242.A1

[scots region]

Hello again, now here in Britain we are lucky to have several preseved examples of express motive power at its peak. Theres the LMSR Duchess, the Princess Royals, The Duke of Glouster and yes even that east coast green machine which, like everyone else on the planet, holds a special spot in my heart. In 1946, Britain's railways were a disaster zone, nothing changes, But just across the channel the situtation was even worse. The French rail network had been nearly obliterated by the six years of conflict, so how then did the Societe Nationale Des Chemins De fer Francais manage to produce a machine that could not only exede it's contempories but would hold its ground with some modern stock.

 

The 242.A1 designed by Andre Chapelon was a 4-8-4 three - cylindered compound, and it was a mighty beast. It's potential power output 5,500 horsepower, I don't know much about horses or power but I know that thats a lot. The 242.A1 had its origins in a 4-8-2 three cylinder simple built in 1932 that was below par and had been stored. Its pyisical charateritics were thus, a huge bolier with a diameter of 6ft 3.5in and a pressure of 290lb. Big driving wheels of 6ft 4 3/4 in annd three cyclinders, one high pressure mounted between the frames and two low pressure outside. One interesting feature of this machine was its triple kychap exhaust system with three blast pipes.

 

Everything about this locomotive oozed power and magnifiance, in terms of sheer looks it could easily claim to be the most beautiful thing to have ever run on rails.

However much like its contenpories of its age, the De Haviland Comet and the Avro Canada Arrow, the 242.A1 was a tragic pioneer. Eletrification soon took over and the compound building program was cancelled, in 1960 the 242.A1 was placed in store and quietly scrapped and much like I can only dream of a fleet of RAF Avro Arrows so to can we only dream of a fleet of 242.A1s, given that we live in an age were there is incresing interest in rebuliding lost locomotive designs, I feel we have a duty to revive this one. But in saying that, it's legacy does live on, who can say that the current 5AT project dosen't bear just a passing resemblance to it and the Locomotive itself has probably contributed sgnificantly to that scheme

 

I would be quite interested in producing a model of 242.A1

 

For know discuss

 

Yours

 

ScR

[AMJ]

The English version of La Locomotive a Vapeur has some interesting comments about the later steam loco experiments similar to this.

 

There are many locos that I want but think that space is at a premium as much as it is for preservation sites.

[EddieB]

For me the zenith of Chapelon's career wasn't his 242A1, magnificent as it was, but his 2-12-0 160A1.

 

The tragedy was that both locos were outstanding performers, but both were cast off by the powers that were bent on phasing out steam in favour of "moderrn traction" and neither survived into preservation (lest someone discover how peerless they actually were). Chapelon's ideas were picked up and advanced in Argentina by the young engineer, Livio Dante Porta - again with impressive results - who in turn influenced David Wardale and his experiments in South Africa (and later China).

 

What did they all have in common? Serving rail administrations that failed to appreciate their efforts.

 

Remarkably, Chapelon never got to design any new locomotives. His work, mentioned above, is a classic. I'd also recommend Wardale's "The Red Devil and other tales".

 

A scale model is neither here nor there; if only the French would "faire le Tornado" and commission new examples of Chapelon's greatest designs. That would be quelque chose, vraiment!

[scots region]

can anyone recommend some good reading material on this machine? The only source I have is August 2011 edition of "the Railway Magazine"

[EddieB]

Aside from Chapelon's own work, there's "Chapelon - Genius of French Steam" (Rogers), which tends to be regarded as "collectible" nowadays which means second-hand copies are rare and expensive.

 

Then there's this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/LOEUVRE-CHAPELON-S-N-C-F-INFLUENCE-MONDIALE/dp/B004N7TT8A/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1319454698&sr=8-22

 

[pH]

Aside from Chapelon's own work, there's "Chapelon - Genius of French Steam" (Rogers), which tends to be regarded as "collectible" nowadays which means second-hand copies are rare and expensive.

A couple available on Abebooks at prices that don't look outrageous - http://www.abebooks....nch+Steam&sts=t (though I admit they do go up in price from there! )

[EddieB]

A couple available on Abebooks at prices that don't look outrageous - http://www.abebooks....nch+Steam&sts=t (though I admit they do go up in price from there! )

 

[Cough, splutter] Ok, £35 for a "fine" copy is, I suppose slightly on the dearer side of reasonable, but the same price for a tatty, ex-library copy, is pushing it! After that my eyes started to water (although the signed copy looks good for those who like that sort of thing). I'm glad I bought my copy a few years ago, for what then seemed a lot then - fifteen pounds.

