Thuile locomotive

1899 steam locomotive
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)Leading dia.1.06 m (3 ft 6 in)Driver dia.2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)Trailing dia.1.06 m (3 ft 6 in)Wheelbase12.25 m (40 ft 2 in)Length24.80 m (81 ft 4 in) (locomotive and tender)Loco weight80.60 t (79 long tons)Firebox:​ • Grate area4.68 m2 (50 sq ft)Boiler pressure15 kg/cm2 (213 psi)Heating surface297.70 m2 (3,204 sq ft)Cylinders2Cylinder size510 mm × 700 mm (20 in × 28 in)
Performance figures
Maximum speed117 km/h (73 mph)
Career
OperatorsChemin de Fer de l'Etat
Scrapped1904 (locomotive), post 1946 (tender)

The Thuile locomotive was a steam locomotive designed by M. Henri Thuile, of Alexandria, Egypt, and built in 1899.

History

Thuile proposed a 6-4-8 or 6-4-6 locomotive with 3-metre-diameter (9 ft 10 in) driving wheels, but this was not built.[1]

The design was taken up by Schneider, of Le Creusot, who built a 4-4-6 with 2.5-metre-diameter (8 ft 2 in) driving wheels, and a forward cab for the driver. The two-cylinder locomotive had Walschaerts valve gear and a double-lobed boiler of nickel-steel. The locomotive was exhibited at the International Exposition in Paris in 1900, and the trials were undertaken on the Chemin de Fer de l'Etat line between Chartres and Thouars. A speed of 117 kilometres per hour (73 mph) was attained hauling a load of 186 tonnes (183 long tons).[1]

The trials ended when Thuile was killed in June 1900 - apparently by leaning too far out of the locomotive and being in collision with a lineside pole[2] or a piece of scaffolding supporting an overbridge.[3] The locomotive was returned to Schneider. It was scrapped in 1904. The tender survived until at least 1946, when it was noted at Saint Pierre-des-Corps.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "BIG WHEELS FOR HIGH SPEEDS". SNCF Society. Retrieved 2008-04-01. [dead link]
  2. ^ Douglas Self. "The Thuile Cabforward". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  3. ^ DH. "La locomotive Thuile Cabforward". Retrieved 2023-04-26.
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