Nord 2-8-0 Locomotives in France

Class 140 A/Le Boeuf (Locobase 14873)

Data from SACM diagram UG Type 170 from Elsassische Maschinenbau AG from locomotive book supplied by Dany Machi at [] as

Diagrammes des machines SACM construites a GRAFENSTADEN (October 2007). See also "Consolidation Type Locomotive, Northern Railway of France", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 18 (15 August 1912), p. 170; Locomotive Magazine, Volume XVIII [18] (15 August 1912), p. 170; "New Locomotives for Northern of France Railway", Railway Engineering, Volume 33, No 2 (December 1912), p. 382; and "Northern Railway of France", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XIX [19] (15 August 1913), p. 191.

Produced by several builders including Ateliers Cie du Nord, Batignolles-ChGtillon, Franco-Belge, Schneider, SACM, SFCM.

These small de Glehn-du Bousquet compound Consolidations designed by Asselin, the Nord's engineer in chief of material and traction, had 28" (711 mm) more spread between the last two sets of drivers to accommodate a sloping Belpaire firebox. Large-diameter, internally finned Serve tubes filled the boiler along with the larger flues. Like many French compounds, these engines used an intermediate reservoir pressed to 7.8 bar (113 psi) to restore some power to the exhausted high-pressure steam before admitting it to the LP cylinders.

The design's divided drive allowed the HP cylinders to use a shorter stroke than the LP cylinders.

The class earned the nickname "La Bouef" (the Bull) because of their considerable pulling power on ore and coal trains. A typical tonnage rating was 1,000 trailing tonnes (1,102 short tons) up a 0.5% grade at 40 km/h (24.8 mph). Tests in 1913 over the Beaumont-Mont Sould section pulled 742 tons of trailing load "with ease" up a 1.3% grade at 19 kph (12 mph). On the less demanding (0.5%) ruling grade of the Lens-Bourget line (via Arras-Longueau), La Bouef hauled 1,500 tons at 25 kph (15.5 mph) and hit 65 kph (40 mph) on level track while pulling 1,164 tons, "the engine running quite steadily."

NB: Tube and flue diameters are water side dimensions as used in Anglo-American practice. The fireside dimensions were as follows: 84 tubes had 65 mm (2.56"), 6 had 60 mm (2.36"); the larger flues measured 125 mm (4.9 in) on the fire side. This set of dimensions yielded 188.59 sq m (2,030 sq ft) of combined heating surface area.

Class 140 B (Locobase 13387)

Data from PLM Wiki at [], last accessed 4 November 2011; and DeGolyer, Volume 57, pp. 205+. Works numbers were

1917

46149 in August; 46296, 46308, 46311, 46326, 46332, 46364, 46380-46381, 46468, 46471, 46474- 46478, 46480, 46483-46484 in September; 46568, 46640, 46642- 46647, 46649, 46717- 46720, 46722, 46747, 46749, 46751, 46787- 46795 in October; 46855, 46856, 46862, 46863, 46864, 46867- 46869, 46871-46874, 46927, 46931- 46935, 46938, 46940, 47036, 47039, 47041, 47046, 47047, 47110 in November; 47201, 47377, 47427, 47482, 47484 in December

1918

47550, 47556, 47560, 47569, 47598, 47653, 47660, 47667 in January 1918; 47879, 47881, 47885, 47889, 47941, 47944 in February; 48002, 48037, 48038, 48113, 48120, 48122 in March; 48235, 48237, 48238, 48313, 48315, 48317, 48319, 48321, 48326, 48328, 48330, 48335, 48338, 48343, 48417, 48427, 48441, 48446, 48459, 48460-48461, 48463-48464 in April; 48511, 48513, 48541, 48556, 48559, 48562, 48565, 48646, 48648, 48650, 48661, 48702, 48704, 48721, 48724, 48753, 48758 in May; 48919, 48927-48929, 48967, 48970, 48974, 48982, 49054, 49055, 49057, 49062-49063 in June; 49134, 49145, 49147, 49148, 49254, 49272, 49281, 49286, 49374, 49414-49415, 49421 in July; 49625, 49632 in August; 49696, 49698, 49702, 49707, 49717, 49736, 49800, 49803, 49812, 49815, 49866- 49868, 49877, 49879, 49893, 49896, 49900, 49904, 49920, 49983, 50050 in September; 50089, 50163, 50232 in October; 50497, 50545, 50575, 50607, 50660, 50707, 50718, 50725, 50728 in November; 50742- 50744, 50747, 50749, 50751, 50754, 50757, 50760-50761, 50864, 50866, 50868, 50871- 50873, 50890- 50893, 50898-50899, 50903, 50905, 50906, 50908, 50909, 50911, 50913-50916, 50919- 50921, 50923- 50926, 50929, 50931, 50934, 50953, 50960, 50962, 50964, 50973, 50976, 50979, 50982-50983, 50985 in December

1919

51018, 51021-51022, 51024, 51027, 51053- 51055, 51057- 51059, 51061, 51063-51067, 51069-51070, 51074 in January 1919; 51208, 51214, 51353, 51360-51362, 51368, 51408, 51411- 51413, 51417- 51419, 51421-51422, 51425- 51427 in February; 51453-51454, 51456-51457, 51459, 51462, 51466, 51471, 51496 in March.

