Est 4-4-0 Locomotives in France

Class 2401 (Locobase 3896)

Data from table in Railroad Gazette (28 September 1900) that profiled recent French 4-cylinder compound locomotives. It was one of the largest 8-wheeler compounds built for a French railway. Locobase 4195 shows the still larger successor to the original 10.

After some time in service, the Est reduced the boiler pressure to 213 psi, presumably to extend the boiler life.

Class 2409 (Locobase 4195)

Included in Locobase primarily because of the differing heating surface data, which is derived from a Railroad Age Gazette two-part article on Locomotives of the Eastern Railway of France. (19 & 26 June 1908). Locobase thought at the time that this was a subclass of the 2401s described elsewhere or that it reflects different conversion factors.

Confirmation that it was a subclass came from data shown in the table presented on pages 367, 369 of the Groupe VI. - GTnie civil. - Moyens de transport. DeuxiFme partie. Classes 32 (Tome I), part of the series of Rapports du Jury Internationale of the Exposition Unverselle Internationale de 1900 Paris Exposition, hosted on the website of Le Conservatoire numTrique des Arts & MTtiers ([], Accessed 21 August 2005).

The report's profile shown on p 310 outlines the Belpaire firebox and the widespread driving axles. Like many other French locomotives of the time, the fire tubes were of the finned Serve type. The design's service requirements included the ability to pull 250 tons at 90 km/h (55 mph) up long stretches of 0.6% adverse grade between Paris & Belfort.

Class 801 (Locobase 3056)

Data from Gustav Reder (Michael Reynolds, trans), The World of Steam Locomotives (New York: Putnam, 1974); and Maurice Demoulin, Traite Pratique de la Machine Locomotive (Paris: Libraire Polytechnique, Baudry et Cie, 1898), pp. 75-77.

Reder describes these engines as "further proof of a rooted prejudice against a high-pitched boiler." Not only were they laid out with the firebox between the coupled axles and the cylinders close to the first coupled axle, but they used the Flaman-type boiler. This had two barrels, the bottom one holding all the fire tubes, the upper one filled halfway with water and holding the steam. A modified Belpaire firebox heated the water. The result was an odd-looking locomotive and one that was not widely duplicated once the fear of instability in a high-pitched boiler was shown to be exaggerated.