| FS Class 640 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 FS locomotive 640.143 in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Ferrovie dello Stato (FS; Italian State Railways) Class 640 (Italian: Gruppo 640) is a class of 2-6-0 'Mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. Commonly nicknamed "Signorine" (Italian: 'young ladies'), a nickname shared with the similar Class 625, these locomotives were the first superheated steam locomotives in Italy. [1]
When the FS were created in 1905, Chief Mechanical Engineer Giuseppe Zara undertook a process to design a standard range of locomotives; one of these was the Class 630, a light express engine which, together with the other designs, shared the features of being compound locomotives. However, with the diffusion in Germany (then in close ties with Italy because of the Triple Alliance) of the Schmidt superheater, a decision to build there a batch of 24 non-compound and superheated versions of the Class 630 (keeping all the other features, including the Italian bogie and the peculiar inside-cylinders/outside valve chests and valve gear) was taken. [2] Results were highly successful, and subsequently almost all steam locomotives in Italy would be built with simple expansion and superheating.
The first locomotives were built by the German firm Schwartzkopff (as the Italian industry lacked experience with the superheating technology), with other Italian firms building the rest, for a total of 169; four more Class 640 were added in 1951 when the railway company for which they had been built for (Strade Ferrate di Biella) was incorporated in the FS.
All the Class 640 were fitted with a unique three-axle tender with a water capacity of 15,000 L (4,000 US gal)
Originally pulling the principal express trains on the Italian mainlines, after a few years the Class 640 locomotives were replaced in these services by the more powerful Class 680 and Class 685 2-6-2 locomotives; they were then assigned to pulling passenger trains on secondary lines with level ground. They enjoyed a very long career, surviving up to the end of regular Italian steam services in the 1970s. [1]
Between 1929 and 1931 15 Class 630 locomotives were rebuilt with superheater, simple expansion and Caprotti valve gear; their running numbers were retained with the addition of 300, making them form the 640.3XX subclass. [1]
Sixteen Class 640 locomotives survive into preservation; of these, two (the 143 and 091) are currently operational and available for heritage trains, while others are being restored. [3]
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-2 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives, although some tank locomotive examples were also built. A Garratt type locomotive with the same wheel arrangement is designated 2-6-0+0-6-2.
A compound locomotive is a steam locomotive which is powered by a compound engine, a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. The locomotive was only one application of compounding. Two and three stages were used in ships, for example.
The NER B and B1 Classes were two classes of 0-6-2 tank locomotives designed by Thomas William Worsdell for heavy freight and mineral on the North Eastern Railway, introduced in 1886. They were tank engine versions of the NER C1 Class 0-6-0, using both simple expansion and also the von Borries configuration for two-cylinder compound locomotives. Both types were later rebuilt using superheated steam and the compounds were also rebuilt as simple expansion locomotives, and eventually formed a single class. Many of the superheated locomotives were also later returned to saturated steam as their original boilers wore out. As a result the classes have had a very complex mechanical history.
The GCR Class 8B was a class of 27 two-cylinder steam locomotives of the 4-4-2 wheel arrangement built between 1903 and 1906 for the Great Central Railway. They were nicknamed "Jersey Lillies" after the famous music star Lillie Langtry.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 625 is a class of 2-6-0 'mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. The class is commonly known by the nickname Signorine, or Signorina in the singular, because of their perceived grace and beauty compared to other locomotives.
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 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 Italiane Class 470 is a 0-10-0 steam locomotive.
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 480 is a 2-10-0 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 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 Italiane Class 420, formerly SFAI Class 1200, Rete Adriatica Class 420 and Rete Mediterranea Class 480, was a 0-8-0 steam locomotive.
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.
FS Class 122 were 2-4-0 steam locomotives with tenders, designed for hauling passenger trains. The Italian State Railways (FS) acquired 32 of them as war reparations after World War I from the Austrian Südbahn (SB).
The Ferrovie dello Stato Class 745 was a class of 2-8-0 'Consolidation' steam locomotives.
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.
