Est 241
| Est 241, État 241 SNCF 1-241 A |
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| Numbering: | see text |
| Number: | 90 |
| Manufacturer: | Compagnie Fives-Lille , Batignolles-Châtillon , SFCM |
| Year of construction (s): | 1925, 1930-1934 |
| Retirement: | 1960-1965 |
| Type : | 2'D1 'h4v |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 26,810 mm |
| Width: | 3,032 mm |
| Fixed wheelbase: | 6,150 mm |
| Total wheelbase: | 21,400 mm |
| Service mass with tender: | 197 t |
| Top speed: | 110 km / h |
| Indexed performance : | approx. 2,570 kW |
| Coupling wheel diameter: | 1,950 mm |
| Impeller diameter front: | 920 mm |
| Rear wheel diameter: | 1,080 mm |
| Control type : | Heusinger |
| HD cylinder diameter: | 450 mm |
| LP cylinder diameter: | 660 mm |
| Piston stroke: | 720 mm |
| Boiler overpressure: | 20 bar |
| Grate area: | 4.43 m² |
| Superheater area : | 94.20 m² |
| Evaporation heating surface: | 223.20 m² |
| Fuel supply: | 9 tons of coal |
The vehicles of the series 241 of the French Eastern Railway ( Chemin de Fer de l'Est ) were the first Mountain - locomotives ( wheel arrangement 2'D1 ', French 241) in Europe and its entry into the largest and most powerful steam locomotives in Europe. After the Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) was founded in 1938, the locomotives of the Eastern Railway (EST) were given the type designation (1-) 241 A together with the identical machines of the State Railway (ETAT) . The surviving 241 A 65 is the second largest operational steam locomotive in Europe after the 241 P 17 .
history
The prototype was put into service in 1925 and was initially given the road number 41,001. First studies in 1922 led to the order for a compound locomotive with four driving axles in July 1924 . It was fitted with a Kylchap suction system, and the front running axles were mounted using a Bissel frame . The locomotive was built in the Ateliers du Chemin de Fer de l'Est workshop in Épernay and was assigned to the Paris-La Villette depot after its completion . On the two main EST lines Paris – Strasbourg and Paris – Mulhouse , it was extensively tested on heavy express trains and compared with other machines. Several changes were made when it was first revised . The permissible boiler pressure has been increased from 16 to 17 bar , the diameter of the low-pressure cylinders has been increased from 610 to 660 mm and the route of the steam lines has been optimized. The Kylchap induced draft system was successively replaced by two other types, but reinstalled in 1930. These improvements resulted in an increase in performance of approximately 30%. At the World Exhibition of 1930 in the Belgian Liege now known as 241001 locomotive was shown nine months long.
After thorough testing, 89 series locomotives were built from 1930 to 1934, which differed from the prototype in some details. The evaporation heating surface increased from 217.61 m² to 223.20 m², the maximum boiler pressure was now 20 bar. The axle load increased from 18.7 t to 19.7 t. Further changes concerned the piston rods of the high-pressure cylinders, the sanding system, the wheelbase , the smoke chamber , the position of the chimney and the smoke deflectors .
40 locomotives went to the Ostbahn and 49 identical ones to the state railway Chemins de fer de l'État . In February and April 1930, EST ordered twenty machines from Fives-Lille (241.002 to 241.021) and another twenty from the Société française de constructions mécaniques (SFCM; 241.022 to 241.041), which were delivered between May 1931 and February 1932. They were distributed to the La Villette and Chaumont depots , initially locomotives were also located in Troyes .
At that time, ETAT suffered from the fact that it had to share trains to the Atlantic ports of Cherbourg and Le Havre frequently due to the higher trailer loads - the passenger coaches with wooden superstructures had been replaced by those with steel coach bodies . In order to avoid the resulting additional costs, she looked for suitable locomotives. Trials with the NORD 231 "Super Pacific" and the PLM 241 A were unsuccessful, which is why ETAT decided on the EST "Mountains" and in May and June 1931 at Fives-Lille (241-001 to 241-029) and SFCM (241-030 to 241-039) ordered such locomotives. They were delivered between August 1931 and July 1932. Ten other machines (241-040 to 241-049) were ordered from Société Batignolles-Châtillon in Nantes in November 1932 ; they were put into operation between December 1934 and June 1935. They were initially located in Paris- Batignolles (29 locomotives), Caen (6) and Montrouge (4). In 1934, 26 Paris locomotives were delivered to Montrouge, and Laval was added as a new location .
