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PO 171 S to 257 S, 285 S, and 3201 to 3235

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The P.O class 3200 of the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Paris-Orléans (later SNCF 3-230.K.491 to 498 and 4-230.F.101 to 135 and 152 to 185), was a 4-6-0 steam engine class for passenger trains. This class was made of 34 rebuilt Forquenot 2-4-2 and 35 newly built engines.

History[]

During the early 1910s, the PO railway was late in renewing its locomotive fleet. The railway needed a fast engine, less complex and less powerful than the Pacifics from the Classes 4500 and 3500, an engine that could pull light express trains and rapids, while being easy to maintain. It had been decided to transform some 2-4-2s designed by the former chief mechanical engineer of the PO, Victor Forquenot, to make saving. The reconstruction, lead by the engineer Paul Conte, was influenced by prussian conception of steam engines and more precisely the Prussian S 10 class of the engineer Robert Garbe.

PO 171 S to 257 S, 285 S and 3201 to 3235[]

The reconstruction of 35 2-4-2s from the classes PO 171 to 264 (34 engines), and PO 265 to 390 (1 engine), was lead in the Locomotive Workshops of the company at Ivry, between 1911 and 1913. The Forquenot engines have been rebuilt as 4-6-0s, with big driving wheels. Every engine had kept its original number but they received the letter S in front of it, to indicate that they've received a superheater.

As these engines show to be satisfactory, the PO decided to built 35 new engines between 1913 and 1914. A first batch of 20 engines was produced by Fives-Lille and the last 15 engines were built in the Locomotive Workshops of the company at Ivry. The new engines received the no. 3201 to 3235.

In 1914, the 70 engines were allocated in the depots of Paris-Chevaleret, Tours, Châteauroux, Angers, Vierzon, Orléans, Périgeux, Nantes-Mauves and Auray. They were used to pull light express trains, local trains composed of wooden coaches with side doors, and even sometimes goods trains. Sometimes, theier services needed to double head the trains with two engines.

P.O-Midi 230-201 to 235 and 151 to 185[]

In 1934, with the amalgamation of the PO and Midi railways into the P.O-Midi Railways, the class was complete, and was allocated to the depots of Nantes, Bordeaux-Bastide and Tours. They did the same tasks as on the PO.

SNCF 3-230.K.491 to 498 and 4-230.F.152 to 185 and 201 to 235[]

In 1938, with the creation of the SNCF, the 8 ex-3200s (no. 230-151, 155, 156, 163, 166, 169, 170 and 175) were allocated to the Western region and took the numbers 3-230.K.491 to 498. The rest of the class stayed in the Southwestern region and gained the no. 4-230.F.152 to 185 and 201 to 235. During War World II, 18 4-230.Fs were allocated on the Northern region between 1942 and 1945, to overcome the lack of steam engines. But at the end of the conflict, 2 engines were lost.

With the apparition of new metallic coaches which gradually replaced the wooden coaches, the 4-230.Fs did not bear this increase of the weight of the trains, and began to struggle ahead of local trains. The SNCF decided not to reconvert the 68 engines and with the arrival of the SNCF 141.R class, the 4-230.Fs began to be withdrawn from service.The class desapeared in 1958, with the withdrawn of the final engines on the Western and Southwestern regions.

Gallery[]

Sources[]

Railways Magazines:

  • FIEUX, Loïc. (2000). Réseaux HO les trains de marée bretons. Loco Revue, no. 639, 40-41.

Web sites:

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