured that despite being written off from DR " Foreign locomotive list " those which were written off in 1952
were actually sold as scrap metal at price 3 Ostmark per ton via Comecon to North Koreans.
Those which dissapeared in 1957 were scrapped in nearest Raw ( workshop ).
In Netherlands there was after war an acute shortage of workshop capacity to rapair the damaged locomotives.
NS 3703,3705,3716,3734,3753,3760 and 3802 were sent to Denmark for repairs.
Eventually NS had decided to eliminate steam traction as soon as possible and spending money for steam locomotive
repairs was considered surplus.
In 1951 No 3757 was written off from the books as a result of an collision with locomotive No 4525.
The remaining 99 locomotives continued in service to 1953 when the withdawals of the class started.
All were written off from NS books in 1953 -1958.
The last locomotive in service No 3737 hauled its last train on 07.01.1958 from Roosendaal to Utrecht.
| Locomotive list NS class PO3 |
| SS 701-706 | NS 3701-3706 | 2C-h4 | Beyer Peacock | 5370-5375 | 1910 |
| SS 707-718 | NS 3707-3718 | 2C-h4 | Beyer Peacock | 5451-5462 | 1911 |
| SS 719-730 | NS 3719-3730 | 2C-h4 | Beyer Peacock | 5640-5651 | 1913 |
| SS 695-699 | NS 3731-3735 | 2C-h4 | Beyer Peacock | 5721-5725 | 1913 |
| SS 700 | NS 3736 | 2C-h4 | Beyer Peacock | 5726 | 1914 |
| SS 731-740 | NS 3737-3746 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 272-281 | 1911 |
| SS 741-742 | NS 3747-3748 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 282-283 | 1912 |
| SS 743-750 | NS 3749-3756 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 305-312 | 1913 |
| SS 751-755 | NS 3757-3761 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 332-336 | 1913 |
| SS 756-760 | NS 3762-3766 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 337-341 | 1914 |
| SS 761-766 | NS 3767-3772 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 361-366 | 1915 |
| SS 767-774 | NS 3773-3780 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 422-429 | 1918 |
| SS 775-778 | NS 3781-3884 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 430-433 | 1919 |
| SS 779-784 | NS 3785-3790 | 2C-h4 | Werkspoor | 482-487 | 1921 |
| SS 785-799 | NS 3791-3805 | 2C-h2 | Henschel | 17744-17758 | 1920 |
| SS 685-689 | NS 3806-3810 | 2C-h4 | Hanomag | 9343-9347 | 1920 |
| SS 690-691 | NS 3811-3812 | 2C-h4 | Hanomag | 9349-9350 | 1920 |
| SS 692 | NS 3813 | 2C-h4 | Hanomag | 9348 | 1920 |
| SS 693-694 | NS 3814-3815 | 2C-h4 | Hanomag | 9351-9352 | 1921 |
NS diesel mechanical small shunters 1435 mm gauge were transferred by the Germans
from Netherlands to Germany in 1944.
Where used in Mittel Deutsche Industriegebiet synthetic benzine works as
industrial locomotives in 1944-1945.
| Werkspoor 649 - 660 | 1932 | 1435 4wh Dsl-mech | NS 201-212 | From SBZ-D NS 201,206 1945 to Soviet Union |
| Werkspoor 663 - 703 | 1935 | 1435 4wh Dsl-mech | NS 213-253 | From SBZ-D NS 216,224,240 1945 to Soviet Union |
| Werkspoor 707 - 733 | 1936 | 1435 4wh Dsl-mech | NS 254-280 | From SBZ-D NS 258,261,266,268 1945 to Soviet Union |
| no data available in Finland | . | 1435 4wh Dsl-mech | NS 281-306 | From SBZ-D NS 282,287 1945 to Soviet Union |
| Werkspoor 768 - 782 | 1940 | 1435 4wh Dsl-mech | NS 307-321 | |
| no data available in Finland | . | 1435 4wh Bens | NS 102-119 | |
| Werkspoor 613 - 645 | 1931 | 1435 4wh Bens | NS 120-152 | |
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