Piston valves measured 10" (254 mm ) in diameter. 13385

Data from PLM Wiki at [], last accessed 4 November 2011. Works numbers were

1917

46096, 46102- 46105, 46125, 46139, 46182, 46185-46186, 46204, 46229 in August 1917; 46286, 46292, 46302, 46319, 46327, 46328, 46330, 46336, 46361-46362, 46378, 46394, 46460, 46469 in September; 46567, 46721, 46723, 46727, 46743, 46745, 46778 in October; 46852, 46857, 46859- 46861, 46919, 46921, 46926, 47027- 47030 in November; 47197, 47202, 47206, 47274, 47277-47278, 47280, 47374, 47378, 47476, 47479, 47485 in December

1918

47546 in January; 47548, 47551, 47555, 47559, 47568, 47570, 47589-47590, 47593, 47597, 47601, 47655, 47657, 47661, 47664, 47668, 47728 in January ; 47763, 47765-47766, 47835, 47841-47842, 47884, 47888 in February; 48003-48004, 48044, 48048-48049, 48111, 48116, 48121 in March; 48242, 48314, 48324, 48331-48332, 48337, 48425, 48432, 48434- 48440, 48442, 48444-48445, 48447- 48449, 48452- 48458, 48462, 48465 in April; 48512, 48514- 48517, 48519, 48542, 48544, 48547, 48549, 48554-48555, 48561, 48647, 48651, 48652, 48655, 48657, 48700, 48706, 48756-48757, 48761, 48771 in May; 48866, 48870, 48873, 48877- 48878, 48925, 48931, 48965, 48976, 48983, 49050, 49053, 49059 in June; 49133, 49137, 49138, 49251, 49258, 49264, 49270, 49271, 49275, 49376 in July; 49551, 49624, 49630, 49631, 49633, 49671, 49675 in August; 49706, 49708, 49710, 49711, 49714, 49716, 49797, 49807, 49808, 49809, 49810, 49811, 49817, 49818, 49820, 49823, 49844, 49846, 49847, 49869, 49876, 49883, 49890, 49895, 49905, 49907, 49910- 49912, 49916, 49982, 49986, 49987-49988, 49995, 49999, 50001, 50007, 50013-50015, 50019, 50029, 50031-50032, 50034, 50043 in September; 50076-50077, 50079, 50085- 50088, 50093- 50095, 50097-50098, 50105-50106, 50113, 50115-50116, 50138, 50144, 50146, 50157- 50159, 50162, 50166, 50167, 50171-50172, 50181, 50184, 50185, 50192, 50199-50200, 50210, 50218-50219, 50222, 50229, 50233-50234, 50241, 50243, 50251, 50287, 50293, 50295, 50296, 50305- 50308, 50333, 50334, 50335, 50336, 50342, 50376, 50381, 50388, 50396, 50399, 50415, 50425, 50430 in October; 50437, 50438, 50440, 50484-50485, 50487, 50492, 50495, 50498-50499, 50501-50502, 50512-50514, 50519, 50522, 50524, 50536-50537, 50544, 50563, 50567, 50569, 50571- 50573, 50601- 50604, 50608, 50612-50613, 50639, 50641- 50642, 50651- 50653, 50655-50659, 50662, 50666-50667, 50696, 50703, 50706, 50713, 50720, 50727 in November; 50745, 50748, 50750, 50752-50753, 50756, 50758, 50867, 50894-50895, 50902, 50904, 50910, 50917, 50954, 50963, 50967-50971, 50975, 50978, 50984 in December

1919

51013, 51015, 51019, 51051, 51096, 51097, 51098, 51104, 51107, 51133-51134, 51137, 51140, 51141, 51186, 51188 in January 1919; 51221-51223, 51236-51244, 51247, 51250, 51280, 51283, 51296, 51319-51323, 51415 in February; 51492, 51504, 51506, 51541- 51542 in March

Piston valves measured 10" (254 mm ) in diameter. See Locobase 431 for the description of this very large class built by Baldwin to a single design for service in France.

Class 4 002 (Locobase 13464)

Data from "Four-Cylinder Compound Locomotives", Engineering News, Volume 69, No 21 (22 May 1913), p. 1052. See also "An Important Locomotive Development: Large Decapod Engines for Service in the French Coalfields," Scientific American Supplement, Volume 76 (11 October 1913), pp. 229-230; and "New Goods Locomotives, Northern Railway of France", Railway Engineering, Volume 34, No 12 (December 1913), pp. 387-391.

The Nord worked some very heavy mineral traffic, particularly out of the Lens coalfields and sought several ways to improve its hauling capacity over a 155-mile (250-km) stretch. So the Nord's Asselin, engineer in chief of material and traction, produced two engines in 1913, one a decapod described in Locobase 13465, the other the Consolidation shown here.

The 5 002 was rated to haul loaded trains of 1,660 tons on the level, 950 to 970 tons on grades up to 0.8%, and 750 tons up 1.3% grades.

Both designs placed the HP cylinders outside of the frames, LP cylinders inside. The restricted space determined the maximum diameter of the LP cylinders, so the designers achieved the desired LP cylinder volume by lengthening their strokes.

The duplex throttle -- described as a "wine-glass" valve -- had a small stem leading a larger cup. Opening the valve to the first stage admitted a small amount of steam, pulling it open fully allowed much more to reach the valves.

In a setup that was a bit unusual for French four-cylinder compounds, the two engines used piston valves for steam admission into the outside (high-pressure) cylinders and balanced flat slide valves for the low-pressure cylinders. The former drove on the 3rd axle, the latter on the 2nd coupled axle.

Railway Engineer offers a series of diagrams to ilustrate various elements of the Bissel truck. Built like a "gun carriage", the rear bearing was spherical, which permitted transverse movement up and down and forth and back movement when entering a curve. Heavy helical springs in cylindrical boxes centered the truck. The knife-edge ends of the transverse beam equalized truck movement with the first driving axle.

"The inscription of curves, even of short radius" was "quite satisfactory" and "the steadiness of the engine [was] excellent." Trials showed the truck could handle speeds as high as 90-95 kph (56-59 mph).