Renfe 242: Spanish steam locomotive

La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima RENFE 242-F “Confederación”

RENFE 242-F 2001–2010 is a series of 10 steam locomotives for the Spanish National Railways (RENFE), introduced in 1957. These locomotives are the fastest of the Spanish steam locomotives. This type of locomotive is called “Confederation” due to the 2-4-2 axle arrangement, which is named after the type of wheelset used by the Canadian National Railway (CNR).

History

In 1951, RENFE commissioned La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima, S.A. (MTM), based in Barcelona, Catalonia, to build ten powerful steam locomotives designed to haul large express trains. All 10 locomotives in this series were built between 1955 and 1957.

The new locomotive was designed to withstand the toughest conditions: it had to negotiate curves with a radius of 300 metres, have a maximum axle load of 20 tonnes and drive wheels with a diameter of 1900 mm. From the outset, it was designed to run on heavy fuel oil. With a power of 3110 kW, these locomotives became the most powerful series-produced steam locomotives in Europe.

The first locomotive was delivered in October 1955. During tests between the cities of Vilanova i la Geltrú and El Vendrell, it successfully pulled a 480-tonne train at a speed of 150 kilometres per hour. This became a speed record for steam traction in Spain.

The entire series was assigned to the Miranda depot, from where they served the Madrid—Irun line on the Avila—Miranda de Ebro section. In 1968, after the electrification of this line, they moved to the line from Miranda de Ebro to Zaragoza.