none 2-4-0 Locomotives in France

Class L'Aigle (Locobase 6054)

Data from I N Jevica's [] (visited 29 May 2004), [] (visited 31 May 2004), and [] (31 May 2004). The latter has the following note from the author Douglas Self "All locomotives more than 18 years old. Proof on file." He's visited other kinds of sites, I see ...

As Self notes, all was sacrificed for speed in this improbable, Super Crampton design, especially boiler integrity and steaming capability, When the designers -- Mon. Blavier and Larpent -- were confronted with their 9'4" diameter drivers, they realized that they'd never be able to put the boiler over the axles. So they split the boiler in two, connecting the halves with large-diameter pipes at each end.

[] (William Wright's 1899 Pictorial History of the Locomotive, published by the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company) has a cutaway illustration that shows the plumber's nightmare the designers were forced to create.

If Jevica's figure for the grate area is correct (and very little data relating to this engine is reliable), the design was fatally out-of-balance from the start. Indeed, although the goal was 160 km/h (ca 100 mph), tests apparently revealed the utter failure of the design and it was abandoned.