(ex-)CP E161-170

No E168 In Brohl-Lützing on 6 September 2018 (50.482418, 7.329343) even visible on Google Maps

The class

These locomotives were manufactured by the German company Henschel & Sohn , with the first four units being built in 1905 and the remaining in 1908.

They were of convential compound scheme with 4 outer cylinders, the rear set being driven by the high pressure cylinders and the front one by the low pressure cylinders. This type of compound locomotive with four outer cylinders and 655 horsepower, suited the sinuous terrain of the lines where they circulated very well.

These were the first Mallet locomotives in Portugal, having been acquired almost simultaneously with others of this type, for the Company of the Railroad of Porto to Póvoa and Famalicão. They were commissioned by the Minho and Douro Division of the State Railways originally for the Corgo Line, and were the first large series of locomotives to enter the service in this line, where they towed the inaugural train between Régua and Vila Real.

From the 1920 they also provided service on the Sabor line. In the 1940s, they were loaned to Companhia do Norte de Portugal, constituting a reinforcement of the company's locomotive park. In 1947, with the passage of the exploration of the reduced track lines to the CP, this class was redistributed replacing older on the old lines of the North of the country. Sporadically, some of these locomotives circulated along the Vouga Valley line. Until the mid-1970s, they remained on the metric lines of the Porto region until the arrival of the diesel locomotives.

From there, they were being transferred to the Tua and Tâmega lines. With the progress of the dieselization process, these locomotives were gradually withdrawn. However the E162, E163 and E165 remained active on the Tâmega line until the mid-1980s.

Status of the class members

I read someweher that two are operational, to are on display and two are in store. As expected I found conflicting information but I managed to trace all ten mebers of the the calss, so far the class seems to be complete, which is exceptional for a class of 110 years old! The status of no E162 is uncertain though

More photos

E164 visiting the Baie de Somme in a splendid condition. Source: http://forums.gemme.org/index.php?topic=1176.0

More photos of my visit to Brohl where I found E168 can be found in a dedicated album.

References

Ferropedia.es