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040 TA Ouest

The 040 TA was an 0-8-0 tank engine of the Chemin de Fer de l'État.

Overview

The series of 143 engines were built between 1914 and 1922, with a break during World War I. These were designed to replace the 030 0-6-0 shunting engines. The 0-6-0 engines possessed a traction force of 40 tons, while the 0-8-0 were designed to have a traction force of 60 tons. It was in 1913 that the research department of the Chemin de Fer de l'État began to study the question of a replacement. The first 18 engines, numbered 40-001 to 40-018, were put into service in 1914. The war prevented the construction of the rest of the series, and just two engines, 40-019 and 40-019, were built. Construction resumed in 1920 and the full series of 143 engines was put into service by 1922. The engines were assigned to the depots of Paris-Vaugirard, Montrouge, Batignoles, Sotteville (Rouen), Le Havre, Dieppe, Trappes, Chartres, Caen, Cherbourg, St-Brieuc, Brest, Nantes, Rennes and La Rochelle as well as industrial railways and harbours. When the SNCF was formed, the series was renumbered 040 TA 1 to 040 TA 143.

Design

The 040 were of simple expansion with two cylinders and possessed a Crampton firebox and Walschaërts type commands. There were variants in cabs and several open cabs, others, closed. the water tanks on each side of the firebox possessed a sloping front and gave the driver additional vision and permitted him to see if workmen were on the track in front of the engine.

A replacement for the 040 was difficult to design as diesel transmission could not cope with slow and long starts.