140 C Ouest
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| Image:140 C 204 Etat.jpg | |
| Power type | Steam |
|---|---|
| Build date | 1913 |
| Configuration | 2-8-0 |
| Gauge | 1435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) |
| Weight on drivers | 45 tons |
| Locomotive and tender combined weight | 77 tons |
| Fuel type | coal |
| Tender capacity | 5 tons |
| Heating surface: Total | 172.46 m² |
| Cylinders | 2 |
| Cylinder size | 590 x 640 mm |
| Career | Chemin de Fer de l'État |
| Class | 140 C |
| Number in class | 340 |
| Number | 140-001 to 70 and 140-101 to 370 |
The 140 C, was a 2-8-0 steam locomotive of the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest and then Chemin de Fer de l'État.
[edit] Overview
The series of 370 engines, numbered 140-001 to 140-70 and 140-101 to 140-370, were built between 1913 and 1917. The first 170 engines were built by Schneider and were put into service in 1913. The declaration of war in 1914 forced the Chemin de Fer de l'État to entrust the construction of the locomotives to Nasmyth Wilson of Manchester and North British of Glasgow. These engines were mostly used for hauling freight trains. Two-hundred engines, numbered 140-171 to 140-370, were delivered in 1916 and 1917. Six engines, transported by the cargo ship Saint-Chamond, were lost at sea off the coast of North Cornwall on 30 April 1918.
The 140 Cs were allocated to all the main Etat depots, Mézidon, Le Mans, Rennes, Brest, Nantes and Bordeaux, and were used to haul many of the company's express trains; Paris-Le Havre, Paris-Cherbourg, Paris-Granville and on the Chemin de fer de Grande Ceinture.
The 140 Cs were the last steam engines on regular use on the French railway network. They operated last around Châtillon-sur-Seine and Gray in Champagne and Franche-Comté. 140 C 287 pulled her last train on 24 September 1975 between Troyes and Sainte-Colombe.
Due to their late use on French railways, many 140 C were preserved, a total of eight engines were preserved; 140 C 22, 27, 38, 231, 287, 313, 314 and 344.
[edit] DesignThe engines had a output of 1210 hp and capable of a speed of up 70 km/h. Their light weight per axle made them capable of hauling both passenger and goods trains on most of the Chemin de Fer de l'État's network. The engines' performances were honorable, and could haul 1000 ton trains at 50 km/h, 550 ton trains at the same speed on ramps of 10 for 1000 and 260 ton trains on ramps of 20 for 1000. |
[edit] 140 C in preservation
Four engines, 140 C 230, 140 C 231, 140 C 313 and 140 C 314 were, thanks totheir general good condition, chosen by the CFTA to form a reserve pool of engines. They received servicing at Le Mans in 1970 taken to Chaumont engine shed in February 1971. None of the engines were ever reused and 140 C 230 was the only engines of the group of three to be scrapped. 140 C 231 was then taken from Chaumont to Longueville on 22 October 1972. 140 C 231, along with tender 18 C 482 is owned by the AJECTA and is chartered on French railways, 140 C 313 is currently at Gare de Reims, 140 C 314 is owned by the chemin de fer touristique du Vermandois (CFVT) and is used on its line.
