The French Collection

[PLD]

Could it be the oldest "original" preserved loco? It may be younger than "Rocket" but as I understand it the version in the NRM is a bit of a Trigger's Broom having been mucked about with over the years.

The Rocket at the NRM in York is the 1979 built replica... (150th anniversary)
The (remains of the) original are in the Science Museum in London.

Regardless... Rocket is only the third oldest surviving loco in the UK!
The oldest in the world is acknowledged (by everyone outside of France!) as being another Science Museum resident - "Puffing Billy" built 19 1814 by Timothy Hackworth, for Wylam Colliery.
Second place being claimed by Billy's cousin "Wylam Dilly", now at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh...

[martyn]

@PLD

I think you've got Puffing Billy's build  date a bit out....like 100 years?

Martyn

[PLD]

@PLD

I think you've got Puffing Billy's build  date a bit out....like 100 years?

Martyn

what's the odd century matter here or there... 

[Ali Smith]

John @ Train Waiting suggested I should write something about Thomas Crampton to follow my notes concerning Alfred de Glehn. I don't know why because I'm sure he already knows most of what I could find out. Nevertheless, here goes.

Thomas Crampton worked as an assistant to Marc Brunel before joining the Great Western Railway in 1839 where he worked for Daniel Gooch and had a hand in the design of the Firefly class of locomotives.
 
Gooch wished to produce broad gauge engines that were superior to those on the standard gauge and so demonstrate the technical superiority of the broad gauge.
 
Crampton realised that GWR's broad gauge engines were better for a number of reasons. The broad gauge allowed a higher centre of gravity without loss of stability; a matter that concerned many engineers at that time. It also permitted a larger boiler and firebox and hence heating area. Larger driving wheels could be used which resulted in lower piston speed, hence the locomotive could travel at a higher speed before excessive piston speed caused exhaust difficulties.

Meanwhile, Crampton was thinking of ways to improve standard gauge engines to match those of the broad gauge.

In 1843 Crampton left the GWR and in the same year took out a patent for his new design of locomotive.
Its most striking feature was the driving axle with its large wheels placed behind the firebox and its long, low boiler. The low boiler was, of course, made possible by the location of the driving axle. The use of outside cylinders (less common at the time) eliminated the need for a cranked axle and gave even more space to lower the boiler. There were other, less visible, departures from contemporary practice, such as wide steam passages, large heating surfaces and generous wheel bearing areas.

In 1845, the Namur and Liège Railway¹  placed the first order with Crampton for locomotives built to his patent. Three machines were ordered, each with 7ft driving wheels and a 14.5sq.ft grate. They were built by Tulk & Ley of Whitehaven. One of these engines was tested on the LNWR, who then built a Crampton of their own at Crewe. The LNWR subsequently bought two more Cramptons one of which, Liverpool, was a 6-2-0 built in 1868 by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy had 8ft driving wheels. It was claimed that this locomotive achieved 79mph with an average of 53mph over 30 miles with a 60 ton load.

In 1850, a Crampton engine was exhibited with balance weights on the driving wheels. Dynamic balancing was poorly understood at this time but it seems that lack of it, along with the short wheelbase of the "long boiler" design were as much responsible for the instability that was commonly blamed on a high centre of gravity.

By 1851, Crampton was working for the South Eastern Railway and in that year ten new Cramptons were built for that company by Robert Stephenson. One of these, no.136 "Folkston" was shown at the Great Exhibition of that year. There is a spelling mistake in the previous sentence but I didn't make it.
Throughout the 1850's, Crampton's Patent locomotives were built for British, French² and German² railways by builders in all three countries.
They were not very popular in Britain, although some lasted into the 1870's on the SER. They fared much better in France and Germany.
In the USA, the Camden & Amboy had a class of eight engines of outrageous appearance if the images I've found are to be believed. The Syracuse & Utica also had one, but I have seen no pictures of this. I really have no idea if these were the only ones in the whole country.

Approximate totals built: Great Britain 51
                          France        127
           Germany       135
The country an engine was built in is not necessarily where it was used, of course.      
Cramptons were good engines in their day, especially for high-speed work, but their Achilles' heel was their most striking feature; that huge pair of driving wheels at the back bore but a small proportion of the engine's weight and hence adhesion was poor. Once train weights began to increase they could no longer cope.

