Thuile locomotive

1899 steam locomotive

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|

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 m2 (50 sq ft)
Boiler pressure| 15 kg/cm2 (213 psi)
Heating surface| 297.70 m2 (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[edit]

Thuile proposed a 6-4-8 or 6-4-6 locomotive with 3-metre-diameter (9 ft 10 in) driving wheels, but this 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 by leaning too far out of the locomotive and being in collision with a lineside pole[2] or a piece of scaffolding supporting an overbridge.[3] The locomotive was returned to Schneider. It was scrapped in 1904. The tender survived until at least 1946, when it was noted at Saint Pierre-des-Corps.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "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.

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