FS Class 625

Locomotive 625.179

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Gio. Ansaldo & C., Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno, Berliner Maschinenbau
Build date	1914–1923
Total produced	188
Number rebuilt	153

Specifications
UIC class	1′C h2
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge
Leading dia.	840 mm (33.07 in)
Driver dia.	1,510 mm (59.45 in)
Length	9.66 m (31 ft 8 ³⁄₈ in)
Axle load	14.4 tonnes (14.2 long tons; 15.9 short tons)
Loco weight	53.9 tonnes (53.0 long tons; 59.4 short tons)
Tender weight	31.9 tonnes (31.4 long tons; 35.2 short tons)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	6,000 kg (13,000 lb)
Water cap	12,000 L (2,600 imp gal; 3,200 US gal)
Firebox: • Firegrate area	2.42 m² (26.0 sq ft)
Boiler pressure	12 kg_f/cm² (1.18 MPa; 171 psi)
Heating surface	108.5 m² (1,168 sq ft)
Superheater:
• Heating area	33.5 m² (361 sq ft)
Cylinders	Two, inside
Cylinder size	490 mm × 700 mm (19.29 in × 27.56 in)
Valve gear	Walschaerts, Caprotti

Performance figures
Maximum speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Power output	800 CV (590 kW; 790 hp)
Tractive effort	10,200 kgf (100 kN; 22,500 lbf)

The Ferrovie dello Stato (FS, Italian State Railways) Class 625 (Italian: Gruppo 625) is a class of 2-6-0 'mogul' steam locomotives in Italy. The class is commonly known by the nickname Signorine (Italian for 'young ladies', also shared with the similar Class 640 locomotives),^[1] or Signorina in the singular, because of their perceived grace and beauty compared to other locomotives.

Design and construction

The Class 625 was the superheated and simple expansion version of the pre-existing mixed traffic Class 600 design; following with the success of the Class 640 (itself a superheated and simple-expansion version of the older Class 630 engines), previous designs were altered accordingly and 108 of the class were built from various companies in Italy between 1910 and 1914, and another 80 again between 1922 and 1923, of which the last 25 by Berliner Maschinenbau; the gap in the production run was caused by the events of World War I.

Class 625 3xx conversions

From 1929 onwards the existing 188 class 625 locomotives were supplemented by a further 153 locomotives rebuilt from older FS Class 600 engines; those, that could be distinguished from the Class 625 only from their being compound and non-superheated locomotives, had been constructed between 1904 and 1910 by Gio. Ansaldo & C., Costruzioni Meccaniche di Saronno, and Henschel & Son. A total of 153 class 600 engines were superheated, fitted with Caprotti valve gear and reclassified as class 625 machines between 1929 and 1933. Their class number changed from 600 to 625; they retained the sequential numbering from their original classification, but with the initial number altered to a 3. Thus the original 600 008 became 625 308, for example. After 1933 the remaining unrebuilt 95 class 600 engines were gradually scrapped.

Operation

Locomotive 625 017.

The locomotives were designed for mixed-traffic operation (use on both passenger and freight services) and were designed to operate on steep gradients. The first examples of the class entered service upon completion in 1910, and the final operational examples were withdrawn from mainline service in 1976. A number of locomotives in the class were retained in mothballed working condition as part of Italian Railways' policy of keeping steam locomotives in reserve, well into the era of internal combustion and electric motive power. The final withdrawal from the reserve fleet was locomotive 625 100 in 1998.

Class 623 conversions

In the early 1950s a total of 35 class 625 locomotives, of which ten were ex-Class 600 rebuilds, were rebuilt into the class 623. Fitted with the Franco-Crosti boiler (with two pre-heaters placed on the sides of the boiler), these engines were visually distinctive. The design was not successful, and these engines were all withdrawn by the early 1970s, with none surviving into preservation.

In popular culture

A number of scale models of class 625 locomotives have been manufactured by Italian model company Rivarossi.

Locomotive 625 116 featured in the 2013 Italian cinema film The Magistrate by Giulio Base.

