Madrid, Zaragoza & Alicante 4-8-0 Locomotives in Spain

Class 1301/240-4051 (Locobase 3391)

Data from [] and Gustav Reder (1974, pl 303).

Hanomag (1301-1308) and Alco (1321-1345) - see Locobase 787 - produced these compound Twelve-wheelers. Hanomag works numbers were 6984-6991 in 1914.

Reder noted that these were among the most powerful engines in Europe at the time of their introduction. They were balanced compounds of a "very Bavarian" type, although there was a common piston valve for both cylinders in a pair. The frame was according to von Borries' practice, using bar forward and plate to the rear. The very high-pitched boiler allowed the large firebox to sit between the last two axles, which were separated.

They easily beat the required tonnage ratings which ranged from 280 tons at 31 mph up 1 1/2% grade to 340 tons on the level at 62 mph. (That latter performance underscores the difference between Twelve wheelers operated by US railroads, which were exclusively slow-freight hogs, and European examples, which saw much more varied service.)

Pere Comas, whose Paleontologia Vaporosa posts on the family tree of Spanish 4-8-0s are referenced in Locobase 3382, classed the Hanomag engines as "Mastodontus Hanomagus". Comas also notes that this species was a dead end in Spain, because although it was a major improvement on the "Mastodontus Germanicus" (MZA 1100), the railway chose not to encourage the adoption of the mechanical complexity represented by a compound layout.

Class 1491/240-2241 (Locobase 3384)

Data from [], and RENFE 1947 Material Rodante, posted by Lavagoneta, entry 194. See also "Madrid-Saragossa [sic]-Alicanted Ry 8-Coupled Bogie Locomotive", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXVII [27], No 342 (15 February 1921), pp. 25-26.

Twelve-wheeler simples that entered service over an eleven-year period. Locobase splits the class into two based on a significant increase in adhesion weight after the 50th locomotive. For the latter, see Locobase 3385.

Characterized as "extremely robust and powerful engines" by OS Nock (RWC V, pl 115), these engines operated over most of the RENFE rails until the 1970s.

Pere Comas, whose Paleontologia Vaporosa posts on the family tree of Spanish 4-8-0s are referenced in Locobase 3382, says that this class resulted from the introduction of the 1600-mm driver diameter to the basic Henschel "Mastodontus Germanicus" design. The onset of World War One meant that the MZA had to turn from the original German builders to the MTM and thus "Mastodontus Ibericus" evolved from M. Germanicus.

NB: Heating surfaces in the diagram reflect tube areas measured from the inside diameter. Total evaporative heating surface area was 281.75 sq m (2,355 sq ft). Locobase uses the tube diameters supplied in the diagram, which were external.

Class 240-2081 (Locobase 3382)

Long -serving and numerous, these freight haulers served the MZA and later RENFE into the 1970s. The batch was broken into a delivery of 95 engines in 1912-1913 and 25 more in 1921 Wheelbase and axle loading from diagram reproduced on [] (visited 18 June 2003).

In a series of posts to trensim.com, a site supporting 3D simulations of train operations -- ([], originally published 8 December 2004, last accessed 17 May 2006), Pere Comas offered a delightful "Paleontologia Vaporosa"which followed the descent of the 4-8-0 wheel arrangement as applied in Spain from the original "Mastodontus Germanicus" shown in this entry.

Comas explains that the MZA resorted to the 240 arrangement because of the increasing weight of the trains to be hauled and the limited maximum axle loading allowed. Henschel's response was a low-drivered locomotive with an "exceptionally large" boiler for the time. (Locobase's translation throughout). "Results were excellent," says Comas, and before the last of the initial batch had been delivered, the MZA had gone back to the builder for 65 more. In 1921, the MZA's last order from a foreign builder was for 25 more in this class.

Class 240-2241/ from 2291 on (Locobase 3385)

Data from [].; and RENFE 1947 Material Rodante, posted by Lavagoneta, entry 194.

With the 51st locomotive in this class, adhesion weight increased significantly, although the basic power dimensions remained the same. Of this heavier group, the first 50 used Walschaerts radial gear to move piston valves. 1501-1505 had Lenz poppet valve gear, while 1506-1565 used Dabeg gear to operate poppet valves. (NB: the break in RENFE numbering is accounted for in Locobase 3386.). Axle loadings increased steadily as did empty engine weight

Characterized as "extremely robust and powerful engines" by OS Nock (RWC V, pl 115), these engines operated over most of the RENFE rails until the 1970s.

Pere Comas, whose Paleontologia Vaporosa posts on the family tree of Spanish 4-8-0s are referenced in Locobase 3382, groups these successor batches with the first 50 under "Mastodontus Ibericus" (see Locobase 3384), but identifies the last twenty -- 1361-1380 -- as "Mastodontus Ibericus Otorrinus" because they displayed "Elephant Ear" smoke deflectors.

NB: Heating surfaces in the diagram reflect tube areas measured from the inside diameter. Total evaporative heating surface area was 281.75 sq m (2,355 sq ft). Locobase uses the tube diameters supplied in the diagram, which were external.

Class 240-2316 (Locobase 3386)

Data from [], the web site of the Spanish National Railway. First ten delivered in 1935, the last ten in 1940.

This small class of Twelve-wheelers is a variant of the more widely used 1400 class (see Locobase 3384-3385). The specs show less superheating surface area even though the number, diameter, and length of the flues is the same. (Different design of the superheater elements themselves?). Pere Comas notes that the class was delivered with smoke deflectors mounted outside of the smokebox. A more important difference was the use of feed water heaters, the first ten being fitted with Dabegs, the last ten with Worthingtons.

Class 240-4061 (Locobase 787)

Data from Railway Age Gazette, (Volume 62, #15 (1917). See also "Compound Locomotives for the Madrid, Saragossa [sic] and Alicante Ry", Locomotive Magazine, Volume XXIII [23], whole no 299 (16 July 1917), pp. 129-130.

25 engines based based on eight locomotives of an earlier German design built by Hanomag. See Locobase 3391. Pere Comas, whose Paleontologia Vaporosa posts on the family tree of Spanish 4-8-0s are referenced in Locobase 3382, described this Alco batch as "Mastodontus Alcopythecus" (This latter appellation is a Locobase favorite.)

Four-cylinder balanced compound with LP inside, HP outside. Reder gives a slightly higher boiler pressure of 235 psi. Unlike American locomotives, which had a three-point system of equalization between drivers and carrying trucks, these engines had separate equalization of the front truck (on a spherical bearing), the front two drivers, and the rear drivers. None was cross-equalized (i.e., side-to-side). Both cylinders on each side were fed by a single piston valve. The center portion of the valve, which fed the HP cylinder, measured 12.6" (320 mm) in diameter. The LP cylinder was fed from the ends, where the diameter grew to 17.32" (440 mm).

These were the last compound Mastodons in Spain, for reasons explained in Locobase 3391.