Locomotive N° 2 (of 2-6-0 T type, one leading pony truck axle, 3 driving axles) is both the oldest engine in the CFBS collection, and the one with the most unusual history. She is also an engine which over almost a century, has extensively travelled… at sea!
Built in 1889 by the Cail company for the Panama Canal project master-minded by Ferdinand de Lesseps (of Suez Canal fame), the locomotive began by crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a westbound voyage with 5 of her sisters.
Following the collapse of the French Panama Canal project, the railway stock was transferred to Puerto Rico – this explains the “FCPR” (“Ferro-Cariles de Puerto Rico”) plates that remain to this day on the engine’s side tanks. Second sea journey! In 1898, Puerto Rico was invaded by the Americans, and the French locomotive took on a U.S. appearance: cow-catcher, bell, large headlamp, automatic couplers, oil firing…
In 1929, Henry Ford himself bought the engine for his Dearborn museum, near Detroit in Michigan. Third journey on board a cargo ship… The automobile tycoon had N° 2 restored to its original specifications.
Half a century later, the museum decided to emphasize its American character and put Cail N° 2 up for sale. Bought by a small local bank, she was plinthed outside its headquarters, then sold on a few years later to an American enthusiast. He, in turn, soon put the engine on the market again.
Aware of how rare this engine was and of its exceptional value in terms of technical heritage, the CFBS undertook steps that led to the purchase of the locomotive.
In December 1994, N° 2 was back on Atlantic waters, this time travelling on an eastbound vessel! Unloaded in Le Havre, she was then transferred to Saint Valery by road.
After several years of restoration work, and fitted with a newly-built boiler, N° 2 returned to service for the 2003 Steam Gala. She hadn’t run on rails for 74 years, but in her new life on the CFBS, this great-grandmother of engines has finally given up her sea-faring adventures and only approaches salt water on the quayside at Saint Valery!
Some technical data:
- Empty weight: 22 t.
- Diameter of driving wheels: 1 m.
- Diameter of pony truck wheels: 0.680 m.
- Working pressure: 12.5 kg/m2
- Surface of the grate: 1.02 m2
- Diameter of cylinders: 0.340 m.
- Piston stroke: 0.500 m.
- Height: 3,300 m.