The first Franco-Crosti boilered locomotive was built for the Belgian State Railways as No. 2096 in 1932, it was also known for being the world's only Quadruplex Steam Locomotive ever built
Background[]
The first Franco-Crosti boilered locomotive was built for the Belgian State Railways as No. 2096 in 1932. This locomotive had a massive wheel arrangement of 0–6–2+2–4–2–4–2+2-6-0, it weighed at 248 tons and had developed a power output of around 3,000 horsepower.
It was essentially two Franco-Crosti boilered locomotives joined back-to-back and was one of the most powerful articulated locomotives ever built. The locomotive was 31 metres long and developed about 3000 horsepower.
There was a water wall between the two fireboxes. The coal was stored in vertical bunkers, the bottom of which reached under the boiler to the fireman's position.
The boilers were slewed sideways so the fireboxes overlapped, presumably to meet some limit on overall length despite the articulation. Two firemen were needed; in fact, their use seems inescapable if only because of the firebox layout. This extra labour at a time when manpower costs were increasing must have cancelled some or all of the economies stemming from the Franco-Crosti system.
Disposition[]
The Locomotive was disassembled and the twin-firebox boiler was sold; however, pieces of it were given to make two newer locomotives later that were used by Germany by the end of 1943, at the end of WWII they came under Soviet Control and being disassembled to build newer locomotives. Neither the locomotives that were built from these parts were preserved.
Soviet Union was planning to use the Franco-Crosti boiler system to go bigger by planning to make a Hexaplex locomotive with a wheel arrangement of 2-4-4-2 + 2-8-8-2 + 2-4-4-2 example which that hexaplex was never built at all.
Gallery[]
