Ouest 2-8-0 Locomotives in France

Class 4501 / 140A (Locobase 6066)

Data from I N Jevica's [] (visited 29 May 2004) and [] (visited November 2002) by Roland Arzul.

Called "Italians", these von Borries cross-compound Consolidations were the first French engines to be fitted with the Zara truck, which combined the leading truck with the first coupled axle. They had dramatically high-pitched boilers, the impression accentuated by the tall valve-cylinder casting.

According to Arzul, the 4501's procurement resulted from a sudden realization that increased train loads were overwhelming the six-coupleds then in service in Brittany and Normandy. The result was a freight-hauler with small drivers limited to 60 km/h (38 mph), but offering a solid increase in power for the grade.

Ultimately, they were replaced in their initial service by larger Consolidations, notably those of American design, but many served for decades more.