The 41001 was a prototype type 241 steam locomotive designed by the East Railway Company under the leadership of its chief engineer Mr. Émile Duchâtel in 1924.
Émile, Eugène, Henri Duchâtel (October 21, 1876 in Auneuil – February 13, 1953), was a French railway engineer.
Émile Duchâtel was born on October 21, 1876 in Auneuil in the Oise, of Anselme, Léon, Marie Duchâtel, innkeeper in Auneuil and of Claire, Eugénie, Marie Mayeux. After studying at Beauvais, he was admitted to the Ecole Polytechnique on October 16, 1895 (with the 179th rank in the entry ranking). After two years of study, he comes out ranked 8th. In 1898 he entered the École des Ponts et Chaussées for three years of study. He was appointed 3rd class engineer on June 16, 1901. Placed in Compiègne on February 16, 1903, he worked on the city’s water supply project in 1908.
On leave from the Corps des Ponts, he joined the Compagnie des chemins de fer de l’Est on 1 September 1910. He held the position of chief engineer of equipment and traction from 1918 to 1933. His offices were at 168 rue de Lafayette in Paris.
He filed around forty patent applications and left his name to the Duchâtel-Mestre DM III (three flattened tubes and a large return tube) or DM IV (four flattened tubes) steam superheaters.
