| SFAI Class 1200 RA Class 420 RM Class 480 FS Class 420 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 An FS Class 420 locomotive | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS; Italian State Railways) Class 420 (Italian: Gruppo 290), formerly SFAI Class 1200, Rete Adriatica Class 420 and Rete Mediterranea Class 480, was a 0-8-0 steam locomotive.
In the early 1870s, the SFAI needed a locomotive suitable for heavy work on the most important mountain lines, such as the Giovi railway and the Turin-Modane railway, for which the 0-6-0 locomotives were becoming increasingly inadequate. The Ufficio d'Arte di Torino chose a 0-8-0 locomotive of the Wiener Neustädter Lokomotivfabrik (then known as "Sigl"), very similar to the Südbahn Class 35 a that it already produced. [1] [2]
The Class 420 was a typical long-boiler, inside-frame 0-8-0 locomotive of the era, that showed its Austrian derivation with its two-shutters smokebox door, and its outside Stephenson valve gear. The locomotives built before 1884 had the distinction of having curved foot plating over the wheels, while later units had straight foot plating and small splashers. Some of the locomotives were given a replacement boiler before 1914, but their performance remained mostly unchanged. [2]
The first 60 locomotives were built by Sigl (from which they derived the nickname with which they were known for their whole career) for the SFAI. Production continued until 1890, from both foreign (such as Maffei) and Italian firms (such as Ansaldo and Breda), for a total of 189 locomotives; all these were divided in 1885 between the Rete Adriatica and the Rete Mediterranea. Building of further locomotives for the RM resumed in 1897, and continued until 1905, bringing the total of the Class to 293. [3]
The Class 420 served on most Italian mountain lines. The first locomotives were assigned to the Genoa sheds, to serve on the Giovi lines; on the 1-in-62½ grade of the Succursale line (opened in 1889), two Class 420s were able to pull trains of 450 t (990,000 lb) at the speed of 20 km/h. The units assigned to the RM in 1885 were allocated to the Porrettana railway.
Their dominance over the major mountain lines began to decline in the 1890s and 1900s, when they were replaced by more powerful locomotives such as the Class 750, and then by the Class 470 locomotives. This caused many members of the class to be assigned to secondary lines of the Po valley, while others were sent to Sicily around 1925 to integrate the similar Class 410 locomotives stationed there.
Some units managed to survive World War II, mostly as harbour shunters, and as late as 1953 two Class 420 locomotives were still listed as active in Piedmont. None survived into preservation. [4] [2]
The Società per le strade ferrate dell'Alta Italia was an Italian railway company from 1865 to 1885.
Rete Mediterranea (RM) defines that part of the Italian railway network that, under the law of 27 April 1885 no. 3048, was assigned to the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo for operation and development. These were mainly lines from the north-west, Ligurian and Tyrrhenian. The initials RM were also used to mark locomotives and rolling stock.
The Rete Adriatica Class 500, classified after 1905 in the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane as Class 670 was an unorthodox and iconic cab forward 4-6-0 (2'C) steam locomotive.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 470 is a 0-10-0 steam locomotive.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 650, formerly SFAI1181-1200 and Rete Mediterranea 300 Class, also known as "Vittorio Emanuele II", was the first steam locomotive in continental Europe to have the 4-6-0 'Ten-Wheeler' arrangement.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 552, formerly Rete Adriatica Class 180 bis, is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive; it was the final development in Italy of the 'American' express locomotive type.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 600, formerly Rete Adriatica Class 380 and Società per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali Class 380, is a 2-6-0 'Mogul' steam locomotive; it is considered by some as the first Italian modern steam locomotive.
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The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 310, formerly Rete Mediterranea Class 380, was a 0-6-0 steam locomotive; they were the first Italian as-built compound locomotives.
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The Mastodonte dei Giovi was a special double steam locomotive built specifically for use on the difficult Apennine stretch of the new Turin - Genoa railway line, inaugurated in 1853.
FS Class 170 was a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotives acquired by Italian State Railways (FS) from Rete Mediterranea (RM) on nationalization in 1905.
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Locomotives SFM 1-34 refers to a class of 2-2-2 steam locomotives of the Società Italiana per le Strade Ferrate Meridionali (SFM). They were designed for hauling fast passenger trains.
FS Class 400 were steam locomotives of French construction, built for service in Italy. They were 0-8-0 tender locomotives with two outside cylinders.