FS Class 552

RA 180 bis
FS Class 552

FS locomotive 552.036 as preserved at the Museo nazionale scienza e tecnologia, Milan

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Builder	Gio. Ansaldo & C. (12), Ernesto Breda (24)
Build date	1890–1901
Total produced	36

Specifications
Configuration	4-4-0
UIC class	2′B n2
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
Leading dia.	960 mm (37.80 in)
Driver dia.	1,920 mm (75.59 in)
Length	9,173 mm (30 ft 1.1 in)
Axle load	14.8 tonnes (14.6 long tons; 16.3 short tons)
Loco weight	48.3 tonnes (47.5 long tons; 53.2 short tons)
Tender weight	29.9 tonnes (29.4 long tons; 33.0 short tons)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	4,000 kg (8,800 lb)
Water cap	12,000 l (2,600 imp gal; 3,200 US gal)
Firebox: • Firegrate area	2.3 m² (25 sq ft)
Boiler pressure	12 kg/cm² (1.18 MPa; 171 psi)
Heating surface	163.9 m² (1,764 sq ft)
Cylinders	Two, outside
Cylinder size	480 mm × 600 mm (18.90 in × 23.62 in)
Valve gear	Stephenson

Performance figures
Maximum speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Power output	650 CV (478 kW; 641 hp)
Tractive effort	6,570 kgf (64.4 kN; 14,500 lbf)

The Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS; Italian State Railways) Class 552 (Italian: Gruppo 552), formerly Rete Adriatica Class 180 bis, is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive; it was the final development in Italy of the 'American' express locomotive type.

Design and construction

Last in a line of successful 4-4-0 locomotives designed in Florence, the Class 552 was basically an evolution of the earlier Class 545 and Class 550 locomotives, with a larger boiler and bigger cylinders. The class was initially fitted with a prototype tender similar to the definitive one, but with only 10,500 litres (2,300 imp gal; 2,800 US gal) of water.

The first series of 24 units was built in 1890 by Ernesto Breda and Ansaldo (12 units each); 12 more were built by Breda from 1900 to 1901.^[1]^[2]

Service

The FS Gr 552 - 036 exposed at the Museo nazionale scienza e tecnologia, Milan

The Class 552 (until 1905, when the FS were formed, classified RA 180 bis and numbered 1865–1900) were primarily assigned to the most prestigious fast passenger trains of their time, notably the India Mail or Peninsular Express (called in Italian Valigia delle Indie), which was part of the P&O relation between London and Bombay; in Italy, this train ran the itinerary Modane-Turin-Alessandria-Bologna-Ancona-Brindisi, where a ship took the passengers to Alexandria.^[3]

However, they were the swan song of the two-wheeled express locomotives in Italy, as their relatively modest performance, 110 tonnes (110 long tons; 120 short tons) at 80 km/h (50 mph), quickly became insufficient; with the introduction of more powerful locomotives with three driving wheels (such as the Class 630 or the Class 670), the Class 552 was soon relegated to secondary roles. However, unlike its predecessors (all disappeared by the 1930s), some locomotives of the class managed to survive until 1946, working around Treviso.^[4]^[2]

Preservation

One Class 552, the 552.036, survived into preservation; she is currently a static exhibit in the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" in Milan.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RA 180 bis.

↑ Cornolò 2014, p. 228.
1 2 Kalla-Bishop 1986, p. 43.
↑ Cornolò 2014, pp. 228–229.
↑ Cornolò 2014, p. 229.

Cornolò, Giovanni (May 2014). "Locomotive a vapore". TuttoTreno (2).
Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1986). Italian state railways steam locomotives : together with low-voltage direct current and three-phase motive power. Abingdon: Tourret Publishing. ISBN 0905878035.

Classes of Ferrovie dello Stato locomotives

Steam

Tender locomotives	100 102 103 110^I 110^II 111 112 113 114 116 117 118 119^I 119^II 120 121 122 136 139 140 150 155 158 160 161 162 163 164 170 180 181^I 181^II 182^I 182^II 183 185 186 187 190 193 194 195 196 197 198 200 201 206 207 208 209 211 212 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 255 260 261 262 265 268 269 270 271 272 290 291 292 293 310 320 380 385 388 390 391 394 395 396 397 400 410 420 421 422 423 424 425 450 451 452 453 454 455 460 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 482 499^I 499^II 500 510 512 513 530 540^I 540^II 542 543 545 550 552 553 554 555 556 560 600 601 603 604 605 606 607 623 625 626 630 640^I 640^II 645 650 652 653 656 660 666 670 671 672 675 676 677 680 681 682 683^I 683^II 685 686 687 688 690^I 690^II 691 720 728 729 730 731 735 736 737 740 741^I 741^II 743^I 743^II 744 745 746 747^I 747^II 750

Tank locomotives	800^I 800^II 801 802^I 802^II 803^I 803^II 804 805 806 809 810^I 810^II 811 812 813 814 815^I 815^II 815^III 816 817 818 819 820^I 820^II 821^I 821^II 822 823 824 825 826^I 826^II 827 828^I 828^II 828^III 829 830^I 830^II 831 835 842 848 849 850^I 850^II 851 870 871 874^I 874^II 875 876 877 880^I 880^II 881 882 885 893 894 895 896^I 896^II 897 898 899^I 899^II 900 902 904 905 906 910 912 915 940 950 980 981 999

Narrow gauge locomotives	R.201 R.202 R.300 R.301 R.302 R.305 R.306 R.310 R.370 R.401 R.402 R.410 R.440 R.441 R.442 R.443 R.600 P U

Electric

Rechargeable battery	E.421

650 V DC Third rail	E.220 E.320 E.321 E.420 E.620

3,6 kV AC Three-Phase	E.330 E.331 E.332 E.333 E.360 E.380 E.390 E.430 E.431 E.432 E.550 E.551 E.552 E.554

10,6 kV AC Three-Phase	E.470 E.471 E.472 E.570

3 kV DC	E.321 E.322 E.323 E.324 E.326 E.400 E.402A E.402B E.403 E.404 E.405 E.412 E.414 E.424 E.428 E.434 E.444 E.444R E.447 E.453 E.454 E.464 E.621 E.625 E.626 E.632 E.633 E.636 E.645 E.646 E.652 E.655 E.656

25 kV AC	E.491 E.492

Diesel

Light shunters	206 207 208^I 208^II 209 210 211 R.212 213^I 213^II 214 215 216 218^I

Shunters	218^II 225 234 235 236 245 250 255

Heavy shunters	Ne 120 D.141 RD.142 D.143 D.145 D.146 D.147 356 372 Ne 700

Train locomotives	D.341 D.342 D.343 D.345 D.442 D.443 D.445 D.449 D.461

see also Category:Rolling stock of Italy

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