Thuile locomotive

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

Thuile
Thuile locomotive at Chartres, 1900
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerThuile
BuilderSchneider
Build date1899
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-4-6
 • UIC2'B3'
Gauge1,435 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)
Wheelbase12.25 m (40 ft 2 in)
Length24.80 m (81 ft 4 in) (locomotive and tender)
Loco weight80.60 t (79 long tons)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		4.68 m2 (50 sq ft)
Boiler pressure15 kg/cm2 (213 psi)
Heating surface297.70 m2 (3,204 sq ft)
Cylinders2
Cylinder size510 mm × 700 mm (20 in × 28 in)
Performance figures
Maximum speed117 km/h (73 mph)
Career
OperatorsChemin de Fer de l'Etat
Scrapped1904 (locomotive), post 1946 (tender)

History

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