 In France the expression "prendre la Crampton" meant to catch an express, and in the slang of the Saint Cyr military academy, footplate staff were known as "officiers de Crampton" (and this as late as 1971).
Surviving Cramptons are few, probably only one:



Apart from No.80, I have read that a German built example of 1863 (that's quite late) from the Bavarian State Railway is in the DB museum but their website is uninformative about what exhibits they have. I have also read that a replica from 1920 ("Die Pfalz") is preserved in Germany. This may be the same locomotive.
The Crampton Locomotive Trust (CLT) aims to build a replica of the first of three Crampton locomotives built for the South Eastern Railway by the Whitehaven firm of Tulk & Ley in 1847.
No drawings of the of the design exist as they are believed to have been destroyed in a fire at the Lowca Works of Tulk & Ley in 1912.
The CLT has spent two years organising itself and has started raising funds for the project with the first task being to produce a set of working drawings.
In October 2024 it was announced that a contract had been placed with Northern Heritage Engineering Ltd of Darlington to build the locomotive's boiler, firebox and smokebox starting in early 2025.

That about covers the Crampton locomotive. If you really need to know more I suggest you obtain Mike Sharman's book. It's out of print, but when I looked on Ebay the other day there were several available from £44.

There is more to Thomas Crampton than his patent locomotive, however.
In addition to being a mechanical engineer (founder member of I.Mech.E 1847, vice president 1883) he was also a civil engineer, joining the ICE in 1854.
In 1855 he was responsible for building the Berlin waterworks. In 1859 he formed the Broadstairs Water Company, building a water tower 80ft tall which now forms the Crampton Tower Museum.

In 1860 he designed a tower for Holy Trinity Church, Broadstairs, which Dickens had described as a "hideous temple of flint; a petrified haystack". Having viewed the church on Google Maps I can see what Dickens meant, but I don't find it offensive. Incidentally it doesn't have a tower. Whether it was never built or it was subsequently removed I couldn't say.

Crampton entered a partnership with Sir Morton Peto and Edward Betts to build part of the London Chatham and Dover Railway. When the partnership became insolvent in 1867, Crompton was made personally bankrupt, but unlike his partners managed to retain his good reputation and continue in business.
Crampton was wholly or partly responsible for lines between Smyrna⁴ and Aidin; also Varna⁵ and Rustchuck. He was the contractor and later Chairman of the East and West Junction Railway and a Crampton locomotive hauled the first train from Kineton to Fenny Compton. Crampton was a partner in the Mont Cenis Pass Railway.
As if all that wasn't enough, he was responsible for laying the world's first international submarine cable in the Strait of Dover in 1851. Messages could be transmitted from Dover to London over the SER's electric telegraph, of which they were an early adopter.
Not content with sending electrons under the Channel, Crompton designed an automatic tunnel boring machine intended  for use in the construction of one of the Channel Tunnels that weren't built. The principles of the design were sound and benefitted later tunnelling projects.
Thomas Russell Crampton was born on 6th August 1816 at Broadstairs to John (plumber and architect) and Mary Crampton. He was privately educated.
On 25th February 1841 he  married Louisa Martha Hall, a singer and friend of Jenny Lind "the Swedish nightingale"^6,7. They had eight children.

In 1855 he was appointed Officer of the Legion d'Honneur and in 1885 was made a Knight of that Order. In 1856 he was appointed to the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, which sounds made up but Wikipedia assures me is real.

Louisa died on 16th March 1875, and on 25th August 1881 Thomas married Elizabeth Werge.
Thomas died at his home, 19 Ashley Place, Westminster on 19th April 1888 and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

¹ Belgian connection
² French connection
³ German connection
⁴ Turkish connection
⁵ Bulgarian connection
⁶ Swedish connection
⁷ Jenny Lind was the first of a class of ten steam locomotives built in 1847 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) by E. B. Wilson and Company of Leeds, named after Jenny Lind. The general design proved to be so successful that the manufacturers adopted it for use on other railways, and it became the first mass-produced locomotive type. The "Jenny Lind" type was also widely copied during the late 1840s and 1850s, and into the 1860s. "Jenny Lind" became the generic term for the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement.

Back to the museum next time.

