The

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate services and other services in ...

(FS; Italian State Railways) Class 835 (Italian: ''Gruppo 835'') is a steam locomotive; it was the standard steam

shunter A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distan ...

of the FS.

Design and construction

The Class 835 was derived from the work of the

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

offices of the Rete Mediterranea, and the previous experiences with the Class 829 and Class 830; especially from the latter, the Class 835 took the boiler, coupled with an engine with enlarged cylinders. The first 97 locomotives, all built by

Ernesto Breda Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * Ernesto (novel), ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** Ernesto (film), ''Ernesto'' (film), ...

until 1908, had only the counter-pressure steam brake; subsequent locomotives all had the air brakes. In all, 370 Class 835 locomotives were built between 1908 and 1922 (with the pause imposed by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, by Breda,

Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company based in Genoa, Italy. The original parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., was founded in 1853, and merged with Finmeccanica in 1993 (now Leonardo S.p.A.). In 2024, the company's share ...

Reggiane Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA (commonly referred to as Reggiane) was an Italian industrial manufacturer and aviation company. Reggiane was founded during 1904 by its parent company Caproni, which was in turn owned by the aeronautical enginee ...

and

Officine Meccaniche Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company. It was founded in 1899 in Milan as Società Anonima Officine Meccaniche to manufacture railway rolling stock and car production began in 1918. It disappeared as su ...

, making the class one of the most numerous to circulate on Italian railways.

Service

Nicknamed "''Cirilla''" or "''Pierina''", the Class 835 locomotives spent their careers on shunting duties throughout all the Italian network; in the 1930s, several of them were loaned to other private railways or to private companies. Three of them (the 019, 198 and 220) remained in Yugoslav territory after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and were taken over by the

Yugoslav Railways Yugoslav Railways (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенске железнице, Jugoslovenske železnice, separator=" / "; ; ), with standard acronym ( in Cyrillic), was the state railway company of Yugoslavia, operational from the 1920s to t ...

with the same running numbers. Between the 1950s and 1960s, the frames, wheels and coupling rods of several Class 835 locomotives were used in building 40 Class E.321 and 20 Class E.322 electric shunting locomotives, and 29 Class D.234 diesel-hydraulic shunters. The Class 835 soldiered on until the end of regular steam services on the FS, with some 30 locomotives being still active in the early 1980s.

Preservation

54 Class 835 locomotives survived into preservation, as the class was a favourite for the choice of a static exhibit in the waning years of steam. It is also present in the collection of several railway and transportation museums in Italy, among which the Pietrarsa railway museum and the

Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, dedicated to painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, is the largest science and technology museum in Italy. It was opened on 15 February 1953 and inaugurated by prime minister of ...

. None is currently operational.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{FS locos 835 0-6-0T locomotives Gio. Ansaldo & C. locomotives Breda locomotives Reggiane locomotives OM locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1906 Standard-gauge locomotives of Italy Shunting locomotives C n2t locomotives