This collector’s model is absolutely unique. This end-of-series model, powerful and elegant, is the last fast locomotive to have a low cylindrical boiler-shell. Its high technical build quality meant it could travel at speeds often double that of other contemporary locomotives, up to 127 kph (79 mph). Around 1843, English engineer Thomas Crampton designed a fast steam locomotive. Named the Crampton, it is equipped with a single 2.3 m drive axle at the rear. Since the English rail network was not interested in this type of locomotive, Crampton decided to offer it to the European and American networks. A large series of 320 locomotives was built for the French networks. The Compagnie de L’Est’s Cramptons hauled fast trains between Paris and Strasbourg from 1853 at speeds of 120 kph (75 mph). Construction of this line was decided by French Act dated 11 June 1842 and was inaugurated by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte in 1852. By this stage he had become Emperor, and he would go on to develop the national train network considerably. The Crampton No. 80 was withdrawn from service in 1914 having covered a total distance of 2,433,300 kilometres (1,512,000 miles). It was restored and exhibited at Gare de l’Est, Paris, from 1931 to 1946 as an example of French rail heritage. The SNCF then decided to restore it to working order, after which it was used to haul commemorative trains or in films. It finally came to rest in the Mulhouse Museum when it opened in 1971. (Source Cité du Train)
