Design and construction
The FS Class 740 locomotives were designed as the simple expansion and superheated version of the earlier FS Class 730; after the success of the FS Class 640. The first locomotives were built in 1911 and production continued (albeit with a long interruption caused byOperations
Built for heavy freight work, the Class 740 saw service across the whole FS network, with virtually any locomotive shed having had some of them assigned to it at some point; other than freight trains, they were also usually employed for passenger services on secondary lines. Having been built for wide route availability (and therefore requiring a low axle load), they are generally considered successful locomotives, well-suited for the role they were built for, although some have criticised their rather poor steaming. Although their official top speed was set at , several locomotives have proved capable of reaching higher speeds of around . The Class 740 remained in active service until the end of regular Italian steam in the 1970s. Some of the class were still assigned to various sheds as reserve motive power into the early 1990s.Experiments and conversions
Caprotti valve gear
In 1921, locomotive 740.324 became the first FS locomotive to be fitted experimentally withFranco-Crosti locomotives
In 1942, five 740 (numbers 339, 367, 392, 396 and 405) were rebuilt with a Franco-Crosti boiler, and fitted with a streamlined casing (more for aesthetical reasons than for any aerodynamic advantages). In 1951, these locomotives (with the casing removed) were renumbered into the FS Class 743, and 88 more were rebuilt until 1953. A modified version, with a single pre-heater under the boiler (instead of two placed alongside it), was classified as FS Class 741, and 81 of them were rebuilt between 1958 and 1960.Preservation
Forty-nine Class 740 locomotives have survived into preservation. Three of them (the 740.278, 293 and 423) are currently operational and available for heritage trains, while others are under or awaiting restoration.References
*Further reading
* {{FS locos 740 2-8-0 locomotives Gio. Ansaldo & C. locomotives Breda locomotives Henschel locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1911 Standard gauge locomotives of Italy 1′D h2 locomotives Freight locomotives