The

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate ...

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

shunter A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small Rail transport, railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as Shunt (railway operations), ''switching'' (US) or ...

of the FS.

Design and construction

The Class 835 was derived from the work of the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

offices of the

Rete Mediterranea Rete Mediterranea (RM) defines that part of the Italian railway network that, under the law of 27 April 1885 no. 3048, was assigned to the Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo for operation and development. These were mainly lines fro ...

, 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) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, by Breda,

Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company. It is based in Genoa, Italy. The absorbed parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., started in 1853. It was taken over by Leonardo S.p.A. In 2011, Leonardo S.p.A. sold 45% stake in An ...

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 eng ...

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 s ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and were taken over by the

Yugoslav Railways Yugoslav Railways ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslavenske željeznice/Jugoslovenske železnice, Југославенске жељезнице/Југословенске железнице; mk, Југословенски железници; sl, Jugoslovans ...

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 The National Railway Museum of Pietrarsa ( it, Museo Nazionale Ferroviario di Pietrarsa, italic=no) lies beside the Naples–Portici railway, between the city of Naples and the towns of Portici and San Giorgio a Cremano. Pietrarsa is an area am ...

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 5 February 1953 and inaugurated by Prime Minister Alci ...

. None is currently operational.

Notes

Bibliography

* * {{FS locos

835 __NOTOC__ Year 835 ( DCCCXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian Calendar. Events By place Europe * Ragnar Lodbrok, a Norse Viking ruler, rises to power. He becomes the scourge of ...

0-6-0T locomotives Gio. Ansaldo & C. locomotives Breda locomotives Reggiane locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1906 Standard gauge locomotives of Italy Shunting locomotives