Thuile locomotive

Thuile
Thuile locomotive at Chartres, 1900
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Thuile Builder Schneider Build date 1899
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-6  • UIC 2'B3' Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Leading dia. 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in) Driver dia. 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) Trailing dia. 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in) Wheelbase 12.25 m (40 ft 2 in) Length 24.80 m (81 ft 4 in) (locomotive and tender) Loco weight 80.60 t (79 long tons) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 4.68 m^2 (50 sq ft) Boiler pressure 15 kg/cm^2 (213 psi) Heating surface 297.70 m^2 (3,204 sq ft) Cylinders 2 Cylinder size 510 mm × 700 mm (20 in × 28 in)
Performance figures Maximum speed 117 km/h (73 mph)
Career Operators Chemin de Fer de l'Etat Scrapped 1904 (locomotive), post 1946 (tender)

The Thuile locomotive was a steam locomotive designed by M. Henri Thuile, of Alexandria, Egypt, and built in 1899.

History

Thuile proposed a 6-4-8 or 6-4-6 locomotive with 3-metre-diameter (9 ft 10 in) driving wheels, but it was not built.[1]

The design was taken up by Schneider, of Le Creusot, who built a 4-4-6 with 2.5-metre-diameter (8 ft 2 in) driving wheels, and a forward cab for the driver. The two-cylinder locomotive had Walschaerts valve gear and a double-lobed boiler of nickel-steel. The locomotive was exhibited at the International Exposition in Paris in 1900, and the trials were undertaken on the Chemin de Fer de l'Etat line between Chartres and Thouars. A speed of 117 kilometres per hour (73 mph) was attained hauling a load of 186 tonnes (183 long tons).[1]

The trials ended when Thuile was killed in June 1900, apparently because he leant too far out of the locomotive and hit a lineside pole[2] or a piece of scaffolding supporting an overbridge.[3] The locomotive was returned to Schneider and was scrapped in 1904. The tender survived until at least 1946, when it was noted at Saint Pierre-des-Corps.[1]

References

1. "BIG WHEELS FOR HIGH SPEEDS". SNCF Society. Retrieved 2008-04-01. ^[dead link‍]
2. Douglas Self. "The Thuile Cabforward". Retrieved 2008-04-01.
3. DH. "La locomotive Thuile Cabforward". Retrieved 2023-04-26.