#6473
SNCF 240P
🇫🇷 France ·built by Division des études des locomotives de la SNCF· class of 25 French four-cylinder compound 4-8-0 locomotives
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
what is it?
The SNCF 4-240A class and SNCF 5-240P class was a group of thirty-seven 4-8-0 steam locomotives designed by André Chapelon. The engines started life as Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris-Orleans Railway) 4500 class 4-6-2s before being rebuilt. The first of the conversions took place in 1932.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- 3 MW is about 35 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 23 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 20.8 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- —
- number built
- —
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇫🇷 France
- builders
- Division des études des locomotives de la SNCF
- designer
- André Chapelon
- operators
- Société nationale des chemins de fer français
- top speed
- 120 km/h
- power
- 3 MW
- wheel arrangement
- 4-8-0
- length
- 20.8 m
- weight
- 137 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2815178, Wikipedia: SNCF 240P (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.