Have fun,

Ali

[chrism]

In 1845, the Namur and Liège Railway¹  placed the first order with Crampton for locomotives built to his patent. Three machines were ordered, each with 7ft driving wheels and a 14.5sq.ft grate. They were built by Tulk & Ley of Whitehaven. One of these engines was tested on the LNWR, who then built a Crampton of their own at Crewe. The LNWR subsequently bought two more Cramptons one of which, Liverpool, was a 6-2-0 built in 1868 by Bury, Curtis and Kennedy had 8ft driving wheels. It was claimed that this locomotive achieved 79mph with an average of 53mph over 30 miles with a 60 ton load.

The name "Tulk & Ley" (actually based at Lowca, between Whitehaven and Workington) jumped out at me because they built the first locomotives for the Maryport & Carlisle Railway, the last of which was the eighth and last Crampton that Tulk & Ley built.

The first three were ordered by the Namur & Liege Railway but the order was undelivered because the railway was not ready. Of these, Namur was the one tested by the LNWR. In the end, all three went to the South Eastern Railway and became SER Nos 81, 83 and 85.

Of the other five Cramptons that Tulk & Ley built, one went to the Dundee and Perth and Aberdeen Junction Railway (named Kinnaird), one to the LNWR (No.200, London), two for the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway (No's 35 & 36, Pegasus & Phlegon and one to the Maryport and Carlisle Railway (No 12).

[Train Waiting]

Many thanks @Ali Smith - that is absolutely fabulous stuff with a very good picture to illustrate your erudite text.

And thank you @chrism for the additional information. Unfortunately, I don't have my references here to provide details, but the Lowca locomotive-building story is a fascinating one.





Talyllyn Railway 0-4-2ST No. 1 was Lowca-built, by Fletcher Jennings & Co. As was 0-4-0WT No. 2 Dolgoch.

Thanks, again, chaps.

With all good wishes.

John 

[chrism]

And thank you @chrism for the additional information. Unfortunately, I don't have my references here to provide details, but the Lowca locomotive-building story is a fascinating one.

Talyllyn Railway 0-4-2ST No. 1 was Lowca-built, by Fletcher Jennings & Co. As was 0-4-0WT No. 2 Dolgoch.

The Lowca site was originally established in 1800 by "Heslops, Milward, Johnston & Co." and taken over by the iron-mining firm Tulk, Ley & Co. about 1837. Ley was an absentee investor, but Tulk's decision to concentrate on finished goods rather than simple foundry products swiftly paid off, with orders for locomotives from the new Maryport and Carlisle Railway.

They also  tried shipbuilding, producing Lowca, the first iron ship ever launched in Cumberland.

Fletcher Jennings & Co then took over Tulk & Ley in 1857.

[Ali Smith]

Before continuing with the museum tour, here is one last picture concerning Cramptons:



Now, back to the "Platforms".
Platform 2: The Beginnings of the 20th Century



This striking-looking engine is 4-4-0 No145 "Coupe-Vent" of the PLM, built 1900, withdrawn 1932.
Coupe-Vent means "cut wind" and clearly refers to the attempt at streamlined bodywork. If this was fitted at the time of construction it must be one of the earliest attempts at railway aerodynamics.
The name puts me in mind of the 9F hauled coal trains with a fitted head that ran on the former Great Central much later. These were known as "windcutters"

This was the only exhibit on Platform 2 that caught my eye sufficiently to take a photo, so on to Platform 3.

Platform 3: Between the Roaring Twenties and Global Crisis

Again, only one vehicle attracted my camera in this section.



This is Bugatti Presidential ZZy 24408 fast railcar, ETAT, 1933, withdrawn 1950.

Ettore Bugatti designed one of the first modern high-speed rail vehicles in the world. His first RAILCAR was tested near the Bugatti factory at Molsheim in Alsace in 1933.

The Bugatti railcars were built as single, double or triple 'car' units with either two or four petrol engines centrally mounted in one of the cars. Each car was mounted on two 8 wheel bogies and the linked engines were arranged to drive two or four of the eight axles via drive shafts with hydraulic clutches and reversing gears.

This modular system of powered and trailer cars could be arranged in various combinations to suit the different needs of the French railway companies from the smallest 36 seater to the triple set 144 seat train.
 
