This extraordinary machine was built in 1888 for the Belgian State Railways. Once more the aim was to fit more boiler capacity between the driving wheels, and in this case it was done by having two smaller boiler barrels each side of the main boiler. The triple-boiler locomotive was built by the Soci�t� St L�onard of Li�ge in Belgium.
Background[]
Steaming was poor, due to the indirect connection between the lateral boilers and the smokebox, and the Belgian State refused to accept it. At this point it gained its enormous chimney spreading over all three boilers.
A front view of the beast. Despite the previous troubles, the State acquired the locomotive and it went into service as No 195. "La trichaudi�re" was used exclusively on the Brussels-Ostend line.
Note sloping front to the central boiler, which projects out beyond the two lateral boilers, and the front covers of the two inside cylinders.
The locomotive was unpopular with its crews because of the inconvenient absence of a running-board, but this was a minor problem. The major problem was that one of the lateral boilers exploded in 1902, near the Ostend-Ville station, and that was the end of the career of No 195.
Criticism[]
According to some critics at that time, they stated/said that the Triple Boiler locomotive was the most "Ugliest locomotive ever constructed", such judgements are purely subjective to this criticism.
Disposition[]
In 1902, while the locomotive was undergoing a train run to Austinville Station, One of the lateral Boilers on one of the sides of the Locomotive had exploded which resulted in it being deemed "Damaged beyond repair" and it was then sent off to be scrapped and wasn't rebuilt at all.