Etat 2-4-2 Locomotives in France

Class 0246 / 22.106 (Locobase 7593)

Data from a site that reproduces cigarette card pictures and adds dimension and area data -- [], last accessed 14 June 2006

This was an automoteur for secondary lines. The locomotive was combined with a small compartment either for baggage or a couple of passengers.

Class 2601 (Locobase 7404)

Data from Titre Exposition universelle internationale de 1889 a Paris. Rapports du jury internationale. Auteur - Volume France. Ministere du Commerce, de l'industrie. Picard, Alfred, ed. Volume Groupe VI - -Outillage et precedes des industries mecaniques. Electricite (5e partie) Classes 60 a 63. Rapport sur le materiel des chemins de fer; tables beginning on p. 183 ([] (accessed 1 September 2005).

See Locobase 8531 for the production variant.

Derived from Etat's earlier 2-4-0, this locomotive grew in every important dimension. Its valve gear was the rarely used Bonnefond type that had two intake valves, two exhaust valves. M. Bonnefond of the Etat produced the 2601 as a trial for the valve gear.

The 1889 Exposition jury's view of the design is equivocal: "The special feature of this engine is the valve gear which is known as the Bonnefond system. The motion of opening the steam valves is obtained from a cam carried upon a return crank on the driving

axle, this gear being fitted with reversing link; the valves are closed by a trip gear which detaches the valve spindles from the opening gear.

As the trip gear is actuated from the cross, head it gives perfectly even'cut-offs for both ends of the stroke, but it is not a commendable feature for locomotive engines"

See

Class 2602 (Locobase 8531)

Data from M Grille & MH Falconnette, Les Chemins de Fer a L'Exposition de Chicago, (Paris, France: E Bernard et Cie, 1894), p 28 and from Maurice Demoulin, Traite Pratique de la Machine Locomotive (Paris: Libraire Polytechnique, Baudry et Cie, 1898), p. 97.

Locobase 7404 gives details of the prototype that appeared at the 1889 Paris Exposition. [] -- Roland Arzul's French locomotive website (accessed 22 Jan 2006) -- says that after trials conduced on the PLM, the Etat acquired another 19 like machines. One of these was shown in Chicago 4 years later.

Locobase cannot reconcile the fact that the two engines had the same number of tubes of equal length and that the later engines had about 6 sq ft more of firebox heating surface with the total evaporative heating surface increase of better than 90 sq ft.

Whatever the change in dimensions, the railway was quite pleased. A typical coal-consumption rate was reported as 8.746 kg per train-kilometre (31 lb/ train-mile) and 67.5 kg / 1,000 ton-kilometres (108 lb / 1,000 ton-miles).