Data from M L Turgan, "Les Voitures Automotrices de Chemins de Fer a Vapeur et a Petrole", MTmoires et compte-rendu des travaux de la Societe des Ingenieurs Civils de France, 1903, Deuxieme Volume (Paris: Hotel de la Societe, 1903), pp. 486-519 , especially 497- ; and "Steam Railway Coaches", Engineer, (8 May 1903), p. 477.
Engineer reported that this "automobile" was built to replace "certain early morning post trains" on runs over the 16 3/4 miles (27 km) between Beauvais and Creil.
The vehicle used a two-part frame, the front consisting of plate frames to support a stubby, high-pressure "Turgan-style" boiler with side-mounted stack and the cylinders and running gear below.
Designed by Louis Turgan, the vessel's US patent description (US652866 A, published 3 July 1900) described a horizontal cylinder holding water in the lower half and a steam space above. Viewed from the front, the boiler was the top vertex of a triangle that had as its base a full-width grate. The two other sides were ranks of vertical water tubes that sloped toward the center line of the boiler. As with the much later Nicholson syphon or circulators, the fire in the grate heated the water and encouraged its circulation. (However, the Turgan boiler used no fire tubes.) Fuel consumption was given as between 6.6 lb (3 kg) and 11 lb (5 kg) per kilometre.
The driver's postion sat ahead of the boiler with a full view of the railway ahead. Behind the boiler, an ordinary coach frame carried a cabin with door and four windows on each side. Two carriages and a milk wagon (44 1/4 long tons or 44.96 metric tons) or two carriages alone (35 1/2 tons or 36.07 metric tons) made up the rest of the train. Engineer noted that very few passengers used these trains. The outbound, three-stop train took 1 hour 16 minutes, the ten-stop inbound required 1 hour 26 minutes.
| Principal Dimensions by Steve Llanso of Middle Run Media | |
|---|---|
| Class | Automobile Postale |
| Locobase ID | 20157 |
| Railroad | Nord |
| Country | France |
| Whyte | 0-2-2T |
| Number in Class | 1 |
| Road Numbers | |
| Gauge | Std |
| Number Built | 1 |
| Builder | |
| Year | 1903 |
| Valve Gear | link |
| Locomotive Length and Weight | |
| Driver Wheelbase (ft / m) | |
| Engine Wheelbase (ft / m) | 8.20 / 2.50 |
| Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheelbase | |
| Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender) (ft / m) | 8.20 / 2.50 |
| Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle) (lbs / kg) | |
| Weight on Drivers (lbs / kg) | 20,305 / 9210 |
| Engine Weight (lbs / kg) | 30,358 / 13,770 |
| Tender Loaded Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Total Engine and Tender Weight (lbs / kg) | |
| Tender Water Capacity (gals / ML) | 1101 / 4.17 |
| Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal) (gals/tons / Liters/MT) | 0.60 / 1 |
| Minimum weight of rail (calculated) (lb/yd / kg/m) | 34 / 17 |
| Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort | |
| Driver Diameter (in / mm) | 40.90 / 1040 |
| Boiler Pressure (psi / kPa) | 255.30 / 1760 |
| High Pressure Cylinders (dia x stroke) (in / mm) | 7.09" x 9.84" / 180x250 |
| Tractive Effort (lbs / kg) | 2624 / 1190.23 |
| Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort) | 7.74 |
| Heating Ability | |
| Tubes (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flues (number - dia) (in / mm) | |
| Flue/Tube length (ft / m) | |
| Firebox Area (sq ft / m2) | |
| Grate Area (sq ft / m2) | 5.38 / 0.50 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 183 / 17 |
| Superheating Surface (sq ft / m2) | |
| Combined Heating Surface (sq ft / m2) | 183 / 17 |
| Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume | 406.99 |
| Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information) | |
| Robert LeMassena's Power Computation | 1374 |
| Same as above plus superheater percentage | 1374 |
| Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area | |
| Power L1 | |
| Power MT | |