EUROPE'S MIGHTIEST STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

摘要

FOR sheer power, the ultimate British express passenger steam locomotive type is probably Stanier's 'Duchess', with the preserved Duke of Gloucester a close contender. Both have shown themselves capable of momentarily exerting more than 3,000 indicated horsepower (ihp) and over 2,500 horsepower at the drawbar (dhp). Imagine, then, a steam loco nearly twice as powerful - not some transatlantic mammoth but one of European origin; a loco that, in the medium speed range, would have put even a 'Deltic' diesel to shame. What was this leviathan? Designed by locomotive engineer Andre Chapelon, it was French Railways (SNCF) 4-8-4 No. 242.A1, a three-cylinder compound weighing 148 tonnes and completed in March 1946 after a lengthy gestation period.