FS Class 737

The Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian State Railways, FS) Class 737 (Italian: Gruppo 737) was a class of steam locomotive which consisted of 15 ex-British War Department (WD) 2-8-0 locomotives of the LMS Stanier Class 8F type which were purchased in 1946.

FS 737.014 after withdrawal in 1953

History

The first eight engines, (eventually FS Numbers 737.001 – 737.008) were built to WD orders between 1940 and 1942. The remaining seven (eventually FS Numbers 737.009 – 737.015) had been requisitioned by the War Department in 1941 from the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) - these had been built in 1936 by the Vulcan Foundry. All were then shipped to the Middle East, with several more classmates, where they served in Persia and were numbered in the Persian series. In 1944, 50 of the Persian engines were transferred to Kingdom of Egypt/Mandate Palestine, where they were again renumbered into the Middle East Forces (MEF) 93xx series. Later WD numbers were original numbers plus +70000, and in 1946 FS bought fifteen of these.

As they were non-standard in comparison to Italian locomotive practices, their career were relatively short, with the Class 737s working on the line between Bologna and Ancona until 1947 where after they were kept at Bari. They were all withdrawn from service in 1953[1] with them being scrapped in 1956.[2][3][1]

Numbering

Numbers were as follows:

FS No.LMS No.WD No.Persia No.MEF No.Later WD No.Date builtBuilderBuilder's No.Withdrawn
737.001-33441.1199380703341940North British Locomotive Company246341956
737.002-37541.1649372703751941North British Locomotive Company246751956
737.003-40841.1049381704081941Beyer, Peacock & Company69881956
737.004-43741.1779374704371941Beyer, Peacock & Company70171956
737.005-44141.1669362704411941Beyer, Peacock & Company70211956
737.006-51441.2109368705141941North British Locomotive Company247221956
737.007-52041.2389363705201941North British Locomotive Company247281956
737.008-54841.223-705481942North British Locomotive Company247411956
737.009803258541.1629378705851936Vulcan Foundry47091956
737.010809158941.1859351705891936Vulcan Foundry47681956
737.011803859441.1829370705941936Vulcan Foundry47151956
737.012804059541.1929355705951936Vulcan Foundry47171956
737.013804459841.1969371705981936Vulcan Foundry47211956
737.014807260941.1989373706091936Vulcan Foundry47491956
737.015805961341.1959352706131936Vulcan Foundry47361956

See also

References
  1. profilbaru.com. "Locomotiva FS 737 - profilpelajar.com". profilbaru.com (in Italian). Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. Kalla-Bishop, P.M. (1986). Italian state railways steam locomotives : together with low-voltage direct current and three-phase motive power. Abingdon: Tourret. pp. 68–9. ISBN 978-0905878034.
  3. Tourret, R. (1995). Allied military locomotives of the Second World War (Rev. and augmented ed.). Abingdon: Tourret Pub. ISBN 0-905878-06-X. OCLC 34597390.

Sources
  • Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5.
  • Tourret, R. (1995). Allied Military Locomotives of the Second World War. Abingdon, Oxon: Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0-905878-06-X.
  • Turchi, Gian Guido (November 1982). "Locomotive a vapore FS 737". I Treni Oggi (in Italian) (24): 10–14.
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