Locomotive 141-R

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THE 141-R: LOCOMOTIVE IN TWO “BATCHES”

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26/05/2025

THE TECHNICAL CHOICES THAT LED TO THE 141-R

After World War II, during which the network was destroyed, SNCF lacked locomotives, especially new ones.

22/05/2025

THE 141-RS THAT BECAME ‘STARS

The 141-Rs weren't made to be stars or beauty queens.

22/05/2025

THE DIFFICULT WORLD OF FREIGHT TRAINS

When they were called ‘freight trains’ in the 1960s, these trains were the image of a golden age for railways: abundant, (...)

29/02/2024

THE SITUATION OF THE SNCF NETWORK FOLLOWING THE LIBERATION

In a France split in two by the demarcation line, only the railways could operate uninterrupted. A historical paradox represented by the case of Avricourt station, between Paris and Strasbourg, which regained its position as a frontier station that it had been between 1871 and 1918!

28/02/2024

EXPLORING THE 141-R IN THE USA

At the time of the Liberation, the state of the French network was such that it was virtually impossible to operate it without a massive and unprecedented influx of new locomotives. Of the 17,259 locomotives owned by the SNCF in 1938, the occupying forces had "borrowed" 2,946 for use on the German network, and around 6,000 were still in working order.

27/02/2024

A JOURNEY OF 6,000 KM WITH 1,340 LOCOMOTIVES WEIGHING 200,000 TONNES

These were the figures for the biggest transport operation of new locomotives in the history of the railways. The French Ministry of the Merchant Navy trusted a global organisation, the United Maritime Authority, to plan the operation.

26/02/2024

RECEPTION OF THE 141-R IN FRANCE

The term 'welcome' is an understatement. These locomotives were nicknamed "Miss Libération", "Miss Liberté" or "Miss Désirée" by railway workers and the general public, and they quickly became legendary.

22/02/2024

THE 141-R AND LARGE PASSENGER TRAINS

Nothing in the design of the 141-R was intended for the large passenger trains of the 1940s and 1950s in France.

21/02/2024

141-R AND OMNIBUS PASSENGER TRAINS

The 141-Rs pulled the SNCF omnibus trains composed of "three-legs"!

20/02/2024

THE 141-R AND FREIGHT TRAINS

It was especially on the freight trains of the 1940s to 1970s that the 141-Rs proved their qualities; (...)

18/02/2024

141-r and mountain railway lines

Unlike roads, with gradients measured in centimetres per metre, railways, transporting loads in the hundreds of tonnes with a derisory expenditure of energy, only accept gradients measured in millimetres per metre.

16/02/2024

141-R conquering the Mediterranean

The ‘M’ in PLM doesn't stand for Marseille. Many people believe that PLM stands for ‘Paris, Lyon, Marseille’, whereas the great network was intended to be the railway from Paris to Lyon and the Mediterranean, since it had a broad vision...

15/02/2024

The 141-r: parisian, of course, but rarely seen in smart stations

The 141-R was rarely seen under the skylights of the beautiful Parisian train stations, its 105 km/h speed limit kept it away from the platforms where long-distance passenger trains departed from.

14/02/2024

The 141-R, conquest of the West, but in France

The West Region in 1946, unlike the other SNCF regions, did not divide its 141-Rs over a limited number of depots and line services managed by these depots, but ‘spread’ them across all depots (...)

13/02/2024

The 141-r in the eastern and northern regions of France

Due to a severe shortage of locomotives, the Est region will be the first to be equipped with 141-R locomotives, all of which will be used for freight transport.

12/02/2024

The 141-R and the Central Massif

Located in the heart of France, this very “massive” mountain range has always been a heavy obstacle for road and train traffic (...)

11/02/2024

La conduite des 141-R

Les anciens « mécanos » de la SNCF le disent : dans les ouvrages techniques et les notices, les « R » occupaient peu de place.

10/02/2024

Les 141-R au dépôt

Pour beaucoup de personnes le dépôt se réduit essentiellement à la rotonde et le pont tournant.

09/02/2024

The routes of the 141-R, a permanent feat

If we look at the annual journeys made by 141-Rs, we can see that they progressed between 1946 and 1973, with a very strong growth between 1948 and 1949, (...)

08/02/2024

THE ALLOCATION OF 141-R

As we know, the SNCF network was almost completely destroyed in 1945: most of the network was cut off at one or more points (...)

07/02/2024

TRANSFER BETWEEN DEPOTS

The arrival of oil-fired 141-Rs produced such excellent results that a large number of coal-fired locomotives (...)