Paris-Lyon-Mediterrannee 2-8-2 Locomotives in France

Class 1 001 / 141A (Locobase 13380)

Data from PLM Wiki at [], last accessed 4 November 2011. See also "'Mikado' Type Compound Goods Locomotive, Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean Ry", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 20 (15 June 1914), p. 143

These were the first dozen of what would more than 800 Mikados built to the same design from 1913 to 1934. The design used the same boiler as that provided to the 6001-class 4-6-2 (Locobase 13398) that added superheating (of substantial area, in fact) and growth in total heating surface area. In addition to those changes from the earlier 2-8-0s, the 1001s rolled on 6" (152 mm) increase in driver diameter to a size suitable for fast freight or even certain passenger service operations. LM described the advantage as to "reduce wear and tear." The taller drivers also allowed the engine to "deal more effectively with trains which have been accelerated in speed and make long non-stop runs." LM reported that the design would pull 1,300 tons at 45 kph (28 mph).

An accompanying photo in LM showed a design that took advantage of the relatively generous loading gauge. Obviously, the locomotive offered a good measure of power and the 1 001 would be the only 2-8-2 design built for the PLM.

Class 141A (Locobase 10008)

Data from US Military Railway Service Equipment Data Book for French Locomotives supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004 from his extensive Rail Data Exchange.

This was the first batch of what would become a quite numerous line of Mikados. Most of the rest were built by Baldwin (141B - Locobase 7987 ) in 1917 and a host of other builders in 1918-1920 (141C - Locobase 2752). All followed the same design and all delivered decades of service.

Class 141B (Locobase 7987)

Data from PLM Wiki at [], last accessed 4 November 2011. See also Military Railway Service French Locomotives (1946) supplied in May 2005 by Allen Stanley from his extensive Rail Data Exchange. The MRS book's data includes shorter boiler tubes and a larger grate, but similar dimensions. Also see DeGolyer, Volume 57, pp. 113+; and "2-8-2 Locomotives: Paris, Lyons and Mediterranean Ry built by Baldwin Locomotive Works", Locomotive Magazine, Volume 23 (15 October 1917), pp. 196-197.

1917

March 45344-45348

April 45459-45462, 45517-45520

May 45586-45587, 45624-45626, 45638-45639, 45668-45672, 45681

June 45692-45695, 45770-45775, 45797-45800, 45848-45852

July 45951-45954, 45972-45974, 46004-46005

August 46060-46061, 46114-46118, 46135-46137, 46178-46181, 46208-46211

September 46268-46272, 46403-46404, 46434-46440

October 46592-46593, 46660-46662, 46814-46817

November 46941-46942, 47064-47067, 47112

December 47225-47231, 47474

1918

January 47572-47573, 47603-47605, 47684-47685, 47737

February 47796-47797, 47851, 47905-47907, 47947-47948

March 48063-48064, 48144, 48192

April 48252-48256, 48344-48348

See Locobases 2752 and 13380 for a full discussion of this sizable class of French Mikados. The advent of World War I stopped production of the very satisfactory 141 1 001 class as French locomotive builders retooled for war production. But the need for a powerful and fast freight engine remained.

As a result, the PLM awarded several contracts to US manufacturers such as Baldwin. The Philadelphia company willingly supplied 2-8-2s to the French design, which included metric measurements throughout. Baldwin's specs gave the following metric figures for heating surfaces:

Flues 70.3 sq m

Tubes 148.3 sq m

Firebox 16.0 sq m

Total EHS 234.7 sq m

Superheater 63.8 sq m

Grate area: 4.04 sq m

LM reported that the traditional French preference for independent valve motions for the HP and LP cylinders with the LP cylinders set for a constant cutoff. The Eddystone locomotives drove the inside HP valves by the outside LP links through rocking arm shafts attached to radius rods. Inside links and eccentrics were no longer necessary, which proved a simplification of machinery that, LM offered, "probably compensate[d] in a measure for the loss of the ability to maintain a constant cut-off for the low-pressure cylinders--a feature which has hitherto been a characteristic of PLM compound locomotives."