These railcars were highly successful being light, clean and comfortable as compared with steam powered rolling stock. Their chief asset was speed and the railway companies were able to drastically reduce long distance journey times.

From the end of 1933 for five years the Bugatti factory built and maintained more than a hundred railcar units which resulted in a huge expansion of the small factory and much needed revenue in the difficult economic climate of the time.

Ettore Bugatti was not a formally educated or qualified engineer and it is remarkable that he was so successful with this revolutionary rail project which he personally conceived, designed and developed between 1931 and 1933. Every aspect of the system was carefully considered and he took out numerous Patents to protect his rights to his inventions. Many aspects of the design were developed from his ideas for motorcar components. The engines, for instance, were practically the same as used in the luxury class Bugatti car: the Royale. The cable operated twin shoe drum brakes were similar to the Bugatti car brakes of that time.
 
There were many entirely new ideas. The railcar chassis, body and the arrangement of the lightweight monocoque bogies with sophisticated systems for achieving a smooth, stable, quiet and comfortable ride were entirely novel. As always with Bugatti the method of construction of each part was conceptually integrated with the design of the part itself. Several of the relevant Bugatti Patents were for special machining processes and the factory layout was neat, logical and efficient.

These Bugatti railcars were designed to run on petrol/alcohol fuel of which there was a plentiful supply in France in the early 30s. However, this fuel became more expensive and eventually the Bugatti equipment was phased out on economic grounds. For a time, though, they had been a well known and popular feature of the French transport system.

This example has four engines. You can just see the front of a Bugatti Royale to the left of the picture.
 
Here's one of the 12.7 litre, straight eight cylinder, 24 valve, monoblock type engines:




Platform 5: Anyone Can Travel By Train
I failed to take any pictures here, so on to

Platform 6: 1938; Creation of the SNCF





Steam locomotive 141 R 1187 Mikado, SNCF, 1945. Oil fired, built by Baldwin.

 They were used all over the French rail network from 1945 to 1974.

At the end of World War II, there was a shortage of locomotives, and to quickly obtain the large number needed locomotives were ordered from the main American and Canadian locomotive builders under the Lend-Lease Program (and not the Marshall Plan, signed in April 1948, as often written).
The design was based on the Green Bay & Western Railroad's Mikados, based somewhat on the USRA Light Mikado, suitably modified to meet the SNCF loading gauge. Modifications included the overall height, the fitting of European couplers and buffers, left-hand drive, smoke deflectors (to a unique and instantly recognisable style) and a Kylchap exhaust on the second batch.

The first order for 700 engines was placed in February 1945 with production split between the "big three" American locomotive builders: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pa, American Locomotive Company, Schenectady, NY, and Lima Locomotive Works, Lima, Oh. Once financing was made available, the second batch of 640 engines was ordered from the "big three", plus the Canadian manufacturers Montreal Locomotive Works, and Canadian Locomotive Company, Kingston, Ontario. Most of this batch were built as oil burners, burning preheated heavy fuel oil (known in French as 'Mazout'), unlike the first batch which had all been designed as coal fired.
The massive introduction of oil fired locomotives was due to the fact that in the immediate post-war period, quality coal was in high demand and SNCF was consuming 9 million tons per annum. Oil thus allowed savings in coal, even if in many depots it required a revolution in working conditions. The extra range permitted by oil—700 km (435 mi) instead of 400 km (250 mi)—explains also the more intensive use of the locomotives. The enginemen nicknamed the locomotives mazoutières or charbonnières ("coal-scuttles") according to fuel employed; oil-burners were also called les goudronneuses ("tar spraying machines") by their crews.

After the second world war, the American manufacturers' output had been boosted by the war effort. Thus from July 1945 to May 1946 the 700 141 R of the first batch were built in only eleven months. slow down in February and March, and to continue until finished in May, an average of almost three engines per day! By way of comparison in French locomotives works (French industry having been weakened by the war) it took four years, from June 1948 to July 1952, for the manufacturer Schneider to deliver 35 241 P to the SNCF.

