LOCOMOTIVES A VAPEUR 230 G (1913)

Excerpt from the film "Living Steam" produced in 1999 by Abracam Productions for ATLAS Publishing. Text by Clive Lamming. 1913 LA 230 G (4200) The ten-wheel locomotives of the 230 PO series, numbers 4201 to 4370, were steam locomotives of the Paris-Orléans Railway Company. They were renumbered 4-230G 201 to 270 by the SNCF (French National Railways). This series, with its 230 axle arrangement, was something of a "jack-of-all-trades" on all the networks where it was assigned. Their general appearance, with the small smoke deflectors added from 1929 onwards following André Chapelon's trials, is typical of the PO and is reminiscent of their predecessors, the shortened 4500 series Pacifics, which lacked the rear bogie. They were coupled to 17 m³, three-axle tenders. These robust and reliable locomotives were designed for hauling passenger, express, local, and freight trains. They could pull trains weighing 400 to 500 tons at speeds of 90 to 100 km/h, depending on the gradient. However, they struggled on steep inclines (greater than 25 per 1000) because adhesion was not their strong point. Throughout their service, which ended in 1970, they provided excellent service. They operated on lines in western and southwestern France, with depots in Tours, Saint-Nazaire, Landerneau, Limoges, Montluçon, Vierzon, Ussel, Brive, Périgueux, and Bordeaux. The last of these locomotives were withdrawn from service in 1966 at the Compiègne depot.