Class 141C (Locobase 2752)

Data from PLM Wiki at [], last accessed 4 November 2011. See also Gustav Reder (Michael Reynolds, trans), The world of steam locomotives (New York: Putnam, 1974), p. 241.

Superbly successful engines whose origins go back to the 1913 class of a dozen 141 1 001 Mikados. That the locomotive suited requirements is suggested by the repeated reordering of the design over 23 years and the number of engines eventually procured.

According to the French EncyclopTdie "Trains de lTgende" - Editions Atlas, reproduced on the website [] (last accessed 1 December 2006), the Swiss firm SLM produced the first 20 postwar engines and the class remained in production until 1934.

In fact, as the French Mulhouse museum site [] (accessed 2 December 2006) shows, PLM proved a steady employer of most major builders

1918 : 1013 a 1032 (1130 a 1149/141 C 1-20 en 1925, SociTtT SLM

1921-1925 : 1150 a 1249 et 1250 a 1369 puis 141 C 21 a 256, Schneider (21 a 240) Batignolles-Chatillon (241 a 256)

1925 : 141 C 257 a 279 , SociTtT Franco-Belge,

1925-1926 : 141 C 280 a 290, Chantiers de la Loire a Saint-Nazaire; 141 C 291 a 340, SACM;

141 C 341 a 390, Batignolles-ChGtillon,

1926 : 141 C 431 a 440, SociTtT Franco-Belge; 141 C 441 a 460, Batignolles-ChGtillon; 141 C 461 a 490, Schneider au Creusot,

1927 : 141 C 391 a 405, SFCM; 141 C 406 a 420, Fives-Lille; 141 C 421 a 430, Forges de la Marine et d'HomTcourt a Saint-Chamond,

1933-1934 : 141 C 601 a 650, SociTtT Franco-Belge; 141 C 651 a 660, Forges de la Marine et d'HomTcourt a Saint-Chamond; 141 C 661 a 680, Fives-Lille.

1934 : 141 C 491 a 520, SociTtT des Batignolles; 141 C 521 a 540, Schneider au Creusot,

141 C 541 a 550, Forges de la Marine et d'HomTcourt a Saint-Chamond, 141 C 551 a 600, SFCM

OS Nock (RWC IV, pl 171) notes that the compounding system was the reverse of the de Glehn setup. Here, the LP cylinders were outside and drove the third driver set. The HP cylinders were tucked away inside, raked at 7.58 deg to clear the first driving axle, and drove the second set of drivers. All four valves had individual valve gear.

They handled fast freights between Paris and Lyon, Dijon and Vallorbe and later moved into the Rhone Valley. Reder (1974, p 241) gives a table of the design's tonnage ratings, which illustrates just how conveniently it fit into France's dual-service requirements:

Freight service

2,070 tons on the flat

978 tons up 0.5%

613 tons up 1%

These at 25 mph

490 tons up 1.5% at 30 km/h (18.5 mph)

Passenger service

500 tons on the flat at 90 km/h (56 mph)

444 tons up 0.5% at 80 km/h (49.7 mph)

370 tons up 1% at 60 km/h (37.3 mph)

337 tons up 1.5% at 50 km/h (31 mph)

In 1940, the nationalized railway SNCF converted 444 of these engines to the 141 E standard. According to the French Encyclopedie "Trains de legende" - Editions Atlas, reproduced on the website [] (accessed 1 December 2006), the Es saw a horsepower boost from 1,950 to 2,400, primarily through a boost in superheat from 330 deg C to 380 deg C, while reducing fuel consumption by 9.3%. These hauled passenger trains of as many as 14 coaches (730 tons) up a 0.7% grade at 55 km/h (34 mph) and 650 tons at 90 km/h (55 mph) on the level.

Some of the Es later received a modified Bissel truck that increased the design's maximum allowable speed to 105 km/h (65 mph).