 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2015) |
| FS Class 625 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Locomotive 625 017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Ferrovie dello Stato (FS, Italian State Railways) Class 625 (Italian : Gruppo 625) is a class of 2-6-0 'mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. The class is commonly known by the nickname Signorine (Italian for 'young ladies', also shared with the similar Class 640 locomotives), [1] or Signorina in the singular, because of their perceived grace and beauty compared to other locomotives.
The Class 625 was the superheated and simple-expansion version of the pre-existing mixed traffic Class 600 design. Following the success of the Class 640 (itself a superheated and simple-expansion version of the older Class 630 engines) previous designs were altered accordingly, and 108 of the class were built by various companies in Italy between 1910 and 1914, with a further 80 constructed between 1922 and 1923, the last 25 by Berliner Maschinenbau; the gap in the production run was caused by the events of World War I.
From 1929 onwards the existing 188 class 625 locomotives were supplemented by a further 153 locomotives rebuilt from older FS Class 600 engines; those, that could be distinguished from the Class 625 only from their being compound and non-superheated locomotives, had been constructed between 1904 and 1910 by Gio. Ansaldo & C., Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno, and Henschel & Son. A total of 153 class 600 engines were superheated, fitted with Caprotti valve gear and reclassified as class 625 machines between 1929 and 1933. Their class number changed from 600 to 625; they retained the sequential numbering from their original classification, but with the initial number altered to a 3. Thus the original 600 008 became 625 308, for example. After 1933 the remaining unrebuilt 95 class 600 engines were gradually scrapped.
The locomotives were designed for mixed-traffic operation (use on both passenger and freight services) and were designed to operate on steep gradients. The first examples of the class entered service upon completion in 1910, and the final operational examples were withdrawn from mainline service in 1976. A number of locomotives in the class were retained in mothballed working condition as part of Italian Railways' policy of keeping steam locomotives in reserve, well into the era of internal combustion and electric motive power. The final withdrawal from the reserve fleet was locomotive 625 100 in 1998.
In the early 1950s a total of 35 class 625 locomotives, of which ten were ex-Class 600 rebuilds, were rebuilt into the class 623. Fitted with the Franco-Crosti boiler (with two pre-heaters placed on the sides of the boiler), these engines were visually distinctive. The design was not successful, and these engines were all withdrawn by the early 1970s, with none surviving into preservation.
A number of scale models of class 625 locomotives have been manufactured by Italian model company Rivarossi.
Locomotive 625 116 featured in the 2013 Italian cinema film The Magistrate by Giulio Base.
Locomotive 625 017 has gained some attention through operations on the Vatican Railway (the world's only national railway network to own no locomotives). The engine hauled a train for Pope John XXIII in 1962, and in 2015 hauled the inaugural train of Pope Francis's weekly train service from Vatican City railway station to Castel Gandolfo. [2] The engine has also hauled the Italian royal family.
Twenty-five Class 625 locomotives survived into preservation; amongst them 625.100, 625.116 (private museum owner), 625.142 and 625.177 are currently operational and available for heritage trains. [3] [4]
Of particular note is 625.308, the only remaining FS locomotive with internal Caprotti valve gear, currently being restored at Pistoia.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The 4-6-2 locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type.
The British Railways Standard Class 5MT4-6-0 is one of the 12 standard classes of steam locomotive built by British Railways in the 1950s. It was essentially a development of the LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0. A total of 172 were built between 1951 and 1957.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were numbered 4658-5499. Several members of the class survived to the last day of steam on British Railways in 1968, and eighteen are preserved.
The Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented in the early 1920s by Italian architect and engineer Arturo Caprotti. It uses camshafts and poppet valves rather than the piston valves used in other valve gear. While basing his design on automotive valves, Caprotti made several significant departures from this design to adapt the valves for steam. Having agreed a joint-venture with Worcester-based engineering company Heenan & Froude from 1938, Heenan & Froude fully acquired Caprotti post-World War II in 1947.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class C1 is a type of 4-4-2 steam locomotive. One, ex GNR 251, later LNER 2800, survives in preservation. Much like their small boiler cousins, they were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h). They were also known as Large Atlantics.
The Franco–Crosti boiler is a type of boiler used for steam locomotives. It was designed in the 1930s by Attilio Franco and Dr Piero Crosti. The main difference between it and conventional feedwater heaters widely used on the continent is that the Franco-Crosti boiler uses both exhaust steam and exhaust gases from the firebox. Conventional feedwater heaters only use exhaust steam.
The South African Railways Class 10C 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class 10B 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class 10A 4-6-2 of 1910 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 740 is a class of 2-8-0 'Consolidation' steam locomotives.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 685 is a class of 2-6-2 'Prairie' express train steam locomotives. These are colloquially known as Regine, mirroring their fame as one of the most successful and appreciated Italian steam locomotives.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 640 is a class of 2-6-0 'Mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. Commonly nicknamed "Signorine", a nickname shared with the similar Class 625, these locomotives were the first superheated steam locomotives in Italy.
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 690 was a 4-6-2 'Pacific' steam locomotive for express trains.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 746 is a class of 2-8-2 'Mikado' steam locomotive. These were the biggest locomotives ever built by the Ferrovie dello Stato, even though not the fastest, which were the Class 691s.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 480 is a 2-10-0 steam locomotive.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 940 is a 2-8-2 steam tank locomotive, derived from the Class 740 tender locomotive.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Class 680 is a 2-6-2 express steam locomotive; it was the direct ancestor of the very successful and appreciated Class 685.
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.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 744 is a class of 2-8-0 steam locomotives; they were the last orthodox steam locomotives built for the FS.