[pH]

Eddie, when I saw your comment that "... second-hand copies are rare and expensive ...", I expected to see maybe a couple of copies on Abebooks, and that they would cost in three figures. So 10 copies starting at 35 pounds didn't seem so bad (though 15 pounds is, of course, better). As to whether 35 pounds is too expensive - if I was really interested in the subject, and the book was recommended by someone like yourself, who is obviously knowledgeable about the subject and already owns a copy, and the book didn't look like a title which would be reprinted any time soon, then I would definitely consider spending that amount. As a book about something I have only a casual interest in - no, I agree that's too much.

[EddieB]

When you put it like that, maybe.

 

For those that are tempted, the author did have the benefit of getting input from Chapelon himself*, so all the statements and technical details have been checked. Obviously the work includes a certain amount of technical information, but as part of the overall text (with locomotive dimensions given in an appendix) and nothing like as much as the Wardale book mentioned above. Illustrations are photographs mainly from Chapelon's own collection.

 

It isn't a big book, but it is highly readable. Where it might be seen as limited is that lacks dimensioned drawings and more rigorous technical descriptions - that is where Chapelon's own work comes into its own.

 

 

*Chapelon remained very much an enthusiast outside his professional career. It is sometimes hard to imagine now that some of the greatest railway engineers kept in with the hobby fraternity, which had a different profile in those times (in the best amateur tradition). From what I remember (away from my references at the moment), Chapelon was actively involved with the Stephenson Locomotive Society (Stanier, less so, was also a member).

 

 

[EddieB]

While on the subject of Chapelon and Col. Rogers' biography, there is one topic where the book is quite misleading.

 

Towards the end of his career on SNCF, Chapelon was invited by a consortium concerned with exports to South America (GELSA) to design metre-gauge locomotives for the railways of Brazil. Between 1950 and 1952, no less than 90 locomotives were built for GELSA, 66 being 2-8-4s (construction shared equally between Fives-Lille, Cail and Schneider), the remaining 24 being 4-8-4s built by Batignolles. They were handsome machines, incorporating many of Chapelon's signature features (including Kylchap exhausts), and designed to run on poor-quality Brazilian coal (known for its tendency to clinker, although 25 of the 2-8-4s were designed as wood burners). All the 4-8-4s and sixteen of the 2-8-4s had large, twelve wheel tenders; the remainder smaller eight-wheelers. One of each type was trialled on the Reseau Breton, where Rogers records performance was comparable on both high-grade French coal and poorer Brazilian fuel.

 

All ninety locomotives had been delivered by 1953, the 4-8-4s being allocated between four of the Brazilian railway companies (independent under the DNEF umbrella) and the 2-8-4s divided eleven companies. (Rogers gives these numbers, which I've been able to confirm specific allocations in the case of the 4-8-4s, but unable to confirm the disposition of sixteen 2-8-4s).

 

Rogers documents a visit made by Chapelon to Brazil, where his itinerary involved travelling some 300 miles with one of his locomotives, noting that the Brazilian crews maintained a good fire, and that their engineers were appreciative of them. After going on to describe the influence of Chapelon on Porta and his legacy in Argentina, Rogers concludes the chapter by saying that Chapelon designed or inspired locomotives were still in regular service in both Brazil and Argentina (publication date 1972).

 

All in all, Rogers conveys the impression that the Chapelon GELSA locomotives were a success. That is untrue, however. Other sources indicate that the locomotives were unsuccessful and their lives in service were short or, in some instances, non-existant. Nor does it appear that the locomotives were successful on some lines, but not on others.

 

What was the problem? With my limited Portuguese, I think there was an issue with their weight, but the main problem appears to have been over maintenance. Not only did these locomotives incorporate a number of features that would have been unfamiliar to Brazilian railwaymen, but there was limited access for maintenance (an accusation that was raised against Chapelon's standard gauge designs in France, which Rogers refutes, quoting Chapelon himself - but perhaps more likely on a metre-gauge chassis).

 

Whatever it was, it appears that a number of the locomotives weren't even re-assembled on Brazilian soil (which makes the job of matching the running numbers against builders lists extremely challenging), and most appear to have been withdrawn around the mid-fifties. The EF Victoria-Minas (EFVM) has two of the 2-8-4s and six of the 4-8-4s, which it soon passed on to other railways after it received a batch of GM diesels. (I've seen photographs of the two 2-8-4s, derelict and awaiting scrapping, taken in 1970).

 

In summary, all appear to have remained in Brazil, and to have been scrapped after a few years. None survives in preservation (which is why I began this line of investigation).

 

So whilst Porta had some notable successes in Argentina and Brazil incorporating Chapelon principles into his modifications, the "true" Chapelon locomotives in Brazil were anything but successful.

[EddieB]

At the risk of developing a subject beyond the general interest of this forum, there's a discussion on the Loco Revue website (http://www.lrpresse.fr/trains/viewtopic.php?t=36058) that has it (from a source in Brazil) that three of the 2-8-4s were sold on to ENFE in Bolivia, and two of them possibly are still extant.