Locomotive 625 017 has gained some attention through operations on the Vatican Railway (the world's only national railway network to own no locomotives). The engine hauled a train for Pope John XXIII in 1962, and in 2015 hauled the inaugural train of Pope Francis's weekly train service from Vatican City railway station to Castel Gandolfo.^[2] The engine has also hauled the Italian royal family.

Preservation

Preserved 625 177 on an enthusiasts' charter train.

Twenty-five Class 625 locomotives survived into preservation; amongst them, the 625.100 and 625.142 are currently operational and available for heritage trains.^[3]^[4]

Of particular notice is the 625.308, the only remaining FS locomotive with internal Caprotti valve gear, currently being restored at Pistoia.

References

↑ Pocaterra, Renzo. Treni: Conoscere e riconoscere tutte le locomotive e i treni che hanno fatto la storia delle ferrovie del mondo. Guide Compact (in Italian). De Agostini. p. 90. ISBN 8841876999.
↑ Report at Catholic News Service.
↑ "Vapore - 625". Photorail forum. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
↑ Many of these locomotives may be located through Steam Locomotive database.

Tender locomotives	100 102 103 110^I 110^II 111 112 113 114 116 117 118 119^I 119^II 120 121 122 136 139 140 150 155 158 160 161 162 163 164 170 180 181^I 181^II 182^I 182^II 183 185 186 187 190 193 194 195 196 197 198 200 201 206 207 208 209 211 212 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 255 260 261 262 265 268 269 270 271 272 290 291 292 293 310 320 380 385 388 390 391 394 395 396 397 400 410 420 421 422 423 424 425 450 451 452 453 454 455 460 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 482 499^I 499^II 500 510 512 513 530 540^I 540^II 542 543 545 550 552 553 554 555 556 560 600 601 603 604 605 606 607 623 625 626 630 640^I 640^II 645 650 652 653 656 660 666 670 671 672 675 676 677 680 681 682 683^I 683^II 685 686 687 688 690^I 690^II 691 720 728 729 730 731 735 736 737 740 741^I 741^II 743^I 743^II 744 745 746 747^I 747^II 750

Tank locomotives	800^I 800^II 801 802^I 802^II 803^I 803^II 804 805 806 809 810^I 810^II 811 812 813 814 815^I 815^II 815^III 816 817 818 819 820^I 820^II 821^I 821^II 822 823 824 825 826^I 826^II 827 828^I 828^II 828^III 829 830^I 830^II 831 835 842 848 849 850^I 850^II 851 870 871 874^I 874^II 875 876 877 880^I 880^II 881 882 885 893 894 895 896^I 896^II 897 898 899^I 899^II 900 902 904 905 906 910 912 915 940 950 980 981 999

Narrow gauge locomotives	R.201 R.202 R.300 R.301 R.302 R.305 R.306 R.310 R.370 R.401 R.402 R.410 R.440 R.441 R.442 R.443 R.600 P U

Electric

Rechargeable battery	E.421

650 V DC Third rail	E.220 E.320 E.321 E.420 E.620

3,6 kV AC Three-Phase	E.330 E.331 E.332 E.333 E.360 E.380 E.390 E.430 E.431 E.432 E.550 E.551 E.552 E.554

10,6 kV AC Three-Phase	E.470 E.471 E.472 E.570

3 kV DC	E.321 E.322 E.323 E.324 E.326 E.400 E.402A E.402B E.403 E.404 E.405 E.412 E.414 E.424 E.428 E.434 E.444 E.444R E.447 E.453 E.454 E.464 E.621 E.625 E.626 E.632 E.633 E.636 E.645 E.646 E.652 E.655 E.656

25 kV AC	E.491 E.492

Diesel

Light shunters	206 207 208^I 208^II 209 210 211 R.212 213^I 213^II 214 215 216 218^I

Shunters	218^II 225 234 235 236 245 250 255

Heavy shunters	Ne 120 D.141 RD.142 D.143 D.145 D.146 D.147 356 372 Ne 700

Train locomotives	D.341 D.342 D.343 D.345 D.442 D.443 D.445 D.449 D.461

see also Category:Rolling stock of Italy

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