SNCF 4-cyl. Compound 4-6-4 No. 232.U.1 Built by Corpet-Louvet of Paris in May 1949 and withdrawn in 1961 and preserved. SNCF 4-cyl. Compound 4-8-2 No. 241.P35 Built by Schneider et Cie of Le Creusot in June 1952, this class all withdrawn by 1973.

A wonderful sight, taken in 1958 at the Gare du Nord in Paris. The semi-streamlined 232.U.1 was a unique locomotive and although ordered in 1935, construction hadn't begun until 1939, WW2 then caused further work to be halted and it wasn't completed until 1949! It worked the Paris-Lille main line from 1949 to 1961 when it was withdrawn and preserved.

© Ken Widd-SA Collection