To improve profitability, EST soon made the first changes to its "Mountains". First of all, they concerned the cylinder diameter and the slides of the low-pressure cylinders; some of the locomotives received feed water preheaters of the ACFI or Worthington types. From 1933 on, further modifications were made, including the grate , and the cross members were reinforced. The performance could be increased by almost 25% compared to the original version and the coal consumption could be reduced slightly.
At first, the prototype, like the series machines, was approved for a top speed of 120 km / h. In October 1932, the 241.036 derailed in Presles-en-Brie , whereupon all locomotives of this type were only allowed to run at a maximum of 90 km / h. In 1934 this value was increased to 105 km / h and the following year to 110 km / h.
ETAT did not make any modifications to its machines. After the accident in Presles and the associated reduction in the maximum speed limit, they were transferred to subordinate services, the high-quality fast passenger trains were taken over by the 130 km / h fast "Pacifics" 231 D, R and W. However, the ten were delivered by Batignolles-Châtillon Locomotives ex works ACFI preheaters, mechanical lubrication , high-pressure cylinders made of cast steel and other innovations. At Fives-Lille, ETAT had a prototype developed itself. The "Super Mountain" 241-101, whose performance, contrary to expectations, hardly surpassed that of the EST 241, remained a one-off. From 1943 it was converted by André Chapelon into the 242 A1, which is considered to be the most powerful steam locomotive ever built in Europe.
When the French railways were absorbed by the SNCF in 1938 , the EST locomotives were given the numbers 241 A 1 to 241 A 41 in the original order after various temporary changes, while the former ETAT machines were given the numbers 241 A 42 to 241 A 90 in a different order were. With a view to standardizing the heterogeneous vehicle fleet, the SNCF was not interested in further increasing the performance of the locomotives. The EST machines were given high-pressure cylinders with the original diameter, and the boiler pressure was reduced to 18 bar. On the other hand, improvements were made to ten former ETAT locomotives between 1942 and 1946, which increasingly migrated to the Est region.
During the German occupation in World War II , the locomotives were used, among other things, to transport soldiers of the Wehrmacht and to transport goods for the construction of the Atlantic Wall . Numerous machines were parked in safe places away from the combat zones. Since the locomotives had a complex structure, the German occupiers showed little interest in them, and only nine examples were confiscated. At the end of the Second World War , almost a dozen of the machines - including the 241 A 12 and 241 A 20 irreparably - were destroyed. The 241 A 4 remained in East Germany and was converted into a coal dust locomotive on a trial basis . It was designated there as 08 1001 and scrapped in the early 1960s.
Plans from the time after the war to equip the remaining locomotives with stokers and to increase the maximum speed to 120 km / h were no longer implemented. The locomotives were mainly used by the SNCF on the Paris – Strasbourg and Paris – Basel routes. Between 1960 and 1965 it was retired and replaced by diesel locomotives .
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Two copies have been preserved, including the prototype 241 A1, which is in the Mulhouse Railway Museum (“Cité du Train”). The 241 A 65, the former État 241-001, was used as a heating locomotive until 1968 after it was retired in 1965 . It was then sold to Switzerland and, after a cosmetic restoration, was in the Lucerne Museum of Transport from 1978 . In 1996 the locomotive was refurbished in the Meiningen steam locomotive works and in 1997 it was steamed again for the first time. Today it is the second largest operable steam locomotive in Europe, has approval for Switzerland and Germany and has been based in Full-Reuenthal since September 2008 . Among other things, the machine can be seen in the 2017 film Murder on the Orient Express with Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer in scenes that were filmed on the Swiss Sursee-Triengen Railway .
technical features
As is customary in France for high-performance locomotives, the locomotives had a four-cylinder compound drive of the De Glehn type with separately adjustable Heusinger controls for high and low pressure engines . The inner cylinders (LP cylinders) work on the cranked first coupling axle , the outer cylinders (HP cylinders) on the second. A slide valve made it possible to supply high-pressure steam to the low-pressure cylinders when starting up or when there was a large power requirement.
In addition to the 2'D1 'wheel arrangement, new in Europe was the boiler , which was fitted with a large combustion chamber and Nicholson-type thermosyphons based on the American model . The boiler was fed via an exhaust steam injector and two live steam injectors.
The axles were stored in a sheet metal frame; Due to the relatively soft suspension, the compensation lever was dispensed with. The four-axle Tender the type TI ( "tenders interchangeables") had an air-carbon slide, and the ETAT machines were with a scooping device for water troughs equipped, could be taken up with those during driving water. However, these were rarely used and later removed.
Driver's cab on the left
Driver's cab on the right
Chassis with frame and wheelsets
