Renfe 231: Spanish steam locomotive

Babcock & Wilcox S.A. RENFE Serie 231 “Pacific”

RENFE 231 is a series of steam locomotives for the Spanish National Railways (RENFE). These locomotives, developed jointly with Germany, proved to be extremely powerful (1,800 horsepower) and efficient. They were coal-fired and had a drive wheel diameter of 1.90 meters, making them among the fastest in their class. They were later surpassed only by the Confederación locomotives. Despite their power, they could not exceed 75 km/h.

History

In 1929, the Ibero-American Exhibition was held in Seville, and a significant increase in rail traffic on the Cadiz-Seville line was expected. In response, the Andalusian Railway Company (Compañía de los Ferrocarriles Andaluces) began modernizing its rolling stock. It purchased ten Pacific steam locomotives for passenger service and six Pullman passenger coaches.

The order for the locomotives was placed in April 1929 with the Spanish construction company Babcock & Wilcox, S.A., which was required to build them within seventeen months. Given the tight deadline, the company ordered the drawings from the German Maffei plant, but their manufacture was delayed, and Andalucia received them after the exhibition had ended.

These locomotives formed the Andaluces 3301–3310 series, and when RENFE was nationalized in 1941, they were re-registered as 231-2001–2010 and assigned to the Utrera depot, and then to the Sevilla depot. RENFE withdrew the entire series from service in 1968, the last year of coal-fired steam traction.

Locomotive 231-2006 was transferred to Empresa Nacional Calvo Sotelo (ENCASO), which in 1953 opened a mining railway from Andorra to Escatrón. Although the Pacific was not suitable for freight, it arrived in Andorra (Teruel) from Medina de Pomar (Burgos) to transport minerals.

Finally, on 9 February 1979, an agreement was signed to exchange it for Mikado 141F-2402, and on 22 June 1979, 231-2006 was transferred to Zaragoza and then to Madrid-Delicias. In 1984, it was sent to Babcock & Wilcox for restoration.