Paris-Lyon-Mediterrannee 4-4-0 Locomotives in France

Class B 111 (Locobase 10133)

Data from "Locomotives of the C de FPLM," The Locomotive & Railway Carriage & Wagon Review, Vol IV (December 1899), p.186-187. See also Wiki PLM at [], last accessed 9 November 2011.

Pleased as they were with the Series 111 2-4-2s, the PLM couldn't deny that the class rode roughly on the rails. This problem had its source, according to the line's Chief Mechanical Engineer Baudry, in the overlong boiler.

The years between 111s' introduction had seen the development of the large diameter, internally finned Serve boiler tubes that were by 1893 quite widely used in France. In each large-diameter tube, eight ribs or fins stood in from the interior wall about 11 mm (7/16"). The amount of heating surface gained came to nearly 30%, but, as Edouard Sauvage would later note, at a cost of

So in a "very costly undertaking", Baudry created 96 Four-coupled bogie express engines by truncating the boiler, modifying (or perhaps building anew) the frames, connecting (North American main) rods, coupling (side) rods and installing a bogie truck. They also received the "wind-cutter" cabs, whose wedge-shaped fronts were de riguer when confronting the siroccos and mistrals of southern France. (The data in the specs refers to almost all of the class - a very few had smaller boilers.)

The result satisfied the requirements well,at least according to the author of the PLM article. "On the lines with easy gradients these rebuilt locomotives have attained speeds of 72 miles per hour (116 km/h) with loads varying between 180-210 tons. The result could not be obtained before the alteration, as it was dangerous to run at this speed engines with long rigid wheel base and outside overhanging cylinders, as was the case with all the earlier express locomotives of the PLM."

They gave the company its money's worth. None retired before 1919 and more than a third operated into the 1930s 19 received B 111 IDs from the SNCF when it began service in 1938.

Class C11-12 (Locobase 3901)

Data taken from Edouard Sauvage, "Four-Cylinder Compound Locomotives in France", Railroad Gazette, Volume XXXII [32], No.39 (28 September 1900), pp.629-631 using information compiled through direct communications with the various designers. See also the in-depth report by Charles Baudry, "Locomotives Compound a Quatre Cylindre et a Grande Vitesse du Chemin de Fer Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee," Revue generale des chemins de fer, Vol 16 (April 1893), beginning on page 178; and "220, n° C 11 et 12 du PLM", in WikiPLM at [],_n%C2%B0_C_11_et_12_du_PLM, last accessed 23 June 2024. See also Gustav Reder (Michael Reynolds, trans), The World of Steam Locomotives (New York: Putnam, 1974), pp 200-201.

The first of the PLM's Eight-wheeler compounds, these resembled the Nord's de Glehn compounds with HP cylinders outside, LP inside, and a Belpaire firebox. Large-diameter Serve boiler tubes presented eight thin fins around the interior of each tube that added a significant amount of calculated heating surface area..

Designed by Adolph Henry, they became the prototypes for the Small C and Big C engines that became so famous in the South of France. Henry himself, (according to Reder did not believe the front bogie truck was truly necessary and produced one more engine -- the C3, a 2-4-0 profiled in Locobase 3903.

Class Grosses C ("Big C") / 220 A (Locobase 1123)

Data taken from Edouard Sauvage, "Four-Cylinder Compound Locomotives in France", Railroad Gazette, Volume XXXII [32], No.39 (28 September 1900), pp.629-631 using information compiled through direct communications with the various designers. The table shows that this last batch had considerably larger boilers than the earlier engines. See also 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).

Builders were PLM-Paris in 1898-1901 (C 61-70, 121-125, 131-140), PLM-Arles in 1898-1902 (C 71-80, 126-130, 141-150), Batignolles in 1898-1900 (C 81-120, works numbers 1369-1408), Floridsdorf in 1901 (C 151-160), and Wiener-Neustadt in 1901 (C 161-180, works numbers 4381-4400 in 1901). (Locobase could not locate the Florisdorf engines in Jens Merte's excellent compilation.)

These are the latter production batches of the famed Coupe-vent (so called because of a sharp-edge fairing covering the front of the smokebox and stack). Like the earlier engines, the Big Cs had a Belpaire firebox (with Coupe-vent fairing as well), lots of external piping, long-wheelbase leading truck, small outside high-pressure cylinders between the truck and the drivers, and outside valve gear complete the picture. Inside the boiler were the characteristic finned Serve boiler tubes.

This source notes that in addition to the bigger boiler, the crank angles between the HP and LP cylinders on each side were now set at 180 deg.

The Cote d'Azur Rapide ran from Paris to Marseilles behind this engine at a 54.5-mph (88 kph) average pulling 235 tons. Later analysis commented on the coupe-vent shrouding, which included flashing wrapped around the stack and to the back of the steam dome. In cross-winds, all that "sail area" actually slowed the locomotive.

PLM withdrew 25 of the Big Cs in 1929-1930. The rest went in 1931-1936.

Class Petite C ("Small C") (Locobase 3897)

Data from Gustav Reder (Michael Reynolds, trans), The World of Steam Locomotives (New York: Putnam, 1974), pp. 200-201; "Four-Cylinder Compound Express Passenger Locomotive for the Paris, Lyons [sic] & Mediterranean Railway", American Engineer and Railroad Journal, Volume LXVII [67], No 6 (June 1893), pp .295-299; and "220, n° C 21 à 60 du PLM" in the WikiPLM at [],_n%C2%B0_C_21_%C3%A0_60_du_PLM, last accessed 23 June 2024. See also "Compound Locomotive on the Paris, Lyons [sic] & Mediterranean Railway, American Engineer and Railroad Journal, Volume LXIX, No 1 (January 1895), pp.29-31;and Maurice Demoulin, Traite Pratique de la Machine Locomotive (Paris: Libraire Polytechnique, Baudry et Cie, 1898), pp. 84-85. See also PLM's Paris atelier produced the first five in 1893-1894 followed by the d'Oullins ateliers in 1894. Private builder Batignolles supplied the next 20 in 1893-1895 (works numbers were 1237-1256) and the SACM finished the class with ten in 1895.

These "Small C" engines preceded, as might be expected, the "Big C" (Locobase 1123) that became so well known. They were designed by Charles Baudry and used a valve gear in which the inside low-pressure cylinders were driven by a Gooch gear fixed at 60% cutoff (according to Reder (1974), p200-201). Walschaert gear drove the outside cylinders.

In other respects they were very like the Nord's de Glehn compounds with HP cylinders outside, LP inside, and a Belpaire firebox. The AERJ of January 1895 reported on this class and noted the Serve tubes that had 8 1/2-in (12.7 mm) "wings" running longitudinally within each tube; most accounts called the 8 interior ribs 'fins"). The writer also discussed the "air ploughs", the coupe d' vent fairings that decorated the leading edges of the cab and the smokebox.

PLM retired the first three less than 20 years later in 1919-1922, The rest of the decade saw the rest discarded with 1927 claiming eighteen.