FS Class 735

FS Class 735

300px FS locomotive 735.128 as preserved in the Pietrarsa railway museum

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company (115), Montreal Locomotive Works (285) Build date 1917–1922 Total produced 400

Specifications UIC class 1′D h2 Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge Leading dia 840 mm (33.07 in) Driver diameter 1,370 mm (53.94 in) Length Axle load 14.8 tonnes (14.6 long tons; 16.3 short tons) Loco weight 63.1 tonnes (62.1 long tons; 69.6 short tons) Tender weight 50.2 tonnes (49.4 long tons; 55.3 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) Water cap 22,300 litres (4,900 imp gal; 5,900 US gal) Boiler pressure Firegrate area 3.17 m2 (34.1 sq ft) Heating surface 162.07 m2 (1,744.5 sq ft) Superheater:  • Heating area 42.68 m2 (459.4 sq ft) Cylinders 540 mm × 700 mm (21.26 in × 27.56 in), two Valve gear Walschaerts

Performance figures Maximum speed 65 km/h (40 mph) Power output Tractive effort

Career Number in class 393

The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS; Italian State Railways) Class 735 (Italian: Gruppo 35) is a 2-8-0 'Consolidation' steam locomotive.

Design and construction

The Class 735 was designed as a response of the situation developed during the years of World War I; the Italian railways needed more locomotives for freight trains, but there was no possibility of building them at home or in war-ravaged Europe. It was therefore decided to have them built overseas.

Using the Class 740 design as a pattern (but allowing for alterations in order to avoid delays in the production), an order for 105 (later raised to 115) locomotives was given to Alco in 1916, and the following year they were completed, disassembled and sent by cargo ship to Italy (with only 108 reaching Italy, however, as an U-boat sank the ship carrying the remaining seven). A subsequent order for another 285 locomotives, with some minor improvements in the boiler, was given in 1918 to the Montreal Locomotive Works.

Their American origin showed in their being fitted with a Bissel truck instead of the Italian bogie widespread in Italy, and with the locomotives of the first batch having fireboxes made of steel rather than copper.

Operations

Nicknamed "Wilson" (in honour of US president Woodrow Wilson) throughout their career, the Class 735 locomotives proved very successful; pulling mainly freight trains but often also passenger trains, they operated until the 1960s, when mass withdrawals of the Class began, until the last one was retired in 1971.

Preservation

Two Class 735 locomotives survived into preservation, the 735.128, preserved as a static exhibit at the Pietrarsa railway museum, ahd the 735.155, in possession of the Museo Ferroviario Piemontese, awaiting restoration.

Trivia

One Class 735 locomotive prominently appeared in the 1965 film Von Ryan's Express, starring Frank Sinatra.