For the SNCF, this type of machine constituted a small revolution – with simple expansion and very advanced construction techniques, the 141 R 1101–1340 were the only SNCF steam locomotives equipped with Boxpok wheels, and roller bearings on all the driving and coupled axles, as well as a one-piece cast steel frame. The bar frames and the axle box bearings of 141 R 1–1100 were excellent which made them powerful machines but economical to maintain. For 141 R 1101–1340, the maximum mileage run between two main works visits was up to 230,000 kilometres (140,000 mi). Easy to drive, they offered relatively modern comfort for both drivers and firemen. The cabs were fully enclosed, equipped with comfort and ergonomics hitherto unknown to SNCF crews. Driving and firing controls were within reach while seated, with automatic coal feeding thanks to the mechanical stoker, and oil-firing was even easier. They were banalisées ("standardised"), that is, not assigned to a particular crew.

On 19 October 1975 the last 141 R in use with the SNCF, 141 R 1187 of Vénissieux depot, worked a special return working between Lyon and Veynes. Four locomotives of Narbonne depot were leased to the Hellenic State Railways from November 1973 to April 1974.

Have fun,

Ali

[EtchedPixels]

Mazout is pretty much the same name we use then - it's called Mazut in English. Horrible stuff.

[Ali Smith]

Any relation to Mazola?

[Newportnobby]

Any relation to Mazola?

@Ali Smith Now you're cooking!

[Ali Smith]

Platform 6: The SNCF and the '50s



This is electric locomotive CC-7107 of 1953. The museum's website description contains the expression '1.5kw'. I assume this should be 1.5kV.



Diesel locomotive CC-65001 of 1956.



Electric locomotive BB-9004 of 1952, again with the mysterious description 1.5kw.



Electric locomotive BB-9291 of 1964, again 1.5kw.
The BB 9200 locomotives arrived in 1957. From 1967, the SNCF inaugurated Le Capitole, its first commercial high-speed train that ran at 200 km/h and was recognizable by its red colour.



P16 class Mountain type of 1947.
Just above the right-hand smoke deflector you can see can see some shields attached to a pillar. These consist of the coat of arms of a town with its name above and what appears to be a locomotive number below. I assume these are nameplates of a class of engines named after French towns.

Platform 7: Trans Europ Express

The Trans Europ Express, (TEE), was an international first-class railway service in western and central Europe that was founded in 1957 and ceased in 1995. At the height of its operations, in 1974, the TEE network comprised 45 trains, connecting 130 different cities, from Spain in the west to Austria in the east, and from Denmark to Southern Italy.



CC-40101 four current electric locomotive of 1964. I now know that this styling is commonly known as 'nez cassé' (broken nose). As a child I thought of them as 'back of a Ford Anglia locos'.

Platform 8: Travelling at High Speed

There weren't many exhibits in this area. I took no pictures in it, but if you look at this view, you can see a TGV cab and models of a Eurostar and another high speed train in the distance.



The photograph was actually taken to show the building's remarkable roof structure which can also be seen in a number of the other pictures.
Apart from the obligatory visit to the shop, that was the end of the visit. The shop had a good range of serious railway books. I would have liked a general history of French railways, but these were more specialised and naturally in French. I can just about read French with a dictionary to hand but it's hard work.
A tram took us back to Porte Jeune. After a couple of beers nearby we returned to the hotel where we dined on the Alsatian speciality of choucroute washed down with a bottle of Riesling, also from Alsace.

[Bealman]

Excellent. Thanks for posting! 

[Newportnobby]

Sorry, but the styling of French locos just jars with me. UK railways had a few 'fuglies' but had the edge in my opinion.
It looks to have been a great trip, Ali. Thanks for posting.

washed down with a bottle of Riesling

When asked whether I like Riesling I replied "I don't know. I've never Riesled'

[Train Waiting]

Thank you so much, Ali, for these two absolutely fabulous posts. Excellent pictures and an informative easy-to-read text. Perfik!

This caught my eye:-

[...] Here's one of the 12.7 litre, straight eight cylinder, 24 valve, monoblock type engines: [...]

Presumably two inlet valves and one exhaust per cylinder.

Pre-War there was a fashion to fit single-cylinder motorcycles with two exhaust ports and twin exhaust pipes which gave the stylish but false impression of two exhaust valves. Ariel and Panther were especially keen on this arrangement. Rudge did things properly with four-valve cylinder heads.

I hope there's more to come...

With all good wishes.

John