Renfe 240: Spanish steam locomotive

Société alsacienne / Henschel RENFE 240 “Mastodonte”

RENFE 240 4001–4045 is a series of 45 steam locomotives for the Spanish Northern Railway (Compañía del Norte), which entered service in 1912.

History

In 1912, the Compañía del Norte acquired six locomotives equipped with four coupled axles and four cylinders. These locomotives were numbered 4001 to 4006.

In 1914, the Alsacienne company (France), which built the first locomotive, delivered fourteen more units. Thanks to their balanced weight, achieved by four cylinders, and the lightness of the connecting rod, these locomotives could reach speeds of up to 100 km/h.

In 1925, the Northern Company received another 25 locomotives, but this time from another company, Henschel (Germany). Having enough locomotives, the Northern Company decided to expand its operations and began to service the routes from Miranda to Irun and Bilbao.

All these locomotives, numbered 4001 to 4045 in the Northern Company, were included in the RENFE fleet, forming the 240-4001/240-4045 series.

In 1968, all the locomotives were decommissioned and destroyed, with the exception of one – the first one, numbered 240-4001.