By the late 1950s, China's railways were in urgent need of new motive power. Lines damaged during the long period of Japanese occupation and war had been repaired and new lines were under construction. China's own locomotive builders were busy producing JF and JS class 2-8-2s and SL6 and RM class pacifics but they couldn't match the demand for more motive power. Salvation came in the shape of 1054 1930s built Soviet FD (Felix Dzerzhinsky) class 2-10-2s rendered surplus by dieselisation and electrification in the USSR. The FDs were imported in 1958 and regauged from 5' to standard gauge at Changchun. How they got from the border at Manzhouli to Changchun isn't clear.

Chinese sources report that they were allocated to railway administrations in north and north east China but most of those reported by enthusiasts were in the south, south west or west. The class dominated main line freight operations in the south until the early 1980s when newly built QJ class 2-10-2s took over. The last report of an FD in traffic was in October 1985.

Although the FD was a big locomotive physically, it was a relatively old and not particularly powerful design, closer in power output to a JS than a QJ. Indications are that they weren't too popular with loco crews either.

The class was originally known in China as YH (YouHao = friendly) but during the cultural revolution became FX (FanXiu = anti revisionist) before reverting to plain FD with no Chinese name in 1971. Just to confuse matters, the QJ class was known as FD for a few years during the cultural revolution when it was renamed FanDi (anti imperialist).

At least two are preserved in China, FD 1227 at Shenyang Railway Museum and FD 1979 at Beijing Railway Museum. A third loco, FD 1653, was put aside for the proposed Inner Mongolian Railway Museum at Baotou but hasn't been reported since 2001. Several FD are also preserved in the former Soviet Union.

Vital Statistics

Class Designation FD
Descriptive Name  
Number Series FD 1001 - 2004,
FD 2201 - 2250
Builders Voroshilovgrad
Building Dates 1931 - 1941
Number Built 3200+ (1054 to China)
Boiler Pressure 14.7 bar / 213 psi
Grate Area 7.03 sq m
Total Heating
Surface		 294 sq m
Superheater Area 138 sq m
Wheel Arrangement 2-10-2
Driving Wheel
Diameter		 1500 mm
Cylinders, Number 2 (outside)
Cylinders, Diameter/Stroke 670 mm x 770 mm
Valve Gear Walschaerts
Tractive Effort  
Power Output
(Wheel Rim)		 1757 kW
Maximum Speed 85 km/h
Overall Weight 254 t
Overall Length 29.07 m
Coal Capacity 22 t
Water Capacity 45,400l